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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You can add a few drops of essenitial oil to add nice smells. I am allergic to most perfumes. I usually use lemon grass or orange. My friend uses lavender.
I have found vinegar takes out odors, it is cheap and I was shocked the vinegar smell evaporates. Vinegar also, cleans your pipes and reduces the need for sewer cleaning.
Use vinegar and baking soda to clean your toilets.
So you add vinegar to the mix? Or to the laundry load before a wash?
Were can I get the Fels Naptha soap? I can’t find it at Walmart. Where would it be sold at?
you can get it at almost any grocery store. our walmart has felsnaptha but it is on the top shelf up high. I use Zote instead which is a mexican laundry soap. I like the way it smells better. you can get that at walmart, mexican grocery stores, and big lots. It’s twice as big as a Fels bar but I still used the whole bar in the recipe and I really like how it turned out.
I use the Zote, also
) I shave it up and mix it in with half a box of cheap laundry detergent and use 1/4 cup for large loads – gets my stuff just as clean.
I use Ivory Soap in my laundry detergent and it works just fine. My recipe makes a smaller batch, right at 3 gallons, and it is concentrated enough to use 1/2 cup per load. The washing soda, I had to order online because neither Walmart nor Kroger carried it. I’ve been making my own laundry detergent for 1-1/2 years. Do not plan on going back to buying it. Frugal though it is, I just enjoy making it.
I make all my soap so I make a very simple soap just for making laundry detergent. I had a hard time finding the other recommended soaps.
I had to order it from an online website and by the time you added in the shipping it was cheaper to use ivory or zote soap.
If you live in the south, I found Fels Naptha at Kroger for $1.29 and A&H Washing Soda at Publix for $2.29.
@ Kimberly
I found fels naptha at marsh grocery store and ace hardware store. I live in Ohio, not sure if u have those stores where u live. hope that helps!
I know that this might be late in this chain but since I just found it I thought others might as well. I found all of the ingredients in my local Harris Tetter here in the Raleigh/Durham Area. Now they aren’t usually a low priced store but the Fels Napth was under a $1.50 a bar so that sounds good to me.
I have recently started seeing Fels Naptha and Super Washing Soda at Walmart, which I always keep an eye out for everywhere I go. These things are the cheapest I’ve seen them at Walmart also. This is just within the last few months and I know that I could not find it there previously. I think what you can do is go to your store of choice and ask them to start carrying the supplies and ingredients you need. That’s how the Ace Hardware in my town started carrying those items.
Albertson’s has Fels Naptha.
Ace Hardware stores carry the Fels soap. Also they have an online store which it can be purchased through. They carry all the products listed in the recipe. http://www.acehardware.com
What is washing soda? Where do I buy it?
ACE Hardware, Turvalue, or Coast to Coast. They all should have it.
Thank you!
You can also order it online from the Arm & Hammer site. When i ordered mine, there was a special with free shipping and handling,so it is all good.
Not sure if you have the ACME where you live but that’s where I buy my Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. I believe they have FELS Naptha soap too, but I ususually get mine at Target. I’ll also go to the dollar store and buy what’s there, but use 2 bars of that soap compared to 1 bar of Fels Naptha.
I couldn’t find the Washing soda ANYWHERE I went to all different stores so I found out you can go online to the Arm and Hammer wedsite and if you spend I think it is $20 or $25 shipping is free and you will have 4-5 Large boxes of the powder. They will last forever and after your first batch of this detergent you wont ever stop. I love this recipe I am about to make it again today when I get home from work. I made my last batch around October and I ran out Yesterday. So if you do as much laundry as me, which is ALOT then you will save so much money and you will love the clean feeling of your clothes. Just be careful with stuff that is REALLY colorful and might bleed wash it alone.
It’s in the laundry section. Walmart has it. So does Harris Teeter and Kroger.
your right homade laundry detergent is wonderful…I prefer powder…so here my recipe and it works better than tide or any detergent that has been put up against it……I can’t give credit where credit is do cuz I forget where in the internet I got it but I’m glad I did….2 bars of felsnaptha(food processor or grater needed)2 cups washing soda…(or Bakin soda)if using bakin soda you need 1 cup of borax other wise half cup borax…2 tablespoons does a large load….love itttt….
