fels naptha soap

I wanted to make some liquid laundry so in this small town I cant find Fels naptha soap. Can I sub it for another soap. I tried the fabric softner on a wash cloth just love it. thank you

calkat, Here's a recipe that said you can use any type of soap.

Homemade Laundry Soap:

 

1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap (If you are using Ivory, grate it and use the whole bar.)

1/2 cup washing soda (not to be confused with baking soda)

1/2 cup Borax powder

 

You will also need a small bucket (2 gallons). Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups of water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the Borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use 1/4 to 1/2 cup per load.

 

imspecl (Budget Living Group forum)

 

This recipe is for a septic tank if you have one.

 

HOMEMADE LIQUID LAUNDRY DETERGENT
7 c. water
1 c. regular Dawn or Joy (1/2 cup ultra Dawn)liquid dishwashing soap
1 c. Borax
1 c. Baking Soda (I use this instead of washing soda and doesn't make a difference)

In a cleaned out liquid laundry detergent tub (or similar), combine the dish soap and water. Don't shake, but swirl around to combine. In another container (I use a cleaned out butter bowl), combine the borax and baking soda. For every large load, measure using the cap on the liquid soap or it measures out to about 1/2-3/4 cup of the liquid stuff. I swirl it around in the jug before each use to make sure it is still combined well. I pour into the wash and then add about 1/4 cup of the mixture of borax/baking soda.

For septic systems, bleach is really bad so for the whites I use about 1 cup of vinegar to help whiten the load. Then wash away! Hope this helps anyone with septic systems! The main thing is to not let phosphates in your system (which Dawn does not have in it).  I posted a while back about a homemade laundry detergent powder using flaked soap, but I have a septic system and after reading up on septic systems on the internet, they really don't like flaked soap that well-LOL. Lots of expensive damage can be done to the soap stopping it up. So, I did some more research and I've been using this for about the last month and it works great on the clothes (even gets out stains better than the powdered kind).   From: CountryCook_IA

 

WHERE TO FIND INGREDIENTS

Fels-Naptha® Laundry Soap Bar: Made by the Dial Soap Company, so any store that carries Dial should be able to get it for you. If they carry it, it will be found in the bar soap or laundry soap aisle at your regular supermarket. It is usually on the bottom shelf. If you can't find it in your area, try Ivory Soap instead.

Super Washing Soda: Washing Soda can be found on the laundry detergent aisle of your supermarket. It comes in a 55-ounce yellow box. Baking soda SHOULD NOT be used in place of washing soda. They are completely different products, although they are both made by Arm & Hammer.

Borax: One brand name is 20 Mule Team® Borax. It is also found on the laundry detergent aisle.

thanks for the replys there are useful for me.

I made the pwd version and love it.  Don't be put off by the strong smell of the soap, it kinds gets to you when you are grating it, there is only a "clean" smell to my laundry, which is good, because DD is very bothered by perfumes. 

Hint:  I grate the soap into a plastic baggie while I'm on the computer, as I have a slow dial up.

benchsitterNE:

Hint:  I grate the soap into a plastic baggie while I'm on the computer, as I have a slow dial up.

 

 

What a great use of time!!

 

Ask your grocer to order it for you. You may need to purchase several bars to make it worth his while to order it.

 

Baking Soda & Washing Soda are not the same. Washing Soda will help whiten the clothes, Baking soda is a leveling agent in cooking.

 

We have a septic system & I have used the powdered version of the fels naptha, borax & Washing soda. It has never caused us any problems & we've only had our septic pumped once in 30 years. 

 

You can get into problems when you use bleach & other antibacterial things that kill the good bacteria in the septic system.

I have the washing soda and borax. now all thats left is fels naptha. Going to a city today so I hope I can get it there. In the past when I couldnt get something I couldnt get anyone to special order. Thanks for all the great tips.