Laundry Gloop - Gloopy Thread !!!

sophlowe45

Callie22 wrote: »

Have you tried the stuff from Method? It's not mega-cheap, but it's often on offer in Sainsbury's and like any washing stuff, you don't necessarily need to use as much as recommended. There's also a try-me-free promotion on at the moment.

the washing liquid is down from 6 pounds to 4 pounds at the moment in waitrose and the method cleaning products are on 3 for 2.

ecover products are one third off.

online and in store but not on Ocado.

she_who_can_not_cook

What about this
http://www.food.com/recipe/laundry-detergent-powder-76779
THis is now sitting in a old slimfast tin and the measure(slimfast) makes a good measure just a bit over a tablespoon

mcculloch29

That is economical!
As it's an American site and from 2003, the borax recommended will probably be pure borax, and not the borax substitute that is used in the UK. USA borax is quite a powerful (and mildly toxic) product, borax substitute is NOT toxic .

Just a quick mention that with Christmas and toiletries gifts approaching, mini soaps that have been in the bathroom for some time and are past their best can be used up usefully when grated for gloop.

mcculloch29

Thought I would post up my Gloop Method from 18 months ago as it has served me very well.
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 large saucepan (stockpot is ideal)
1 wooden spoon
Jug
Bucket or similar v. large plastic storage container, pref. 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 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 borax substitute; it's made in the UK by a company called Dri Pak. They do mail order.

joedenise

Do you keep a grater specifically for grating the soap?

Denise

mcculloch29

No, it's actually quite a good way of getting my 51 year old grater clean! I do make sure I wash the grater in hot water and rinse well afterwards to dissolve any soap traces.

kippers

I make my laudry liquid with:

1 cup of soap flakes
½ cup Soda Crystals (also known as washing soda)
½ Cup Borax
1 ½ litres of water

I get approx. 71 washes out of it and i've worked out my laundry liquid costs me approximately £1.75 to make, which makes it a wonderful 2.5p per wash. I challenge the supermarkets to beat that!
It shows how to make it here (approx half way down the page):

http://notjustgreenfingers.wordpress.com/2012/09/21/new-allotment-paths-and-laundry-liquid/

Hope this helps someone.

newgirly

I wanted to pop in and say I've been using mr t 4x pack of lemon soap £1.37) and is smells really lemony , so I no longer need to use essential oils.

AmandaC9134

gibken wrote: »

Washed a machine load today with my home made detergent. It came out smelling really fresh and appears to have cleaned everything. I can't quite believe it's really this easy, i guess the test will be difficult stains.

Hi Gibken,

I would like to try your recipe for homemade laundry cleaner. Thank you for the recipe. How much did you use for each wash?

BitterAndTwisted

Depending on the recipe (and I CBA to find Gibken's) it's usually around 100ml/4 fluid ounces per full load.