FYI for cloth diaper moms

mcgee · April 2011

You can make your own homemade laundry detergent, and it's safe for cloth diapers too!

Mix 1 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (I've found it at HEB before), 1/2 cup of Borax, and one bar of soap, grated. For extra brightening, add a 1/2 - 1 cup of OxyClean powder.

Most recipes I've seen recommend using a Fels-Naptha laundry soap bar, but I have not been able to find that locally yet, so I have been using an unscented bar of Dr. Bronner's soap. I know other families who use Ivory Soap. I grate it using a regular handheld cheese grater and then stir everything together. One tablespoon of detergent is all that's needed per load.

I have been using this on all of our laundry for weeks now, and I love it. It's super cheap. I had a bag of Rockin Green detergent for Alex's cloth diapers, but the other day I accidentally used my homemade detergent on the diapers instead. I found that I actually liked it better! After googling for a bit, I discovered that a lot of moms use the above recipe or other similar ones to wash cloth diapers. One mom recommended making a separate recipe for cloth diapers that is soap free and has equal parts borax, washing soda and oxyclean.

I hate having to make a special trip somewhere to buy expensive cloth diaper detergent, so this is the perfect solution for me, and it's totally worth the time involved to grate a bar of soap. I bought a resealable container to store my detergent. Homemade powder detergent will last ages.

Mainer-in-Texas · April 2011

Thanks for the tip! I think I am going to try that. Do you know if you need to use less for an HE washer? I currently use two heaping Tbsp of Rockin Green.

Sinafey · April 2011

There's also a liquid version of this recipe that you can add essential oils to if you prefer scented detergent. The directions are here: https://www.mommamuse.com/2010/02/17/how-to-make-homemade-liquid-laundry-soap/ (Sorry no clicky, on a Mac w/ Chrome right now)

Kristen&Doyle · April 2011

The recipe I have says it's ok to use bar soap in regular laundry, but not for cloth diapers. Just use the oxy clean.

Kim777 · April 2011

Let me know if you want to try the Fels Naptha. I can get it in Fburg. It is really fantastic for treating stains too.

2H2L · April 2011

I use this recipe and the vegetable based bar soap that heb sells-works great!

Taytee · April 2011

Kim777:
Let me know if you want to try the Fels Naptha. I can get it in Fburg. It is really fantastic for treating stains too.

You have to be careful about applying it directly though. I've had it eat through fabric after a few washes where it was applied. Not sure if it was the time it spent on the item or the fabric itself but... yeah. Happened to m_and_m too.

felinity · April 2011

I saw Fels-Naptha laundry soap bars at Zinger's Hardware Store on Anderson Lane at some point. You might call there, if you want to find the real thing locally.

Kim777 · April 2011

Taytee:
Kim777:
Let me know if you want to try the Fels Naptha. I can get it in Fburg. It is really fantastic for treating stains too.

You have to be careful about applying it directly though. I've had it eat through fabric after a few washes where it was applied. Not sure if it was the time it spent on the item or the fabric itself but... yeah. Happened to m_and_m too.

Wow, that is crazy! My mom has used it since we were kids so I have used it for ages too and never had issues. I don't leave it on there at all, though. I just apply it, scrub, rinse it out and toss the clothing in the washing machine. I love it because even if the stain is still there after scrubbing it is often gone when it comes out of the machine. Good to know I should probably keep washing it right out!

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