How to Make a Gallon of Liquid Laundry Soap Detergent

There are a lot of recipes floating around the Internet with instructions to make both liquid and powdered laundry soap at home; most use similar ingredients but leave out a few key facts:

Liquid laundry soap is MUCH less expensive to make than powdered. A good batch of liquid laundry soap can cost as much as the powdered version but since the ingredients are already dissolved and mixed it takes less to clean the same amount of clothes.

Liquid laundry soap cleans better in cold water because the soap flakes are already dissolved; powdered laundry soap still contains the grated soap flakes which must first dissolve before working (and those flakes dissolve better in warm water).

The majority of liquid laundry soap recipes are designed to make a huge batch of cleaner and for the average family those 5 to 10 gallon batches of laundry soap are not only unwieldy but require large buckets and containers that are difficult to acquire and difficult to store as well. Simply trying to use basic math to cut the recipes down can be a nightmare in logistics: how do you reasonably cut down a recipe for 10 gallons of laundry soap when it only takes 1/2 bar of Fels Naptha--it seems as if that tiny amount is insufficient to clean ANYTHING, much less your dirty clothes!

After much thought and consideration I have managed to successfully create a recipe for a single gallon of liquid laundry soap. This recipe takes a minimum of ingredients, works up in minutes, cleans just as well and stores a LOT easier than those five gallon buckets we've stashed in the days of yore. It is also much more frugal than the powdered version and works better in cold water as the soap is already dissolved.

Things You'll Need:
1 cup grated Fels Naptha or Octagon Soap
1/3 cup Borax
1/3 cup Washing Soda (Sodium Carbonate)
1 Gallon of Water
Empty 1.5 gallon container (recommended, but a 1-gallon container will work)
2 quart saucepan
Long-handled spoon
Funnel
Hot Plate or stovetop burner

Step One:
Pour 1 quart of water into the saucepan.

Step Two:
Turn the stovetop burner temperature onto medium.

Step Three:
Add the grated Fels Naptha or Octagon soap to the water.

Step Four:
Stir the soap mixture with the spoon over medium heat until the soap is completely dissolved.

Step Five:
Add the Borax and the Washing Soda to the dissolved soap in the saucepan.

Step Six:
Stir the mixture for a few minutes until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed and the solution thickens into a syrupy consistency. Do not allow the mixture to boil; if needed, reduce the stovetop temperature to maintain a slow simmer.

Step Seven:
Pour the remaining water into the 1.5 gallon container (if using a 1 gallon container only pour about half of the water in at this time).

Step Eight:
Pour the dissolved soap solution into the container using the funnel to avoid spills.

Step Nine:
Tightly cap the container and shake well to thoroughly mix the contents. If using a 1 gallon container, add the remaining water to the container, but leave an inch of space for shaking the solution before use.

How to Use:
Add 3/4 to 1 cup of the liquid laundry soap to a load of laundry depending upon how dirty the fabric is. Smaller washers may need to reduce the soap down to 1/2 cup for light cleaning jobs.

This is a low-sudsing but effective cleaner.

Tips:
To boost the cleaning power of this liquid laundry soap (or any laundry cleaner) add 1/2 to 1 cup of Ammonia to the wash water as you add the clothes. The ammonia will help cut grease and stains better, adds a slight disinfection capability to the wash and will not cause your laundry to smell like ammonia. Ammonia has also been used to whiten whites instead of bleach and in my experiments is quite effective at doing so.

If you cannot locate Washing Soda in your area, go to the pool supply section of your local hardware store and look for pH raiser. Read the ingredients of the pH raisers to locate one made with Sodium Carbonate. This is the exact same thing that Washing Soda is made of, so you can substitute this in the place of washing soda. Baking Soda is NOT the same; it is designed to neutralize pH while washing soda raises the pH of the water so do not attempt to substitute baking soda for washing soda in your liquid laundry soap.

You can acquire a 1.5 gallon container to hold your liquid laundry soap by recycling a large bleach container--the largest ones at the store are rated to hold slightly under the 1.5 gallon amount but work perfectly for this purpose.

References:
Personal Experience