OK…I promised I would share my experience with the homemade OxiClean recipes I found….and I am now sufficiently prepared to do so. :-)
I couldn’t bring myself to post about it until I had given it a thorough test.
I made my first batch on Saturday. It was kind of a mess. The most common recipe you will find when you Google “Homemade OxiClean” is this one:
- 1 cup hot water
- 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide
- 1/2 cup baking soda
Of course, me in my infinite wisdom thought that didn’t seem like very much. So I decided to quadruple the batch! My personality type tends to think….if ONE of something is good…then TEN of something must be much better! :-) Hmmm…might have played a part in my stint in rehab…ya think? lol. Well…that’s another story….for another day.
So I quadrupled the “recipe” and put it in a big mason jar. It immediately separated into what looked like a layer of baking soda on the bottom of the bottle…topped with water. I shook it up REAL good and poured it in a load of laundry. Seemed to work ok. But nothing to write home about.
I wasn’t ready to give up on it though…so, I decided to do a little more research on the subject. While I was waiting for my son’s prescription to be filled at the pharmacy….my Droid and I found some interesting thingsabout “faux” OxiClean:
Most of the recipes out there call for BAKING Soda…but what the ingredient SHOULD be listed as is WASHING Soda
Another thing I learned is that once mixed together….the hydrogen peroxide and washing soda only remain effective for up to 6 hours. If it sits around, it will loose it’s efficacy because the oxygen boils off. I guess that explains why the original recipe was for such a small amount. :-/ So I basically wasted my “quadruple” batch.
Finally, for maximum effectiveness you need to let the clothes SOAK in the solution for awhile, preferably overnight…but at least for a couple of hours.
Soooooooooo…….all that having been said. I had a MUCH better experience with the homemade OxiClean recipe today! In fact, it isn’t really a “recipe” at all. This morning before work I tossed in 1/2 cup of Washing Soda
The whites I washed were NOTICEABLY whiter and brighter! I thought about posting a picture….but since they were my “delicates”, you’re just going to have to take my word for it! :-) Or better yet……TRY IT YOURSELF! I can’t wait to hear what your results are!
{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }
Love it! So what is the recipe for laundry detergent? Will you share? Thanks
Hi Terri! So glad you liked! I continue to use this stuff and continue to be really really pleased with the results. Even my hubby noticed a difference…and THAT is something! lol.
I actually posted the "recipe" for homemade laundry detergent here.
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2011/07/brand-name-laundry-detergents-last.html
I am really enjoying this stuff too…and it just gives me a certain feeling of satisfaction when I walk through my laundry room and see that jug of soap on my shelf, that *I* made! Good thing. :-)
Let me know what you think if you try it out! And thanks for posting!
Peroxide and baking soda also works when a dog has been sprayed by a skunk! Do NOT get the paste in their eyes, avoid the head just to be safe. The smell won't be completely gone but they will be tolerable.
Great tip! If I had a dog….or lived near skunks. lol. Actually, I'm sure there are skunks around here somewhere…I just hope I never find out where!
Is it safe to use in high efficiency washers?
Anony…I think it would be perfectly fine in a high efficiency washer. There is literally no suds…which, from what I understand, is the main no-no for HE machines.
Have you used this on a load of colors? I usually throw OxiClean in with all my laundry and I just wanted to be sure the hydrogen peroxide wouldn't cause bleaching. This question stems from some memory of mine as a child and girls putting it in their hair for "highlights"? I was tired of boring, unscented laundry with the homemade laundry detergent, and your blog convinced me to try out the Downy Unstoppables and I think I'm in love! :) -Liz
Hydrogen peroxide is the 'active' ingredient in the store brand OxiClean so this recipe shouldn't 'bleach' anymore than the real OxiClean does.
This is my new favorite blog. I love all the homemade stain and laundry recipes. Keep them coming.
Jill, do you then just make up your "oxiclean" on the fly for each load since it only stay potent for 6 hours..
Found your blog via Pinterest..Love it..gonna definitely be trying these!!
Carrie, Southern Indiana
Liz…I too am in a love affair with Downy Unstopables. shhhh. ;-)
kajo…right on. I use this on colors all the time.
Downing D….Thank you! Can't ever hear that kind of thing enough. ;-) I will definitely keep sharing my homemade alternatives with you.
Carrie…that's exactly what I do now. After I put in the laundry soap…I pour in approx 1/2 cup Washing Soda and 1/2 cup Peroxide for a full load and let it do its job.
I love it when my higher power helps me find a place I need to be. I found your place! Love it! You are so much like me. I see we are blessed to be the lucky ones(recovery) Happened to me at about the same age. Thank you for your recovery and thank you for giving back. I have learned so much reading your info! What you have done is truly tried things out and investigated. I always seem to get half way there. I am truly grateful! May God keep blessing you!
Thank you for this great info. I wash dirty softball uniforms for 18 college girls. I'm looking for ways to keep our white uniforms white and not be dingy and stained by the end of the season. Will this work on these uniforms?
