Homemade Laundry Soap

[Miss Sue]

I’ve been making my own laundry soap for about 2 years. Yesterday my husband told me borax will kill trees, & I use it in my laundry soap. Is there a recipe without it?

I certainly don’t want to kill a tree or any grass, & so far I haven’t noticed any damage. I read it will build up poisons in the soil & eventually kill plants. We get very little rain & my washer drains into the backyard.

Any ideas?

Miss Sue

[BaconEater]

@Miss Sue 311897 wrote:

I’ve been making my own laundry soap for about 2 years. Yesterday my husband told me borax will kill trees, & I use it in my laundry soap. Is there a recipe without it?

I certainly don’t want to kill a tree or any grass, & so far I haven’t noticed any damage. I read it will build up poisons in the soil & eventually kill plants. We get very little rain & my washer drains into the backyard.

Any ideas?

Miss Sue

For Borax to have an effect on plants you would need high concentrations of it, about 1/2 cup per gallon of water. If you want an eco-friendly laundry detergent make the homemade laundry sauce recipe, it uses 1/2 c. borax per 128 Loads of laundry, so effectively, 1/120th of 1/2 cup borax.

Which is then diluted with GALLONS of water from washing/rinsing your laundry. Basically put, it’s not going to hurt anything at all.

[Jane]

@Miss Sue 311897 wrote:

I haven’t noticed any damage. I read it will build up poisons in the soil & eventually kill plants.

I would look at it this way, you can use vinegar to kill plants too, if you use it straight, but using it in your laundry doesn’t hurt the ground at all, nor the plants. While your husbands heart is in the right place, he’s incorrect. You said yourself, you’ve been using the soap for years without any problems, and more than likely the area where the water drains is more lush than the rest of your lawn.

I’d be more concerned about your shampoo & conditioner than your homemade laundry soap.

[FreebieQueen]

@BaconEater 318435 wrote:

For Borax to have an effect on plants you would need high concentrations of it, about 1/2 cup per gallon of water. If you want an eco-friendly laundry detergent make the homemade laundry sauce recipe, it uses 1/2 c. borax per 128 Loads of laundry, so effectively, 1/120th of 1/2 cup borax. Which is then diluted with GALLONS of water from washing/rinsing your laundry. Basically put, it’s not going to hurt anything at all.

Yes, BaconEater is right, the amount of borax in the laundry soap recipe won’t hurt anything at all. If you omit it from the recipe, it wont be nearly as effective at getting your clothing clean.

[Author]

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