Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent
There’s a millions different recipes out there for liquid soaps, and I think the one that works best for you will depend on your family’s needs, and your water type. This one works best for us, though I do use an alternative one for cloth diapers.
Because my baby has very sensitive skin, and cannot tolerate castile soap well, I save his clothes to wash all together and then I give them an additional rinse after a full wash.
Want to make OTHER natural detergents? Try THESE 9 Best Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipes too!
Ingredients
- 1 bar castile soap, grated
- 2 cups washing soda
- 2 cups borax powder
- Essential oil of choice to make it smell nice!
Step 1. Grate the soap and put it in big pot. I use an old canning pot that I had.
Step 2. Add 1 quart of boiling water to the soap in the pot and stir over a medium high heat until the soap has melted.
Step 3. Add three more quarts of hot water.
Step 4. Add the washing soda and the borax and whisk until it is dissolved.
Step 5. Your resulting detergent will be kind of cloudy and fairly thin. Leave overnight to gel.
Step 6. Whisk to break up any clots. Pour into old detergent bottles and add essential oils as required.
I find an old canning funnel fits really well into the neck of the detergent bottles!
Step 7. Label with the name of the essential oil if you make several different kinds.
I actually make three different kinds when I pour into jugs, and use them for different kinds of laundry. The first I add Lavender Essential Oil to, and I use this for everyday laundry for the whole family. To the second, I add Cedarwood oil, and I use this to wash the dogs’ beds and towels, because fleas don’t like cedar. To the third, I add Tea Tree Oil, and I use this to wash cleaning cloths and other things that I feel need disinfecting. I will usually wash towels in this one, too.
Want to make SOLID lavender scented detergent? CLICK HERE
That’s all, fellow homesteaders! Did you enjoy our tutorial on how to make Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent? Let us know in the comments section below what troubles you had or what you did differently when making Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent. Do you have a technique on making Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent that’s a staple on your homestead? Share it with us and we’ll give it a shot. We love doing DIY homesteading projects and becoming more self-reliant by learning more about how everything works around the homestead. That’s why Homesteading was created. We want all folks looking to lead a self-sufficient life, either on a homestead or in an urban environment, to come together and learn from each other!
while i love the pics, could you make article available in a print format,w/o the pics?..or did i miss something?
I was wondering what alternative soap you use for cloth diapers? Do you make your own? We started making our own liquid laundry soap like this recipe and I was wondering if I can’t use it for cloth diapering what cloth diaper soap would you suggest? Thanks!
I use Ivory soap bar & grate it for all my delicate wash but castile is also gentle I believe there is a more gentle Castile so will check on that.
What would work on greasy clothes? My husband works outside on his tractors and stuff, and gets pretty dirty sometimes, with oil and grease. Any idea’s?
Try fels naphtha soap grated up in recipe for the greasy grimey clothes.
Thanks for the info. I have one question. How much of the finished product do you use for a typical load of laundry? Thanks again.
I use this recipe but often wonder what could be used if these products were no longer available
Google how to make lye for soap making. You burn down a hard wood. Take the ashes and place them in a giant water Storrage barrel on top of straw or hay or dried foliage from the Forrest, put a bunch of small pebble type rocks at the bottom first. Make sure you put about 5 Nicole sized holes in the bottom. Place the barrel on top of cinder blocks with a bucket to catch the water you will use to filter the ashes.
After preparing your barrel, place the ashes On top of the straw and pour a bucket of water over the ashes. Switch out the buckets. Pour 3 times. What you have left, scoop out with a wooden spoon or a non aluminum spoon. What you have left is lye. Google soap recipes. You can use 4.6 oz of lye with 10.9 oz of water. Pour the lye into the water stirring. Not the other way around (boom) once temperature gets to about 110, lye and water heat up. Pour into the water and lye 50 oz of olive oil for Castile soap. Stir until it starts to change to a creamy color. I like to use a hand blender stick. While skill pourable, put the soap into a flexible mold or bottom of a cardboard carton of milk. You can peel away the cardboard in a day or two. Cut to desired size. Now, Castile soap it’s really great for the skin especially eczema skin. It’s great for teenagers with acne. You could also use essential oils in the soap to make it smell really good. For a laundry bar use 2.4 ounces of lie with 13.78 ounces of coconut oil 5.23 ounces of water. Use this coconut bar for laundry recipe. I like using about a tablespoon of lavender oil to make it smell extra good. You can get 4 ounces of lavender oil for $10. Or less. Substitute your laundry soap bar like dove or ivory to your own personal coconut bar laundry soap. The coconut oil is much more of a cleaning soap then a conditioning soap, however it does condition. I believe it’s your best choice for laundry soap.
It will also dissolve quicker in hot water. If you would like to modify the recipe given on this post above. After you shred your new coconut lavender laundry soap. Add it to a boiling quart of water in a non-aluminum pot on the stove. Then add your shredded soap and melt it down. Add one more quart of hot water from the tap and mix 2 cups borax. add 1 more quart of hot water and add washing soda to the mix. Mix until thoroughly Blended add Essential of choice. Let sit over night to gel and put on your old laundry liquid soap container after Gelling. Try 1/2 c. For regular wash one cup for very soiled.
I am wondering also, how much to use in a mediun wash load?
Treat it the same way you would any other laundry detergent:
Half cup for a half load… Full cup for a full load… etc.
Here’s another tip:
Add 1/2 cup white vinegar to keep your clothes bright, white, and soft!
Happy Homesteading!
This is very helpful as I’ve just started my own journey to homesteading! Thanks!
Chantal @ http://www.healthyhomesteadhoney.com/