Fancy is digging around in her Perla bed and sherpa fabric pieces that I keep for my dogs and I decided I’d straighten it and make sure everything is clean. Those fabric pieces are awesome for before whelping for nesting, for after whelping because they absorb the “stuff”, are easy to wash and sanitize , and are soft and lumpy for the puppies to crawl over and under which reminds me to visit the fabric store and pick up some more yardage to cut up and hem.
When I went to do laundry in my newly renovated laundry room in my basement, I found out I was out of detergent which leads me to this post. My adult daughter who has a toddler and baby in diapers and is environmentally conscious and tries to use cloth diapers as much as she can uses lots of detergent. Have you noticed that detergent, particularly name brands which are advertised nationally, are very expensive? She put me onto this mixture and for the last few months, I’ve tried it out and found it cleans clothes just as well for only pennies a load. Since I’m a child of the 70’s, it takes me back to the days when “natural” was in vogue.
The recipe is to mix 1 cup of Borax, 1 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda with 1/3 bar of Fels Naptha bar soap or Zote, grated. Each load takes 1-3 T. I use a couple T for most all loads except whites and dirty jeans. The trick is to put the detergent in first, run a little hot water for it to dissolve well, and then add clothes. Only with really stained whites do I add some bleach. All of the items for the mixture are available at your local grocery or Walmart except the Zote bars. Reviews indicate Zote is best and this will be my first batch using it so I’ll report back. Zote is available in areas with a larger Hispanic population because it is a Mexican laundry bar soap. Report: Zote is MUCH better!
I multiply the recipe x 3, mix in a large bowl and store in an old empty laundry detergent box to keep it dry. Since you use so little, it lasts a LONG time unless you are washing diapers daily.