Fan-freaking-tastic! I might make this tonight if I'm up to it. I can't find my Oxiclean (yeah, I know – weird) and this is just awesome. Thanks for sharing.
Karla…so happy to hear there is another lucky one out there. :-) We truly are blessed. Thanks for dropping by! Hope you'll keep coming back.
Pam….18 uniforms????? yikes! This will save you tons of $$ over the name brand stuff! Should work really well on uniforms. I would let the soak in it for awhile before washing. Hope this helps!
Natalie…If you have the washing soda and the hydrogen peroxide on hand…go for it! It's super easy. :-)
I love these laundry recipes! The thing you have to watch with hydrogen peroxide is that, if you leave exposed to any light, it will actually turn into water. That's why it comes in the brown bottle. If hydrogen peroxide is really important to keep this "Oxi-Clean" working, then you'll probably want to store the stuff in an opaque, dark-colored bottle or at least in a dark cupboard.
What size load are these amounts written for? I do not have an HE washer so a large load is quite a bit of water. Is 1/2c each still sufficient?
Anony…interesting info! I did not know that. Explains the ugly brown bottle! :-) thank you!
Haley…my washer is quite large and 1/2 cup of each seems to be working well! Course I don't actually MEASURE it…I usually just eyeball it…so I guess there's the chance I might add a titch more. ;-)
I will have to give this a shot! I've already been using my own homemade laundry soap for about 6 months and love it. I've heard that a little vinegar in place of fabric softener works great and is much cheaper (they swore the clothes wouldn't smell like vinegar). I'm still working on a large jug of softener I got on sale so I haven't tried it.
About the Peroxide and people worried about it bleaching…
As a Vet Tech I get blood on my clothes, shoes, etc from time to time. I learned from my first clinic that you can put peroxide-straight from the bottle-directly on the blood and it dissolves it. Peroxide bursts the cells (which is why it can do more damage to our wounds than good when we use it to clean them-and why it bubbles and hurts) so it works great to remove blood from fabric! In the many many times I've used large amounts on my scrubs and shoes it has never left any sort of bleach mark or stain. Even if I don't wash that item immediately afterwards; or for days until it's my laundry day. We use it to get blood out of dogs and cats hair as well. It just dissolves and wipes away. I hope this gives some people more confidence in giving it a chance!
Do you only use detergent and your ox-ee kleen when washing whites or do you also use bleach? I use Clorox every time I was a load of white clothes but I really want to try this!
Thanks Michelle Bell….that is very useful information!
Angela…I hardly ever use bleach anymore. I still have a bottle…but after using the detergent and the homemade oxi-clean or homemade shout…I haven't had to use any bleach for the longest time!
I'm going to fess up here and say that I tried this and I put the remainder back into the peroxide bottle and left it sitting in my living room. I happily went out and did my laundry (at a laundry mat) When I came home the bottle had exploded and splattered everywhere from the front door into the kitchen and of course the living room. It took the rest of the day to clean it up. Soooooo, although I was extremely happy with the results may I recommend learning from my mistake and using a bigger container and leaving some room for air.
The last post on the explosion… wow… whoops! I agree… I just started using the homemade laundry soap and I am addicted to the savings I am getting. I do the dry mix so I don't worry about melting and pouring and shaking. It works fine, however. I do notice that my clothes don't get completely clean like they had before. But I still love it overall. I also add straight vinegar to my softener cup and love the results. By doing this step, it eliminates the mildew smell off of towels that sat wet too long or even the pee smell from my kids clothes. (they still leak once and a while). I have not tried the oxi-clean homemade version… I never really needed an oxi-clean and I always skipped that step. I may, however try pouring some peroxide in the mix too.
Hi There. I just found your blog because I was looking for the oxi clean recipe on pinterest. I have enjoyed reading all of this valuable money saving information. Here is a question for you: I have used the homemade laundry detergent for over 6 months and like a few previous posts, found that my clothes didn't get quite as clean (bright) as I want. I LOVE the idea of saving money, though. I get a funny smirk on my face when I am clipping coupons and skip the TIDE coupons. ha! Anyway, since the homemade detergent I use already contains the aforementioned washing soda, I'm wondering if you can just add 1/2 cup of peroxide with the laundry detergent and do a pre-soak with all ingredients for an hour or so, then finish the wash as usual. I guess I'm asking if you think you could save that extra 1/2 cup of washing soda per load? Additionally, with regard to fabric softener. My recipe has vinegar and backing soda, and as others have mentioned, it does eliminate that mildewy smell, but I do not notice anything with regard to actual softness. I have seen a recipe that adds hair conditioner to the mix, but would like your comments on how that would work.
Thanks so much! Cheryl
Here's my thought about the washing soda – remember that you're using a couple of tablespoons of the laundry soap at a time, but the recipe for the booster calls for an extra 1/2 cup of washing soda. So I'd say, yes, you'd still need to add the 1/2 cup of washing soda along with the peroxide.
Cheryl…I would have to agree with Denise…I think the extra washing soda and peroxide are BOTH needed in order to get that extra cleaning boost you are looking for. I hardly do a light/white load without this combination anymore and I think my clothes are every bit as clean/bright as ever. :-) Hope this helps.