I use practically the same recipe and have been for a couple of years and I love it.
Wow, that sounds less messy! I did the liquid recipe last night and it was everywhere! Don’t get me wrong, I love it. But, I may have to try the powder version next time. 2 tablespoons…really?!
So, is the Borax, just the 20 mule team stuff? Believe it or not, I live about 30 miles from Boron, where borax comes from and I can’t seem to find anything but the 20 mule team stuff!!
Yeah, the 20 mule team stuff is what I used. I doubled the recipe I had, so I used 2 grated bars of Fels Naptha, 2.5 c. of Borax, and 2.5 c. of Arm & Hammer washing soda. I put it in my Magic Bullet to grind it finer so it dissolves easier. Just use 2 T. for large load and 1 for small. It’s great, and soooooo cheap!
I’m really excited to try this! Will it work for cloth diapers too? I’ve tried regular detergent and it caused all sorts of pulling on the diapers, and I do not want to ruin any more.
Yes, it does. I have used the liquid version of this laundry soap on my cloth diapers for over a year and it works great!
I use the following recipe because you need less soap for diapers or they get gunked up
1/2 c grated soap
1/2 c borax
1/2 c washing soda
Mix in food processor and I use 1 tablespoon per load and 1/2 c vinegar in the rinse water.
Will this recipe work for High Energy Efficient front loading washers? these washers cannot use regular liquid detergent because of their censors so I wondered how yours matched up to the HE products which are expensive?
You can use them in HE washers. Just make sure you process the soap really finely in a food processor if you’re using powder. Here is the recipe I follow for powder soap.
1 bar Fels Naptha
1 Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax
2 T per large load
As a cheap fabric softener, I use about a cup of white vinegar in the rinse load. A downy ball filled up works perfectly.
does this formula work for HE washers?
I read somewhere that homemade detergents work fine in HE washers since they are low suds which is the main concern when using laundry detergent. Been making my own for years now and washer is HE and still works great.
The powder formula found on the list should work in the HE washers.
It will work with HE machines, the HE detergents out there have minimal suds as does this recipe. Don’t worry when you don’t see your detergent giving off a lot of suds, the suds are not what give your clothes the clean you are looking for it is the ingredients. I love this detergent, my clothes end up simply smelling like clean cotton. Great stuff.
Does the gel form or powder form work in cold water?
I prefer the gel form for use in cold water. Otherwise powder residue is found on my clothes. I also dump the laundry detergent where the water is poured into the wash tub so the water coming in starts mixing with the gel detergent. I use half the water for the mix, so use only 1/2 cup of the detergent per load.
I found that with the powder if you run a little warm water first and then add powder and switch back to cold. It does not leave the white residue on the clothes.
I have made homemade soap for a long time, but now I have an HE machine. I just flooded my laundry room and the only thing I can think of is that the homemade soap did it. I make the liquid kind of homemade soap… and it turns gel-like. the first time I used it in my HE machine, I put it in the soap drawer cup for liquid detergent. It didn’t wash out into the washer. The second time I used it, I took the liquid cup out of the drawer and put the homemade gel in the powder detergent space. It washed out, so I thought I was golden. The third time I used the homemade gel, my laundry room flooded. It looks like the water came from the soap drawer, so I’m thinking that the gel-like soap doesn’t drain into the tub or get rinsed into the tub like it is supposed to and the water just sprays out the drawer because it has no where else to go. Help! Anyone else with this problem??? I have just made a whole new batch of gel soap, so I want to be able to use this!
First, when you switched to an HE washer did you cut the amount of detergent at least in half? That’s really important because the HE machines use so much less water, and too much detergent for the amount of water can be the cause of flooding.
