When I started noticing my skin becoming very dry, due to perimenopause, I had to look everywhere for the irritants. One of the areas was my household cleaning products. Itchy, dry skin can be caused by contact dermatitis. There are many known causes including chemical and manufactured products. Cleaning supplies are often a cause of some forms of allergic reactions.
I promised you some cleaning ideas. Here is one in my repertoire. This homemade laundry detergent helped me when my skin was very irritated. You can find the ingredients in most supermarkets but sometimes washing soda (not baking soda) is hard to find. You can find it here if it is not available locally. Washing soda is a more potent (higher alkalinity) version of baking soda that softens water making it easier to remove soil and stains. It can be used in other household cleaning applications.
I prefer Zote soap for my laundry detergent. I find the bars easier to grate than Fels Naptha, which I prefer to use to scrub specific stains prior to washing. Zote is also sold in a flake form that you can just add to your detergent mix. Decide for yourself.
To simplify the decision Amazon sells the kit to the right. It has all the ingredients you need to start to make your DIY laundry detergent.
Homemade Laundry Detergent
Ingredients
- 2 parts Borax – detergent aisle
- 1.5 parts Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda – laundry detergent aisle
- 1.5 parts OxyClean
- 1 parts Zote Soap (or Fels Naptha) – laundry detergent aisle
- 2 parts Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
Directions
- Grate zote soap with cheese grater or food processor.
- Mix all ingredients together in a large bucket.
- Use 2 -4 Tablespoons per laundry load.
