Homemade Laundry Detergent ...

[S/V Blondie-Dog]

Hmmm... me thinks that I may have stumbled upon an interesting concept for saving a few bucks whether or not one might happen to live aboard a boat.

I'll be sure to try this out next time I start to run low on laundry detergent.

I can't imagine this homemade soap being any less effective than the cheap stuff that I buy off the shelves.

"One Good Thing" by Jillee: Brand Name Laundry Detergent's "Last Stand"!

[David M]

I looks like it comes down to the price difference versus all the effort to make it.

[Bash]

just what every cruiser needs--a 5 gallon batch of laundry soap.

I suppose it could be stored in the bilge right next to the seven gallons of homemade shampoo?

[callmecrazy]

I make a similar soap, without the water, in 2qt batches. still working on first batch after 4 months of 1 load a week, occasionally 2 loads. $20 of material is well over a years supply of soap

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by Bash

just what every cruiser needs--a 5 gallon batch of laundry soap.

I suppose it could be stored in the bilge right next to the seven gallons of homemade shampoo?

Yep, on board it's all about the space for many of us! I tried a laundry product called METHOD last year that worked very well. Even when doing hand bucket loads on board:
THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: CLEAN SHEETS TO THE WIND
The great thing is it took up very little space on board plus you can get refills and use the same pump dispenser.

[callmecrazy]

this is the basic recipe i use. Using the Fels naptha ground on a cheese grater and Arm&Hammer 'washing soda'.

[sarafina]

Better for running thru the grey line (galley) into the water too...

[david7]

Dr. Bronners 18 in 1...you can wash your clothes, dishes, face, hair, and teeth. All from the same bottle

[bobconnie]

You can go to a surplus store/outdoor store, and look for net bags, navy still uses them for laundry. Put your dirty stuff in the bag with some salt water soap close bag tye 20 30 ft of small stuff to it and the rail (don't ask why please!) toss overboard tow for an hour or so and pull in rinse in small amount of fresh water, dry !! cheap and the whites come out WHITE LOL Bob and Connie

[sic5y360]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

You can go to a surplus store/outdoor store, and look for net bags, navy still uses them for laundry. Put your dirty stuff in the bag with some salt water soap close bag tye 20 30 ft of small stuff to it and the rail (don't ask why please!) toss overboard tow for an hour or so and pull in rinse in small amount of fresh water, dry !! cheap and the whites come out WHITE LOL Bob and Connie

awesome

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by david7

Dr. Bronners 18 in 1...you can wash your clothes, dishes, face, hair, and teeth. All from the same bottle

Dr. Bronners is great, I love it. The tea tree oil flavor is also a natural antisceptic. I have a couple small 2oz. bottles of various flavors and one big bottle of tea tree.

But I never use it! it's too expensive... The only time I ever use it is if I totally run out of shampoo or regular soap. I'd probably use it for cleaning certain things on the boat if ever I ran out of vinager.. .But that stuff is alot cheaper and easier to get So I've had these bottles of Dr. Bronners for like 3 years now.

Still love it though

[aquarian]

I like it! Thanks.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Can make soap out of seaweed.

[hellosailor]

She may be good at making soap but if she pays $15 for a small detergent bottle, she's a lousy shopper. $15 will buy me a good sized bottle of Liquid Tide on sale, and that's one of the most expensive brands on the shelf.

Funny thing, all she's done is go back to what folks used to use 100 years ago. It works the same way now that it did then, which is good enough for many folks but simply DOES NOT CLEAN AS WELL as the high-priced detergents. I've seen stains that don't come out in the older or cheaper stuff, come right out with the high-priced stuff.

So if all you need to do is wash out body stink, sure, Fels works just fine and borax helps if you've got the right/wrong kind of water. But replacing the high priced stuff? No, a rowboat will never be a speedboat. It may be all you need, but it never will be the same thing.

[sarafina]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

$15 will buy me a good sized bottle of Liquid Tide on sale, and that's one of the most expensive brands on the shelf.

Ah Ha HA HA... Them marketing folks a Procter and Gamble sure saw YOU comin....

You need to go do a bit of research into the the chemistry involved in cleaners...

And a cruiser can carry the dry supplies to make a years worth of detergent in a very small space and the just mix batches to a size that's reasonable and add the water...

Thanks I needed a good laugh this morning.