Second, with an HE machine you can add your homemade detergent gel directly to the bottom of the washer before you add the clothes. For the reasons you mention, using the detergent cup with thick homemade detergent is a bad idea.
I just paid a $64.00 repair bill from using my homemade laundry soap in my HE washer. The repairman said the soap had “built up” somewhere and caused the washer to activate the feature that prevents flooding by stopping water from entering the washer. Expensive lesson! I have used the homemade soap before when I had a top-loader. I think I may go back to a top-loader when it’s time for a new machine. I have trouble with my HE having a bad smell and mildewing around the rubber seal. I’ve tried bleach and leaving the door open, but it’s still there.
I found out that HE washers save water because they use the rinse water for the next load you wash. My friend has one. She is a dairy farmers wife. She washed her whites first and then on down to the last load which had the dirtiest barn clothes. Her kids were complaining that the white towels had a bad odor when they were drying themselves after a shower.
Finally she went to where she purchased the machine and they told he about the water saving by washing the next load in the rinse water from the previous load. So she was washing her whites in the rinse water from the dirtiest barn clothes.
This could be the cause of the smell in your washer. Imagine you only wash once a week or go on vacation for a few weeks. That rinse water (which likely isn’t that clean), sits there in the washer fermenting all that time. Then when you wash your next load you are using that water that has been sitting there “cooking” all that time. You are washing your clothes in this germy soup.
My friend was horrified. Then they tried selling her some very expensive stuff she could run through the machine once a week to cure the problem. She told me she is out looking for a used old style machine and will NEVER get one of the newer ones again.
My Kenmore he does not do this. We don’t have a plumbed in drain line, so I can see the rinse water being drained into the laundry sink. The water saving feature is only used on some machines, not all he machines.
Use 1/3 C of each oxyclean and washing soda with a hot water wash without the clothes. Do this once a week until the smell is gone then once a month. The new cleaner for washing machines is just these 2 ingredients. It worked wonders in my he machine. Good luck.
If you add about 1/2 a bottle of cheap detergent to your liquid home made detergent it keeps it from being gloppy. I do it this way and it stays together with no stirring needed. Works so much better!
I never use the soap cup I poar the soap in too the water when I first start the washer..have no problems…
My girlfriend has an HE machine and this soap is all she uses. She has had no problems whatsoever.
The first time I made the gel I too, flooded the laundry room. When the liquid form “cures” it separates with a gel on top. Not thinking, I put a scoop of the gel into the soap dispenser which clogged the water that was being pumped in. You will want to take a large spoon or a paint stirrer to break this up so that you can get the solution mixed again. I don’t worry about getting mine completely broke up; it still has lumps.
I will also add I make the dry and liquid. I like to have the dry because it takes so much less storage space but I like the liquid for cold wash. I never noticed a problem when I used powder with cold but I just didn’t want to worry about if it dissolves.
I have an HE machine and I never have a problem with suds. I think this formula is naturally low sudsing.
One other point: I have painfully learned from experience when making the powder form you will want to use caution with grating the bar soap. If you are using a hand grater its easy to bump your fingers into the blades. I like the long slim Mircoplane grater best although I’ve used my Cuisinart for this also. If I am making liquid form I do not worry about breaking it up that fine.
you need to mix it half and half in laundry detergent bottle…..
Half detergent and hot water…..shake good everthing time you us it……
I’d like to repeat the question from Betsy(above. Does this formula work in cold water?
My mother always used Fels Naptha but she used hot water in those days. The smell reminds me of home.
I’ve used the powdered version for years (first got the recipe from Mary Hunt’s magazine debtproofliving.com with ingredients available at soapsgoneby.com And by the way, debtproofliving.com is also where I first heard about Hillbilly Housewife). I had always used warm water, but we recently purchased a new HE top-load washer, and I decided to try washing in cold water. Two discoveries: the powdered version works great in the HE washer, and there are no remaining granules or residue of any kind from washing in cold water.
