Another Use for J&J Buddies Bars

[purplefdu]

(I think this is the right forum)

So I've been wanting to try making my own laundry soap for some time, mostly because it makes a slime like substance, is geeky and lets me do science in the kitchen. So I decided to see if the J&J bars would make a suitable gel, as some bars don't work based on their ingredients.
Laundry Soap Recipe:
1 bar J&J Buddies soap shaved into flakes
(food processor or vegetable peeler works well)
1/2 cup washing soda (not baking soda, found in laundry aisle)
1/4 cup 22 Mule Team Borax

Dissolve soap in 2 cups water in pan on stove, bring to boil and stir to ensure complete melting. Add 1 1/2 gallons very hot/boiling water to bucket and add hot soap mix. Stir well. Add the washing soda and stir well to completely dissolve. Add the Borax and stir well again to dissolve completely. Allow to cool (may take overnight). Use a wire whisk or emulsion (hand or stick) blender to mix into a decent gel texture. Its a whitish opaque color (normally a paler shade of what the bar soap looks like). Use one cup laundry soap per load.

You can use other bar soaps so long as they are really soaps and not beauty bars. Fels Naptha and Zote laundry soaps are commonly used in this recipe. The 2 gallon recipe uses 2.5oz, so adjust accordingly if you make more or less. Here;s what mine looked like:

[billig]

Looks like one of them will get mayo out of your clothes!
lol

[kdownie]

Cool!

Do you know about how many loads a batch of your recipe will do?

I've never made my own laundry soap, but I have lots of buddies bars to use up.

[purplefdu]

Assuming 2 gallons for my batch it would equal 32 loads at one cup per load. Its not a concentrated by any means, although I intend to play around with that, as well as making "tabs" of the dry stuff, like Tide used to sell.

Yeah the dry stuff is in Mayo jars. We have tons since we keep them for keeping dog treats handy without going too stale. Fit one batch perfectly though.

[ASweetHeart]

That's really cool. Reps!!!

[clarkestep]

I did this with the Fels Naptha, but my measurements were different. I used 2C each of the grated soap, Borax, and Washing Soda. I also used 2.5gal total of water. It seems to be working great. It's very low sudsing and I've heard can be used in a front loader, just use a little less. I have a top loader and use 3/4c for super, 1/2 for large, and 1/3 for small loads.

I have a question though for you. Mine separates and I have to shake it up each use. Also, the bubble stuff that floats to the top is not just slimy goo, but is like little solid pieces. I have to measure it into a strainer and then disolve it with hot water in the washer. Does yours do this? If not, I'd like to try it. I don't really care about the slimy goo, I just don't lke the clumps that I have to disolve as they won't disolve on their own in warm or cold water. Thanks!

[purplefdu]

Some of it has been separating, but if you shake the bottle its just fine. It all dissolves just fine in warm water. I used some last night to hand wash my saddle cover in the bucket I made it in. Haven't used it for washing yet as we've got half a bottle of All left.

[coupon91]

interesting use. thanks!

[purplefdu]

so here's a question for you fine gals: my mother-in-law suggested selling this at our local crafts fairs, whether in the premade wet or dry form or in a "do it yourself" kit. I was trying to determine what a good price would be for a quart or gallon of liquid soap or a box of dry or a kit would be. Any suggestions?

[frugalphoebe]

I make this too, just a smidgen different. I was actually getting ready to try the buddy soaps, so thanks for the heads up.
The way i make mine, is the grated soap boiled in 2c water, to 1/2 c each borax and washing soda. I boil my soap until it is melted, and then I add the borax and washing soda until it is dissovled. I tried it the other way, and it ended up much thinner than this way. This way seemed to stretch it much farther. I think I added almost 4 gallons of water in my bucket and then stirred in the soap mixture. One is sets (I usually make it sit overnight) it is very "gel-ly", and I only use 1/2 per load.
I've also thought of selling mine locally. I figured my cost was right around a penny a load. Iknow that when I priced commercial laundry detergent it was NO cheaper than .06 a load. So, personally I would say at least that. There are 16 c to a gallon. So 32 loads if you figure 1/2 cup load. Plus this is the size a lot of the commercial ones are now. That would actually be like $1.92. I would say, about $2.50, especially if you are doing the containers with it. Maybe a ziploc bag or something though.?