Ma's Liquid Laundry Soap

From: Mami Janine

On Jul 9, 2009

I am really, really happy with the results. I too wasn't happy with the standard fels recipe, so I gave this one a try. So far, it has been very good at removing stains, who knew glycerin was a stain remover? I used local soaps that are very similar to those in the recipe and rosemary oil. Thank you very much for posting

From: Gramma Rox

On Jun 20, 2008

UPDATE: In the end, I stopped adding the water at all. Just ground everything up, spread it out to dry and used it that way. But I have an HE washer. The soap (probably overused it) caked up and my washer stopped emptying. The repairman told me I have to use the low suds soap labeled HE OR ELSE. Sniff. Any ideas? ORIGINAL: I love this soap! It does clean much better than the regular Fels recipe, but then it is much more concentrated (and therefore more money) as well. The only problem I had was that it separated into liquid and lumps the first time I made it. The problem is that when you are stirring it is hard to tell when it is dissolved. The second time I cooked it much longer before adding the borax and washing soda and cooked it after I added them as well - it still clumped. Things I did differently the second time: I used my turkey deep fryer outside and tripled the recipe. I first heated the six gallons of water and moved it off the heat. Using another kettle I added 3 qts of hot water to the shredded soap. Cooked, added extras, cooked some more and then added it all back into the fryer kettle. Worked great! I'm going to store the soap in clean kitty food buckets w/lids. I used homemade castile soap made with lard instead of kirks, which I can't find locally. At any rate, for six gallons of soap I spent less than $7 and it works as well as anything I've ever purchased. I do usually add vinegar as fabric softener to fully rinse it out and reduce buildup in the washer.

From: Three Kids Make Me Crazy

On May 28, 2008

I made this for my best friend who is an ironworker. He comes home from work on a daily basis caked in dirt, rust, and various fluids. After using this stuff he swore he'd never buy laundry soap again, as it does a better job even if he adds Clorox 2 to the store bought stuff. I'm getting ready to make it to replace the regular fels soap because I have two dirty little boys too! Thanks so much for an inexpensive alternative that doesn't put up with dirt!

From: dramamezzo

On Jan 30, 2007

Mine is seperating too, I thought I did it long enough but no dice. Can somebody give me approximate temperatures and exact cooking time for each step? Update, the second time I did it I didn't let the heat go as high and this time the whole solution gelled. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love them. I love the detergent it cleans great, the whitest whites I've ever had with nothing extra. So I would love to get this right.