Post by Ashropshirelady on Jun 16, 2013 13:37:40 GMT
This washing powder is safe and effective—for you, for children, for sensitive skin, and for those with septic systems (although the jury is still out on cloth diapers…). Okay. I think that covers everyone.
Here’s what you’ll need:
1 bar of glycerin or castile soap (I like Dr. Bronner’s unscented or lavender scented)
1 cup washing soda
½ cup baking soda
½ cup citric acid
¼ cup coarse salt
¼ cup dried lavender flowers OR lavender essential oil (or both…)
A food processor (Seriously—if you don’t have one, borrow one; otherwise, you’ll be hand-grating soap for a few hours. Not that this is a bad thing. If that’s your only recourse, put on a good movie or some music and get grating).
Grate the soap. I usually do this by cutting it into chunks and feeding it directly into my food processor, letting the blade cut it up (I suppose you could also use the grater attachment thingy as well). Once the soap is finely grated, add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Make sure you let the powder settle before you take the lid from the food processor—otherwise you’ll be inhaling this stuff. It may be safe for washing, but you don’t want it in your lungs. Add essential oil to your own scent preference. Use one tablespoon per small load, two per large load. Cost per load? Anywhere from 5-10 cents.
Oh, and you’ll probably want to add a desiccant to your bucket-full of detergent. Try a few tablespoons of powdered clay in a small pouch or sock. Storing this in your detergent container will keep the powder from clumping as it absorbs moisture. Need to find a bucket with a lid for this project? I get mine from the café or bulk section of my local co-op—they usually get things like tahini and almond butter in bulk, leaving them with lots of handy bucket-and-lid combos.
Bonus: Air dry when you can, but if you are using a dryer, infuse a dry wash cloth with 30 drops of your favourite essential oil and toss this into the dryer with the clothes—definitely a better option than dryer sheets.
