Homemade HE Laundry Soap Update and a New Recipe

It’s hard to believe that we’ve been making our own laundry soap for about 2 months now. I definitely don’t think I would ever go back to buying laundry soap at the store. The savings are great.

The original recipe smells really clean. I can just imagine someone using the washboard amid the fresh scent of a laundry bar like Fels-Naptha. It was nice for a while but the clean scent didn’t last more than a day and I really started to miss the smell of warm sunshine and cotton.

I headed to the laundry aisle of the grocery store to find a solution and found in-wash scent boosters that were compatible with high efficiency (HE) washing machines. It seems like most of the major brands make a version of the scent boosters.
They’re these little beads that go directly into the soap dispenser at the beginning of the wash. According to the label the fresh scent is supposed to last up to 12 weeks.

I was completely out of laundry soap so this past week I decided to make a double batch and add the scent boosters to the mix. You can find the original recipe for a single batch without the scent boosters here.

Here is the new double batch recipe with scent boosters:
2 bars of Fels-Naptha
2 cup of Borax
2 cup Super Washing Soda
1 and ½ cups of scent boosters (I’m using the Gain Fireworks Scent Booster in Tropical Sunrise and it smells so good)
½ cup of Oxiclean

I follow the same instructions for the double batch as I did for the single batch. It’s still important to make sure the pieces of laundry soap are small to make them more easily dissolved in the washing machine. Mixing all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor seems to make this step fairly simple. I forgot this step when I was taking these pictures and had to go back and place the mixture in the blender a little bit at a time.

I use 1 tablespoon with each load. I also whisk the ingredients on a regular basis to make sure the laundry powders do not clump together. If I have a stain, I make sure to treat with a stain remover prior to laundering and I haven’t had any trouble getting rid of stains. I’m also excited to say we haven’t had any trouble with allergies yet either. I’m learning there are tons of different allergens out there so make sure to consult you’re your doctor, dermatologist or allergist prior to using any new products.

I honestly don’t mind doing laundry, it’s the putting away that I hate. I used to do laundry as needed throughout the week. Now, I do laundry one day a week depending on my schedule. It’s really helped me resist the temptation to leave my clean and folded clothes on the dresser. Especially since I know I only have to put them away one day each week and they’re going to smell like summer.

Many blessings,
CoCo