Borax

bernyh

I am pretty sure this isn't the right place to be posting this, but I am thinking about making my own washing powder/dishwasher powder.

I am looking for borax and washing soda would anyone know where to buy this? Not in small boxes but in a decent quantity.

Thanks a mill

Ayla

I make my own laundry soap, and buy a small container of borax from my local chemist. Since my recipe needs only 1/2 cup of borax for about 140 loads, this small quantity of borax suits me fine.

I buy my washing crystals from Asda - I get a kilo for about 90p. Again, I don't need much, so this quantity lasts a *long* time.

I have not been able to source soap flakes anywhere, so I grate a cheap bar of standard body soap & it seems to do the trick.

Good luck - it's amazing how much money you can save for such a simple thing to do!

Ophiopogon

I've been trying to source washing soda too, have checked supermarkets and health shops and can't find it anywhere.

Also, trying to find castile soap, and where to bulk buy baking soda and vinegar.

Ayla

I get big quantities of vinegar & bread soda from my local cash & carry that serves the public.

I think if you're looking for something called washing soda you're going to have a hard time. Try looking for washing crystals in the hard-core cleaning section of the supermarket (ie: the shelf where they sell the floor cleaners/descalers/furniture polish/etc). When I get home I'll look up the brand name (they have a website) of the crystals I get.

Also, if you do searches for pool cleaning equipment you can find comps which sell chemicals like this at quantity to the public.

Ophiopogon

Thanks I think crystals and soda is the same thing as far as I know, as in sodium carbonate. I just know it as soda so that's what I call it. I've looked in tesco we don't have asda in the republic I think.

Anyone know of a public cash and carry near dublin/wicklow, I was under the impression they were all wholesale?

Ayla

You're right, soda & crystals are the same thing, but since I've found mine under the name of soda crystals it may help you to do your searches under this name.

Dri Pack do my crystals (www.dri-pack.co.uk), and I think if you go on their site there is the possibility of buying online (or finding retailers in your area). They also sell Borax.

Otherwise, I know in my online searches I looked for "sodium caronate decahydrate" and found some (ie: the pool cleaning suppliers, etc).

There are not any Asdas in the Republic (the luck of living 5mins from the border ) but crystals can be found here with enough persistance & googling. Good luck!

Hoof_Hearted

Thanks for the useful information here. Just wondering if the detergent is ok to use in a closed machine, if it's not too frothy? I used a too soapy detergent before and it fouled up the washing machine.
I've been using soda/crystals for years, a teaspoon in the wash with half the amount of detergent works great (it's great for greasy pans and cookers too). I get mine in dunnes and tesco.

Ayla

If you're directing that question re: frothy detergent to me, I can confirm that the laundry detergent I make has no suds at all. In fact, it's the artificial additives that make detergent frothy, so by doing the natural recipes you get rid of froth altogether. Hope that helps.

crowed23

bernyh wrote: »

I am pretty sure this isn't the right place to be posting this, but I am thinking about making my own washing powder/dishwasher powder.

I am looking for borax and washing soda would anyone know where to buy this? Not in small boxes but in a decent quantity.

Thanks a mill

Ayla wrote: »

I make my own laundry soap, and buy a small container of borax from my local chemist. Since my recipe needs only 1/2 cup of borax for about 140 loads, this small quantity of borax suits me fine.

I buy my washing crystals from Asda - I get a kilo for about 90p. Again, I don't need much, so this quantity lasts a *long* time.

I have not been able to source soap flakes anywhere, so I grate a cheap bar of standard body soap & it seems to do the trick.

Good luck - it's amazing how much money you can save for such a simple thing to do!

Hi, I buy borax substitute from the UK (Spiritofnature.co.uk) and it works out reasonable if you're buying other stuff too. I found it in a discount shop once alongside white vinegar but the shop's closed down now.:(

You can get soda crystals (washing soda) from Tesco in Naas so I'm sure they'd have it in the other big branches too. They also sell Granny's original all natural (blah blah) soap flakes!

Hope this helps you both.:)

PaddyORuadhan

anyone know any chemists in the dublin area that sell borax? I read somewhere that EU regulations restrict its sale. Just curious if anyone knows anywhere that sells it.

Cheers.

Hoof_Hearted

I got some recently in the Pharmacy in Newtownmountkennedy, they asked what it was for so maybe that's the restriction, rather like when they sell methylated spirits, they have to satisfy themselves of it's purpose. Maybe they all sell it.

crowed23

PaddyORuadhan wrote: »

anyone know any chemists in the dublin area that sell borax? I read somewhere that EU regulations restrict its sale. Just curious if anyone knows anywhere that sells it.

Cheers.

