Homemade Laundry Detergent

For well over two years now I have been making my own laundry detergent. Not only did I find it to be cheaper, but it has been more effective at making my whites white and my clothes cleaner and softer. 

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I wanted to cut corners and save as much money as I could before she was born, and after realizing that I spent so much money on laundry detergent for just 2 people I couldn’t imagine how much laundry I would do with two people and a new baby (holy hell spit up and blow out diapers!) 

So of course, being the money conscience person I am, I sat down and did the math one day. A 150 oz. jug of Tide that did 96 loads costs $17.97. That’s 19 cents a load! After that minor sticker shock, I started researching (Pinterest of course!) for an easy to follow recipe for laundry detergent that was HE compatible since we just bought a front load washer. 

I came across some that had you ordering things from websites and “only can get at such and such specialty store”, and that just wouldn’t work for me. I wanted to be able to walk into my local Wal-Mart and get items readily there on the shelf. So I took a few recipes that I liked and came up with my own. 

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Items you will need:

Big pot

Grater

2 clean gallon jugs

Funnel

Whisk/Slotted Spoon (your choice)

1 cup measuring cup

A bar of your favorite soap (or a bar of Fels-Naptha)

Borax Detergent Booster

Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (NOT BAKING SODA!)

Original Blue Dawn Dish Soap

Directions:

Grate the bar of soap and put into the pot (I usually grate the soap right in the pot)

Fill one gallon jug with warm water and pour over grated soap

Over medium – high heat on your stove, whisk the soap water mixture until grated soap is dissolved

Once the grated soap is gone, mix in 1 cup of Borax and 1 cup of Washing Soda

Stir until dissolved and then turn off heat

Let mixture cool for about 20 minutes

Once cool, stir in ¾ cup of Dawn.

Fill gallon jug with cold water and stir in

Using the funnel pour into your gallon jugs (the bubble will overflow out of the jug).

Directions for use:

Shake Well

Use ½ cup per load

Here is a picture of what my set up look like when I am getting ready to make my detergent.

No this isn't cheese. This is what my grated Dove white bar soap looks like. 

My finished product :)

When I was getting ready to make my first batch, I drove right to Wal-Mart and wouldn’t you know they had Borax, Washing Soda, and Fels-Naptha all right together on the shelf in the laundry detergent aisle. It’s like the Wal-Mart Gods knew I was nervous about scouring the aisles hunting down these items and they felt sorry for me.

However, once I picked up the Fels-Naptha bar I knew that my husband was not going to like the smell. His nose is very finicky and he can’t stand certain smells. So I decided to try his favorite bar soap, Dove White, to see if that would work. And amazingly, it did! He loves the smell and even comments on how good the house smells when I am making a batch. 

Now for the savings. For a bar of the white Dove soap, it was $1. The Borax in a 76 oz. box was $3.97. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda box of 55 oz. was $3.24. And a 38 oz. bottle of blue original Dawn was $3.97. After calculating how much per “whatnot” it tallied down to 5 cents per load! I was ecstatic!

After making a couple of batches it has become repetitious to make and I do not have to have the recipe right next to me each time I make it. It’s become almost second nature; kinda like that grandma that adds a dash of this and a pinch of that and can make any dish with her eyes closed. Well I am almost like that.  

A few times I have added different things to see if it made any difference. One time I added Oxy Clean to be stronger but I didn’t notice a difference.  Another time I changed up the Dawn dish soap for scent factor only. Try what works best for you. I do know there are some “no grating” recipes out there. But for some reason, I just like the fact of another soap being a cleaning power that I continue with grating my Dove soap.

This recipe is not the best recipe, but it’s what works for my family. I enjoy knowing that I don’t have to lug home a huge jug of laundry detergent every few weeks when making my own lasts for months. If you have a recipe for laundry detergent, please share with me. I am always playing around with my recipe and welcome and new ideas.

My next venture is trying a recipe for laundry softener. Wish me luck!