I've seen this recipe floating around the Internet and a lot of different frugal blogger's have been making their own laundry soap for years. I guess curiosity finally got to me. I really wanted to know if it cleaned as well as the leading brands on the market.
If you ask me some brands which I wont mention are ridiculously overpriced. Plus I have noticed the price has been increasing and the product size has been decreasing. I don't know why I didn't get around to doing this lot sooner.
I think it was because I thought it would be impossible to find all the products needed to make the detergent. I mean I had never seen the Fels Naptha Soap, well that's only because I haven't been looking for it. It has been right there all along it is just something I don't normally shop for.
You will need the following items to make you own laundry detergent. Mule Team Borax, Arm & Hammer Washing Soda & Fels Naptha or Zote Bar Soap also essential oils if you want the detergent scented. I recommend buying 4 bars of the Fels Naptha Soap, that way you can pretty much use all of the products without having anything left over.
The Borax cleans, disinfects and softens the water. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda works on grease and neutralizes odors. The Fels Naptha Soap is a heavy duty laundry soap bar & stain remover. If you follow the recipe below you will have enough laundry soap to wash 160 loads of laundry. Total price to purchase all the items to make my own detergent came to $11.24.
I thought this was a great deal. When buying and making your own laundry soap there a few things to keep in mind. Do not buy Arm & Hammer Baking Soda in place of Washing soda. They are two different products that are not interchangeable and results will vary if substituting one for the other. Also, grate the soap first this is so it dissolves better in the wash. The finer it is, the quicker it dissolves. Keep in mind this is the most time consuming part of the whole thing after that its a breeze.
Homemade detergents are low sudsing, you won’t see many suds in the wash. No worries, this is normal and your clothes will still come out clean. You only need 2 Tablespoons of laundry soap per load. This roughly comes out to about 1/8 cup. I just store a measuring cup inside with the soap container.
One thing I have noticed is that sometime when using commercial laundry detergents they will leave a residue on my clothes when they come out of the washer. I line dry a few items and that is where I notice this problem. Well, since I started using the homemade detergent I have yet to see any residue.
The washing soda and the borax are usually the easiest to find at your local grocery store you can locate them in the laundry isle. You might have a bit of a problem finding the Fels Naptha Bar Soap. Fels Naptha is a Dial product, so I have included a link to the dial store locator listed at their website, Store Locator for Fels Naptha Soap.
This should help you find a store in your area that sells the soap. If you still cannot locate the soap you can substitute by using Zote, Sunlight or Ivory Bar Soap. I have seen the Zote Soap at Walmart.
Making you own laundry soap is really a personal preference, some might think its just really going to far or a big hassle to make it yourself. I don't think so, a lot of the commercial laundry soaps have so many harsh chemicals, dies and perfumes that is is really sensitive for some people. This is just your basic plain Jane laundry soap. I do hope you give it a try, I am loving this stuff. And even loving it more that it cost me only 7 cents per load. Lets get started........
To begin the soap will need to be grated.
you can use a cheese grater or a food processor. (If using a food processor make sure to wash the blades really well after) I am using a old grater that will only be used for soap.
Add washing soda then
borax
stir well.
Place in sealed container or tub and measure out two tablespoons (or 1/8 cup) for each load. I just leave my measuring cup inside the tub so it is always handy.
Store in a air tight container with a good sealing lid.
I have also started to line dry my clothes to help cut the cost of our electric bill. We have a electric dryer so with 5 people it really runs through the week. If I don't do laundry at least every other day it will pile up. I have noticed that with the homemade laundry soap my clothes are not stiff at all. Plus here in Texas they take no time to dry. I haven't took the plunge into homemade laundry softener but you never know that might be next. Here is a break down of the total cost of the products.
