Dear Annie,I want to go back to basics and make my own laundry soap. What do you suggest? Brenda,  NY

Dear Brenda,
There must be an uptick of interest in back-to-the-land living because I’ve had a number of people ask me this question recently!

First, while I am all for simple, nontoxic living, washing clothes with soap and not a vegetable-based, green detergent, will result in the greying of your clothes if you have hard water. When hard water minerals combine with real soap, soap scum forms. If you have hard water I’d consider buying a good green detergent, such as from Ecover or Seventh Generation.

If you want to wash laundry with soap, here is a tip from a friend of mine who had 11 siblings and her mother washed a-l-l the clothes with soap. She would buy high quality castile bar soap (traditionally made from olive oil), grate it on an old-fashioned laundry board, and use the resulting soap flakes in the laundry. Given that soap boards aren’t readily available, you could substitute a cheese grater.

If you do end up with some soap scum, add 1 cup of white distilled vinegar to the rinse. Let soak for an hour or so before rinsing as usual. Good luck!

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