I’ve always wanted to try to make my own laundry detergent but I really wanted something simple. I had read that you can use the Earth Mama Angel Baby Shampoo & Body Wash by itself as a laundry detergent, but I really wanted something with a little more….ooomph!
After reading several different versions of recipes consisting of castille soap, I decided to try my hand cooking up a batch myself. It was really simple and only took me about 15-20 minutes from start to finish.
Supplies needed: 1 cup HOT water, 1/2 cup Borax, 1/2 cup Washing Soda, and 1 cup Angel Baby Shampoo & Body Wash (Castille Soap)
Directions:
- Boil 2 cups of water (or bring it to almost boiling, you want it to be really hot).
- In a bowl or jar, dissolve Borax and Washing Soda in 1 cup of really hot water. You don’t want any powder left in your mixture. Allow to cool.
- Once cool, slowly add 1 cup of Angel Baby Shampoo & Body Wash.
- Gently stir the mixture but do not shake or you’ll end up with lots of bubbles.
- Pour into glass mason jars or other storage container.
This recipe resulted in a really nice finished product and I was anxious to test it out on laundry day. For my top loader HE machine, I used about 2-3 TBS of detergent for a full size load of laundry. I have a small measuring spoon that I keep in my laundry room so I don’t have to pour and guess.
After the first load of laundry, I inspected the clean clothes and was pleasantly surprised at how clean they were. Even the juice stain on the front of my daughters dress was gone. I can’t believe how excited I was about doing laundry! Now, if only the laundry would put itself away. I think it’s still sitting in the basket waiting for someone to volunteer to put them away.
My only advice with this recipe would be to make sure that your Borax/Washing Soda mixture was cool before adding the body wash. After sitting for 2 days, my jar looked more like a thin jelly. With a quick stir, the mixture was completely fine and still worked perfectly.
What other uses can you find for Earth Mama Angel Baby Shampoo & Body Wash? So far, we’ve bathed with it, shaved with it, soaked our feet in it, made a kitchen spray (1 tbs castille soap + hot water) with it, and washed our clothes with it. I really want to try making a soft scrub and a deep cleaning scrub for my toilets. Eva at Whole Food Mom on a Budget has a great list of 10 Frugal Household Uses for Castile Soap that is worth reading too. I love that all Earth Mama products are safe and gentle enough to be used on your newborn baby, but strong enough to clean your messy house, kitchen, and even dirty clothes.
Please note that this laundry recipe is NOT recommended to be used on most cloth diapers. Castille soap is not generally recommended for pocket diapers, AIOs, fitted diapers, or hybrid diapering systems. Castille soap may leave a residue on these products causing detergent buildup on your diapers; this will prevent them from absorbing properly. You may have success with this recipe if you are washing flats or prefolds; but I would test it first. If you do experience any problems when using this recipe with cloth diapers, you may need to strip your diapers using hot water and possibly RLR.
Disclosure: I am an #EarthMama Blogger Ambassador in which I am a financially compensated blog ambassador for Earth Mama Angel Baby. To follow my adventure search for #EarthMama on social media. Financial compensation was received to sponsor the series of posts and products have been donated to be featured in this post.
Reference: Homemade is Not Always Best for Cloth Diapers vis Thirsties.
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Great recipe! I have two-year-old daughter and I do the laundry with very special laundry powder. Here I found incredible tips so thank you a lot!
I tried the DIY laundry detergent thing once. I wasn’t thrilled with the results, and I’ve been using a green cleaning brand from my supermarket. I suppose I should try the DIY option again.