I've always been a fan of the generic bargin brand of anything and I think that you should at least try the low cost options. I have found though, that when it came to laundry soap the bargin brands didn't cut the mustard - or any other stains. I would use lots of stain treatments and when the kids were younger I discarded many a shirt that was too stained and dingy to wear and my unmentionables would be grayish no matter how much bleach I used. By trial and error I became a user of Tide, easily the highest priced laundry product and justified this use by buying in quanty at Sams or Cosco and I didn't have to use other stain removal products other than a little (generic) clorine bleach. It may cost more but my undies were white and our clothes were bright and unstained. I had switched to the 3X liquid All lately and felt it was just as good as Tide and was a little cheaper. I also loved that it used less packaging.
A few months ago Daughter #2, Stephanie, in Arizona (also a huge Tide fan) had told me she had switched to a homemade alternative as a money saving measure and that she was thrilled with the results. Stephanie is the queen of thrift, and sometimes a little over the top when it comes to saving a little. I thought she might have lost it on this one. When I visited my kids in Utah at the holidays my daughter-in-law Michelle and her mother Susan were using the same homemade recipe and while using their laundry facilitys I used the stuff. It worked great. With three testimonials and using it myself I came home and made a batch for myself.
Recipe:
1 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax
1 bar Fels Naphta Bar Soap
Grate the Fels Naphta finely - I used my food processor on the cutting blade - It's SOAP, and washed right off. Then mix everything together. Use 2 Tablespoons per load.
Here's my jar of laundry soap. I made 5X the recipie. For about 16$ I filled this Rubbermaid storage jar up to the shoulder. I've used it for about 7 weeks so I figure at this rate I will need to make more at the end of summer. $16 worth of All would last me about 6 weeks. It doesn't want to stay really well mixed so I shake it up every once in a while.
The ingredients are old fashioned and can be a bit hard to find. Washing soad is NOT baking soda. Washing Soda is NA2CO3 and sometimes known as caustic soda (it isn't harmful). Baking Soda is NAHCO3. They are chemicaly different and cannot be interchanged. I could not find this at Walmart. My Ace Hardware in East End carried it. I paid about 4$ for a 55oz box. The only brand I've seen is the Arm and Hammer. 
Borax powder is easier to find. I got mine at WalMart. 76oz for a little more than $5. It's a naturaly occuring substance that's mined in California and this brand marketed by Dial. It's a really good deodorizer and great to have around the house. It's in the laundry area. Don't confuse it with Boric Acid that you may find as a roach killer or in solution in the pharmacy area.
Fels-Naptha is an old fashioned bar soap that's now made by Dial and marketed as stain remover. It has been made for over 100 years and women used to use it for washing clothes on a washboard. I found it at the Ace Hardware store, also. I paid 1.29$ per bar. Several on line sites say you can use a similar bar soap called Zote. Zote is softer, made in Mexico and popular south of the border. RESULTS: After almost two months of using this it works great! It does cost quite a bit less. My clothes are as clean as with Tide and not a bit "dingy". I haven't noticed any fading and they smell clean and good. I have noticed the white plastic basket on my washer gets a dark dirty "ring" around the top that it didn't get with Tide or All but other ladies at the Relief Society meeting said they had this when they were using "store bought" products anyway. If it gets to bothering me I use my spray kitchen cleaner and wipe it off. This is very low sudsing - really no suds- so newer front load washers would be Ok. Everything I researched says that that it will be safe for septic systems.
Linda Higgenbothem, Lee Bailey and Edlin Brignonni say they are using a similar recipe but it is disolved in water and used as a liquid. You can Google directions for this or Ladies - share the info.
Happy Laundry - Cathy Lane
