I have sent this receipe out before, but I'd like to do it again for your laundry. This is also septic safe, keeps your hoses clear from soap build up and best of all costs less than $5 for two gallons of laundry soap. I'll be putting a class together as this is easy to make.

Before I give you the recipe remember the results may also be based on the type of water you have too. I had tried all the online recipes and my mother kept saying that my husband's under garments were all gray and dingy and I don't like to use bleach, but she does. I finally gave up as I told her that all the other shirts came out nice and white and smelled great.

I had a friend over who for some reason was telling me about these garments that they were made with a gray material and when you washed them with bleach, the bleach would wash out the white dye and they would go back to being gray. She said that there was even a flyer that mentioned this for washing instructions.

So, I am sticking with this recipe:

1/2 bar of white Zote, Fels Naptha, Ivory or a hard water Castile soap - grated (I use a cheese grater)
1 cup of Super Washing Soda (this is a baking soda that was processed at a high temperature)
1/2 cup of regular baking soda (you can substitute with Borax)

I heat up 1/4 gallon of purified water in a stainless steel pot (not a rolling boil) then I add my grated soap and stir with a wooden spoon until dissolved. I then add the Super Soda and Baking Soda and stir well until dissolved.

I put it in a bucket large enough to accomodate two gallons. Then I warm up another 1/4 gallon of water and using my stick blender I mix all the ingredients (or you can use your large spoon). Then I add the remainder 1/2 gallon of water without heating it up.

I take about 1/4 tsp of a scent made for soaps (optional) and blend well or about 5 drops of essential oil. Let sit for 24 hours. It will gel up rather thick. Then I take my blender stick and stir it up again. Then it is ready to use. I use about 1/4 cup per full load. I add a Downey ball, filled to the line with white distilled vinegar and add 1-3 drops of another essential oil depending if I am wanting to kill mites from sheets, etc. (Eucalyptus, Lavendar or a Juniper) and throw it into the wash. ***I never use bleach as vinegar and bleach mixed together is toxic.***

Enjoy!
(The disinfectant properties of vinegar have been verified by numerous studies including those conducted by the Good Housekeeping Institute, as reported on 48 hours (on CBS) in 2000. A straight 5% solution of vinegar kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of viruses, however in the USA, Heinz can't claim on their packaging that vinegar is a disinfectant since the company has not registered it as a pesticide with the Environmental Protection Agency. However, it seems to be common knowledge in the industry that vinegar is powerfully antibacterial. Even the CBS news show “48 Hours” had a special years ago with Heloise reporting on tests from The Good Housekeeping Institute that showed this. - http://www.natural-healthy-home-cleaning-tips.com/vinegar_baking_soda_cleaning_recipes.htm)