I use it with cold water all the time and it’s fine. Just make sure you stir the contents of the bucket real good before you scoop some out to put in the washer. This may sound gross, but not only do i stir the contents, I put on some rubber gloves and mash the clumps with my hands. Your soap will go further and still work fine.
I use it with cold water all the time and it’s fine. Just make sure you stir the contents of the bucket real good before you scoop some out to put in the washer. This may sound gross, but not only do i stir the contents, I put on some rubber gloves and mash the clumps with my hands. Your soap will go further and still work fine.
The cherry on the cake would be if we could convince Fels Naptha to sell their soap in a grated form.
I agree!!!!
Yes this soap can be used in HE washing machines in both grated and gel forms. If your gel form is not dispensing properly, thin it and adjust your quantity accordingly. If you add equal parts of water to what you have then use twice as much as what you have been using. It should cause a problem.
I make both powdered and gel because I don’t feel like the powdered dissolves well enough in cold water.
Correction to typo: it SHOULDN’T cause a problem.
I have made homemade laundry detergent for about a year – maybe a little longer. Here’s my experience and what I’ve learned. I have an HE washing machine and this has worked fine in my machine. Because you want to avoid sudsing detergents, the homemade type is just perfect. I have made both powdered and gel detergent – I prefer the gel as I don’t worry about it dissolving. I’ve used cold, hot and warm water, depending on the load and the detergent has worked equally well no matter the water temperature. I think it works as well or better than commercial detergent and at less than half the price what’s not to love? I’ve used both Zote and Fels Naptha soap bars – I think I like the Fels Naptha better but there’s not that much difference so when I find Zote at $1 a bar and it’s twice the size of the Fels Naptha, that’s what I buy. The finer you grate the soap, the easer it is to dissolve in the hot water. I found my recipe at tipnut.com – search the site for laundry detergent recipes – there are at least 10. I use the first one. I’ve tried others but that seems to be the best. Also, there are tons of hints on that website regarding making and using the detergent. Good luck to all! I just love The Hillbilly Housewife, there are so many creative folks out there willing to share their ideas. Thanks so much!
I use this all the time. You must use distilled vinegar in the fabric softner dispenser or you will have a film develop in your washer. Just use vinegar in place of your fabric softner.
I actually use a mixture of vinegar, baking soda, and distilled water for my fabric softener and it works beautifully.
What about people with allergies to some detergents? Seems like this might be better because it is free of perfumes, but I would like to know your experience before I make all this. I can not use Tide, Cheer or any detergent with red dye in it. Any comments?
I have a ton of allergies and highly recommend this recipe.
I have horrible allergies and so do my kids. I have used the powder version for years with no problems.
Thanks for the recipe. Just a recommendation, use stainless steel to blend the ingredients, I find that it corrodes my non-stick pans. Has anyone else had this same problem?
I use a similar recipe and have since October, I also use a homemade fabric softener that I love. I get my Fels and Washing Soda at JayC or at Kroger.
Do you mind sharing your homemade fabric softener…….have been looking for a good recipe.
Thanks
All the ingredients can also be found at Rural King. I use less than 1/2 cup for my new front loading machine. I made the liquid soap and used a vegetable peeler to grate the bar soap before melting it.
I have been making my own Laundry Soap~ Fabric Softener and Stain Remover for three years. I have a new HE Washer and I live in the country with a septic system. I have had no problems at all in fact my plumber said washing soda and Borax are the safest things to use for both of these issues.
All my recipes are found on my blog~http://farmingonfaith.blogspot.com
I also make most all my own cleaning supplies.
I am saving huge amounts of money!
