Making Laundry Soap

I made liquid laundry soap in the past, but I didn't like it, so I have not been interested in making it again.  My friend Ellie made some of the liquid laundry soap and really likes it and her granddaughter has been making the powdered laundry soap and she is pleased with her soap, so I decided to give it another try.

I went to the store Friday and I bought the ingredients.
Washing soda - $3.24
Borax - $3.97
Zote bar soap 0.97 each.  I bought 2 pink and 1 white, so that would be $2.91
Total $10.12.

I used all of the washing soda, the 3 bars of Zote and almost all of the Borax.  I decided to make both kinds and give this a good try this time.

Zote soap after being ground up in the food processor. 

The powdered soap was easy.  My daughter and I used the food processor and ground the soap.  I used 2 bars of the pink Zote, 4 cups of Washing Soda and 4 cups of Borax.  You use 2 tablespoons in a load of clothes.  I have a little over 7 pounds of powdered soap.  I was worried that the smell would be too strong.  I cannot be around perfume and strong smells.  This has a clean smell that is very faint.  The soap I buy at the store has no smell, which that is why I bought it, but a faint scent would be nice.  I think the clothes are softer than the clothes washed in my other store bought soap.  My friend said that the clothes she hangs in the house are softer.I can't wait to hang clothes on the line outside. 

The final powdered soap using pink Zote. 

The liquid soap takes longer, but it was not hard to do.  I got a big pot and put in the 1 bar of white Zote that was all ground up.  I put 2 quarts of water in and had the stove on simmer.

White Zote melting on stove. 

I think it took maybe an hour to melt the soap.  It was getting thicker and kind of gelled.  I used a hand immersion blender to make sure I had all of the soap pieces melted.  You do not have to do this.  I then added another 2 quarts of water and 2 cups of Washing Soda and 2 cups of Borax.  I mixed it and poured it in a 5 gallon bucket.  My friend did not add the Borax and Washing Soda to her melted soap on the stove.  She put her powder in the bucket and then poured the melted soap in the bucket. 

The liquid soap the next day. 

Either way will work.  I saw a lot of different recipes.  I just wanted to make sure I mixed it really well since I did not like the soap I had make years ago.  I added water and you can see in the picture how much I put in there.  I probably should have put a little more water. I also added a cup of white vinegar to this.  I let it sit overnight.  

The liquid soap. 

Saturday morning I stirred the bucket of soap and poured it into the jars.  I washed my really dirty jacket I wear to do chores and I really think it is cleaner than it has been in a long time.  I used 1/2 cup since my jacket was so dirty.  I have read to use 1/4 cup per load in the washer, but other places said to use 1/2 cup. I am pleased with the liquid soap.  I am just not sure which one I like the best yet.  I do like how easy it is to make the powdered soap.  

I am not sure how long this will last.  I use 2 boxes of laundry soap a month and sometimes more.  The brand of soap that I buy can cost around $11 on sale and if not on sale up to $13.  If I only buy 2 boxes a month that is $22 a month.  I made all this soap for only $10.12.  I would guess this will last at least 4 months or longer.  In 4 months I would have spent $88 with the store bought soap.

I will decide if I like the liquid or the powder soap the best. My daughter and I both noticed that the bar of white Zote seemed to be softer than the pink and was easier to cut to put in the food processor.  The pink is prettier.  The powdered soap has a stronger smell, but that probably is because I used 2 bars and the liquid only has 1 bar.

The next time I might make powdered using the white Zote instead of the pink and see if there is a difference.  This was really easy and so far very much worth the effort.