Warning - Poop Ahead

Just figured I should let you know right up front.  Some people aren't fond of discussions centered around the stuff that comes out.


I 'm not sure why that it is.  Some of what goes in doesn't look or smell all that different from what comes out- at least in the early stages.  Have you ever opened a jar of baby food?  Then you know what I'm talking about.  I'm not going speculate on taste comparisions (in and out), but I will say taste speculation in general (along with other factors) played a significant role in our decision to make our own baby food.  But that's a post for another day.



Today I wanted to share a recipe with you.  It's become one of my favorites.  Being a Semi Crunchy Dad, we had the boys in cloth diapers.  Lots of great things to say about cloth diapers, but that's also a post for another day.


Cloth diapers do mean lots of cleaning.  I mean, the poop has to come off.  But, scrape or spray, it doesn't all go away.  Enter the washing machine.  With cloth diapers, you will do a lot of laundry.  On average we were doing a load of diapers every other day.  That would increase significantly with inadvertant over feedings of things like bananas, or broccoli.


That much laundry also means a lot of laundry detergent.  The stuff isn't cheap.  The big plastic bottles it comes in are a pretty far cry from 'environmentally friendly'.  And the chemicals found in many of these detergents really aren't something you want to end up in your water supply.


So, I searched for a homemade version.  It had to be cheap, easy to make, with readily available ingredients that were less harmful to the environment than the average tub of tide.  It also had to be easy the boys skin, all while maintaining fecal vaporization capabilities.


Lucky for me grasshoppers, my Google-Fu is strong.




Or I suppose it could be that the web is filled homemade laundry soap recipes.  Anyway, after trying a few, I settled on this one:


1 Bar Fels Naptha Soap
1 Cup Borax
1 Cup Washing Soda


Grate the Fels up as fine as you can.  Then mix it with the borax and soda.  That's it.  You're done.  Go have a beer and take a break.


Seriously, grateing the soap is the hardest part.  You want it fine so that it mixes well.  I grate it by hand and then mix everything in the food processor, which works really well.  The food processor also comes out of the dishwasher really clean afterwards!  I make big batches, 5 or 6 bars at once and keep it in a plastic tub with a tight fitting lid.  One batch this size lasts about six or seven months for our family of four.  Your mileage may vary.


We have a high efficiency washer that works really well, so I only use about a tablespoon of the mix each time.  Adjust up or down depending on your results, the type of washer you use, and your water quality.


So you're wondering, does it work?  Yes.  We've been very happy with it.  I just sold all the cloth diapers, and all the buyers commented on what good shape they were in and how nice they looked.  No skidmarks, even after two years of daily use.  Our clothes look fine as well.  I wouldn't say I've noticed more fading than I did with store bought detergent.  They feel soft, even though we don't use any fabric softener.  The Fels adds a bit of scent to the mix, but after washing, I can't detect it.  If you like a scent, try putting some essential oil in the fabric softener cup of your washer, or just adding a few drops to the rinse cycle.


Yup, I'm pretty impressed with the stuff.  Borax and washing soda are naturally occuring minerals, and I can at least pronounce most of the stuff in a bar of Fels.  It's easy to make, and it's wicked cheap compared to a gallon of Gain.  And it's stain fighting powers, including fecal vaporation, are actually better than any of the store bought stuff we tried.


If you need more proof, I could post some pictures of the colon snakes my boys have birthed.  But I recomened you take my word for it.  I'm thinking these guys need to eat more kale or something.