Testing the Homemade Laundry detergent

Here we are, starting with a stain. This is ketchup and mustard. I put equal amounts on each piece of old t-shirt.

Okay, I washed the fabric labeled homemade in the detergent I made. The one labeled store bought was with a leading name brand. The next two pictures are after the 1st initial wash.

As you can see, the store bought brand took away more of the stain. I must note that I just thought about the fact that my store detergent has bleach in it, so I am thinking that my test may not be as reliable as I had hoped. Alright, we continue on....

I then treated both stains and re-washed them in separate loads with the same detergents again. Here are the results:

You can just barely see the mustard remaining on the homemade cloth. But, I am thinking that that store bought with the bleach has skewed my results. Humm, overall I am quite pleased with the results of the homemade detergent, especially since I try to pre-treat all stains and not let them dry on the clothes if possible.

Here is the link to the exact recipe that I used. Homemade Laundry Detergent.

Also, I have read that hard water will affect the ability of your detergent and that adding salt will help this. I have really hard water and have been adding bleach to my loads of whites.

The jury is still out as to whether I will continue with making detergent. I really like to try to keep the clothes looking their best. I am watching now to see if the colors are fading. My OCD is showing. : )