I am frugal to the core. One of the things that I hate most is just giving away our money to big corporations for life’s necessities. I really hate it when I hear that a large portion of that product is just water. If you use liquid detergent, like we do, than the large majority of it is just water. It’s kinda like bathing in Evian water.
Here’s where the good news comes in. You can make your own laundry detergent (liquid) and save money. We used to buy Gain liquid detergent which costs between 10$-15$ per bottle depending on if it’s on sale or not. Being a large family of five with a larger amount of clumsiness thrown in, we go through 2-3 bottles of detergent a month. I’m not joking. I spill everything on my shirt imaginable and our kids change clothes everytime a dew drop hits them (can you tell I watched Tinker Bell today? Dew Drop fairies….). Based on those numbers, I figured that we were spending $300 a year on laundry detergent, at least. That is $300 a year for some fancy water that happens to wash clothes in it’s spare time.
Someone told me this week that they are just too lazy to make their own but if you really think about it, you probably spend more time dragging kids to the store just for detergent when you run out. I’ve made two batches now. The first batch lasted three months and cost about $3 to make. The entire recipe takes about ten minutes to make. Go try it and save money! I have a cute idea for gifting the homemade detergent but I’ll have to work on that first.
Homemade Laudry Detergent (liquid) :
1 Fels Naptha Bar or other laundry bar such as Zote
Borax
Super Washing Soda by Arm and Hammer
five gallon bucket or large plastic tote
Grate the Fels Naptha Bar. I just use a regular knife since it breaks up easily. I also use a cutting board that I use only for crafts. I do not use it for food at all but since it is only soap, it should wash off if you want to use one that you use with food. Melt the soap bar into four cups of hot water on the stove top while stirring continuously. When the soap is melted (this part takes the longest), add the melted soap to the bucket with 1 cup of Super Washing Soda and 3/4 cup Borax. Fill the bucket half way with hot tap water and stir well until everything is dissolved (approx. 36 cups of water if you are not using a five gal. bucket) When everything is dissolved, fill the bucket the rest of the way with hot tap water (approx. 40 cups) and let sit overnight with the lid on. Make sure the lid is on to prevent children or pets from falling into the warm detergent.
Your detergent will be ready to use the next day after you stir it well (it gels). Fill a used jug half full of the laundry detergent and fill the other half with hot tap water. Shake well before each use. I use an old gain laundry detergent jug but some people use old milk jugs or vinegar jugs. You can also add several drops of a scented oil such as lavendar oil if you wish. I really like the smell of the Fels Naptha bar so I do not add any scents to mine (most days).
Edited to Add: Yes you can use this with HE washers! I use it with mine and it’s fine. HE washers require special detergents because somewhere along the way americans became convinced that in order for soap to work, it needs to have bubbles. No joke. So companies add ingredients that make soap bubble up more. This is why the expensive shampoos do not have bubbles in the lather. The regular non HE detergent has this added ingredient while the HE machine can’t handle bubbles because they will overflow easier so this ingredient is left out of the HE detergent, everything else is the same. Homemade laundry detergent does not have this added ingredient and it will not bubble up. It is perfectly safe for HE machines.
this is awesome! I sooo want to try this!! I especially love the idea of being able to add your own scented oils! but, I have one of those stupid fancy schmancy front loading washers, I wonder if I can use this in it?!?!
BTW, Naptha is the sound I make when I get a hair in my mouth…I had no idea it was a soap!
i do this too, but just use it as a powder. love it!
I wondered about being able to use it in a front loader too. And does it still keep clothes white and bright?
Did you post a way to gift this??? I made my fisrt batch today!! So exited!
Oh my goodness, this is AWESEOME, Bobbie! I’m totally going to try it…after finals are over!
I’m intrigued by this!! But like all these others with front-loaders/HE washers, I’m concerned about that as well.
Would like to know if it works regardless?? Perhaps a smaller “dose”??
I do that too! But my HE didn’t like it as a liquid, so I make it powdered and my recipe is just slightly different. SO MUCH money saved. SO MUCH!
It didn’t like it? I’ve heard the powder is easy to make too. Maybe I should make some and compare.
Here’s how I make it:
http://www.milehimama.com/tutorial/how-to-make-homemade-laundry-soap-for-an-he/
Oh yeah, btw- Fels Naptha will wash off poison ivy, so if your kids get into it this summer wash their clothes in this detergent!
That’s a great tip! Thanks!
For those that prefer a powder version – I make a powder version of this but the mix is slightly different. 2 bars Felz-Naptha, 1 Cup Borax, 1 Cup Super Wash, blend soaps 1/3 mix at a time and you get a powder mix. use a shot glass for 1 load in an HE washer. A regular washer uses 2 shot glasses full. This mix lasts my family of 6 a few months, and the only thing I have to buy every time I make a batch is the Felz-Naptha soap. The borax and super wash last minimum of 4 batches.
almost forgot I use the cheese shredder on the small side to shred the Naptha soap bars.
I leave my naptha bar unwrapped for a day and it kinda dries out. Then I cut it with a knife and most of the time but not all the time it will just kinda fall apart.
Thank you for leaving that recipe for powder detergent! A lot of my friends use it in powder form and love it. I might give this way a try soon too.
Use this recipe for a year and liked till my whites stared turning yellowish. So did a search and saw where someone else said you should use 1 1/2 cups of each arm and hammer and borax. So I am going to give this a try today. We will see if it helps if not I will not use again.
I haven’t had that problem but honestly… I’m not joking… I am so clumsy and one of my kids are too that I make a point not to buy anything white. I know there is a blue liquid that you add to your detergent that turns clothes back white but I’ve never tried that either. I hope the new recipe works for you!
Does this work well in cold water cycle as well? Has anyone tried it in cold water washes or just hot?
Yes it works in cold water too!