Oh…and on the homemade fabric softener…while I don't use it…yet. I will do a post about it soon. And yes, the recipe with the hair conditioner in it is the one I have seen the most with the best reviews.
Thanks for sharing! I just happened to have some laundry to do…imagine that! lol
You can buy Sodium Percarbonate powder, which is the active ingredient in Oxyclean. It is available on ebay rather cheaply. From what I understand, it is a powder that releases hydrogen peroxide in water, so you could actually make the "dry" oxyclean by mixing this and the washing soda together.
When water is combined with hydrogen peroxide it loses its effectiveness because of the chemical make up of the items. So adding a cup of peroxide to a load of wash is actually wasting money. You need to treat each stain before adding to the washer where you can control the amounts of each ingredient.
Thank you, thank you. I love OxyClean, and I bet I'll love it even better now that it is cheap.
The Sun brand of oxiclean is not expensive…I think you would be spending more money on all of that hydrogen peroxide…right?
peroxide will get dried blood out of cloths even if its been in there for months … a vet tech told me this … its how she cleans her scrubs … i dont use it unless i have an accedent…or like cut my self … i use home made laundry soap … you use your favorite bar of soap i use dial and use very small amounts i also include 1 cup of oxi in a double batch of laundry soap works great even on my monkey wrench husbands cloths … very good on sensitive skin too as the main thing that iratates the skins are the dyes and perfumes there are very few and if your already useing the bar of soap your good
Just turned my mom onto this site!! Thanks for all of the wonderful information and pinterest or I would of never found this wonderful blog!!
to the Anonymous who couldn't find Oxydol anymore…I've been buying it at Dollar Tree. It's a nine load bottle for a dollar. Hope you can find some.
Do you add this mixture directly into the wash or into the holder where the laundry detergent goes? I am new at this, but my little baseball player has white pants this year, so I need to find something that will get these stains out. Thanks!
Who ever decided that putting baseball players in WHITE PANTS to play on RED DIRT/CLAY was a good idea?????? Obviously someone who doesn’t have to do the laundry! :-)
Jill….I put this directly into the wash and let it SOAK. The longer, the better. If you are finding you have extra stubborn stains…you might want to try this:
MIRACLE LAUNDRY WHITENING SOLUTION
I can’t wait to try this!!
I’m heading out to pick up washing soda and hydrogen peroxide. I remembered this post when I was using my last scoop of OxiClean for a load of lights and looking at strawberry stains that had been setting in a delicate white knit shirt for 2 weeks. I dabbed hydrogen peroxide on the fuschia dribbles and thew it in with the rest of the wash, not expecting much. I could not believe how white in general the shirt came out! And the stains? Can’t see them, under any light, even if you know what you are looking for. They are completely gone, without a trace. WOW!!!!
i love all ur diy reciepes!!!sure has saved me money….keep them coming & thank you very much!!
a single mom
My hubs cut his hand a couple of weeks ago. He dabbed dripping blood with a white towel until he could find a bandage. Then he threw the towel in the laundry basket and never mentioned it to me. On laundry day I pull out this blood-spotted towel. Hey, this is the perfect opportunity to try Jillee’s homemade oxi-clean recipe. I put some washing soda in a cup and poured in some hydrogen peroxide. Stirred it around with my finger until it made a nice paste (by the way, the paste got very warm!). I scooped blobs of it with a spoon onto the blood spots, let it sit for a couple of hours, then washed in my homemade laundry detergent. BINGO! Clean as a whistle! Thanks, Jillee!
I cant find Arm & Hammer Washing soda anywhere. None of my local grocery stores or Dollar stores carry it. Even an employee at my Walmart supercenter thought I was crazy. :(
Kristy,
I had trouble finding it, as well, and finally bought it online (drugstore.com, I think). Recently, I discovered that washing soda is sometimes called ‘soda ash’ and can be found where pool supplies are sold, as it is used as a water cleanser. Then, just yesterday, I found a blog that actually had a recipe for homemade washing soda (pennilessparenting.com). All you do, basically, is bake baking soda in the oven. Seems easy enough, but I haven’t tried it. Hope this helps!!
I have to do laundry at the laundrymat, so I’m using a Steri-lite tub for the soak. It actually might be the way to soak things when you have a machine that won’t let you control the water level. I have just enough water to make sure that all of the clothes are only just covered up. The other issue here is that if the mixture is only active for six hours, it’s probably going to do as well as it can only soaking a half day. This morning I put the tub in the shower, put the hot water and chemicals in it, mixed well, added the clothes, then added a little more water because I didn’t have quite enough to start. I’ll dump it after lunch and let the clothes drain in the shower for a while, then wring them out, put them back in the plastic tub, and take them with the rest of the laundry to wash as usual. Oh, and FYI – my favorite hat is white and of course my makeup is decidedly NOT white. I’ve washed it and gave up and even threw it in with the bleached items and the inside lining was still orange. After 10 minutes in the Oxy-soak, it’s already cleaner than after it was washed with a bleach load.
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