Laundry Gloop - Gloopy Thread !!!

Kevie192

Nope, no borax. Just 4 litres water, 1 bar soap and 1 cup washing soda.

goodlife_wannabes

No bubbles is fine, sometime I use borax sometime not. I don't get bubbles, borax seems to brighten your clothes more

flippin36

I thought I would bump this thread as I was bored last night so gave it a go.... so pleased with the results. Wasn't expecting it to be up to much to be honest but I have inspected every item and everything looks and smells clean. I used plenty of essential oils but to be honest I shouldn't have bothered as my washing didn't smell of anything - perhaps a hint of soap?

I also cleaned my bathroom with it as I had run out of cleaner. It cleaned everything perfectly, taps and tiles are gleaming. I'm thinking of tweeking it by adding some disinfectant or thin bleach to the concoction for use in the bathroom.

mcculloch29

I put together this recipe / method from various threads and websites and thought I would add it as it really worked well. Some of the recipes and methods on the Net are so poorly written (not those here!) that they are really difficult to decipher.

Laundry Gloop

Equipment req.

1 v. large saucepan (stockpot is ideal)
1 wooden spoon
Jug
Bucket or similar v. large plastic storage container with lid.

For the gloop:

1 bar of ordinary soap, finely grated (c. 100g in weight if you are wanting to grate up unloved mini soaps that have sat in the bathroom for years.)
8 oz (250 g) washing soda
8oz (250g) borax or borax substitute (not essential but stops gloop from foaming and acts as deodoriser)
9 litres hot water.
A few drops of essential oils (not necessary, but adds a bit of scent)

Method.

Grate the soap as finely as you can. Old, hard soaps seem to grate the best.
Put grated soap in the large pan and add one and a half litres of boiling water. Bring this to a simmer on the stove and stir until dissolved. When the soap has dissolved, add the washing soda and borax together and stir until this is fully dissolved.

Remove the pan from the heat and allow this to cool SLIGHTLY then pour into a bucket or other large receptacle, pref. one with a lid.

Add up to 8 litres of hot water, pop lid on and allow to set in a cool place.

Mine took about eight hours to set.
When set, it will look like blancmange.
To use:
Add a small cupful directly to the DRUM of your washing machine (not the dosing drawer) with the laundry.
If you have v.smelly laundry you may wish to add a scoop of Oxy -clean type granules to the dosing drawer.
Each washload will cost me about 2p, I calculated. It would have been 1p if I hadn't used the borax.
The borax is actually borax substitute - there's no need to order this from the States, it's made in the UK by a company called Dri Pak. They do mail order.

septemberblues

mcculloch29 wrote: »

I put together this recipe / method from various threads and websites and thought I would add it as it really worked well. Some of the recipes and methods on the Net are so poorly written (not those here!) that they are really difficult to decipher.

Funnily enough I was just thinking about making laundry gloop, and there was your recipe, so I'm deffo going to try this

What kind of thing do you put the finished gloop in? Ive got a bucket for floor washing but no lid.

JayJay14

I've been using gloop for the last year and wouldn't want to go back to commercial powders ect.

I use a very similar recipe but I have never used borax just soap (I use asda smartprice) and about 6 litres of water. Mccullochs recipe will be less 'gloopy' than mine and would probably work in 4 or 5 old 2 litre milk canisters. (I keep mine in the costco wash powder bucket I had just finished when I started on the gloop).

A pack of 3 sp soaps and a bag of soda is about £1.20 and lasts me about 6 months.

I would say though that if you are washing darks you may need to programme an extra rinse, I have to do that sometimes as I can get white soapy marks, it would depend on your machine.

I do use a scoop of poundshop oxy stuff in a whites wash and it also stops any funny whifs in the machine (when I used powder it used to smell like I'd boiled cabbages in it)

BitterAndTwisted

septemberblues wrote: »

What kind of thing do you put the finished gloop in? Ive got a bucket for floor washing but no lid.

I wouldn't store it in a bucket with no lid, for obvious reasons. I decanted mine into a load of rinsed-out 4-pint plastic milk containers.

flippin36

I washed and scrubbed thoroughly a bucket that emulsion paint came in.

septemberblues

flippin36 wrote: »

I washed and scrubbed thoroughly a bucket that emulsion paint came in.

Aha, I think I may have one of these hanging around

Sad I know but I am so looking forward to making my laundry gloop, is there a recipe for washing up liquid gloop somewhere?

mcculloch29

Washing up liquid gloop? Can't help there, I'm afraid! But I do use a spoonful of washing soda when washing up to act as a de-greasant. I've a feeling that would probably enable me to use a much cheaper product, but I usually get Aldi's Magnum washing up liquid or Fairy with coupons / from pound shop.
I know what you mean about being excited about making your own laundry gloop. It is such a substantial saving that I don't think it's sad at all.