Happy Cleaning~
Peace and Blessings~
Carrie @ Farming On Faith
I commented above but was reading over some of the questions and thought I’d post some ideas/answers. I make the liquid detergent and have for quite some time. I use a stainless steel pot to “cook” or melt my bar soap and to mix in the dry ingredients. When everything is dissolved I dump it into a large plastic bucket – actually it’s a cat litter bucket – they are great for this purpose. I make half batches because it’s just hubby and me and this lasts a really long time. I store excess in the littler bucket and transfer smaller amounts into a container that holds around a gallon (also plastic) with a lid. I cut a notch in the lid and I found a very large whisk – the kind you beat eggs or pancake mix with – and leave that in the smaller container – the notch is to make room for the whisk handle. Whenever I go to use the detergent, I just give it a stir with the whisk. It’s a stainless Steel whisk. It does a great job and I don’t need to mess with the gloppy detergent. I think a wooden or plastic spoon or other implement would work well also. Also, thanks to the folks who posted the front load washer cleaner – I’ll use that recipe and also thanks for the fabric softner ideas. I must say that the front loader I have now is a Kenmore – I don’t like it – years ago, before front loaders were popular, I had an ASKO – I think they are made in Sweden – it was awesome. Next time I buy I will look for an Asko, Miele or Bosch because I think they are better made. They seem to be more expensive but the cost savings is much better in the long run. My asko did not have a hot water hook up – it heated hot water internally if it needed it – but I use cold water so no problem there. Back when I had the ASKO the only detergent I could use was low sudsing so you had to read the labels – good part was it you only used 1 T. per load of detergent and it did a magnificent job. My first box of detergent wasn’t all that big and it lasted a year! Now I’m sold on the homemade type and will not go back to the commercial kind.
I’ve used similar versions of the dry and liquid recipes for over 3 years. First in a top loader and then in an HE. I’ve used them with all of our clothes and cloth diapers. It’s amazing. I mix it up in a 5 gal bucket from lowes. I fill a large mason jar or old laundry detergent bottle with 1/2 – 3/4 of the liquid mixture and the rest with water. I shake it really well before each use and have never had any problems with my HE washer doing it this way.
Hi, this is a very good thread. I am just stumped though. What is “Washing Soda”? I know A & H Baking soda, but I’ve never heard of A & H Washing Soda. Would anyone here be able to help me with this? Thanks Ladies.
Sodium carbonate (also known as washing soda or soda ash), Na2CO3 is a sodium salt of carbonic acid. I don’t know if that’s really what you’re asking, though. It should be found in your local grocery in the laundry aisle, and it’s usually (at least in the grocery stores I frequent) on either the top or the bottom shelf. A&H comes in a yellow box about the same size as the Borax, maybe a little smaller. I’ve tried other recipes for laundry soap, and this is the one that works the best for me. It does gel significantly, and it doesn’t dissolve easily in cold water, especially on the gentle cycle or if the tub is very full (teenagers apparently have NO IDEA how much laundry should go into the machine at one time). If I’m doing delicates, I usually squeeze the larger lumps of soap through my fingers to break them up. This can dry your skin a bit, so be prepared to moisturize afterward.
i loved the recipe for laundry softner and was surprised that it worked
I am of the understanding that the HE front loaded washing machines require ONE TABLESPOON of soap to operate. That is approximately what I use and I have had no problems. My clothes come out clean. So those of you having HE problems, maybe you are using too much soap?
I recently made a batch of this laundry soap. I love the smell, it reminds me of my Mama, & the “olden days.”
However I thought it was going to turn into a gel, but it seperated & is very thick on the top, and watery underneath. DID I DO SOMETHING WRONG?
i USE A LARGE WISK THROUGHOUT THE MIXING PROCESS AND AS IT COOLS i WISK THE SOLUTION EVERY FEW HOURS AND THE NEXT MORNING.iT MAKES IT MUCH MORE SMOOTH.I also started adding a cup of nic smelling liquid fabric softener in my mixture, it is a nice touch! I have saved hundreds of dollars since I started making my own detergent, I really like it.
I was disappointed the first batch I made because it was very clumpy even tho I followed the recipe exactly. However, I was very happy to see that over time (I kept shaking the bottles I had refilled with my new soap) the new soap did gel nicely and the clumps were almost non existant. This was almost two months later – but better late than never. This next time I am going to make up my batch ahead of time and give it some time to gel right.
I think you have to mix it before using if you add the water to it.