Cost Break Down:
Mule Team Borax Laundry Booster - $3.69
Arm & Hammer Washing Soda - $2.79
4 - Bars Fels Naptha Soap - $1.19 each bar = $4.76
Total Price - $11.24
Price Per Load - 7 cents
Mule Team Borax Laundry Booster - $3.69
Arm & Hammer Washing Soda - $2.79
4 - Bars Fels Naptha Soap - $1.19 each bar = $4.76
Total Price - $11.24
Price Per Load - 7 cents
Homemade (DIY) Laundry Detergent
Large Batch Recipe
4 - Bars Fels Naptha or Zote Laundry Soap
6 - Cups Mule Team Borax
(this is roughly one box I had about 2 cups left over from box)
6 - Cups Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (this is roughly one box)
15 - 20 drops essential oil for scent
Grate soap using cheese grater. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Place in sealed container or tub and measure out two tablespoons (or 1/8 cup) for each load.
HE Front Loader Washing Machines: Dissolve 2 tablespoons of detergent to 1 cup hot water to make a liquid, then add to the machine.
Small Batch Recipe
2 - Cups Laundry Soap Shavings
(you can get this easily from one bar)
1 - Cup Mule Team Borax
1 - Cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
Follow instructions for above recipe.
55 comments
Can You Safely Use Homemade Laundry Detergents With A High Efficiency Washer (HE Machine)?
I have no experience with this but there are lots of comments that say it’s fine to use. Be aware that using anything other than what your machine manufacturer recommends may void your warranty.
Homemade detergent is low sudsing which is important for HE machines.
Can You Use Homemade Detergent In a Front Loading Machine?
I have no experience with this but there are lots of comments that say it’s fine to use. Be aware that using anything other than what your machine manufacturer recommends may void your warranty.
Jess now that I know the dog wont chew at the hanging laundry its a go for us Yeah!!!!!
Judy I am so glad that you are learning new things. Looks like I am learning new things myself. I am so loving it.
I made a half batch of the liquid soap as posted on www.duggarfamily.com and find it works pretty well. The liquid is more economical also, I think (but who cares when its so cheap!) For how much the Fels Naptha made my eyes water from the soapy smell when I grated it, you really can't smell the detergent on the clothes after they are washed. I did not add any essential oils.
I've been using the liquid version for about 6 months now and have noticed very minor fading on brown screen printing and green dye. Not enough for me to stop using it, though. Even if you just use it for whites and towels, etc, its worth it to try. You may even be able to get someone to share some of their borax or washing soda thru freecycle.org or craigslist.
On a side note, I have also tried home made dishwasher detergent (1 T. borax with 1 T. baking soda - I used my old fridge pack stuff for this)... didn't work very well getting the peanut butter off knives and more stuck-on food...
~ingrid
Dishwasher soap- Mix 1cup borax + 1 cup washing soda. Add 1Tbsp to each load. Occasionally (about a few times a month), I add a few Tbsp white vinegar to the jet dry compartment and it shines up the glasses really well. I use this solely as my dishwasher soap.
Windex substitute- In an old Windex bottle, Pour in 2 cups water, 2 Tbsp white vinegar, 1 tsp dish soap (I used Palmolive pure and clear). Love this! Works GREAT!
Dryer sheets- I tried the above-mentioned substitute of using diluted liquid fabric softener on a sponge then tossing in the dryer, but I bought the blue-colored fabric softener and found that it was leaving blue spots on my clothes (spots that would NOT come out, as they had been dried in). Now I just buy regular dryer sheets and cut them all in half. Half a sheet works just as well as a whole. Next box, I'm going to try to go down the 1/3 sheet. :-)
My next quest is to find an all-purpose cleaner substitute to replace my Formula 409...
Even apartment dwellers can air dry their clothes by using a laundry drying rack like this one. Being round it works really nice under a ceiling fan!
We've been using homemade laundry detergent for 1 1/2 yrs. We've been able to find the Fels at our local Ace Hardware Store if our local grocery store is out. There are a few things that help our detergent work more for us.
1. After mixing the 3 ingredients together, it helps to put it in a food processor or blender to make it more of a fine powder. I use my food processor to grate and mix this.
