Those who make their own laundry soap?

[Barefoot Bookworm]

Did it seem to not get your clothes clean after a while? I've been using the same recipe for over a year and it worked beautifully until just a week ago. I noticed that our clothes were starting to smell like they hadn't been washed! I tried to use our Allen's Naturally a time or two and they still smell funky. Erg. I don't overload the washing machine so I don't think that's it and I wash clothes almost daily. Is there any way to fix the recipe so it works well again or should I go buy some detergent from the store?

We've been using 1 bar of fels naptha, 1 cup of washing soda, and 1 cup of borax and putting in 1-2 heaping teaspoons per load.

[brown eyed girl]

Have you done a cleaning run on the machine itself? My machines recommend running them a cycle empty of clothes and soaps, with just some vinegar or bleach in the water, once a month to remove soap residues from inside all the workings.

[JuneBug]

You could always try putting some vinegar in on the rinse cycle too. I use pretty much the same formula, but haven't really had any issues. :shrug3