The market demand for these consumables is large and steady because they are used in large quantities every day. Another thing is that liquid detergents made in this manner are more versatile. Aside from being used for cleaning dishes, floor, windowpanes, and washrooms, they can also be used for ordinary laundry in the same way as commercially-made detergent powder.

Materials needed:

Sodium lauryl ether sulfate, or SLES, P58.50 per 500 ml

Sodium chloride or iodized salt, P13.50 per 500- gram pack

Cocodiethanolamide or CDEA, P72.50 per 500 ml

Ethyl alcohol, P54.50 per 500 ml

Water-soluble dye, P35 per 400-gram pack

Benzalkonium chloride, P109.50 per 500 ml

Degreaser, P30 per 120 ml

Fragrance, P161.40 per 120 ml

Distilled or de-ionized water, P14.19 per liter

(All available from chemical stores)

Wooden or plastic ladle

Medium-sized basin

Kitchen scale

Measuring spoons and cups

Gas stove

Pot

330 ml. PET bottles, P5.50/pc. Available at Cachetrade in Cubao, Quezon City.

Getting started:

1. Put 1.4 liter of distilled water in a pot and boil the water for 15 minutes. You have to use distilled water or de-ionized to avoid contaminating the liquid detergent mixture. Tap water has substances that can cause the mixture to eventually emit a bad odor.

2. While waiting for the mixture to boil, put the SLES (150 grams) and iodized salt (80 g) into the basin. Mix them thoroughly with the ladle until the iodized salt is completely dissolved.

3. Once the water has boiled enough and the salt has completely dissolved, gradually pour the water into the liquid detergent mixture.
Stir. Keep on stirring until the SLES mixture is dissolved. The liquid detergent mixture becomes foamy when stirred, which means that the SLES is being dissolved.

4. Now add to the mixture the CDEA (60 ml), benzalkonium chloride (0.01 ml), degreaser (40 ml), and the fragrance (10 ml). Don’t add the water-soluble dye and the ethyl alcohol as yet. The water-soluble dye (10 g) should first be dissolved in ethyl alcohol
(60 ml) before being added to the mixture. And make sure that the fragrance and dye are properly matched.

5. After putting in all the chemicals, mix until everything is dissolved. Let the mixture cool until the bubbles subside. Then add another liter of cool distilled water. Once the mixture has sufficiently cooled down, the liquid detergent becomes clear. You can now pour the finished product into the PET bottles. Cap the PET bottles containing the liquid detergent and set them aside. The yield of the liquid
detergent mixture is 2.77 liters. Using 330-ml bottles, you can produce eight bottles of liquid detergent from it.