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Have you heard of washing soda or super washing soda? It’s a common ingredient in DIY cleaners and sold under the Arm & Hammer brand name. It’s a laundry and detergent booster, odor and stain remover. Washing soda is great ingredient to have in your repertoire.
All it is composed of is sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water – that’s it! PLEASE NOTE: You DO NOT need water for this recipe, the baking soda already has the ‘ingredients’ necessary for the recipe – it just needs to be heated to change into washing soda. If you can’t find washing soda (it’s readily available in the US but not worldwide) or just want to try a little science experiment in your home, keep reading!
Here’s what you need to make your own washing soda:
- rimmed baking sheet or baking dish
- oven pre-heated to 425 degrees
- 2-3 cups of baking soda
Place the baking soda on your baking sheet or dish and then in a 425 degree oven. Stir 3-4 times in the hour. At the one hour mark, check the consistency of the baking/washing soda. If the consistency hasn’t changed, continue baking and check every 5 minutes until it shows a change in the consistency.
Once it has been transformed, it will have a different texture, look, and feel. When you see that that has happened, you have washing soda!
Have you ever made your own washing soda? You can use washing soda in homemade laundry soap, as an additive with your favorite detergent (use 1/4-1/2 cup per load to boost performance and up to 1 cup for heavily soiled laundry), and in a soft cleaning paste to name a few cleaning ideas.
More posts in this series – just click on the image to go to the post:
LouAnn Says...
So…. what do I do with said washing soda once I have it?!!?!
Becky Says...
Post authorI edited the post with a couple ideas 🙂
Anita Dotson Says...
To use as laundry detergent I would say but not sure how much to add to your machine..
Becky Says...
Post authorAdd 1/4-1/2 cup with your detergent for a laundry booster and up to 1 cup for heavily soiled fabrics.
Carrie Says...
I think my brain is missing some stuff, too, hehe. 🙂 You said it’s baking soda and water…but you didn’t do anything with water, and in fact I think *dehydrated* it in the oven (if that’s possible). Help, I’m lost! lol I’d love a little more of the science! 🙂
Becky Says...
Post authorThe water is in the baking soda already – all you need is baking soda and an oven 🙂 I edited the post to clarify. xo
Kristal Says...
This is great to know, I had no idea. Thanks for the info
Kelly M Says...
I guess I don’t understand why you can’t just add Baking Soda to your laundry. Why does it need to be Transformed?
Becky Says...
Post authorHeating it transforms the molecular structure that does more than deodorize – it boosts the cleaning power 🙂
Melissa Says...
Do you add the soda to the detergent section of the front loader or directly into the drum? Thanks!
Becky Says...
Post authorEither will work – try the detergent section and if it doesn’t dissolve add it to the drum 🙂
sally Says...
Can you tell me what is the difference between washing soda and your Clean Mama oxygen whitener, and do either replace “Oxyclean”
thank you
sally
Clean Mama Says...
Post authorOxygen Whitener is a natural substitute for Oxiclean 🙂