Making your own homemade laundry detergent can be a great way to save on an ongoing basis. Here’s recipe that a HBHW reader submitted. Be sure to also read through the comments section below. We have quite a bit of good discussion on the topic going on and there are many questions that came up and have been answered below.
What you need:
All ingredients can be found at your local grocery store in the laundry isle.
Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe
- 1 bar of Fels Naptha soap, shaved
- 4 cups of hot water to melt the soap
- 3 gallons of hot water
- 1 cup of borax
- 2 cups of washing soda
- 1 cup of baking soda
- 1 large Rubbermaid container about 4-5 gallons size
Here’s what you do:
Grate the soap into a saucepan. You can use either a box grater or a food processor for this. I recommend you do not use whatever tool you use for grating soap with food. I was able to buy an extra food processor very inexpensively at a thrift store.
Add 4 cups of hot water to the pan. Simmer on low until the soap melts completely into the water.
Add borax, washing soda and baking soda to the hot water. Simmer on low until it desolves with the soap. If the mixture is not melting, add more water if needed.
Add 3 gallons of hot water to the large container. Add the mixture to the hot water. Mix with a large spoon until it
completely dissolves.
Let cool overnight. You will notice that it turns into a thick gel. Use 1 cup of this homemade laundry detergent per load of laundry
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This is safe for HE; it’s low suds. I’ve been doing it for years, but I still use Tide on the jeans (I have 5 boys that get very dirty). This is definitely not for heavy soil. However, I have used this homemade laundry soap with jeans and it works if I add a cup of oxyclean and put it on the heavy soiled option and let it soak for an hour. Then it does get my jeans clean.
I would compare this to a generic detergent for lightly soiled items. It is very inexpensive and lasts a very long time!
for those jeans add one to two cans of coke (brand name coke no diet) to the wash cycle with rhis soap it works great
how would the coke clean the jeans? I have never heard of that!!!
the Coke has a lot of acid in it and will take grease and grime out too. Works wonders.
It’s the combination of carbonation and acid that helps Coke to clean. You can check it out at http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/acid.asp
Coke works. My husband used to work in the oli fields back in the 80″s and I learned this trick reallly quick with his clothes. I used about 1 liter bottle per load on his oily clothes.
Coke can remove the corrosion on car battery terminals – I fully believe it can clean the oil/grease from some jeans.
Dirty Job Complete and Purex Crystals and smells very nice
I add a can of coke when I wash my husbands work clothes, you’d be surprised how well this works it’s gets my hubby’s oil and mud soaked clothes super clean ( he works oilfield )
I use Zote soap and add a few drops of essential oils to the water as its boiling (my hubby likes orange). Also I noticed the detergent turns out better if you shave the soap as fine as possible.
Anyone ever used liquid Ivory bath soap in their recipe? If so, How much?
You will need 3 bars of ivory soap.
I’m sure this is a great recipe, but I just wait until Walgreens or RiteAid put Purex Free & Clear detergent on sale for $1.99 and then do some serious stocking up and I have saved A LOT of money over the course of a year. The detergent is excellent for a lot less money.
The homemade Laundry Detergent is great even with adding lavender oil to it I figure it costs 20 cents a Gal. I buy everything but lavender at Wal-mart and lavender at health food store. Saves lots of money.
Is this detergent safe for colors? Will colors fade faster than if I use Cheer and cold water? Also, is there anything I can add to help it clean better? My light colored clothing is starting to look dingy.
A splash of white vinegar in the wash will help colors ‘stay’ better during the washing process. I’ve used this trick when I’ve washed multi-color shirts, even white with red stripes, to keep the red from running onto the white. Another trick is to turn the clothes inside out when washing. I know if you check with manufacturers of denim jeans, they always recommend this to keep the color truer and lasting longer. Couldn’t hurt to try. Thanks, Rosetta, for stopping by to ask. Does anyone else have any ideas? Please share them if you do. Thank you.
Hard water affects how well the detergent works. I add 1/4 cup baking soda with the detergent and it makes a huge difference. You can adjust to your own water conditions.
What exactly is “washing soda”? Is it just another name for regular detergent? Ive looked for it at my grocery store and cant seem to find anything with that description…..Does anyone know of a specific brand?
Washing Soda is Sodium Carbonate. Read about it here http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-washing-soda.htm# Arm and Hammer makes Washing Soda. It’s also used to treat swimming pools so you can buy it in larger quantities from pool supply places. It is NOT the same as Baking Soda so don’t confuse the two. If you read the article it should answer your questions about it. Hope this helps.