Hi Paddy, I haven't tried chemists but I recently requested that it be stocked in Tesco in Naas - will try to come back to you if and when I see it there. If they'll stock it there, maybe they'll stock it in other branches by request?

looksee

I have bought washing soda in Tesco before now, I put some down the drains occasionally with some boiling water. My daughter in law washes with bread soda (I think, must check) as she has allergies.

There is quite a lot of variation in Tesco over what different shops sell, so you might try another branch.

PaddyORuadhan

Cheers thanks for the answer. My local boots actually had it. I know there have been restrictions but still available behind the counter in boots. Needed borax and not a substitute as I'm using it for smelting gold.

Cheers.

Dawn Rider

Ophiopogon wrote: »

I've been trying to source washing soda too, have checked supermarkets and health shops and can't find it anywhere.

Also, trying to find castile soap, and where to bulk buy baking soda and vinegar.

According to google, Castile soap is good old olive oil soap. Just called Castile after where it's made in Spain.

I get my olive oil soap in the health food store Holland & Barrett for €1.39 per 125g bar

http://www.hollandandbarrett.ie/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=1088&searchterm=olive%20oil%20soap&rdcnt=1

Hope this helps

P.o.p.p.y

does anyone have a recipe for this washing powder, also does it leave your clothes as clean (ie: remove stains ) as say persil or daz and also does it leave your clothes smelling nice. thank you in advance for any answers.

_Whimsical_

I'm giving this a bump as I'd love to know if people have had much success with using these ingredients for washing powders or if anyone has any new recommendations.

I'm finding that I can't handle the smell of washing powder anymore at all.I have to wash my bed clothes once with powder and then twice just with water to try and rinse away the smell of the washing powder or I'm awake coughing and wheezing half the night.Every brand I've tried is the same. It seems to be the fragrance that's bothering me.

Hoof_Hearted

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

I'm giving this a bump as I'd love to know if people have had much success with using these ingredients for washing powders or if anyone has any new recommendations.

I'm finding that I can't handle the smell of washing powder anymore at all.I have to wash my bed clothes once with powder and then twice just with water to try and rinse away the smell of the washing powder or I'm awake coughing and wheezing half the night.Every brand I've tried is the same. It seems to be the fragrance that's bothering me.

I've had great success with a homemade liquid detergent, it's as good as any commercial brand I've tried, none ever took care of every stain and this one is certainly no worse. It doesn't leave much scent but there is a trace of a soapy smell. I've been using it on the floor and around the cooker as well.

_Whimsical_

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

I've had great success with a homemade liquid detergent, it's as good as any commercial brand I've tried, none ever took care of every stain and this one is certainly no worse. It doesn't leave much scent but there is a trace of a soapy smell. I've been using it on the floor and around the cooker as well.

Thank you hoof hearted

Could you post the recipe by any chance ?

Hoof_Hearted

A pleasure!
The measurements aren't exact - rather whimsical in fact :-)
I make it in small batches as I'm still tweaking it. This is the latest:
One bar of household soap (49c) grated, into a pot of about half a litre of water, heat until it's melted.
Add an egg cup ful of washing soda and a teasp of borax
Add enough water to bring it to about three litres.
Use about half an eggcup ful for a wash.
Half an eggcupful in a bucket of water does the floor, and a dab on the scrubby sponge does the cooker and worktop.

I'm tinkering with the recipe as we have calciates (alkaline) in our water so I'll keep you posted if I have a Eureka! batch.

_Whimsical_

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

A pleasure!
The measurements aren't exact - rather whimsical in fact :-)
I make it in small batches as I'm still tweaking it. This is the latest:
One bar of household soap (49c) grated, into a pot of about half a litre of water, heat until it's melted.
Add an egg cup ful of washing soda and a teasp of borax
Add enough water to bring it to about three litres.
Use about half an eggcup ful for a wash.
Half an eggcupful in a bucket of water does the floor, and a dab on the scrubby sponge does the cooker and worktop.

I'm tinkering with the recipe as we have calciates (alkaline) in our water so I'll keep you posted if I have a Eureka! batch.

Thanks a million hoof hearted for sharing that. I'll definitely give it a try, sounds like a great idea. I had looked stuff up online and they sounded a bit out my league,like trying to change the chemical composition of baking soda in the over for example. Again, much appreciated.

lvl3ha

wow nice to see that others are looking into that too.
Here is a tip for some of yous
http://naturesnurtureblog.com/2012/05/08/ttt-turn-baking-soda-into-washing-soda/

For something similar to borax
amazon.co.uk will do the trick

Dri-Pak-Borax-Substitute-500Gm

or

http://mistralni.co.uk/products/borax-sodium-tetraborate-decahydrate

ladhrann

For those interested, another good source for soap flakes, laundry starch and other hard-to-find laundry ingredients is the Carbolic Soap Co. in the UK https://www.carbolicsoap.com/

Weyhey

Just bumping this to see if anyone had any luck creating a homemade natural dishwashing product?