Hello fellow Mommy's.
Hopefully, like a few of you, I have to know exactly what ingredients are in everything I use. I don't believe the hype about "going green" until I know every ingredient and then I can decide for myself.
I make my own laundry detergent. It's eco-friendly, I know 100% of the ingredients, and it's more cost effective then buying it.
I currently use:
1 cup Vinegar (white)
1 cup Baking Soda
1 cup Borax
1/4 cup liquid castile soap
I would love to know if you add anything, if you found a different recipe that you have tried? I would love to hear about your great ideas!
Thanks Eco-Friendly Mommies! I appreciate your help.
P.S. I'm really happy with the way the detergent works. The only thing is sometimes I have to pre-treat stains with lemon juice and baking soda, or an organic liquid soap. I have a HE front loading washer machine that's about 2 years old.
I too use the Fels Naptha soap grated and heated, Arm and Hammer washing soda rather than baking soda and essential oils. I have lemon right now but will try something different when it runs out. My receipe does not call for vinegar. If you want the full recipe, drop me a line.
Hi D.,
I bought a book on organic housekeeping. It has a list of recommended detergents, but not a recipe. I am wondering how you like the one you're using. I am also concerned about the environment, but more importantly I want to know what my family may be absorbing through their skin.
Anyway ... if you're happy with the results you're getting, the only thing you might add is one or more essential oils. The book I read includes a caution about citrus oils because they may produce a skin irritation.
If you live in the Monument area, check out the Monument Library website. There is a "green cleaning products" workshop this weekend.
L.
I just read this article and plan to try out this recipe.
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/04/09/making-your-own...
Have you guys ever heard of the wellness company, Melaleuca? That's the store I shop from. They make products that are safer for our family, safer for our environment and safer for our pocketbooks, too! If you're interested in learning more, just email me-I'd be happy to share more details.
J.
____@____.com
I don't know if I'd qualify Borax and NonToxic.
You can also use citrus, lemon or orange with salt to scrub with.
There are lots of things that are great to use.
If, however, you don't want to take the time to create these things, and you want to save even more money than using food products, I'd suggest using SHAKLEE.
http://www.shaklee.net/reginagarcia
The GET CLEAN Starter Kit is AMAZING! It's easy to use, not toxic, not noxious in anyway, and saves time.
You can look at a comparison here (be sure to look at the Price per Gallon!!): http://bp3.blogger.com/_DjA6bevGHQw/RvlIll_-dgI/AAAAAAAAA...
If being "green" is important to you. It might interest you to know that SHAKLEE is the World's FIRST Climate Nuetral company. Meaning, that SHAKLEE has a zero carbon footprint and has had this status longer than any company in the entire world. So, if being "green" is important to you, you may want to ally yourself to a company who found it important to take care of the enviroment and be "green" before the movement. THAT's a bit of integrity. (Not to mention, by the time you spend the money of food products, gas, and time to create your own cleaners, you've surpassed the price of Basic H2 hundreds of times.)
I hope that helps.
Oh, and if you're in WalMart and your store has the WalMart channel going, they often have little tips like using citrus and salt for scrubbing...you may want to pay attention to that.
Hello again D.,
I left a web site a the bottom you might want to look at. Borax is toxic. Kudos to you for making your own products. More people need to be aware of ingreadients.
Does it really clean your clothes as well as commercial laundry soap? What about stains? I would love to try this, but I wonder if it will work OK for my HE (high efficiency) washing machine.
Sounds like a good idea. I think I'll give it a try:)
M. P
D.,
Great topic! I make my own laundry soap too. Plus I make all my cleaning supplies, lotions, soaps and I couldn't be happier. You never know what chemicals are hiding in other products.
I use a variation of the recipe that you use, but I use Fels Naptha Soap (grated). It works great if you want to make a liquid soap. I like using liquid in my HE washing machine.
Also, try using some essential oils in with our towels! You will love the smell. You can even put a little on a wash cloth and put it in the dryer. Way better than those icky dryer sheets.
I'm glad I'm not the only mom who would rather make their own products.
Happy laundry days.
Ann