Arm and Hammer makes super washing soda.But if u cant find it u can make it…U make it with Baking soda.Put 1 to 2 Cups of baking soda on parchment paper in preheated 400 degree oven for 30 min.On a cookie sheet)Stir after 15 minutes.remove after 30 min.and let cool.U can stir it while it is cooling.Have a blessed day.
I am a little frustrated because I made some laundry detergent using Borax and just today (09/26/12) I read an article online that borax “Sodium borate, also known as borax, and boric acid are added to many products as cleaning agents or enzyme stabilizers, or for other funtions. They can disrupt the hormone system.” Where does a person go online to find out facts? I realize that “natural” ingredients does not always mean “healthy” ingredients, but there must be a place somewhere to find out what natural ingredients are good and not good?
I understand your frustration, MaryLou. There is so much information out there, it’s hard to know where to go and what to trust. And, yes, even ‘healthy’ ingredients can have side effects. It can also be very individual. Some of the more intricate research and information comes out of university studies and medical center studies. Mayo Clinic comes to mind, for instance. Another research center that I’ve looked at is the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, but it takes a bit of digging. Does anyone else have a favorite place to go for information about health topics? Please share them here if you will.
This is a reponse to MaryLou’s question about is it harmful to the hormone system. Sodium borate will be ok in small doses. Just like a little baking soda, or table salt. If you ate a pound of baking soda, borax, or salt i’m pretty sure I would get sick. Using it in small doses will be ok.
ttp://www.ewg.org/skindeep
Great website for toxic levels.
don’t know what we did wrong but after setting over night it clumped up
If you put this into a smaller laundry bottle (I use an old one and just fill it from my bucket when it gets low) you can just shake it before you pour and it mixes it so you don’t get as much separation.
HEy clumping is the nature of it.U can put into smaller or repurposed detergent bottle and drop in a marble of smooth stone and shake it up.It is excellent laundry detergent.
I have not heard of Feis Naptha soap, what and where can I find it?
Walmart has it in the laundry section.
I make my own laundry soap as well. But I use a “no grate” recipe. I find that it works just as well and takes a lot less time to make:
http://lifes-greatest-blessings.blogspot.com/2012/11/tutorial-no-grate-homemade-laundry-soap.html
How well does your ” no grate” recipe clean clothes, Miranda? I’m trying to cut down on spending and between running a farm and having a 10 month child, I don’t have much spare time! Just curious!! Thank you!
Shells, you didn’t do anything wrong. It settles and needs to be stirred each day you use it. One good mixing should get you through however many loads you do that day.
I have used this for almost two years and it has saved me tons of money! I do put about a half cup of white vinegar in each load as a fabric softener as well…works great. I also throw in a Tide Boost packet from time to time for heavier loads, but I find this recipe handles almost anything, just treat stains like you always would.
I made the Laundry Detergent last night did it to the tee.but I checked it this morning and still water like it nevered came to a gel. I did put a little gain but that shouldn’t have done no diferent’s in it…
Please Help
Not every time does it gel but it is fine.Use it.Sometimes I use a wisk here to stir it up.Sometimes the humidity affects it but use it..
I don’t use water at all I keep it dry and use it like powdered. Detergent usually 3tblspoons do the trick. For my babys clothes I use a bar of Johnsons baby soap and plain baking soda its gentler fot babys skin
I made the laundry detergent for the first time yesterday, and used a drill with a paint mixer to mix it in the 5 gal. pail…was a lot easier than using a stick and done a better job of mixing.
I am making this laundry detergent right now. I was just wandering how much water you might have to add to the borax, washing soda and baking soda to get it to dissolve? I have added 5 extra cups of water so far and it still does not seem to be completely dissolved.
I would love to try this laundry detergent, but was wondering if it would be safe for septic tanks?
I made my 4th batch yesterday. This time I used a small $5 bottle of gain for my last gallon in the bucket – mostly because we miss the smell of gain. Anyway, when I went to stir it this morning after cooling I noticed that it had not separated like before – there was no layer on top. Apparently, the gain has something in it that keeps the various ingredients in suspension. Its also a nice blue/green color.
BTW, to stir in the 5 gallon bucket I use my electric drill with a metal paint stirring attachment which was approximately $3 from Lowes.