Ugh, laundry. As a mom of three boys, I could do a load of laundry every day and still not be caught up. Thankfully I have an HE washing machine! I also have sensitive skin and certain types of laundry detergent will cause me to be miserable all day long.
When I read about making your own laundry detergent, I was intrigued. Then my BFF from elementary school told me she’d been making her own detergent for a couple of years. Not only did it get her family’s clothes cleaner, but it was also cheaper than buying it at the store. And one batch of homemade laundry detergent will last you almost ONE YEAR! I was sold!
She shared her recipe with me, and in turn, I’m sharing it with you!
Ingredients
- Box of Borax
- Washing Soda (I used Arm and Hammer)
- 3 bars of Fels-Naptha laundry soap (or you can use 1 bar of Zote, Ivory, or Dr. Bronner’s)
- A small container of Oxy-Clean (I used the Kroger brand)
- Grater (I recommend purchasing one you plan to use only for laundry detergent)
- Large container to mix and store the detergent
Directions
Step 1: Once you’ve gathered your materials, the process is simple. Grate your soap using the fine part of your grater. Get your kids involved! My oldest is at the stage where he usually loves to help out.
Step 2: Once you’ve grated your soap, add the rest of the ingredients and mix in a large container.
Step 3: At this point, you may choose to blend your ingredients using a blender or a food processor for a uniform appearance. (I burned up a blender motor making my detergent, so about half of my supply is very uniform in size, and half looks like it’s full of grated cheese. The detergent works, it just looks a little funny.)
How to Measure Per Load
You’ll use one tablespoon of your detergent per load.
My Overall Experience
My family has had no sensitive skin issues using this laundry soap. It’s cheap, and the Fels-Naptha smells like citrus. It’s kept our clothes clean and is completely fine to use in an HE washer. I’m interested to see if it gives my washer a funky smell like the store-bought detergent did, but I haven’t been using it long enough to determine.
Ready to give it a try? Do you use another recipe?
So, I’m on the tail end of my store bought detergent and picked up all these ingredients today! (FYI, Kroger carried everything you listed and I didn’t need to hit up Walmart 10 days before Christmas!) Now that you’ve been using this method for a while, do you have any more tips? Did it ever give your washer a funky smell?
My husband insists that it makes our washer smell worse than store bought detergent but I think I just haven’t kept up with the washer cleaner as well. I like the way it cleans our clothes.
Great recipe! My mom uses only homemade detergents. I am going to show her your post. $17.84 for a detergent is a spectacular. Thank you for sharing your idea. Best regards!
Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!