UK Traditional Witchcraft | UK British Folk Magic | Intuitive Witch - UK traditional witch & folk magic blog & writer. Traditional witchcraft, UK intuitive witchcraft, homesteading, foraging & natural healing. Lancashire Witch. Lancashire Witches. Lancashire Witch Trials. Pendle Hill

42 Comments

  1. Hello,

    I tried your recipe recently (in a smaller batch) and I have to say….When i took the clothes out and checked them for stains etc it seemed amazing…

    but there was no ‘fresh, clean’ smell to them, it’s almost like they just smelled neutral or of damp….

    I added around 10 drops of essential oil to the next load and it was the same. It seems strange as the powder itself is so fragrant!

    do you find the same thing? have you any suggestions?

    thanks!

    1. It’s good stuff isn’t it! How odd about the smell though, we use sweet orange essential oil here and everything smells like a spanish villa after we do the washing lol the clothes smell lovely too. Which oil are you using?

  2. Hi could you tell me the exact measurements for the soap etc as it just says grate the soap? how much soap etc. or do you just mix all the ingredients into one huge bowl and then store them in a plastic container im confused sorry :S

    1. Hi Callum,

      As it states in the recipe it is 3 bars of standard size soap and then just mix everything together 🙂 Hope this helps!

  3. Hi I will agree with Nancy above, I did a 5th of the batch measurements above, to try it out. The cleaning power is amazing no qualms there, but the sweet orange essential oil was fragrant in the powder but non existent after washing. And just like Nancy it smelled like ‘damp’ I don’t know if it accounts for living in a very hard water area, and if this makes any difference? Otherwise what brand essential oil do you use? Also I wash my colours on temp of 40 my delicates on 30 and my whites on 60. would this make any difference with you?

    1. I really am not sure, we live in a hard water area too and we have never had an issue with damp smelling clothes. We use Sweet Orange essential oil from The Pennine Collection. Maybe try another scent? x

  4. I forgot to say, THANK YOU for this recipe!! My youngest has always suffered with allergic reactions to washing powders/liquids and myself on occasion. (We are just both sensitive souls lol) Also, when do you think you will post a fabric conditioner recipe up? 🙂 anything that you ‘conjure’ up that has to go on our skin would be muchly appreciated!!

  5. Just a quick update on the scent trials. I just upped the dosage on the essential oil, and it works a treat 🙂

    1. Fantastic! I wonder if the oil I was using was just particularly strong? How many drops did you use and I will change the recipe for you 🙂 x

  6. I am keen to try this recipe. Can I ask what type of soap bars to use? A glycerine soap? I have some soap making kits and was wondering if that would be OK?
    Thanks

    1. I just used normal natural soap, I used one from Sainsburys that as natural 🙂 But you can use any soap 🙂

  7. Thanks so much- my washing came out great!
    I used lavender & tea tree oil – 10-15 drops each (as I already had them) and they worked a treat!
    It lasted about 2 and a bit months and saved us a fortune..thanks again!

  8. I have just found your recipe and am very excited! I’ve been making my own dishwashing powder for a few years now and am ready to try the laundry powder. I’ve just found the ‘Carbolic soap company’ and have ordered all the ingredients, (plus some white vinegar, as I Love it!) and that took me over the £40 free carriage. I have enough of some of the ingredients to make a few batches. I ordered soap flakes as I hate grating. I figured that as a bar of soap is 75g I could translate that weight into the flakes. Looking forward to the parcel arriving! I also have around ten loads a week with hubby and three teenage sons!

  9. Thank you for this recipe, it works great. The only issue is that it’s a bit of a pain that you have to get the borax subsitute online and you can’t just buy it in the supermarket. How essential is this ingredient? Can it be replaced with more soda crystals and sodium bicarbonate? Thanks

  10. Hi, I am trying to find a reasonably priced natural soap. What should it contain or not contain? There are so many pseudo natural products out there I am finding it difficult to know what to go for. Any suggestions of brands and where I can purchase them would be greatly appreciated.
    Thank you 🙂

  11. I’m wondering if creme bars will work such as Asda original creme bars? I don’t want to use soap with non vegetarian ingredients or a lot of chemicals.

  12. Started making my own now, eventually found the large bars of carbolic soap in a fragrant candle shop, the results are very favourable for the small amount used per wash but the slightly stale smell of the dried washing is a bit of an issue, could this be the residue of the soda ?, we have a little tea tree oil so will incorporate some in the next wash

  13. Hi Bexz,
    I’m interested to try out this recipe. Could you please suggest if this can be used to wash cloth diapers?.

  14. In the recipe it says to add the oxygenated bleach. does this mean I can only use for white loads or can this be used for colours as well.. i clearly do not want to ruin my colour clothes but am new to this ha. x

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.