120 Years Ago – Making Homemade Laundry Soap
During the course of my thrift shopping I came across a very old book laying on the shelf. It turned out to be a home reference manual written in the year 1902, a long time ago! I love history and I love ideas for the home so I decided to give this very old book a new home and I bought it. I’m now the proud owner of “The Home Cyclopedia of Practical Information”.
It’s been so interesting to look through this book. Things have changed greatly over the course of the last 120 years. And yet in much of the information given in this book, I’m still finding truths and wisdom that have helped people throughout the generations and in some fashion could still be applied today.
So here’s a little goodie I spotted in the “Household Utilities” section of this book in the “Laundry Work” section. It’s a quick little recipe for homemade laundry soap that sounds very much like what modern day bloggers are having so much fun discovering and writing about!
In this section giving information on how “To Wash Chenille Curtains”, we have some instructions to combine . . . “Two ounces ether sulphate, two ounces borax, two ounces soda, one cake ivory soap; shave soap and let dissolve in warm water.”
All these years later, and that’s amazingly close to some homemade laundry soaps I’ve made combining equal parts borax and washing soda with grated Ivory soap and dissolving in water! Currently I’m not using grated soap anymore and prefer my updated DIY laundry powder, but I did my share of grating soap in the past!
The other ingredient listed of ether sulphate is what we more often now call sodium lauryl ether sulphate which is still a commonly used surfactant and foaming agent used in shampoos and laundry soaps. I did note in my old book, however, there is a caution of “do not go near the fire as ether is a dangerous explosive.” Oh my goodness . . .
And finally, I spotted on the other side of this page in my old book, some helpful info for black thread stockings. Never use soap! No, instead make a suds of “a teacupful of bran inclosed in a muslin bag, thrown into warm water, and well stirred.” One should also be sure to “dry quickly near the fire, not in the air.” I guess for the socks, we’re allowed to go near the fire.
So yes, our great-grandmothers were combining their borax and washing soda and grated soap just like homemakers are rediscovering today. But I am indeed thankful that when it’s laundry day, I have no concerns when it comes to an open fire causing my ingredients to explode or looking for a place to hang socks. 🙂
I use this also but my whites are not bright they are dull I have added more borax but still no luck can u help tell me what to do? I also grade it fine and do not mix it with water, I use it dry flakes.
You should add Branch Basics Oxygen Boost. It’s kind of like Oxyclean but non-toxic with all those harmful stuff they put in Oxyclean. It works wonders to making my whites white. There are only two ingredients in their Oxygen Boost: Sodium Percarbonate and Sodium Bicarbonate. I’ve also soaked old shoes in a sink full of hot water and their Oxygen Boost for 24 hours and it does wonders! Shoes look brand new!
I do it “old school”, a little of this, a little of that. From my research, Borax is primarily a whitening agent, so I add it only to whites. Washing soda softens the water, which makes your soap or detergent work better. By the way, I have an old “washing machine”…the kind where you boil the water on the big pot, and run clothes through a manual crank ringer. I also have a nice modern front loader, but the old one is fun to play with occasionally!
I love old school things too and I would so be playing with an old washing machine once and awhile if I had one too. Thanks for the good tips on borax and washing soda as well!
I so wish I could find that book!!!! I would be in heaven 🙂
I’ve made my own laundry soap for years, my son is allergic to about every commercial one (even the natural ones) I gave up breaking my bank trying to find a detergent that didn’t cover him in hives and started making my own. I use fels naptha borax and washing soda and an old big bucket from cat litter that has the easy half open lid. I make it 2x a year for about $30 a bucketful. We’re a family of six and I love that we only spend $60 a year on laundry soap!!!