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Make Your Own Household and Laundry Soap
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Laundry soap is so much fun to make. Although it does take a lot of time to cook and dilute, don’t be afraid to try making this type of soap. It’s very easy once you get the hang of it. At less than $5 per batch, homemade laundry soap is not only a fantastic bargain, but it also does a great job cleaning everything from your clothes to your kitchen, bathroom, and walls. Your stovetop will shine like new when you clean it with this soap, and it’s excellent for hand-washing dishes. Don’t try it in your dishwasher, though—unless you’re planning on mopping your floor that day!

Using SoapCalc to Formulate Your Soap

Before you start making your soap, always check your recipe in SoapCalc (www.soapcalc.com). This is a very important habit to get into, and one we always advise new soap-makers to do. All liquid soap is made basically the same way, so this formula works for any kind of liquid soap.

Here’s the information to put in SoapCalc:

Type of Lye used: KOH

Weight of Oils: ounces

Water as % of Oils: 80

Super Fat %: Ð13

The rest of the settings for the laundry soap are different, so you’ll enter the specifics when you get to the recipes, but this is the basic setup for liquid soaps. When you’ve put in all the information, you’ll be ready to formulate or check your recipe.

Making Laundry Soap

Here’s what youÕll need:

For your storage bottle, an empty used laundry detergent bottle that’s been cleaned will work, but do not use a plastic milk jug. The plastic is too thin, and the soap will soon leak out.

Potassium hydroxide lye comes in flake or diamond-shape pieces. With this type of lye, your oil won’t become solid and hard, and the soap remains in a liquid form. Liquid soap also has a lower pH than bar soaps, which helps the liquid soap hold together. Borax is used to neutralize any leftover lye and lower the soap’s pH.

You’ll get 64 loads of laundry out of this batch in hard water and 128 loads of clothes in soft water—and it’s biodegradable, so it can be used in front-load washers. Please be sure to read all the instructions before you start. And remember, some oils are thicker and therefore weigh more than others, so you must always weigh—not measure—all ingredients.

Basic Household and Laundry Soap

You’ll love this all-around soap and find new uses for it all the time. This recipe yields 1 gallon (128 ounces; 3,628.8 grams; 3.78 liters).

Here’s what to put in SoapCalc—remember to adjust the Type of Lye used, Weight of Oils, Water as % of Oils, and Super Fat % categories as instructed earlier:

Weight of Oils: 32 ounces (908.8 grams)

Water as % of Oils: 80

Super Fat %: Ð13

Fragrance Oz per Lb (See the later “Scenting Your Household and Laundry Soap” section.)

Coconut oil (76 degree): 8 ounces (226.7 grams) (25%)

Palm kernel oil: 8 ounces (226.8 grams) (25%)

Lard: 16 ounces (276 grams) (50%)

Distilled water (for lye): 25.6 ounces (725.7 grams)

Lye—potassium hydroxide: 8.1 ounces (230.7 grams)

Distilled water : 64 ounces (1,814.4 grams) (for dilution and borax)

Borax: 2.5 ounces (70.9 grams)

Fragrance oil (if desired): 1.5 to 3 ounces (42.5 to 85.0 grams) (This is added after the cook and dilution.)

Always put on your gloves and safety glasses before you begin.

  1. Place the plastic pitcher on the scale, and push the tare button to zero out the weight of the pitcher. Weigh the coconut oil in the pitcher and pour into the pot.
  2. Weight the palm kernel oil and pour into the pot.
  3. Set the pot of oils over medium-low heat. If you’re using a candy thermometer, attach it to the side of the pan now.
  4. While the oil is heating, put the plastic bowl on the scale and zero out the weight of the bowl. Weigh the potassium hydroxide in the bowl. Set aside.
  5. Place a pitcher on the scale, zero out the weight of the pitcher, and weigh the distilled water. Set aside.
  6. Check the temperature of the oils. When the oil has reached 160°F (71°C), it’s time to mix the lye and water. Slowly add the lye to the pitcher of water and stir. You will hear a “swoosh” as the lye dissolves in the water. Stir the mixture until all the lye has dissolved. Do not put your face close to the pitcher. The vapor from the lye can burn your eyes and lungs.
  7. Keeping the pot on the burner still set on medium-low, slowly pour the lye/water mixture into the batch of oils. Using an immersion blender, blend until the oils and water come together. Bring the mixture to a thick trace by blending for a few minutes and then stopping for a few minutes. Be patient; bringing the mixture to a thick trace takes some time—sometimes up to 45 minutes! When it reaches thick trace, it will look like very thick pudding.
  8. Remove the blender and set it aside when the soap has become too thick to stir. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit on the counter while the soap continues to harden into a paste. This can take up to 30 minutes.
  9. While you’re waiting for the soap to form a hard paste, preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). When the soap has reached the hard paste stage, cover the pot with the lid or aluminum foil, and put the pot in the oven for 4 hours or until the paste is transparent. (Remove a little bit of paste and spread it out over a piece of paper or a plate to test this. Not all paste will be completely transparent.)
  10. Place the plastic bowl on the scale, zero out the weight, and weigh the borax. Set aside.
  11. Place the pitcher on the scale, zero out the weight, and weigh 4 ounces distilled water. Pour the water into a stainless-steel pan and add the borax. Stir, and place on the stove over medium heat. Bring to a boil and continue a simmering boil until the borax is completely dissolved.
  12. Weigh the rest of your water in the pitcher on the scale, and pour it into another pan. Set over high heat, bring to a boil, and add it to the soap paste.
  13. Slowly pour the borax mixture into the paste, put the lid back on, set the diluted mixture over medium heat, and let it all melt down. Keep a close watch on this because it might boil over, or you can put the burner on low and check on it every 30 minutes.
  14. When the soap is completely melted, remove it from heat. Let it cool down in the pot for at least an hour. The sides of the pot should feel only slightly warm to the touch.
  15. Add the fragrance, if desired, and stir to thoroughly combine. When the soap has completely cooled, pour it into your plastic bottles.

Scenting Your Household and Laundry Soap

If you’re using a fragrance oil whose recommended use is .5 ounce (14.2 grams) fragrance per 1 pound soap, then use 1 ounce (28.4 grams) for these recipes. If the fragrance oil is recommended at 1 ounce (28.4 grams) per 1 pound soap, use a total of 2 ounces (56.7 grams) for these recipes. If you like more scent, increase it another 1 ounce (28.4 grams); if you don’t like it that strong, decrease the amount. We usually use 3 ounces (85.05 grams) fragrance oil in laundry soap. You also might like orange essential oil for its cleaning properties, but know that it will make the soap very cloudy-looking.

This soap also rinses completely out of your clothes and removes all the buildup that’s been left by store-bought detergents. You’ll also notice that your clothes are softer and no longer need fabric softeners or dryer sheets—another great way to save a few pennies!

From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Making Natural Soaps by Sally W. Trew with Zonella B. Gould