We are careful about the cleaning products we use in the house as ammonia and bleaches should not be put through the Biocycle. There are plenty of environmentally friendly cleaning products on the market but they are expensive so I had a go at making my own laundry powder. We've used it about 4 times now and I have no complaints with how clean the clothes are. I also love that our clothes don't come out with that overpowering perfume smell that some commercial laundry powders have.
I researched many recipes and in the end combined a few together to come up with this.
Laundry Powder Recipe
- 6 Cups Washing Soda
- 3 Cakes Biome True Castile Soap (any castile or pure unscented soap is fine)
- 1 Cup Epsom Salts
- 1/2 Cup Bi Carb Soda
- A few drops of tea tree oil or any essential oil
I chopped the soap into small pieces and then put it all in my thermomix (food processor) and blended until it was the consistency of washing powder. Due to the little bit or oil and the waxy consistency of the soap it does form little balls within the powder. It looks very much like bought laundry powder.
The washing soda, bi carb and epsom salts are all very cheap ingredients. The Castile soap was $7.95 a cake so that made the powder more expensive than it needed to be but still not as expensive as bought laundry power.
I will source my castile soap from a different place next time. .
It left a bit of a waxy film in my thermomix but I just blended a lemon with a little water after I'd washed it and it came up shiny and clean just like a new one.
