From there, add a cup of borax and a cup of washing soda—fairly similar to baking soda, washing soda is a grainy powder that helps to deeply clean soiled fabrics and laundry. Stir your borax and washing soda mixture thoroughly for five minutes. Use one tablespoon per regular load or two for heavily soiled clothes.
Note: While baking soda, washing soda, and borax are all different, they are safe to combine. In fact, I use all three in the recipe for my favorite homemade laundry detergent, along with Fels-Naptha bar laundry soap.
It's an alkaline substance that can be used for general household cleaning, and even for the laundry. However, it doesn't clean clothes perfectly, so using laundry detergents is always recommended for the best results.
Use Laundry Borax or Baking Soda
If you have no detergent at all, use one cup of borax or baking soda for a normal load. The clothing will be cleaner than you imagine thanks to the action of the cleaning agents, water, and the agitation from the washer.
Use a Spot Stain Remover for Washable Clothes
Mix one tablespoon of borax with two tablespoons of water. Spread the paste on the stained area of the garment. Let it work for at least 30 minutes before washing as usual.
Borax is most effective in hotter water, while washing soda is perfect for any temperature. When thinking about doing your own laundry detergent, consider that Borax is perfectly fine, but if you're having trouble getting things really clean then replacing borax with washing soda might be the way to go.
Pour ½ cup of borax powder to every gallon you used. Stir to agitate the borax and dissolve it. Soak your clothes for 30 minutes. Transfer clothes to your washing machine and wash them like normal.
Use borax as a DIY laundry detergent by following Julia's method: Use a food processor to shred 1 bar of Dr. Bronner's Castile soap into a fine powder. Using a spoon, mix together 1 cup of borax and 1 cup of washing soda. Add 1 tablespoon to a load of laundry.
Adding up to 1/2 cup* of borax to every load of laundry—whites and colorfast items (check labels)—will do all kinds of wonderful things to keep your white things white, your laundry, and your washing machine odor-free. *The amount of borax depends on the hardness of your water.
For an added boost of cleaning power, if you have it, you can add a cup of baking soda, washing soda, or sodium sesquicarbonate to the drum before adding clothes. Baking soda in particular is very effective in the laundry room.
1 Washing soda and baking soda can be used together in DIY detergent recipes to remove stains, but washing soda has more of a stripping action to remove residues of oils, minerals, and fabric softeners.
Combine two cups of borax, two cups of washing soda, and one cup of soap flakes. Stir well with a wooden spoon to mix and promptly seal the container. Be sure to add a label and directions on how to use the detergent.
First, make sure to keep it away from children's reach. Second, avoid using it as a cosmetic product and handle it with care at all times. This usually means wearing a mask and gloves when using it. Finally, do NOT mix Borax with any boric acid products, such as pesticides.
While the National Library of Medicine (NLM) classifies borax as being noncarcinogenic, it does pose some risks, including: skin, eye, and respiratory irritation. digestive problems. infertility.
Yes, your whites are going to be extra white, fresh and soft. This is because the water in borax converts water into hydrogen peroxide, a natural whitening agent. No more will your white clothing have that horrible grey tone to them, and no more will you have to rely on bleach to whiten your clothes.
Unlike bleach, borax is safe to use on colored fabrics without fear of dye removal or other damage. This general rule applies whether borax is used as a laundry booster in the washing machine, as part of a pre-soak solution, as a spot treatment for stains or as an ingredient in homemade laundry detergent.
Oxiclean powder is essentially washing soda with sodium percarbonate, which turns into hydrogen peroxide. It's color safe and works great to get rid of stains and keeps whites white and colors bright. It's also much safer / less toxic than Borax. Borax works well too, helps get rid of stains, and whitens clothes.
The general ratio for the laundry stripping recipe is 2 parts powdered detergent, 1 part Borax and 1 part washing soda. For most laundry stripping in standard size tubs, follow this recipe: ¼ cup ARM & HAMMER Super Washing Soda. ¼ cup Borax.
Increases the Stain-Removal Ability of Your Detergent: Pre-soak your laundry for 30 minutes in a solution of one tablespoon of borax per gallon of warm water or add 1/2 cup of borax to a pre-soak cycle. The alkaline pH of borax helps to break down acidic stains, such as tomato or mustard.
Borax can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea if you ingest it by itself, and large amounts can lead to shock and kidney failure. It's banned in U.S. food products. It also can irritate your skin and eyes, and it can hurt your nose, throat, and lungs if you breathe it in.
If your toughest clothing odor concern is cooking grease, turn to the trick that those in food service use: borax. Simply add half a cup of this odor eliminating powder in with your regular detergent to beat stubborn odors.