5 Gallon Bucket DIY Laundry Soap

I have checked laundry soap OFF my grocery list for the last 7 years. Gone are the days of lugging around a way too heavy container and looking for the best deals for my large family.

I saw a version of this recipe and started making it. At first, it seemed DAUNTING! … It looked hard and not worth my time. 😊

The BIG PROS to me are:

• Natural/safe ingredients
• Gentle on skin
• PRICE IS SO UNBELIEVABLY CHEAP
• Safe for our septic system ( we have used it in septic and sewer)
• I can check detergent off my life for 3 months, sometimes longer
• We have really clean clothes that are not just perfumed…they are CLEAN!

📌To start with… I highly recommend getting a 5-gallon bucket from Menards or Home Depot. It needs to be clean with a tight-fitting lid.

I use the same Menards bucket over and over…Each time I make a new batch, I use warm water to rinse off the outside and inside.

NOTE: We use a HE washer and have had no issues with this detergent. The reports of the detergent being “harmful” seem to relate to making a powered version. However, read your owner manual and do your own research for your machine. Overall, this detergent is much more gentle than any commercial cleaner.

The Super Washing Soda is 100% sodium carbonate and has been used for over 100 years.

Borax, also known as sodium borate is an important boron compound, a mineral, and a salt of boric acid. Powdered borax is white, consisting of soft colorless crystals that dissolve in water.

Fels Naptha soap is the stain remover. Fels Naptha is a REAL soap. If you notice, most bath bars are called “beauty bars” and are not allowed to be called soap. Fels Naptha is soap…and has worked great on our clothes.

The first thing you have to do is grate your Fels Naptha down. I have used many tools in the past to accomplish this.

Next, put your grated soap into a heavy-bottomed pot with 2 cups of water. You have to cook this mixture until all the soap is cooked down and turns to liquid. NOTE: there are times we have ended the cooking too soon and are left with a few chunks of soap floating on the top… that’s okay! It will still work fine. Just make sure to cook it down until it’s liquid. STAY with your pot and stir continually. The soap has the tendency to bubble up and WILL overflow!

Once you have your liquid soap, set it aside and take it off the heat.

Next, put your 5 gallon bucket in the sink ( or wherever you can fill it)

Fill it HALFWAY full with hot water. We don’t need boiling water, but the hottest you can get on the tap works.

Once your bucket is half full of hot water, dump all the liquid Fels Naptha soap into the hot water bucket.

Next, measure 1 cup of Super Washing Soda and dump it into the hot water/soap mixture.

Next, measure 1 cup of Borax and dump into the bucket.

Stir all of your ingredients.

Fill your bucket the rest of the way with HOT water.

It’s going to be very bubbly at first but will settle as it sits.

After the bucket is completely full I give it one last stir

Put the lid on the VERY HEAVY bucket and leave it to rest for at least 8 hours.

This bucket will be heavy. If possible leave it in the sink or on the counter to settle then ask someone with strong arms to move it to the floor for you. 💪

I have mastered taking it down myself, but my husband used to always take it down for me after it rested.

One of two things will happen to your finished product. I have had BOTH happen.

Either your concoction will turn to a thick gel (which I like) or it will stay in a liquid state. Either way is FINE. I have used this detergent both ways.

This soap is a concentrated laundry detergent and it is okay to dilute it.

As a final step… I add essential oils to my detergent. In the winter, I use citrus-scented oils. During mosquito season I add lavender essential oils to repel insects.

Once you have your base soap made, you can experiment and add whatever scent you want.

I use this cleaner for much more than my laundry. I put our soap in a spray bottle for bathroom cleaner…use it to clean counters… I use it on almost everything. I have found this cleaner superior to store-bought cleaners without all the extra…bad for you…chemicals.

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