One of the most popular threads on the Mommysavers Discussion Forums has been how to make homemade laundry detergent. It’s a frugal DIY project that so many of our members have discovered to help save loads and loads of money (pun intended).
Our member Ellie Mae describes how she does makes her own homemade laundry detergent and answers reader questions here: Savings on Homemade Laundry Detergent is HUGE!. Ellie Mae estimates that with each detergent batch she makes at home, she saves over $40.
What You’ll Need for Homemade Laundry Detergent:
- 2 Bars of Lever 2000 Soap (Ellie Mae has used Coast and Dial soaps, but found that Lever 2000 works the best)
- 1 cup of Borax (20 Mule-Team Borax is cheap HERE on Amazon)
- 2 cups of Washing Soda (you’ll find that HERE on Amazon)
- 5 gallon bucket with lid
Instructions:
- Start by grating your bar of soap. You can use a hand grater or a food processor for this task. If you’re using a food processor, cut the soap into chunks and process it on high until it’s finely ground.
- Boil 8 cups of water. After the water is boiling, slowly add the shredded soap. Be careful so it doesn’t boil over. Reduce heat and stir until soap shavings have dissolved (about 5 minutes or so).
- Put 3 gallons of water in bucket, add borax and washing soda then stir. Add the soapy hot water to bucket and stir again.
- Cover and let sit for 24 hours. Label it appropriately so everyone in your household knows what it is. It can be kept indefinitely as none of the ingredients lose effectiveness over time.
- To use your homemade laundry detergent, use one cup per load, depending on the size and level of dirtiness.
Please note:
- Borax and washing soda can irritate the skin, so you might want to wear gloves while making and handling the detergent.
- This recipe is generally safe for HE washers, but always check with your manufacturer to be sure. If you have an HE washer, you may need to add the detergent directly to the drum rather than the detergent drawer.
- Be aware that homemade detergents may not have the same cleaning power as commercially made products. They might not be able to remove stubborn or set-in stains as effectively.
Always test on a small, inconspicuous area of clothing first before using on your entire laundry load.
Is this safe to use on high efficiency washers?
I haven’tn used this in that type of machine but it is a no suds detergent and I have been told it works in a high effeciency washer
What’s WASHING SODA??? Is it Baking Soda?
Thanks.
Washing soda is not baking soda. It can be found in the lauhdry aisle. If you can’t find it you can find it on the internet under arm&hammer.com
It’s different from baking soda, but if you can’t find it in stores, you can make it out of baking soda. Pour baking soda on a cookie sheet (the amount you need to use in the recipe or you could just make an entire batch) and heat it in the oven at 36o degrees farenheit for one hour. It will create washing soda by removing the moisture and carbon dioxide from the baking soda. I find that this is probably a cheaper way since you have to buy one less ingredient. It also saves on the shipping fees if you have to order washing soda.
Can you add any kind of scent to this? Any ideas?
You can add a scent. I add tea tree oil the next morning after making it, ten drops to the 5 gallon pail. I also have the high efficiency washer and have made my own soap for over a year now.
Essential oils like lavender, tea tree, or orange can be added to it, but you aren’t going to still be able to smell it when the laundry is dry. This recipe does work with high efficiency washers, but does not work well with very hard well water. In order to make it work for us we had to add citric acid and tri-sodium phosphate (which is really bad for the environment).
I don’t have room for a 5 gallon bucket… so I use a powdered version of this. I use felznaptha for the soap, or Dr Bronner’s peppermint if I’m feeling like spending the extra $2-3. The recipe I use is found here: http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/2010/05/on-the-laundry-line.html.
I have an HE washer and use about 1 TBSP per load. If I feel my clothes need extra softening I use white vinegar in the softener dispenser. Once I run out of prespot I will be using a dampned felznaptha bar and rub it on the stain. I hear it works wonders! 😉
this can be used in HE washers, I’ve made this and used it in mine and i LOVE it! Baking soda and washing soda are the same just different. I found online that if you have baking soda and you ‘boil’ just with no water it turns to washing soda its just way easier to buy washing soda. you could add a sent to it just depends on the type of soap you use. For me it was easier to use something with a soft sent and use a stronger scented fabric softener and it works wonderfully! you can also look up recipes for fabric softener. One i saw recently used hair conditioner as a base so you just pick your favorite smell and go from there! hope this helps everyone!
I have found that adding scent doesn’t work very well. It leaves an oil on your clothes.. Not very pretty! 🙂 Find a soap that you like the smell of and use that! Or add a fabric softener in the wash to add a scent.
I use my homemade detergent in my HE washer. I have for years!
I use
1/4 bar Zote laundry soap (finely grated with a cheese grater)
1 cup borax
1 cup Super Washing Soda (I can only find it at Wegmans)
1 gallon of water
boil in a large pot until soap is completely dissolved. remove from heat and allow to cool and thicken some.
I then pour the soap into 3-2 liter soda bottles and fill them the rest of the way with tap water. Cap them and gently mix.
I use 1/4 cup for each HE load.
How gentle are the homemade laundry soaps on clothes? I have been wanting to make my own laundry detergent for a long time but have been a little hesitant, since I don’t want to harm my clothes. (Once I bought some liquid that was supposed to be like Woolite at the dollar store, and it shrank my clothes!)
Pam
Pam this is very close to the recipe that my Granny had when I was young, in which I have made for years. BUT it is harsh or its strong stuff, it will fade your clothes over time. I use it on towels,rugs,bed linens, my husband work clothes. The things that don’t fade easy, the first time I use it was about 30 years ago and my bab’ys clothes faded quick and he broke out in a rash from useing it so just be careful what you use it on. I do love it I save a lot of money but I like the tide active for my good clothes
I used a small bottle of Gain dish liquid instead of the gratted soap, and liked it alot more.
I tried the following recipe:
1/4 bar Zote laundry soap (finely grated with a cheese grater)
1 cup borax
1 cup Super Washing Soda
1 cup oxi-clean
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I wanted very badly for this to work. Maybe on adult clothing, but for children who play outside and get dirty, I found the homemade versions useless. My sis-in-law tried as well and arrived at the same conclusion. I was so disappointed because I really wanted this to work!
I make this dry. I have been using it for about 3 months and I love it. It’s very economical too! I also add vinegar to the softner container and my clothes come out clean and soft.
I’ve been using this laundry soap for a while now and really like it EXCEPT for my whites. They are clean, but dingy. I have hard water, is that why? Any ideas?
Thanks!
After using this for a while, my whites were very dingy. I went back to regular washing powder because even the clorox wouldn’t get them clean in one wash.
Can I ask I want to learn how to make fabric conditioner & fabric spray..???I am from Philippines