How To Make Homemade Laundry Detergent

June 10, 2014 By Pioneer Settler Contributor 12 Comments

Interested in making homemade laundry detergent? If you’re looking for organic laundry soaps on the market, it’s possible they are not as organic as their labels indicate. Conventional laundry soaps can have negative effects on your health, including skin and throat irritation and carcinogenicity. You never truly know what ingredients could be omitted from a tag despite your attempt to make an informed decision.

So, why not make your own product? Detergent is so pricey anyway. It’s depletes so quickly, especially in the case of families who wash together. What an expense! But how about taking an alternate route from buying detergent at the local grocery store? We think it’s important to always keep yourself in check in terms of chemicals that are in contact with our bodies which is why we thought homemade laundry detergent would be a great DIY project for you to try at home. Hope you like it!

(via Money Saving Queen, click here for full tutorial)

How to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent

We found all the ingredients we needed to make homemade laundry soap at our local grocery store. Using these simple ingredients, you can have DIY laundry detergent like ours in under an hour.

Supplies and Ingredients You Will Need:

1 cup of Borax
1 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (make sure it’s not baking soda!)
1 bar of shaved soap ( you may use Fels Naptha or Ivory; the latter is much easier to find).
1 Grater
1 Glass Bowl
1 Wooden Spoon

(via Money Saving Queen, click here for full tutorial)

Step 1.

Shave the bar of soap. Note: if you own a food processor feel free to use it since it can save you lots of time. It is, of course, not essential to the tutorial.

(via DIY Natural, click here for full tutorial)

Step 2.

Add 1 cup of Borax to the glass bowl along with the grated soap bar. Mix all the ingredients together very well for optimal results.

(via DIY Natural, click here for full tutorial)

Step 3.

Store the mix away in a jar and save a tablespoon beside your soap. About 2 tbs of the detergent per load should do it!

(via DIY Natural, click here for full tutorial)

We hope you enjoyed our super easy tutorial on simple powder laundry soap. What do you think of our post? Let us know in the comments section below and we will do our best to make more posts like it. Have you made laundry soap before? Share your experience in the comments section below and make sure to tell us how this project worked out for you. Sign up for our mailing list to see more great DIY craft projects like this along with other really awesome recipes and so much more! Thanks for checking us out.

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stan

Very intersting I had no idia you could do that, so easy thank you
Amber Tatlow

I’ve tried several DIY recipes and found that while they seem to clean regular laundry, my husbands work clothes that are not even extremely dirty, and any heavy items like denim, do not come entirely clean… which then made me wonder if the other stuff was truly coming clean either, or just smelled better…. Suggestions? Or alterations for a “heavy duty” detergent? Was sooo happy to leave commercial soaps only to find effectiveness seems compromised 🙁
- Riley Carlson
  
  Great question, Amber! Try soaking your heavy duty laundry in salt water. Or pour salt directly onto very dirty areas and rub it in. I’ve even gotten wine out that way! Hope that helps. 🙂
Mandee

We’ve used this recipe for a few years and have been working on tweaking it. I agree about having a hard time getting some things to come clean stain – wise, although i will tell you i seed it on cloth diapers successfully. Few things I’ve learned is…. actual soap is not recommended for washing machines, and yes I’m guilty of doing it anyway. Fels ingredients aren’t really all that great. Kirks brand bar soap or even dr.bronners, imo, are my personal preference so far, but nothing is perfect. I still have issues, but at least I know the quality of ingredients is better. This is going into your ground and affecting your environment, afterall. Again, nothing is perfect. Back on the note of soaps, you can expect build up and will need to strip diapers, towels and cloth menstrual pads with vinegar occasionally because they will resist absorbing. (Ask any cloth diapering mama how fun that is!) Also, check your washing machine requirements. My energy efficient washer instructions specifically say I need to use only liquid detergent. When I make this recipe, I dilute it in a 5 gallon bucket of hot, hot water, sir, and let it do its thing over night. I either put it in a recyclable gallon jug and dilute it our use a smidge. Thank you for the tip on salt water! I have heard of boiling water and stream, and maybe Was told about salt, but totally needed that reminder. On the note of diapers, i think that’s a good one to add to the things homesteads should know list also. In a pinch old t-shirts can be converted. How to care for them is also useful. Thanks for another great post!
Mandee

Darn, pardon all my typos. I hope you can sorry that out.
Suzie

Vinegar helps get rid of smell in your laundry. I use a cup of vinegar in with my towels to keep them from smelling.
Crimson Presley

Can this recipe be used in the front load washers?
debracleaver

unclear where the washing soda fits in. i think step 2 is missing a line?
- K.c. Logan
  
  She said mix ALL together, meaning all ingredients.
Roxana Fryklund

I find your recipe a basic good recipe. I have experimented and come up with one that works better for me. Here it is:

Roxana’s Laundry Soap

Ingredients:

1) 2-1/2 ounces bath soap, grated into flakes ( Approx. a half a bar of soap,
fels naptha works great. Also Zote or Octagon) (I use Sunlight bar soap)
2) 1 cup borax
3) 1 cup washing soda (Arm and Hammer)
4) ½ cup Calgon powder
5) ¼ cup Dry dishwasher powder (I use Finish dishwasher powder)

Directions:
Mix together, blend in the blender, then keep in closed container.

Use one tablespoon per load.
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How To Make Homemade Laundry Detergent

How to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent

Supplies and Ingredients You Will Need:

Step 1.

Step 2.

Step 3.

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