Make Laundry Detergent and Cloth Diaper Detergent

I have been researching making my own laundry detergent and have come across a recipe that I thought would be good to give a try.  The recipe is as follows:

1 bar Fels Naptha bar soap (about 4 cups grated)
2 cups 20 Mule Team Borax
2 cups washing soda
Grate the soap and mix it with the borax and washing soda. Then seal in an air tight container.

As I began to research each ingredient before I was going to promote this recipe to my readers, I discovered what each ingredient really is.

The first is the bar of soap, Fels Naptha, which I read is considered unsafe.  ”Chronic toxicity testing has not been conducted on this product. However, the following effects have been reported on one of the product’s components. Stoddard solvent: Repeated or prolonged exposure to high concentrations has resulted in upper respiratory tract irritation, central and peripheral nervous system effects, and possibly hematopoetic, liver and kidney effects.” (according to Chronic Health Effects” section of the National Institutes of Health).

Next, Borax, it is naturally occurring, but “typically, boron is extracted in open-pit mines by drilling, blasting, crushing and hauling — all activities fueled by petrochemicals. The refining process then uses a significant amount of water. Finally, the waste product — known in the industry as “tailings” — is deposited in man-made ponds where further refining is done before the water is then discharged into the local watershed.” (according to www.thedailygreen.com)

Finally, washing soda is sodium carbonate.  ”Washing soda is quite strongly alkaline so you should not let it be in contact with your skin. Use rubber gloves when dealing with it. It is classed as an irritant and is particularly irritating to the eyes.You should also avoid breathing the dust. As it is usually supplied as a crystal, this isn’t hard to do. Once it is dissolved in water it doesn’t give off toxic fumes.” (according to http://www.greenfootsteps.com)

Okay, so while this is definitely a way to save money on laundry, it is not exactly what I would consider a non-toxic/eco-friendly option.  So I began to dig a bit further.  It seems that the only true eco-friendly laundry cleaner are soap nuts.  Soap nuts are natural fruits from the Chinese Soapberry tree, that when dried can be used to clean your laundry.  They contain a compound called saponin, which is a surfactant, lifting the dirt off of the surface of your clothing.

In order to use your soap nuts in the laundry, here is what you do.:

1. Place the soap nuts in a cotton sack and drop it in your laundry.
2. If washing on cold, place soap nuts in cup of hot water for a few minutes prior to washing.
3. Reuse soap nuts about 5 washes, or until they are disintegrating.

This is so simple, and it turns out that the soap nuts are even perfect for cloth diapers.  Just wash the cloth diapers as usual, only in the first pre-wash cycle add 1/2 cup of baking soda in order to help lift stains.  Next, just add the soap nuts to the hot wash and your done!

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