castle-docs/content/equipment/laundry/detergent.md
Padreug 5a83f75c7f Document both washing machines and the Marseille soap detergent
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-10-01 10:05:03 +02:00

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Laundry Detergent (Marseille Soap) How to make and dose the home-made Marseille soap laundry liquid
detergent
laundry-detergent
marseille-soap
equipment
laundry
household

Laundry Detergent (Marseille Soap)

We wash clothes with a home-made liquid made from Marseille soap flakes and water. Marseille soap works genuinely well here because our water is soft — in hard water it leaves limescale-soap residue, but that isn't our situation.

Recipe (2 litres)

Ingredient Amount
Marseille soap flakes 100–120 g
Hot water 2 litres
Washing soda (cristaux de soude) — optional 1 tablespoon

The washing soda is only worth adding for greasy or heavily soiled loads. Plain soap and water is fine for everyday washing.

Method

  1. Dissolve the flakes in the hot water, stirring until no flakes remain.
  2. Let it rest 24 hours. It thickens and may separate — that's normal.
  3. Whisk before every use so the gel is evenly mixed.

Dosing

[!tip] Start low — 50–60 ml per load Soft water needs noticeably less of everything. Start at 50–60 ml per load, not 100 ml.

Over-dosing is the main cause of residue on clothes and build-up in the machine, and with soft water you hit that threshold sooner than the back of a commercial detergent box would suggest.

If laundry comes out stiff or smelling soapy, cut the dose further.

Where it goes

Machine Compartment
Bosch Series 6 (first floor) Manual compartment on the left
Washroom off the kitchen TBD

See laundry for the machines themselves.