Laundry Gloop

Still haven't done any ironing.  However I finally got round to making the laundry gloop.

When I see the instructions on other blogs and sites it all seems so straight forward and I am always impressed at the efficiency and ability of those who do these things.  So I thought I would share how it went today.

Step one - find all the bits I bought ages ago.  Actually quite easy.  That was a dedicated jug, bucket with lid, stirrer, pan, grater and cup measure.  I am confident I could have done without getting stuff to keep separate but I feel more comfortable with this.

Step two - grate the soap.  I started grating it into a plastic jug I was planning on using for making laundry gloop as I don't like to mix soap and food stuffs as some detergents can transfer into food and sort of stick to plastic.  You should never use a container that has held, for example, Vanish for storing food.  However the grater bought extremely inexpensively for the purpose was just a little too big so I grated the single bar of soap into the pan (inexpensive, bought for the purpose).  It took ages and I got very fed up.

Step three - add water to the soap, heat gently.  I probably should have waited until all the soap had melted before adding the cup of biotex (borax under another name) and washing soda.  I also should have perhaps done it in two steps as the pan was very, very full.  In future I will definitely do it in two steps.  The proportions were one cup of biotex, one cup of washing soda, one bar of value soap, two litres of water.  The pan was advertised in Argos to take a lot more than two litres, so I am a bit unimpressed.  I am also unimpressed that I couldn't find a pan second hand for a lesser price.  The washing soda and biotex dissolved really easily but the soap took ages.  It was also very near the top of the pan and I was stirring really carefully.  I kept the heat low as well as the thought of trying to get it cleaned up if it boiled over made me shudder.  It was lovely and thick and gloopy.

Step four - add the hot mixture to a bucket and top up with hot water.  I think the plan is to get the mixture to nine litres but in the end I just added 'some' hot water to near the top of a ten litre bucket and stirred really well.  I put the lid on and left it.  Tomorrow it should be ready to use, a good drying day is forecast so I shall try it out on the fleece blankets using a cup of gloop directly in the drum of the machine.

Ingredients - one bar of value soap, one cup of biotex (borax), one cup of washing soda.

Things I will do next time.

I will wear gloves so that next time I won't cut myself on a packet and then get washing soda in the cut as it really hurts
I will find things like oven gloves to lift the pan with its cheap, non-insulated metal handles before I start.
I will put the bucket in the place I want it to end up before I start filling it up with heavy liquid
I will not try and make laundry gloop just before I have to go out and pick bear up from school.

I don't think I will add essential oils as I don't like clothes to smell of anything.  I like to smell of perfume, not fabric conditioner.  This is just me.  However I can imagine that they would work really well but I would add just after I had put it in the bucket so that the heat was less likely to affect the scent.  I am pretty sure it works out inexpensive

1 bar of value soap was 13p.  I used around a quarter of the bag of washing soda, if that, and that would cost @ 25p.  I am not sure about the biotex as I had it in a jar and had been using it for a while so I'll guess generously at a half or 85p's worth.  That makes it £1.23 for the bucket full and I expect to get a lot of washes, around thirty or forty at least.  Sainsbury's own brand non bio is £7.50 for fifty washes, and even the value is £1.68 for thirty washes.  If I manage more than thirty washes out of the bucket I will be happy.  I probably won't remember to count them but I'll see how quickly this goes down.  I shall also see how well it washes.  It should be fine when it's just the fleece blankets and I think it should be okay on darks.  While it is sunny I think I will try it on the whites so they can get an extra bleach on the line.  I use white vinegar for a rinse anyway, and that works well.  

I actually found it fun making it and the kitchen smells like housewifery.