Shout, Fabric Softener, Laundry Soap Reciples

Homemade shout
1/2 c. white vinegar
1/4 c baking soda
2 tbs ammonia
3 cups water
stir together and fill a labeled spray bottle. Spray on heavily soiled spots just before washing. (test a hidden spot for colorfastness first)

Fabric Softener
2 cups cold water
1 cup baking soda
1 cup vinegar, either kind will do.

1. Place baking soda in LARGE bowl and pour vinegar over it; while it's bubbling, pour cold water in and mix.
2. Store in sealed container and shake before using to combine all ingredients.
3. Add 1/4 cup of mixture during the last rinse cycle (Does not work well with a Downy ball.) This stuff is WONDERFUL!

Liquid Laundry Soap
3 Pints Water
1/3 bar Fels Naptha Soap, grated
1/2 cup Washing Soda (Arm and Hammer, NOT baking soda though!!)
1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
2 Gallon bucket to mix it in
1 Quart hot water
Hot Water
Mix Fels Naptha soap in a saucepan with 3 pints hot water and heat on low until dissolved. Stir in Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. Add 1 Quart Hot Water to 2 gallon Bucket. Add soap mixture, and mix well. Fill bucket with hot water, and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load.

NOTE: This will not make lots of bubbles! You can find the Fels Naptha soap in the laundry aisle. For those in my city, I get the washing soda and Fels Naptha soap at Kroger because I can't find it anywhere else. If you can't find it you can use Ivory or the soap you like. You can also add a few drops of essential oil to make a fragrant laundry soap.

Uses for Vinegar

In today's economy who has the money to spend on "miracle" products that might accomplish the job they have promised? Vinegar is a safe, effective, and economical product. (Plus, I just bought a gallon for $1.49.) Here are some of it's many uses:

Uses for Vinegar in the garden:
1. Kill grass: Undiluted vinegar will kill grass between bricks and sidewalk cracks. Simply spray where needed.
2. Clay Pot Cleaning: Vinegar will remove the white salt buildup on old clay pots. Simply soak the affected areas in full strength vinegar.
3. Kill Weeds: Spraying full strength vinegar on weeds will kill them - be careful not to spray it on the surrounding grass as it will kill that too.
4. Deter Ants Spray vinegar around doors, appliances, and along other areas where ants are known to gather and the vinegar will keep them away.
5. Keep Cats Away: Vinegar will help keep cats away from areas you don't want them. Sprinkle vinegar on any areas where you don't want the cat walking, sleeping, or scratching.
6. Freshen Cut Flowers: Vinegar will help fresh cut flowers last longer. Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar for each quart of water.

For Cleaning:
1. Laminate floor cleaner.
1 part vinegar
1 part rubbing alcohol (speeds up the drying time)
1 part water
1 drop liquid dishsoap
Keep a spray bottle filled with this stuff for touch up jobs. When you need to mop all over, mix it up in a small mop bucket, doubling the water vs. the other ingredients, make sure wring out mop well.
Windows: Save your spray bottles and use a 50/50 vinegar and water mixture to wash your windows. Use an old newspaper instead of a paper towel. The newspaper won't leave paper towel lint or streaks on your windows.
Dishwasher- Run 1 cup of white vinegar through your dishwasher once a month to remove soap residue. You'll notice your glasses come out with fewer spots and streaks throughout the month.
Coffeepots- Run a pot full of white vinegar through your drip coffee maker once a month. (Be sure to run about 3 pots of clean, cold water through afterwards.) This keeps your coffee maker free of mineral buildup and allows the great taste of your coffee to shine through.
Walls: Remove grease from kitchen walls: Put straight vinegar on a dishcloth to wipe grease off kitchen walls, or the stovetop.
Clean kitchen and bathroom faucets: Soak a paper towel in vinegar then wrap it around your faucet to remove mineral deposits.
Clean the toilet rim: Put straight 5% vinegar in a squirt bottle and use it to clean the rim of the toilet. It disinfects, too!
Prevent mold and mildew in the shower: Wipe down tile or Formica shower walls with a sponge or cloth dampened with water and vinegar. The vinegar will clean the walls and inhibit the growth of mold and mildew.
Unclog the showerhead: Mineral deposits from hard water can cause a sputtering, clogged shower head. Place the showerhead in a pot, add enough vinegar to completely cover it. Heat the vinegar to just below boiling, then remove from heat. Allow to sit for at least 6 hours. The acid in the vinegar will eat away the deposits. Rinse the showerhead well, and it's ready to go again.
Remove rust: To get rid of rust, soak items in vinegar (do not dilute). This will work on any metals.
Get rid of stickers, decals and sticky residues: Rub a few coats of vinegar on the area and allow to soak. Then wash off with a wet washcloth and the sticky will rub right off.
Clean your glasses: Place a drop of vinegar on the lens, then rub with a cotton cloth.

