Homemade Laundry Soap Update

    Not too long ago, I posted about my endeavors in making homemade laundry soap. While it seemed like a very cool, thrifty idea (and albeit an awesome goo making experiment in your own kitchen!), I still had a few reservations about it. Would my laundry actually come clean? Would it leave a slimy, soapy residue on my clothes? I mean come on, can bar soap in the detergent really work?
     I am thrilled to report that the results are in! Tonight I ditched the store bought stuff in favor of my homemade version to see how it stacked up. Incredibly, my clothing (socks and towels) came out just as clean, if not better, than if I had used a store bought detergent! They didn't have any sort of residue, odor, or  extra scent to them. They didn't smell like anything, just an odorless, scentless CLEAN. This kind of clean is good, because many times strong detergent and softener scents can give me a headache. We all know that socks are hard to get clean. You KNOW what I am talking about too, that stiff-grimy-crunchy STUFF on the bottoms. While this didn't remove old stains and leave them brilliantly white- it DID remove all the new crud and a lot of the old build up. No pulling crunchy, just-washed socks out of the washer.
   All that said, it definitely compares to any store bought, name brand detergent in its cleaning capacity. But the price is even better. My three gallon batch of homemade soap cost me $3.74. That is a definite savings over ANY detergent in the stores. But it gets even better! Today I found a website called Alice. Since Washing Soda is a hard commodity to find in my town, I used a pool PH adjuster that was Sodium Carbonate, the same thing as washing soda. Buying it online usually defeats the purpose of being inexpensive because of the shipping charges. But at Alice, I can buy a regular box of washing soda for $2.99 + Tax, with NO SHIPPING! Their Ivory soap is a great deal as well. And to top it all off, if there is a coupon out there for that product, they will automatically deduct that from the price- no hassle and no looking for coupons! Ordering from Alice means that I could bring my price down to under $1.25 for a batch of homemade laundry detergent.  Are we switching? You betcha! It's fun to make, Eco friendly, cleans like a dream, and the price has never been so nice!

                        Cheers! - Mama Homesteader

UPDATE: On 3/20/2011 I went to walmart to pick up a prescription and found a better deal on Ivory Soap. For a 10 bar pack it was 4.16 +Tx, For the 3 bar pack it was 1.07 + Tx. That would in fact, bring the final price to $1.10 a batch! I also invested in a downy Laundry Ball for 1.37 +Tx. Instead of buying fabric softener, we're switching to using vinegar in the rinse cycle. the ball just saves me time running to the basement to put it in at the correct time!