Laundry Detergent Recipe: How to Make your Own Laundry Detergent
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This is the best laundry detergent recipe I have used! It was very simple to make, turned out well, and I love that it’s got all natural ingredients! I have sensitive skin and this has worked fantastically. I used to use All Free and Clear but now this is my one and only laundry detergent.
Before I started, I gathered up the following supplies:
- A pot to melt the soap in
- Bar of soap (I chose Ivory soap because it is non irritating)
- 1 gallon jug
- Trash can to store laundry detergent in
- 1 box of Washing Soda
- 1 box Borax
- Long handled spoon to stir mixture
Where do you buy washing soda? It was a little tough to find, but my local grocery store carried it in the laundry detergent aisle. I called 1-800-524-1328, put in my zip code, and it told me where I could find it.
Here is the recipe for dry laundry detergent:
- 2 1/2 ounces soap bars, grated into flakes (Approx. a half a bar of soap)
- 1 cup borax
- 1 cup washing soda
Here’s the homemade laundry detergent recipe for liquid laundry detergent:
- 1 bar of soap of your choice
- 1 cup washing soda
- ½ cup borax
My first step was to almost boil about 4-5 cups of water, and shave the bar of soap into the water, stirring occasionally. Once that was done, I let it sit on the stove while I poured three gallons of hot water into my trash can. I then measured out 1 cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup of borax. I took the hot soap mixture, added it to the water in my trash can, and stirred until it looked pretty evenly distributed. Then I slowly added my 1 cup of washing soda until that was dissolved, and then did the same to the borax. That’s it. Fairly simple. I’m going to let it sit and get cool before I try to use it. It’s pretty liquid right now.
I have a front loading high efficiency (HE) washing machine. I’m use about a half a cup of this for my laundry loads.
I love making my own laundry detergent! I have not done so in a few months though because I’ve been a slacker! lol!!
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Let us know how it works out!
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Very cool. I haven’t made homemade laundry detergent yet, but I did read this week that vinegar works just as well as fabric softener. Have you tried that? I’ll be eager to hear how you like your laundry detergent.
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This is a great post! How did the detergent work out in your HE washer? Are you happy with the laundry results?
Am enjoying your blog very much!
Sheri
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Hi Sheri! Thanks so much for your compliments! Your blog is one of my favorites.
The laundry detergent works really well for me in the HE washer. I never have soap residue, the clothes smell great (no perfumey smells, which I love!), and my skin doesn’t get irritated. It is fantastic!
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I made my own detergent, using a slightly different recipe than listed but I love it! My husband thinks it is disgusting but lets face it, he never does laundry! I rinsed out two milk jugs and used them to hold the detergent. So far, so good!
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Thanks for the recipe! I use the same ingredients for my powdered mixture: equal amounts of grated soap, borax and washing soda. I use 1 Tbsp per load. I have never tried making a liquid detergent, but I’ll have to give this recipe a try.
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In case it’s of interest to anyone, from Wikipedia “mixtures imported into the EU which contain Borax are now required to be labelled with the warnings “May damage fertility” and “May damage the unborn child”.”
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