3 Ingredients to Homemade Laundry Detergent

Hello again!

How many of you do laundry?  How many of you pinch pennies?  How many of you want to combine those two pastimes into one brilliant idea?!  Homemade Laundry Detergent!  Yes!

I cannot remember the last time I bought detergent, but it wasn’t cheap.  Long ago I went on a mission to figure out what I could make myself to save us money, and this was at the top of my list.  Two boxes of powder and a bar of soap later, I had a slimy, goopy mess.  But boy does it clean!

*There are a million and one ways to do this.  We originally came across this on the Duggar’s family website, and since I have seen at least a dozen recipes with the same basic ingredients.*

THE INGREDIENTS:

SOAP: We use Fels-Naptha as recommended by the Duggar’s, mostly because we found a TON of bars on clearance for 59 cents at Kroger. Fels-Naptha is specifically marketed as a laundry soap, as is the brand Zote, but you can use pretty much anything; Ivory, a castile soap like Dr. Bronners, probably even what’s under your sink right now. Stay away from anything with extra moisturizers, they tend to leave a film.

WASHING SODA: This is NOT Baking Soda. Using Baking Soda would not hurt, as it does clean and help with odors, but Washing Soda (sodium carbonate) is stronger. We use Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda.

BORAX: This white powder can be used all over the house for cleaning, degreasing, and general degunking. You can also make Slime with it! Look for 20 Mule Team Borax.

ESSENTIAL OILS: My absolute favorite place to buy oils is online from Mountain Rose Herbs. They sell everything from carrier oils and butters to teas and tinctures, and have excellent customer service. Love’em. I usually use lavender oil, but I’m thinking maybe rosemary this round? You can use anything you like, but educate yourself as some of them can irritate. Maybe I will expand on this in another article.

*The soap, soda, and borax can all be found in the laundry aisle of stores like Kroger and Walmart. They are usually together next to the powdered detergent.*

THE RECIPE:

4 cups of hot water
1 bar of Soap
1 cup Washing Soda
½ cup Borax
*Optional* Your favorite essential oils
a 5 gallon Bucket

• Get the water heating in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
• Grate or shave the soap into tiny bits. The smaller the bits, the faster it will melt. Take a knife to Fels-Naptha and it just falls apart (pictured). Do this on wax paper, pick it up and it slides right into the pan.
• Add the soap to the water and stir until dissolved. It is important not to let the mix boil or you will create a bubbly mess.
• While the soap is melting, half fill your bucket with hot water. Add the powders, and when dissolved, the soap mixture. Stir.
• Fill your bucket with hot water. Most likely this will create bubbles. I use the sprayer from our sink, to I have to wait for the foam to die down before I can fill it to the top.
• Stir very well. It will not be easy. We use a paint stick.

You are pretty much done! If you want to add essential oils, wait until it cools and gels, and then add 15-20 drops of your choice.

Whatever your container (we use a saved Tide bottle) fill it half way with detergent and top off with water. This will make a total of 10 gallons of detergent. Yeah, you do the math.

FUN FACTS!

• Your finished product will not be homogeneous. It will look like egg drop soup. You will need to shake it well before you add it to your machine.
• Since there is no sodium lauryl sulfate, this is a low sudsing formula, which means you can use it any machine, including high efficiency machines.
• I don’t measure it out, but think I use about 1/4 cup for a large load. You don’t need a lot.
• I will warn you right now, this detergent, even when you add essential oils, doesn’t leave a scent on your clothes. This has never been a problem for me, I prefer no scent, but I have a friend who felt her clothes were not clean because they didn’t have that Downy smell. I promise they are clean.
• When using this detergent you need to follow up with plain, white vinegar. This will help keep soap scum from forming in your machine, and also acts as a fabric softener. Use the same amount as detergent, and add it to your softener slot, or in one of those Downy balls. You can use commercial softener (or homemade softener, an article to come!) in addition to this, if you like a stronger scent.
• You can vary this recipe to your liking.

 Go wash some clothes!