Make your own washing powder!

Have you ever thought of making your own washing powder? We all want to do our bit for the environment but like me, you may find the $10+ costs for a container of ‘enviro friendly’ washing machine powder a bit prohibitive.

So, here’s what I tried…I got all the ‘ingredients’ from plain old Safeway supermarket. I always have good intentions to go to a local organic grocer or co-op but I work 9-5 like many and a 80 minute commute each way means I have limited access to organic type shops. Borax (sodium borate) seems to be a contentious ingredient . Some recipes mentioned Borax, others said, no, no it will kill your plants and garden worms. So I went without for this recipe. In general, I use borax for washing really smelly towels and sneakers as I’ve tried nothing else works as well. It can be added to your washing water but personally I limited it to grey water which goes on hardier non-edible pot plants.

I got my recipe from this wonderful blog Towards Sustainability.
Laundry powder

You need:

2 cups washing soda**:

4 cups grated pure soap (e.g. Sunlight soap) or Lux Flakes:

I also added some tea tree oil Mix all ingredients together well, and store in a plastic container with a lid. Use 2 tablespoons per wash.

* Borax is a naturally occurring mineral (sodium borate) but too much on your garden is toxic to plants and worms, so if you are going to use your grey water on your garden, leave out the Borax.

** Washing soda is the mineral sodium carbonate and in Australia is commonly known by the brand name “Lectric”. Lectric soda comes in crystal or powdered form - the powder is much easier to use as it dissolves in the wash water more quickly.

ta dah!