Since I’ve been on such a homemade kick recently, it would make sense that I would try making my own laundry detergent. I wanted something cheap, gentle on our clothing, and safe for our family.
Did you know that most commercial laundry detergents are filled with enzymes, brighteners, softeners, fragrances and dyes (basically yucky chemicals) that coat your clothing making them appear cleaner by appealing to your sense of sight and smell? The colors look bright and the clothes smell good, so they must be clean, right? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be wearing all those chemicals against my skin all day, so here’s what I’ve been using for homemade laundry soap. My friend Jenica gave me the recipe, and after doing a little more reading online I decided on the type of soap I wanted to use.
Update #2 – 2/26/10 – I was still having some major trouble with this laundry detergent leaving spots on our clothes, so I made the switch to using Fels Naptha, along with using the tips from the update below, and have had great results for the last month or so!
Update #1 – 11/18/09: I was having some trouble with spotting on some of my clothing with this detergent. (Grrr) I made a batch without the baking soda and I also used the food processor to grind the soap into small beads (cut the soap bar into strips first). I also read that the detergent doesn’t dissolve as well in cold water, so I’ve been starting my loads with warm water and then after two minutes or so, once the soap has been dispensed into the washer drum and has some time to dissolve, I switch the water to cold. These changes seem to have eliminated the problems I was having!
Homemade Laundry Detergent
3 cups of Borax, and
2 cups each:
Washing Soda
Baking Soda
Grated Soap – I use 1 bar of Kirk’s Castille Soap now I use 1 bar of Fels Naptha.
I have a front loading HE machine and use about 2 Tbsp. per load. This is a naturally low-sudsing detergent, which is what is important for HE machines. The amount of detergent you use is something that you may have to experiment with and find out what works best for your washing machine.
I use white vinegar in place of fabric softener. I fill the fabric softener compartment in my machine with white vinegar. It does a good job of naturally softening the clothes and helping to keep them free of static.
You could also double the recipe to make more at one time. We’ve been using it for a few weeks and I’m happy with the results. Our clothes smell nice and fresh and just simply clean – no harsh chemicals or synthetic fragrances. I still pre-treat any clothes that have stains with Spray ‘n Wash (love that stuff, but don’t love the ingredients), but I am working on figuring out a greener, natural stain remover for when my bottle runs out.
Also, I found another similar recipe online, just without the baking soda. I may try that next, just to see how it works, one less ingredient means that it is just that much cheaper to make!
Do you use natural or homemade laundry detergent? What works for you? Also, if you have a natural, homemade stain remover I would love to hear about it!
Check out Grocery Chart Challenge for more great recipes, and Life as Mom for more frugal tips.
Going to try your laundry detergent recipe this week. I’ve always wanted to make my own 🙂
I love my homemade detergent! I use 1 bar grated Zote soap (walmart right next to the fels, I like it way better than the fels…), 1 cup washing soda, 1 cup borax. I melt the Zote in 4-6 cups of water on the stove. When that is melted then i add the washing soda and the borax. when it is all disolved then I fill up a 5 gal bucket halfway with hot water (bathtub!!), add the soap mix, stir it up and then top it off with more water to fill the bucket up all the way. put the lid on and let it sit overnight. the next day it is a congealed mass, like pink jello. I use a 1/4 cup in my front loader, if it is really greasy daddy work clothes then I will add a squirt of dishsoap. It cost me $2 for 5 gal of soap. I made it in the beginning of January and I am barely half way through the bucket (5 kids!!) It works great!
All the recipes I found use washing soda instead of baking soda. That might have been your problem.
I found a tip suggesting that instead of a dryer sheet, put safety pins into 2 articles of clothing in the dryer. It seems to be working great! I also started vinegar in the fabric softner at the same time so I can’t say for sure which is making the difference. I just took 2 old washcloths and pinned them, and throw them in with every dryer load.
Hey I’m new to your blog, but I use homemade detergent, and just love it! One tip about helping with the stains, is that if you let your washing machine agitate for just a second or 2 after you have put your soap and clothes in to make sure your clothes are nice and wet. Then let the clothes sit in the washing machine for 15 minutes, and then go back and turn your washing machine on and let it go as normal. This helps with getting stains out. And also helps the soap to dissolve as well! 🙂
I keep the Fels-Naptha bar next to my washing machine and rub it on any stains before running a load of laundry. Works great as a “Stain Stick”.
Why did you switch from Castile Bar soap to Fels-Naptha? I don’t like the way the Fels Naptha smells, but I want to make sure the Castile soap actually works before I switch.
I just started making laundry soap. The recipe I use is 1c Borax + 1c Washing Soda + 4.5oz grated Ivory or Fels Naptha or Zote. I use the Ivory b/c I like how it smells the best. 🙂 It’s been working great for me. I have a HE, large capacity washer and I wash on cold except for sheets and bath towels. I put the 1-2Tb in first as the water is filling, then the clothes. No “greasy” spots and no white specks, and we have hard water. Also, for whites, I add Oxyclean. Not sure how green that is though?
I’ve found a recipe for homemade oxyclean…
1 cup water
1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide
1/2 cup baking soda
I am planning to make this in addition to the laundry detergent recipe. I have used peroxide to remove stains, even blood from my stepdaughter’s nosebleed on her favorite shirt, and it works like a charm.
Thanks for sharing Melissa! I’ve tried that recipe and it definitely works great for getting some stains out. It didn’t work for my son’s grass stains though, still trying to figure that one out!
RI use Dawn dish soap peroxide and baking soda to het out stains. Works awesme!!!
I have been making my own detergent for 7 years. I use 1 cup Borax, 1 cup Washing Soda, 2 cups finely grated soap,( Zote, Fels-Naptha, Octagon,or Kirks Castile)and, 1/4 cup Sun Oxygen Cleaner. I use 3 heaping Tbls a load. I put 30 drops of essential oil ( I like orange) into a gallon of vinegar and use as fabric softener. The vinegar removes the soap residue. After using for awhile the residue will build up in your washing machine. A magic eraser easily handles that task. To pre-treat stains simply wet your soap bar (Fel-naptha, zote, or, octagon) and rub on the stain. You can also use those soaps to clean your woodwork, or wash with if you have been exposed to poison ivy. Zote can also be cut up and used as catfish bait, if you decide to go fishing instead of washing your clothes. 🙂
I use basically the same ingredients as you – but I use 1 c. of the liquid castile soap and make a liquid laundry detergent by mixing the dry ingredients with boiling hot water first before adding the soap. No spots here..