Laundry Detergent for Sensitive Skin (Powdered)

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Heya everyone!

I thought I would quit thread jacking and put this here. I hope this helps you

that need it or know someone who has sensitive skin or wants to save a few

pennies.

You will need -

*Borax (found in your laundry aisle)

*Washing Soda (found in your laundry aisle)

*A bar of soap (we used something super hypoallergic like Ivory or 's

Baby Bar - we tried Irish Spring (just regular ol' Irish Spring) and it smelled

manly but worked - the creamier it is, the harder is will be to dissolved the

more scents or additives - the more like you are to break out).

*A little bit of baking soda

*A plastic container with a lid (we are using an old oatmeal container we washed

out).

*A tablespoon or baby formula scoop (which measures a tablespoon)

Ok. Here are the directions and tips for best practices of use.

- In your plastic container, add a little less than 1 cup of borax (just as

close as possible without going over) and about 1 cup of washing soda.

- You will need to shred a bar of soap (I did this manually with a regular

cheese shredder that had a med-fine plate for year until we were given a

handcranked grinder/shredder) - yes,I am crazy.

- I might add a tablespoon of baking soda to the mix and shake it/stir it some

more if I know my husband's clothing has been outdoors or someone has sweaty

clothing or if it's summer.

- The fun part. Once you've shredded the soap, add it to the borax and washing

soda mix. Stir like crazy for about 3-5 minutes (one radio song and don't use a

hand blender, I did that once and it went all over). With the container we use,

I shake it for a few minutes and we are good. The soap won't break down as much

as you'd think but it does get more powdery looking.

I used to bet my husband that I could do it quicker than him and he'd take over.

Is that bad?!

- Whenever you go to use it, give the container one or two good shakes to remix.

- You will only need a tablespoon's worth for a medium to large sized load. We

use cold/cold on our machine mostly, but it works with hot cycles too. WATCH

YOUR WATER and DONT OVERLOAD YOUR MACHINE- IF IN DOUBT, MORE WATER and/or LESS

LAUNDRY!

The only part of this that is a huge pain the butt is the shredding/grinding of

the soap. The mixing part is kind of fun.

My daughter has allergies and had bouts of bad eczema (I can never spell that

right) whenever she was little, little. She's grown out of a lot of it, but

she's still very sensitive and I cannot bring myself to buy Dreft whenever I can

make this.

We almost do a load or two of laundry a day (my daughter is almost two) and this

stuff does wonderfully for us and we don't have to refill but every 2.5-3

months. We use vinegar as a liquid fabric softener in a Downy Ball in the wash

cycle, using the lowest level.

I have recipes/tips for homemade dishwashing machine detergent too i you'd like

it. Super cheap as well and just as effective, and no grinding/shredding

needed.