2. I use an old plastic gallon ice cream container to store my detergent in. I like to mix up a large batch (about a gallon dry)) and I mark on the outside of the container when I make each batch. This helps me keep track of when I make it and how often. I only make detergent 4 times per year. I also use Ivory for dedicates, making up a separate batch and store in a smaller container.
3. If you want a scent, try adding some essential oils (a drop or two), we've used lavender
In the end, I usually only have to use 1/8 c. of detergent per load and love the results and savings. I don't have room to store a 5 gallon container for the liquid, that's why we do the dry stuff.
~Butta
For liquid add all ingriedients to boiling water until it all melts down then add that to 3-5 gallons of water, stir and cover overnight and it will gel.
For fabric softner add 1/4 cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle. Its a fabric softner :)
I pay $10 for 2 years of laundry soap and fabric softner (just me and my teenager)!!!
Saving on Laundry Detergent: Making it Myself (Adventures in Laundry)
Thank you- I spent awhile looking for a dry recipe and was very happy to find this.
3 bars Fels Naptha, grated or powdered in processor
1 box Borax
1 box Washing Soda
2 cups of baking soda
2 containers of Dollar Tree Oxyclean
1 container of Purex fabric softener crystals (optional)
Using just 2 tablespoon per load
It works great & I like the cheap Oxyclean to give it a boost. I like that we are all trying to save on overpriced laundry soap and that we know what's in the soap too!
Instead of using liquid or powder dishwashing detergent (and paying a stiff premium for it), just take an old milk jug, put two teaspoons of liquid dish detergent and four teaspoons of baking powder in it, then slowly fill the jug with warm water, sloshing it while you do it (even better, just slowly add the soap as you’re adding the water). Then put that jug under the sink. Each time you do a load, fill up the cup with the homebrew. It works like a charm. The jug will provide enough for eight to ten loads of dishes for about a penny each, compared to about thirteen cents per load for ordinary detergent.
I think I can still find the basic guidelines for liquid & powder laundry soaps for both regular & HE washers-IF I can would you like for me to post it ?
And for those couple people that posted their clothes were dingy...that is often (not always) one of the signs that you've been using too much laundry soap or way too much fabric softener.
The way to find out if you are using too much laundry soap-run a load without anything but items & 2 cups of white vinegar-to see some suds in the drain water is fine--but if you're seeing bubbles it means thats extra soap that's been building up in your clothes.
I have one friend who I had her bring over one load-there were so many bubbles we ended up washing them 4 times with 2 cup vinegar each time, the 4th time we saw nothing but water. She thought the dirtier your clothes the more soap you needed ! She also could hardly believe how bright & vibrant her clothes had become-like new from the store I think were her words.
So as the saying goes, there can be too much of a good thing.
HE's. REGULAR
AMOUNT NORMAL. PLUS FOR HEAVY SOILED. SIZE LOAD. AMOUNT NORMAL. PLUS FOR HEAVY SOILED
1 T. 1 t. EXTRA SMALL. 2 T. 1 T
2 T. 2 t. SMALL. 4 T. 2 T
3 T. 3 t. MEDIUM. 6 T. 3 T
4 T. 4 t. LARGE. 8 T. 4 T
5 T. 5 t. X-LARGE. 10 T. 5 T
As always....T=TABLESPOON...t=TEASPOON
I wish I could give credit to the person/book/people that came up with this...BUT all I can tell you is its a book that came from Amazon & is readable on KINDLE E-READERS & KINDLE FIRES & ZTE ANDROID PHONES - I have some 6000 books on my e-reader & about 10,000-12,000 books in the cloud....so trying to remember which book exactly I read that in 3 years ago would be a bit difficult-I read 3-7 books (full novels) a day everyday and rarely bother to learn the titles. I know I didn't give much information about where I got my information but its all I can remember & I'm not trying claim the information I read in a book.
Hope this helps again its guidelines-adjust to your own recipes.