Cold Laundry Soap

It's time once again for me to make a batch of some laundry soap. Its maybe lots more work than most are wanting to do for just laundry soap, but I love how the clothes smell and how clean they come with it. The soap making part is the easy part, the grating is the hard part. I like to grate it into a fine powder. You have to let the soap cure for at least 3 weeks before you can grate it. So at least its not a all day job. You do it in bits.

Below, is my post about making laundry soap from March 08

Making soap can be dangerous. You use lye which is caustic. Follow the directions carefully and use safety precautions. You might want to read my other soap making posts for additional information on the procedure. Never make soap with small children around and make it in a well ventilated area. Lye can burn the skin and the fumes are nasty ! USE LYE SAFETY ! Rubber gloves and goggles are recommended
This is a simple recipe for Cold Laundry Soap that works wonderfully. However Melissa might have a story or two about the hazards of grating the soap, as fingers and knuckles often get in the way ! Melissa was always the laundry soap grater person in our family and did a wonderful job but I don't think it was a job she was anxious for.
Cold Laundry Soap
2 quarts strained rendered beef fat. I prefer to use the fat around the kidneys as its harder and whiter
1 can lye (14-16 oz)

1 quart water
1/2 cup ammonia
2 Tablespoons borax dissolved in 1/2 cup water.


Combine the lye and water in a glass jar.... it will heat up fast so be careful
Stir until dissolved. Cool the lye water solution to 98 degrees. I do that by putting the jar in a sink filled with cold water and ice.
Cool the melted beef fat to 98 degrees also
Add the lye water into the beef fat and stir well. Add the ammonia and the borax and continue to stir until it is as thick as honey.
Pour into wooden mold or a glass baking pan that has been coated with a light coating Vaseline.
I usually cut into bars after 24 hours, let harden in a dry place.Grate and use after 3 weeks time.
below are links to past posts about soap making, with other recipes for soap. Please read the cautions about soap making in these posts
Soap Making Day
More Soap Talk

Comments

mikesgirl said…
Hi Patty - I make my own laundry detergent, but it is liquid/gel. It requires that you grate up a bar of soap and I would love to be able to use my own bar soap in it, but I have two questions. First, where do you get the rendered beef fat? And, when I've wanted to make soap in the past, I haven't been able to find lye - the stores around here don't sell it anymore. Where do you get yours? Thanks so much - really enjoy your blog, Sherri
Patty said…
Hi Sherri,
I get my beef fat at the butcher shop and have them put it through the larger meat grinder, it melts better that way and for the lye thing, that is a more difficult situation due to illegal drugs being made with lye. I have found it in two hardware stores and when I see it, I buy lots of it, fortunatly the store keepers know me and don't wonder what I am going to be doing with it.
Heart 4 My Home said…
I remember when I was a small child my Mom would tell us that the senior lady neighbor would wash with lye soap. I never knew anything of what she really meant. Maybe now I do thanks to this post.

I have thought at times about making laundry soap but I want to ask, if I may, how cost effective is it?

When you grate the soap, I assume you use a regular cheese grater. Is that right? Do you keep one grater separate just for this reason so it doesn't get into your foods?

How do you measure how much to use in a regular wash load?

When asking for beef fat, is that exactly what I tell the butcher "I need beef fat?" On average what does one charge for beef fat? I am just curious. (I realize it will be different where ever one goes.)

How long does a batch of soap normally last you? How many loads can you wash out of one recipe?
Patty said…
Hi Heart 4 my home,
to answer some of your questions. The cost of making the soap is not much, a can of lye, part of a box of borax and the beef fat I get free or nearly free. So I know its under $10 for a good size batch. When cut into soap its about 30 bars.
I use my grater for food too, since I wash dishes with lye soap ! The lye is not active after 3 weeks.
I use less per load of wash than a standard laundry powder scoop. Depends on your water type I am sure. It doesn't always work well in cold water, the soap doesn't melt all that well.
I never count to see how many loads I get out of a batch. To be honest I don't make it for the cost element, but more for the fact I know what I am using, I could with good conscious use my laundry gray water. I like how clean my clothes come out and keeping a bar handy to rub on stubborn stains is as good as any spray stain remover. I can make it scented the way I like too.

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