Natural Washing Machine Mix

Toxic-free and cheap?!

I feel like I have been neglecting the ‘toxic-free’ section of my blog for quite some time now. Of course irl, I am becoming more toxic-free everyday. I remember reading this post months ago and instantly wanting to try it out because it’s significantly cheaper than other home-made detergents. It has taken about four goes to perfect this and deviating from the author’s instructions was a necessity in this case. I’ve lost the original set of photos I took which has delayed this post going out, but I can’t wait any longer!

I’ve been using this for months so I think my opinion is a valid one.

This is home-made au natural laundry detergent that packs a punch.

Cheap
This will last longer than shop-bought detergent.
It is much healthier for us (no skin irritations too) and it’s better for the washing machine. Sans chemicals.
You don’t need to buy laundry conditioner any more, just put this in with the clothes.

So the main ingredients are one vegetable soap and soda crystals.

800 ml of water (boil in a pan)
vegetable oil soap (unscented)
250 ml worth Washing Soda Crystals (I probably add a lot more. Make sure you use at least this amount).
essential oil(s)

Soda Crystals can be bought in many ‘saver’ shops inclusive of Asda, Home Bargains, etc. Expect to pay anywhere around 65p to £1.

Your best bet for the vegetable oil soap is Waitrose, funnily enough. Their own brand sells 4 for £1.66. A word of caution, it has to be vegetable soap. Don’t substitute for sunflower soap or any other variation. The vegetable oil soap (when made right) is actually better for the washing machine than other chemical detergents and keeps the internal plumbing in ship-shape condition. It may even make it last longer, Calgon!.

Essential oils can be picked up for £1. Home Bargains sell tea tree oil and eucalyptus oil. Wilkinsons sell lavender for around £1.50. Bulk buying online can also be cost-effective and much cheaper than places like Holland & Barrett.

L-R VANILLA, LAVANDER, TEA TREE, EUCALYPTUS & YLANG YLANG

What to do

Basically grate the whole of the vegetable soap. I always do this with a potato peeler, but the original instructions state you should do this over the pan of hot water & this is where I came unstuck the last three times. Before I’ve even had time to peel ¼ of the bar of soap, the grated soap has already congealed in the pan. Once this happens, it’s pretty much game over. I usually end up with a almost translucent, gloopy ball of waxy soap – not very washing machine friendly! Even after trying to save it with the much needed soda crystals to dry it out – well that makes it worse! The gooey consistency doesn’t absorb the crystals. This concoction can clog up the washing machine and leave clothes with weird greasy marks.

I can’t believe it took me so long to work out, but basically, I think it’s best to grate the bar of soap before adding it to the pan of boiling water.

Once the bar is completely grated (the thinner ‘slithers’ will dissolve easier) I then boil a pan of water and add small handfuls of the grated bar and stir with a wooden spoon. It will still congeal to a certain extent, but nothing like I previously mentioned. Don’t take too long otherwise the soap will burn on the pan.

After this step and here is the game changer moment – pour the soapy mixture into a sieve (obviously over a bowl or the same pan to catch it). If it’s really watery, let any excess water run into the sink. I found using a spoon the best option for squeezing the gloopy soap through. Do this sooner than later! Dried gloopy soap is a bitch to clean up.

Once this is done, add the soda crystals and mix together. Please don’t follow my instructions to a tee. Chances are you’ll need more soda crystals than what I’ve stated, so go and add more! If the consistency is really watery, add more crystals, don’t worry about measuring it. I don’t think you can ruin this by using too much soda crystals, at least it will break down well in the washing machine this way. Whereas if the consistency is more greasy, you’ll need more of the soda crystals or it will leave marks on clothes (it’s only vegetable soap so ironically it will wash off). Really mix it up so it looks like the consistency in my photos.

The original instructions also stated to add the essential oil to the batch. However, depending on your chosen fragrance, the smell will dissipate and you’ll have to top it up each wash. I like to add roughly 20 drops to each serving. Don’t scrimp on this step – washing without enough essential oil will just smell weird. If you’re not sure you’ve added enough, add more! 20 drops is more than enough for a strong smelling oil like lavender. Less powerful smelling oils like tea tree may need more drops, etc.

You don’t need much of this per serving either. About the amount I’ve shown on the fork in the photos will suffice. I store mine in a storage box.

Just add this to a container and pop it on top of the clothes, as per usual & that’s it!