Herbal Laundry Soap Recipe

"Herbal Laundry Detergent"

Making  Herbal Laundry Soap has been a must for Personal Hygene. it is a very easy recipe . Most of the recipes  use Fels Naptha Soap, a real soap that's been around for 100 years and is specially designed for the laundry, but you can substitute any bar of soap, though it is one that's not got a lot of extra oil (superfatted). You want a good, super-cleansing bar. (Extra oil is good for your skin, not for your clothes.) If you don't mind that it's not a "natural" soap, the Fels Naptha Soap works great. Adding Herbal essential oils enhance its natural fragrance and bring a clean earthy mild scent to your cloths wild some other herbs can be used as bacteria eliminators bringing out a pure cleanness scent almost naturally while other due both with specific scents. e.g. Lavender,  Peppermint, Lemongrass, Echinacea, Cedar wood,Rose hips,

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 drops of PURE(undiluted) Lavender essential oil.
• 1 bar of Fels Naptha soap
• 1 cup of borax
• 1 cup of washing soda
• 1 gallon + 1 quart of water

Note: You can Replace the Lavender essential oil with another of your choice.

A few Essential Oil Benefits to Recipe:

1. Lavender: Brings out a mild earthly scent that smells amazingly fresh and calming.

2. Lemongrass: Brings out a mild earthly scent that smells amazingly fresh and will aid in keeping bugs away naturally.

3. Cedar wood: Brings out a mild but more aggressively earthly scent that smells amazingly fresh and will aid in keeping bugs away naturally.

Brings out a mild woodsy scent that smells amazingly fresh and will aid in keeping bugs away naturally.as well as masking body odor.

Preparation:

1. First, using a food processor or manual grater, finely grate the bar of soap.
2. Bring a quart of water to a boil on the stove and slowly add the soap, stirring gently.
3. Reduce the heat and let it simmer gently until all of the pieces of soap are melted/dissolved.
4. Add the borax and washing soda and stir until they are dissolved.
5. In a separate pot, heat up the gallon of water or measure out a gallon of very hot tap water.
6. Pour the soap/borax/soda mixture into a large container and slowly add the gallon of water to it.
7. Stir until the mixture is well mixed.
8. Let it sit overnight. It will "gel" together...kind of a custard-like consistency. I've also heard it described as "thick egg drop soup."
9. At this point add four drops of your PURE  Essential oil of choice
10. Stir or shake the soap each time you use it.
11. Use 1/4 cup for a front loading washer. Use 1/2 cup for a top loading washer.

Many people who use homemade soap in their washers also recommend using 1/4 cup of white vinegar in the place of the fabric softener. This not only helps soften your clothes, but helps clean out any residual soap scum from your clothes and washer.

Note: Some people have reported having trouble finding washing soda (sodium carbonate) in their city. You can leave it out of the recipe, but it really does help boost the cleaning powder of the soap. Good news though, there is a way to make your own washing soda out of regular baking soda (sodium bicarbonate).

II. Making Your own Washing Soda:

1. Preheat your oven to approximately 390° - 400° Fahrenheit. (200° C)
2. Pour a box (or a few cups) of baking soda (not baking powder) onto a baking sheet, and put it in the oven.
3. Bake the baking soda from 30-60 minutes. I've seen reports of people baking it as little as 30 minutes - and people baking it as long as 2 hours. It doesn't appear that over-baking it is a problem...so I'd recommend 45-60 minutes just to assure that the chemical reaction is completely complete.
4. After pulling the baking sheet out of the oven and letting it cool, store the washing soda in a clearly labeled airtight container. The washing soda can "convert" back into baking soda if it's exposed to air.