Homemade laundry detergent: powder v liquid

Various recipes for homemade laundry detergent were floating around pinterest like crazy last November, so I decided to give it a whirl. Before I tried it, I did quite a bit of research on each of the ingredients and decided to try the following powder recipe first:

1/3 bar FelsNaptha soap, grated $.35
1 C washing soda $.54
1 C borax $.35
Mix ingredients together and use 1 T per load.

Total cost for 1 batch (approximately 36 loads): $1.24

The verdict: This combination only worked well when I was doing a load on the hot cycle. Not great since I primarily use the cold cycle. My husband guesses it'd work better without an HE washer

Next I tried a liquid recipe.
10 gallons was a bit much for me to commit to, so I split the recipe found here in half
1/2 Fels Naptha bar
1/2 C washing soda
1/4 C 20 mule borax
 and proceeded as follows:

Grate 1/2 fels naptha bar ($.53) into a sauce pan. Add hot tap water to fully submerge soap and cook over medium-low heat until soap is completely melted and incorporated.

Fill a clean 5 gallon bucket a little less than 1/2 way full with hot tap water. Stir in melted soap mixture, 1/2 C washing soda ($.27), and 1/4 C Mule 20 Borax ($.09) until dissolved and well incorporated.

Cover bucket and allow to sit several hours or over night to thicken. (If you don't have a lid, simply use plastic wrap, like me.) Tip: if you have helpful little hands, make sure you put this out of reach.

Stir in enough water to fill bucket.

Transfer the soap solution to a clean dispenser (a funnel comes in handy here). I purchased a 7.5 gallon water jug for $10.50 at Walmart in the sporting goods section, but you could use clean milk jugs, old clean detergent bottles, whatever you like really.

Use 1/4 C for front load or HE machines (about 320 loads). According to this site, 5/8 C is needed for a regular top load machine (about 90 loads).

Total cost for 1 batch of liquid detergent: $.89 (that's less than half a penny per load with my washer- totally worth the effort of making it)

The verdict: So far, I have zero complaints about the cleaning power of the detergent. Also, even though it seems like a long process, it only took roughly 30 minutes of work, the rest is just waiting for it to set.

I have a top loading HE washer and due to the low sudsing nature of this combination, it is perfectly safe to use.

About the cost:
Please notice the recipe calls for a partial bar and partial cups out of several from each box, so the above prices are a reflected accordingly (before tax).
I paid full retail for each item and after tax only paid $7.94 (purchased 12/5/11).

Final verdict: The powder is easier to throw together, but due to the better cleaning power and cheaper price, I say the liquid version is the better option.

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