Homemade OxiClean Is Cheap

Do you ever use a product and wonder why it's so expensive?  I like adding the booster OxiClean to detergent when I do laundry.  Perhaps I've been brainwashed by effective advertising because I use it to make my detergent clean better.  I want to keep my clothes bright and stain-free.  And since the stain remover doesn't contain bleach, it's safe to use on colors and whites alike.  But lately, I wonder why a 3-pound tub costs $10 - $12.  That really adds up!  Usually if you can find out what's in a cleaner, you can make it for pennies.  And as it turns out, OxiClean has just two ingredients, and they are cheap and easy to obtain.  What you get is a liquid, not a powder, but I can live with that.  The active ingredient in OxiClean is sodium percarbonate (Na2CO3•H2O2), which is a combination of sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Here's how to make the laundry booster at home: 

1} Buy washing soda. – (not baking soda)  Washing soda is sold in the laundry detergent aisle of your supermarket, and it's cheap.

2} Buy hydrogen peroxide. – Available at any drug, or beauty store. And, it's cheap.

3} Get a mixing cup, or buy a spray bottle.

4} Combine your two ingredients:  2 tablespoons of washing soda for every 1 cup [8 ounces] of hydrogen peroxide.

Add to your laundry with your detergent, or use the spray bottle mixture to spot clean.  Just let the solution sit for several hours beforehand to form the sodium percarbonate, and be sure to give the spray bottle a shake every time you use it.  

Now in addition to saving a few bucks, don't you feel like a chemist?


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