Homemade Laundry Detergent
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.
Anonymous says
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?!?!
Anonymous says
BTW, Naptha is the sound I make when I get a hair in my mouth…I had no idea it was a soap! 😎
suzannah {so much shouting, so much laughter} says
i do this too, but just use it as a powder. love it!
D-L says
I wondered about being able to use it in a front loader too. And does it still keep clothes white and bright?
abbey says
Did you post a way to gift this??? I made my fisrt batch today!! So exited!
Adrienne says
Oh my goodness, this is AWESEOME, Bobbie! I’m totally going to try it…after finals are over! 🙂
Courtney Crawford says
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”??
Milehimama says
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!
Bobbie says
It didn’t like it? I’ve heard the powder is easy to make too. Maybe I should make some and compare.
Milehimama says
Here’s how I make it:
http://www.milehimama.com/tutorial/how-to-make-homemade-laundry-soap-for-an-he/
Milehimama says
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!
Bobbie says
That’s a great tip! Thanks!
Jenna says
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.
Jenna says
almost forgot I use the cheese shredder on the small side to shred the Naptha soap bars.
Bobbie says
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.
Bobbie says
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.
Kathy says
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.
Bobbie says
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!
EJ says
Does this work well in cold water cycle as well? Has anyone tried it in cold water washes or just hot?
Bobbie says
Yes it works in cold water too!
Gail Loehmann says
Has anyone had a problem with odors with the liquid version of this detergent? I made the smaller batch with 1 bar of Naptha and1 cup of washing soda and borax. My daughter had a potty accident in her bed last night. I put the sheets in the washer right away and when they came out, they still had a strong urine smell. Had to end up washing them again with the store bought stuff. I don’t like the idea of adding a “scent” to my detergent. That is why I decided to make my own in the first place. My daughter has issues with the scents in detergent and fabric softener. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Bobbie says
For strong odors like urine, Add Vinegar to the rinse cycle or sometimes I just let them soak in the sink for a few minutes in vinegar before putting them in the wash. It will take it out very quickly.
Ruth says
How much ldetergent do you add to your laundry with the liquid version for a regular size load?
Bobbie says
I usually add about 1/4 – 1/3 of a cup. It does not require much.
Katie says
I was just wondering if you’ve heard of anyone having problems with homemade laundry soap causing your plumbing to become backed up? I’ve read all different blogs and no where have I read this being a problem but I posted on Facebook that I was going to make my own, and a friend told me that her husband (a plumper) said that it can block pipes…… I’m still gonna make my own, it’s sounds like fun and I’m tired of wasting money on store bought products I can make on my own that are better for you anyways.
Bobbie says
I’ve read about it online but it has never happened to me or anyone that I know. If it worries you maybe run bleach through your machine occasionally.
Jennifer says
I tried the dry version and had an issue with odor so I added the purex crystals to the recipe and it was marvelous!
Bobbie says
I haven’t tried that recipe with the crystals yet but I want to!
Jacqueline Penney says
I first heard of this recipe from the Dr. Oz show where he had the Duggars on and they said they make their own laundry detergent. When i saw what went into making the detergent i noticed that i can’t buy the ingredients here in Canada, or at least i can’t find them in my area. Are there any substitutes for the naptha bar soap? I can buy Arm and Hammer laundry detergent but not Super Washing Soda. These must be products only available in the U.S. The only way for me to get those is to order it and pay a shipping cost. HELP!!!
Bobbie says
I did a little online digging for you. Washing Soda is basically Sodium bicarbonate, which you can buy at a pool supply store (not sure how many of those are in canada). Some people have substituted it for oxiclean, which is sodium bicarbonate and one other ingredient or in Canada it appears that Arm and Hammer sells Washing Soda as a product known as “SoClean”. I hope on of those options helps you. I’ve also heard of people using Ivory soap bars in place of Fels Naptha or you can use any bar soap found in the laundry aisle.
Debbie says
I use one bar of Ivory (grated) along with 1 c. of Borax and 1 c. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. After I mix it all together I then take about a cup at a time and use a mixer/wand to truly mix, blend, and make the mixture more like a soft powder before placing in a large plastic container with a lid.
The liquid sounds like something I will try when this batch runs low. Thanks for your great ideas.
DISHWASHER: equal amounts of Borax and Washing Soda. White vinegar in the rinse compartment (where you would place Jet Dry). I use about 2 Tablespoons of powder per d/w load. Works great!!!
sharon says
I tried this recipe it seemed to work fine until I added it to laundry load and no suds and no scent?
when I stir the bucket of soap it suds up in the bucket so added 1 cup straight from bucket not dilluted in containers and still nothing? Any ideas where I went wrong and what do you do with all this of soap? can you add more washing soda to the bucket of laundry soap?
Bobbie says
It’s not supposed to have suds. Funny truth is that a long time ago soap didn’t sud and bubble up. Somewhere along the line manufacturers learned that people think that soap that suds and bubbles up is doing a better job so detergents and soaps now have stuff added to them to make them bubble up. That’s why expensive shampoo doesn’t have suds or many bubbles, it doesn’t have anything added to it.
It’s also not scented but if you want scent, you can add a few drops of essential oils such as lavender to the mix and it will have a nice scent.
You don’t want to add too much. If you add a lot of soap to your wash, it doesn’t come completely out of the clothes and will eventually give them a musty smell.
I hope this helps.
Emily says
I tried this and mine didn’t gel. It had white foamy soap on the top but the rest was still liquid. Any idea what I did wrong?
Bobbie says
No that has never happened to me. Did you try washing with it?