Beauty Care:
Sunburn: Add a cupful of apple cider vinegar to the bathwater to soothe tired muscles and relieve dry itchy skin and sunburn.
Remove residue and styling product build up from hair: After shampooing, rinse your hair with a mixture of 1/2 vinegar, 1/2 warm water to remove all the build up and get rid of that dullness.

Laundry:
Make your own fabric softener by mixing baking soda, vinegar and water (parts: 2/2/4). Add a quarter cupful of the mixture to the final rinse for hand or machine washing.
Stain Removal: Ink stains can be removed by soaking the fabric in vinegar for an hour or two before washing in the usual way. Or rub a small amount of vinegar gently on fruit, jelly, mustard or coffee type stains and wash as usual. No more stain!
Eliminate smells: Run a hot tub of water and pour in one or two cups of vinegar. Hang smelly clothes on hangers along your shower curtain rod. This will remove smoke and other tough smells.

Smells:
Make your own air spray by mixing two cupfuls of white vinegar with one cupful of crushed herbs, choosing from rosemary, lavender, cloves, thyme or pine needles. Place the ingredients in a saucepan and boil gently for ten minutes then leave to cool. Pour into a large jar with close-fitting lid. Leave to stand for three or four weeks. Strain and add the mixture to a spray container or atomiser. Use in the same way as commercial air sprays.
Remove pet urine stains (and smells) from carpet: Mix about 1/4 cup of vinegar to a quart of water. Soak a washcloth in the mixture and blot the area several times.

Make your own Laundry Soap

Website for recipe

Recipe:

1 bar ivory soap (or fels naptha, or homemade soap - it has to be SOAP though, not a detergent bar. Most of your commercial bars of "soaps" are detergents. Ivory is real soap. Irish Springs is detergent. It must be soap.)

1 cup washing soda. Look in the laundry detergent aisle, beside the Clorox 2 and borax.

1 cup Borax - optional. I often don't use it and I haven't noticed a difference.

Two gallons of water, give or take. I use my big stock pot, fill it with water, and it works out well for me. I've been making this for years now, and I don't really measure anything. It always works just fine. :-)

Grate the bar of soap into the water, heat until the soap is dissolved. I usually sit this on the stove on low and go do something else, then come back, stir it, remove it from the heat, and add the washing soda and borax.

Then I have to let it cool quite a bit, because I use plastic jugs to store it, and if I pour it straight into them, the jars melt. although this can sometimes create interesting looking jars, it can also put holes in them, so it's best to let it cool.

When it is completely cool, it will gel and sometimes get pretty thick. Stir it up, it is fine. Add a little more water if you need to, but really, it'd fine. Shake it up before you use it and you'll be able to scoop it right out.

I use about 1/2 a cup a load. Give or take. :-)

Inevitably, someone will ask me if this REALLY gets your clothes clean. Yep! Remember, this is a farm family, with 3 boys, two of whom play football. And this, and the occassional stain remover, is all I use. :-)

I have to say that I do use this recipe all the time. We love it here and cleans our clothes wonderfully. I thought I would post you the link to Heather's blog so you can see the pictures that go with the recipe.