Laundry Bombs

Doesn't that sound a little bit scary?! Laundry Bombs! 

Well I decided to make my own laundry detergent, and they are called laundry bombs.  I have been wanting to try this for a while, but all the recipes I found were kind of "boring" and didn't really sound like they were going to be that great.  I wanted something cool, extra-ordinary, etc.  I didn't just want to mix borax, washing soda, and oxi-clean.  That's what I use for cloth diapers to make sure they don't get clogged with detergent.  And people say that concoction isn't quite good enough for your clothes.

So when I came across this pin on Pinterest, I had to try it because it was exactly what I was looking for!

The blog that I originally got this off of was a small recipe and only made 28 bombs.  My theory is I might as well make someting if I'm going to make something.  In other words, I'd rather make a lot of something once than a little of something a lot of different times!  

Since I had plenty of everything else, I decided to grate up the whole bar of Fels-Naptha soap and then multiply my recipe by that amount.  I ended up getting a little over 2 cups, and since the original recipe said 1/2 cup is needed. I made a quadruple batch.  

Here's what you need to make about 80-85 laundry bombs.  

1 bar Fels-Naptha laundry booster - grated

6 cups washing soda

8 tbsp epsom salt

12 tbsp hydrogen peroxide

1 cup vingear

80 drops essential oil or about 3 tbsp water

Grater

Mixing Bowl

Tablespoon

Spray Bottle filled with half water and half vinegar

Air Tight Container 

Wax Paper

Pans 

First grate up the Fels-Naptha bar soap.  I went and bought a little grater at the dollar store because the thought of using my food grater just kinda weird-ed me out! 

Then add in the washing soda and epsom salts and mix around.

Fels-Naptha is a laundry bar soap that does a great job of attacking stains and cleaning your laundry. The boost of washing soda softens water while washing clothes. And the Epsom salts cut down on static cling and also soften fabrics once clothes hit the dryer.

Now mix in the hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, and essential oil. 

The hydrogen peroxide naturally whitens clothes and leaves your colors bright.  Vinegar breaks through stains and odors and leaves your clothes soft.  The essential oil is for giving your laundry your own unique scent.  

I personally did not add essential oil.  My husband isn't a huge fan of "smelly" laundry, and I figured the Fels-Naptha had a scent all it's own.  This first batch I just added some extra water to replace the liquid of the oil.  I want to test it out and see what the clothes smell like first.  I did buy some clean linen oil that I might try out sometime and just use it when I wash my clothes.

Line a couple baking sheets with waxed paper to let the bombs dry on. 

After everything is all mixed together, scoop out the mixture with the tablespoon.  Press it on the side of the bowl and then tap on a baking sheet to get it out of the pan.  I will say this is easier said than done! :) I think I figured out the secret by the end and it is to really pack the mix into the spoon.  I pushed it in with my palm and then tapped it out.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't totally come out.  I just scraped the rest out of the spoon with my finger and put it in the lump.  

After they are all scooped out, spray the bombs with a mixture of half water and half vinegar.  You want to spray them pretty good so they set nice and hard.  I used about half of the spray bottle as pictured below.  

Let them dry for about 8 hours, then put them into an air tight container.  

Use one bomb for small/not heavily soiled loads.  And use two bombs for bigger/dirty loads. 

I haven't tried these little bombs yet, but I will be doing laundry in the next few days and I will report back how they worked.  

I also figured out prices... which are probably a little high, but it turns out to be a pretty cheap way to do laundry! :) 

Fels-Naptha bar - $0.97

Washing Soda - $2.00

Epsom Salt - $0.20

Vinegar - $0.19

Hydrogen Peroxide - $0.48

Total Spent for 83 Bombs = $3.84

I use All Free and Clear and it comes out to about 10-15 cents per load depending on where I get it and if it's on sale.  

This detergent comes out to 7-8 cents per load.  (I used 50 loads because I know I will need to use two sometimes.) And like I said, I might be using a higher price than I actually paid.  

I am hoping these little bombs make an explosion in my laundry and clean my clothes super well!

That's all for now!  Be watching for an update! :) 

Cassandra

Check out my review of laundry bombs to see how well they worked!

http://cassandrarodgers.blogspot.com/2014/01/update-on-laundry-bombs.html

Here is the original site I got the recipe from:

http://www.savvysugar.com/All--One-Laundry-Bombs-31354476