When I make it, I keep it a dry powder. Much neater that way, and takes up less space.
I’ve made this laundry soap for several years now. I love it! The recipe I use is
1 bar Fels Naptha
1 Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax
2 T per large load
I grate the bar soap with a fine cheese grater then mix it together with the two powders. I then run small batches of the mixture through my food processor to produce a fine powder.
As a cheap fabric softener, I use about a cup of white vinegar in the rinse load. A downy ball filled up works perfectly.
I’ve been making this detergent for about 4 months now. I love it. Last week I tried making a Concentrate of it, using the same amount of Soap (1 bar Fels), Borax (1 cup), Washing Soda (1 cup), and only 1 gallon total of water. I made it the same way, making sure to use a container that had a large mouth on it, so I could stir it easier since it would be thicker. It is somewhere between a gel & a paste. I only use a little less than 1 1/2 tablespoons per load (I have a top load washer). It seems to be doing the job as well as the regular recipe, but now I only have to have 1 gallon container of detergent sitting around instead of 5.
I’m not a fan of powdered detergents, so that is why I went with the liquid in the first place. I put the Paste version in the washer with the clothing, and it dissolves easily. My niece just made her first batch ever, using the Paste version, and has an HE washer. She said it all dissolved for her also and things seemed to come out just fine.
Just thought I would pass it along to see if someone else has tried making a concentrate also.
Do you have any substitutes for bluing. I have used it for years, but am now down to my last bottle and cannot find any more. My grandmother used it in her second rinse tub and I started using it when washing diapers. Helped keep them a beautiful white.
I have found it at Kroger (Dillions) in KS. I think I have also seen it in Ace Hardware.
Mary, try http://www.lehmans.com for more bottle’s of bluing. This is the greatest on-line company for those hard-to-find olden day item’s. We order from them often. Their customer service number is 1-888-438-5346. They are located in kidron, Ohio.
Found the detergent ingredients at WinCo today in Modesto, CA for the following prices:
A&H Washing Soda – $2.77
Borax – $3.86
Fels Naptha – $1.09
I think Borax is cheaper at Super Target but didn’t want to make a special trip just for one item that would likely end in me buying a ton of stuff I didn’t really need.
@Mary: Here in CA, I have found bluing at both WinCo and Raley’s.
Has anyone noticed, after using the home made laundry detergent after awhile your clothes start looking really dingy? Has anyone else had this problem. I would have to use a store bought laundry soap to get them looking clean again, and then go back to the home made laundry detergent. I would love to hear if this happens to anyone else, and what you have done about it.
Tabaitha
Once a month, I add 1 cup vinegar to each load of wash. Your water may be harder or have minerals in it (I have iron). The vinegar will help everything rinse clean.
Yes, I have the same problem with my clothes looking dingy and not really getting clean. I went back to buying laundy detergent from the store and it is working better now. However, I really want to use the home-made detergent as it is so much cheaper.. I have very soft water since getting a water softener system. Anyone have an idea of what I can do?
Can you use the detergent right away or must it sit overnight? Where do you find the essential oil? What section of the store will you find that?
Essential oils are highly concentrated scents. Generally speaking you can find them at natural food stores and also in the soap making supply section of craft stores. Many companies sell them online.
If you find your things are looking dingy, cut back on the baking soda. Washing soda makes things whiter, Baking soda helps with the odor, but can gray. If you are adding vinegar to your rinse water, cutting the baking soda in half should be fine. I think the harder your water is, the more likely it is for them to gray with any soap. My mother had that trouble with her commercial soap. It was the one thing that didn’t change when she switched to the homemade I make. She uses a whitening agent. Oxyclean, I think.
I can’t seem to get the stains out of my clothes.. Bleach does not get the stains out of whites either. I haven’t tried making my detergent yet-but plan to do so. Anyone else having the problem getting whites-white again?
