Making It: Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer World by Kelly Coyne, Erik Knutzen Page A
Authors: Kelly Coyne, Erik Knutzen
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used in other projects, like homemade deodorant and mouthwash.
To remove musty mildew smells from a room, wipe the walls with ½ cup borax diluted in a bucket of water.
Suitcases, camping gear, old trunks, and other objects that have developed mildew in storage can be either sprayed with the tea tree oil solution or wiped with the borax solution. Straight vinegar works well, too. If possible, put the items out in the sun.
25>
Laundry Day
The truth is there is no single universal recipe for homemade laundry detergent. Each household is unique. The variables include whether you have hard or soft water, what type of machine you have, and what kind of clothes you wash.
To create a homemade detergent that fits your needs, you must first understand the basic ingredients of homemade detergent and how they act. To start you off, we’ll give a basic recipe. If it doesn’t work as well as you hope, customize your blend. The rewards of taking an independent stance on laundry are worth it. You can say good-bye to obnoxious perfumes, phosphates, optical brighteners, and chlorine bleach—and you’ll save money, too.
THE PLAYERS AND HOW THEY WORK
SOAP
All store-bought laundry detergent is . . . detergent, not soap. What’s the difference? Soap is derived from animal or plant fats, while detergents are a more modern invention, usually based on petrochemicals, although some have been developed out of plant sources. Water alone actually cleans quite well, especially when combined with agitation, but when you are dealing with oily dirt, water needs assistance. Both soap and detergent work as emulsifiers, allowing water and oil to mix. Dirt in the fabric is agitated out during the washing process and swept away in the rinse water. Both soap and synthetic detergents facilitate this process, but in hard water, soap forms insoluble salts, aka soap scum. Detergents don’t form these salts, which is why commercial laundry products rinse clean in all types of water. They’ve replaced soap in the laundry for this very reason. However, unless detergents are formulated to be fully biodegradable and otherwise environmentally friendly, they are water pollutants.
Homemade laundry formulas are made with grated soap. Pregrated soap flakes used to be available in the laundry aisle, but they seem to have gone the way of the dinosaur, so you have to grate your own. Soaps with enough oil in them to moisturize skin are going to leave that oil on your laundry, so ordinary body bars are not good candidates for laundry soap. It’s easy to make your own inexpensive laundry soap; see the Coconut Laundry Soap recipe in Project 42.
There are two brands of soap that we know of made specifically for laundry: the somewhat sinisterly named Fels-Naptha and the cheerfully pink Zote. Both are inexpensive and yield very good results, but both contain dyes, perfumes, and other chemical additives. If you’re avoiding commercial laundry detergent to avoid chemical additives, you’d want to avoid these two products. The choice is up to you. Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds liquid is an all-natural, all-purpose detergent. While not formulated specifically for laundry, it would be a good green alternative to Fels-Naptha or Zote.
BORAX
Sodium tetraborate is found in the laundry section of supermarkets under the brand name 20 Mule Team Borax. Don’t confuse it with expensive pharmaceutical-grade borax or the boric acid powder used to kill bugs. Borax is marketed as a laundry booster, to be used in conjunction with your regular detergent. It enhances the performance of soap and detergent by softening hard water. It also helps deodorize laundry and acts as a mild color-safe bleach. Which is not to say it is a bleach, but it brightens laundry and helps lift stains, especially when used in warm or hot water.
WASHING SODA (SODIUM CARBONATE)
Not to be confused with its cousin, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), washing soda is a highly caustic cleaning agent. It cuts grease
To remove musty mildew smells from a room, wipe the walls with ½ cup borax diluted in a bucket of water.
Suitcases, camping gear, old trunks, and other objects that have developed mildew in storage can be either sprayed with the tea tree oil solution or wiped with the borax solution. Straight vinegar works well, too. If possible, put the items out in the sun.
25>
Laundry Day
The truth is there is no single universal recipe for homemade laundry detergent. Each household is unique. The variables include whether you have hard or soft water, what type of machine you have, and what kind of clothes you wash.
To create a homemade detergent that fits your needs, you must first understand the basic ingredients of homemade detergent and how they act. To start you off, we’ll give a basic recipe. If it doesn’t work as well as you hope, customize your blend. The rewards of taking an independent stance on laundry are worth it. You can say good-bye to obnoxious perfumes, phosphates, optical brighteners, and chlorine bleach—and you’ll save money, too.
THE PLAYERS AND HOW THEY WORK
SOAP
All store-bought laundry detergent is . . . detergent, not soap. What’s the difference? Soap is derived from animal or plant fats, while detergents are a more modern invention, usually based on petrochemicals, although some have been developed out of plant sources. Water alone actually cleans quite well, especially when combined with agitation, but when you are dealing with oily dirt, water needs assistance. Both soap and detergent work as emulsifiers, allowing water and oil to mix. Dirt in the fabric is agitated out during the washing process and swept away in the rinse water. Both soap and synthetic detergents facilitate this process, but in hard water, soap forms insoluble salts, aka soap scum. Detergents don’t form these salts, which is why commercial laundry products rinse clean in all types of water. They’ve replaced soap in the laundry for this very reason. However, unless detergents are formulated to be fully biodegradable and otherwise environmentally friendly, they are water pollutants.
Homemade laundry formulas are made with grated soap. Pregrated soap flakes used to be available in the laundry aisle, but they seem to have gone the way of the dinosaur, so you have to grate your own. Soaps with enough oil in them to moisturize skin are going to leave that oil on your laundry, so ordinary body bars are not good candidates for laundry soap. It’s easy to make your own inexpensive laundry soap; see the Coconut Laundry Soap recipe in Project 42.
There are two brands of soap that we know of made specifically for laundry: the somewhat sinisterly named Fels-Naptha and the cheerfully pink Zote. Both are inexpensive and yield very good results, but both contain dyes, perfumes, and other chemical additives. If you’re avoiding commercial laundry detergent to avoid chemical additives, you’d want to avoid these two products. The choice is up to you. Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds liquid is an all-natural, all-purpose detergent. While not formulated specifically for laundry, it would be a good green alternative to Fels-Naptha or Zote.
BORAX
Sodium tetraborate is found in the laundry section of supermarkets under the brand name 20 Mule Team Borax. Don’t confuse it with expensive pharmaceutical-grade borax or the boric acid powder used to kill bugs. Borax is marketed as a laundry booster, to be used in conjunction with your regular detergent. It enhances the performance of soap and detergent by softening hard water. It also helps deodorize laundry and acts as a mild color-safe bleach. Which is not to say it is a bleach, but it brightens laundry and helps lift stains, especially when used in warm or hot water.
WASHING SODA (SODIUM CARBONATE)
Not to be confused with its cousin, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), washing soda is a highly caustic cleaning agent. It cuts grease
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