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Frugal living: homemade laundry detergent, cleaners
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| By: Anita Zimmerman |
March 25, 2009 |
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One box of Borax is $4.75, a box of washing soda is $2.97, and one bar of laundry soap is $1.17 at Kirkwood’s Market in Chetek. The cost of making one batch of Joy Humphrey’s laundry detergent is $2.03 for four gallons, or just under $ .13 per load.
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Laundry detergent probably isn't on the forefront of anyone's mind, unless you consider the cost of buying Tide or Era versus the savings of making your own.
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Joy Humphrey and husband Irvin own Triple HHH Equestrian Center in Hillsdale. Needless to say, they do a lot of laundry.
Humphrey's sister in Tennessee sent her a recipe for homemade laundry detergent. When she realized she could wash a load of clothes for about five cents-and ranch-soiled laundry came out fresh and clean-she began passing around the recipe. Now everyone at her church is following suit.
Washing powder soda, widely available in the South, isn't generally sold around here, Humphrey says. She called local grocery stores to request the product, and Kirkwood's Market in Chetek agreed to stock it.
Humphrey sent the recipe to Alert staff because she "just wanted to share the recipe to help others," she says. "Personally, I would be interested in other folks' cost-saving ideas."
Laundry detergent
1 bar soap, any brand
1 cup washing powder soda
1/2 cup Borax
Need:
1 five-gallon pail with lid
Directions:
Grate bar of soap. Dissolve in four cups of boiling water. Fill pail with three gallons of hot tap water, add Borax and washing powder soda. Stir until completely dissolved.
Add soap/water mixture to pail, stir until well mixed (Humphrey uses a broom handle) and cover. Detergent will jell overnight. Use one cup for a large load of laundry. The type of soap used determines the scent.
More tips
For families on tight budgets, those who've lost their jobs or those who are earth-conscious, homemade cleaners are cheap to use and easy to make. They're also safer. Unlisted ingredients in some commercially made products can be dangerous; one example, the 2-butoxyethanol in popular cleaners, is carcinogenic, absorbed through the skin and can affect the kidneys and reproductive system. Manufacturers are not required to list it on product labels.
Other suggestions from Web sites and bloggers:
* Laundry softener: use vinegar. It also removes residue from washing machines.
* Unclogging drains: Pour 3/4 cup of baking soda into the drain, add 1/2 cup of vinegar, and cover drain with a rag or plug. Wait 30 minutes, then slowly pour a teapot of boiling water down the drain.
* Carpet freshener: instead of throwing away old boxes of baking soda, sprinkle soda on carpet and leave overnight, then vacuum off.
* All-purpose cleaner: 1/4 cup baking soda, 1 cup ammonia, 1/2 cup vinegar, 1 gallon warm water.
* Glass cleaner: 1/2 cup vinegar, 1 gallon warm water.
* Oven cleaner: leave a shallow dish of ammonia in the (cold) oven overnight. Wipe out in morning.
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©The Chetek Alert 2009
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Charles Osteen |
Mar, 26 2009 |
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All but one of those tips are GREAT!
NEVER use carpet fresheners OR Baking soda on carpet as it will leave the carpet nice and fresh it stops up filters and bags in vacuum cleaners!
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