I’m lazy so I just mix One part each of Washing Soda, 20 Mule Team Borax and whatever laundry detergent is on sale or a store brand. Take all 3 boxes and pour a little of each and then stir, add a little of each on top of that and stir that mix until my container is fill. I put 1/4 cup of this mixture in an old jar, add warm water (I catch some while the washer is filling); shake to dissolve before adding to the washer. Because I like Borax for cleaning, I set about 1-2 cups of it aside before mixing. Been doing this for years and I know I have saved a pretty penny.
To Sandy: Today’s laundry spray removers work great. The trick is to spray right away as soon as you get home. Then just toss in the hamper until laundry day, giving it time to work.
Personally, I use the powdered version. It’s easy to remember.
1 bar Fels-Naptha, grated (I use my food processor. Makes quick work of it and I make up a double batch)
1 C. Super Washing Soda
1 C. Borax
Use 1 Tbsp. per load. Use 2 Tbsp. for extra large or extra soiled loads.
It works in cold water and HE front-loaders, with no worry of build-up or repair to your machine. I have used it in my front-loader and know from experience. I also know from experience that I will never own one of those machines again. If you’re shopping for a HE machine, go with a top-loader. That’s my two cents.
I have a very itchy little girl and we try to use all natural laundry detergent, so I’m reluctant to use Fels Naptha bars. How do you think Dr. Bronner’s castile soaps would work with this recipe?
You can use Dr. Bonner’s in place of the Fels Naptha. I actually use Ivory soap. I have a large batch of powdered detergent, but prefer liquid. So plan to make about 10 gallons next time.
How long can you keep the gel formula? Living alone, I only wash 3-4 loads a week, so I’m concerned that it might harden or “go bad” before I use it.
To Carrie with the itchy daughter. I can relate to your daughter so I buy any clear and sensitive detergent on sale. I use this for my sheets, underwear and socks. Your daughter may need all her laundry done with it. I do all the rest of the laundry with my homemade mix. It still saves money. I mix 1 part any laundry detergent that’s on sale to 1 part washing soda, 1 part borax. I use 1/4 cup. (large washer, many items in each load)
just a question. do you use a total of 1/4 cup per load? or do u use 3/4 c per load? THanks.
if you live in Minnesota I found all the ingredients for the laundry soap at Mills fleet farm!
Just made my first batch of homemade laundry soap with this recipe last night. All ingredients were found at my local Walmart (I live in N Cali.) I was so excited to find it gelled up this morning, tho I had to use a blender to make it more liquidy as it solidified quite a bit. I washed my bedding in it, using vinegar as a rinse, then hung them up directly after to dry on the clothes line. I am SO happy with the results! The sheets smell great, are clean, and best of all, are super soft! Even when I used to use commercial softeners they were never this soft, especially after hanging them up to dry. Even after I put them in the dryer for a bit, they were still quite crunchy. I will be making my own from here on out. Thanks for the great recipe!
I just made my first batch last night. I plan on using it for my husband and I, towels and sheets. However, I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 10 week old. Does anyone use it for their children? I didn’t know how abrasive it would be. My older child has struggled with skin problems mainly when I switched him to regular detergent. So I switched back to Dreft for him as well as the baby.
My son has severe skin problems and this is the best stuff. It does not bother him at all. I use Ivory soap though. I would guess if you could use the soap for bathing, you would not have issues. You can switch any bar soap for the Fels Naptha soap.
I started using this on my son back when was 3 months old and we didn’t have any problems. We used Tide Free and Clear at first but then moved the whole family to the homemade version. You could always try it and see if there is a problem.
I mix equal parts Borax and Washing Soda. That’s it. I use about a tablespoon of the mix in each load. We have a large capacity machine. It works great, and no grating of a soap bar. We’ve been using it for a few months with no issues.
I’ve been using homemade detergent for a few years now. Do any of you know if it has any ill effects on your septic system? I just wonder if this gel is making a ‘gel’ in the system… Hope someone has some expertise in this area. :}
I was wondering what kind of savings are we talking about? Is the work involved with making the soap worth the savings?
The work is only about 10 minutes of your time. Not much to it at all. I love the stuff for my kids, family.