I've been re-searching and asking about, and the recipe I work with probably would not work for you living in America :(
Here in our area in Brazil, most people use this for a washing machine:
It's called a "tanquinho" which translated would mean, "little tank". It is not your normal washer, it just beats the clothes, you have to fill it manually, and rinse the clothing separately in a big tub or something of sorts, yeah I know, big pain....but it is what most of the people can afford so it works just fine, and yes, you should be thankful for the convenience of having a washer and dryer :)
Ahem...
All this to say, I use it to mix up my soap....and I don't know if you all have anything like this in the US...It's been a long time since I've been to the good ole' USA, so please correct me if I am wrong in assuming these "tanks" are not available there?!?! I haven't tried mixing the soap by hand, so I can't tell you if it works out or not, I guess you could always try :)
Just a reminder, this recipe makes a whole bunch of soap....around 15 gallons!!!
....Moving on:
Here's what I use for the soap: ( and this was a pain to calculate since everything here is measured differently.)
About 2 quarts of cooking oil (I buy the cheapest one available)
2 quarts of ethyl alcohol (is that available for you guys?!?)
2 lbs of caustic soda
your choice of essential oils
13 gallons of water from the tap
Again, I don't know if these things are available for you, if it is and if you're brave enough to try, go for it :) If you do want to try this recipe out, shoot me an email (alexejesslima at gmail dot com) and I'd be glad to give you the directions and offer help. I recommend that you research online, there are a ton of recipes for detergent out there. You can surely come across one that will work for you! It will definitely save money, and it just feels awesome to be frugal ;) Here and here are the links to two different recipes that I've come across, again I've never tried them, so I don't know how they would work, but I am sure you can find something.... and remember, If at first you don't succeed, try again! Mrs.Long from Treasures From A Shoe Box also has a post about laundry detergent you might want to check out
Thought? Comments? Questions?
I'd love to hear what you think, and your experience in soap making, if you do make your own detergent or try to make it :)
Many blessings,
