Have you ever wondered how to make homemade laundry detergent? Below you will find a homemade laundry detergent recipe shared by a friend of mine. Let me know if you try the recipe or have a homemade laundry detergent recipe of your own!
Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 bar of Fels-Naptha Soap
- 4 cups of hot water
- 1/2 cup of Borax
- 1 cup of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (It has to be the Super Washing Soda, baking soda or just Arm & Hammer will NOT work!)
- 5 Gallon Bucket
- Empty laundry containers or any kind of pour container
Directions:
- Grate your bar of soap into a sauce pan with the 4 cups of hot water.
- Stir continually on low-medium heat until all the little flakes of soap melt.
- Fill your 5 Gallon bucket halfway full of hot water and pour in the borax, the arm & hammer, and the melted soap mixture and stir until all the ingredients are completely melted. Then fill the remainder of the bucket full with hot water.
- Stir the mixture once more, just to ensure everything is mixed well. Then you need to cover the bucket (if you have the lid to the bucket, let it have a little bit of breathing room, because it will expand since it’s full of hot water) and let it sit overnight to gel, it will gel HARD. Then take your dispenser (old tide container for me) and fill half with your laundry soap (I have to use a funnel) and half full of water and shake well each time you use. Will be very liquid-y but works great!
This recipe makes 10 gallons of homemade laundry detergent so if you want to make less simply reduce the ingredients by half, etc.
If you’re interested in other natural, homemade cleaning products then check out these resources:
Hi there! I'm Jenny, a coffee-addicted, busy-body, work at home mom of two insane boys age 10 & 4. I'm married to my best friend, obsessed with the Packers, and I love to cook, read, and design blogs.
I have been wanting to make homemade laundry detergent, and am so excited to have found this. I pinned it on Pinterest so I can have access to the measurements when I am ready to make it. Thanks a bunch!
I saw this recipe online several months ago and I'm so excited to try it. I have all the ingredients, but I'm still waiting to use up all the specials on laundry detergent that I bought last spring. I have bookmarked this site so I know the exact measurements. Thanks for the reminder.
I'm excited to try this! Thanks!
This is awesome, and so simple!
I was wondering, does this mixture have a scent to it?
@jcmoffatt I make a dry detergent, and mine only smells as much as the soap I use...my kiddos have eczema, so I use bars of Ivory... but if you use and unscented soap, or want to add essential oils for scent, you could certainly do that :) You can also use fels naptha soap, but to me it tends to smell a bit medicinal...so grab a bar in the soap/detergent aisle and give it a sniff first and see if you'd like it!
I make my own detergent but I use it dry, not liquid, because I don't have room for a 5 gallon container. I just put some hot water in the washing tub first then add the detergent. I also add one cup of purex crystals to my mix only because I like the smell of it and though it isn't a lot it still makes the laundry smell nice.
I'm so chemical sensitive this will work fine. Thanks.
I copied your recipe for the homemade soap, but must use up the soap that I have first. I had hit a sale about a month ago and still have quite a bit, so it will be a while before I am able to try this, but I have all the ingredients on hand when the time comes. Thanks.
What a great idea for keeping things toxin-free!
how much do you think it costs to make because Ive been noticing that you can get detergent on sale for under $2 these days
sibabe64 at ptd dot net
I have been thinking of making my own. This sounds easy enough, may give it a try.
i have made homemade soap before for my laundry and love it, and with a big family as mine every penny counts, thanks for sharing @tisonlyme143
Wow! I defiantly want to try this!!! I use Dr Bronners
Wow ,I will have to try to make my own laundry soap :)
What a great idea! Never would have thought to do this! Great to have all this stuff on hand in case you run out last minute (I always seem to run out at midnight when I DO NOT feel like going to the store! Thanks for sharing :)
I have been wanting to try to make my own detergent, my husband is skeptical to say the least, he thinks I am going to ruin his clothes. LOL. But I really think I am going to try it out, maybe in secret...shhh.
I've never made the liquid...but I do make dry detergent :) The fels naptha had a scent that the kids didn't care for...so..I experimented... I use 2 bars of Ivory, grated.. 2 cups washing soda...2 cups borax. I mix it in my food processer to further combine it and reduce the size of the ivory bits... ( if you have no washing soda...you can bake baking soda in the oven at 400 degrees until it crystallizes and is no longer "powdery"..almost has a glittery consistency) ...use 2tbls for every load of laundry. My kids no longer have "itchiness" related to my laundry choices, so it's been a work in progress, but a satisfactory one!
@kmf_grandstaff Thanks so much for the wonderful input! I love your experiment and hope to try it!
I never would have thought to make my own soap.I'm lazy,but, in a pinch I'd try it thanks.
I recently made a very similar dry one with Zote bar soap instead of Fels-Naptha, but I have used Fels-Naptha in the past. Home made detergent is where it's at! I had no idea you could make this with water and it would turn into a gel. Interesting!
@NatalieMHamp Thanks for the great idea using Zote for a dry detergent!
THANKS FOR THE RECEIPE
This is so helpful with all of the high costs of natural laundry detergent. Thank you!
I have wanted to try to make my own but just never tried. Using your recipe. I am going to give yours a try
This is so cool! Thanks for this recipe!
I have been interested in trying homemade laundry detergent but have just never gotten around to it! I am so excited to try your recipe! I have never heard of Fels-Naptha soap before. Does it smell good? I love for my laundry to smell fresh and clean! Best of all, it will SAVE me money! Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Thank you for the recipe but I never heard of that brand of soap. Is their any other that would do?
This will definitely save me money. I am on a limited income. Thank you!!!
ohhhh I'm liking this! print print print
I have been thinking of trying this for quite some time now. Detergent is expensive & when you have kids and/or a manly man of a hubby, you can go through TONS of it! lol. Well, this seems simple enough that I could give it a try & I would be interested in trying to add some essential oils to give it a lovely smell. I will let you know when I try it! Thanks for the simple recipe that was passed on from your friend :)
@ChevSopkin haha! I hear ya there.. my boys and hubby are MESSY! I hope you get a chance to try it. And you're welcome! :)
I've wanted to do this for a long time, but could never find the washing soda. I was just reading the comments where you said you get it on Amazon. I wouldn't have thought to look there. Do you know if you can you add essential oils for a scent?
@tstasko Yep! Just head over to Amazon to pick up the soap! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QJQQBI/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=freebiespot-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004QJQQBI
And I don't see why you couldn't add essentials oils in for scent. :)
I am gonna have to try this for sure!! Where can we buy the soap at?
@MistyFarmer I only buy it at Amazon so I'm not sure who else sells it. Sorry!
What is Fels Naptha soap? I wonder what the cost difference is between this and regular detergent.
It's a laundry bar soap that is used for stains like grease, sweat, etc. Plus it treats poison ivy - crazy huh?
I have always wanted to make my own laundry detergent and I think this one is fantastic, Thank you!
@StephaniePhelps You're very welcome, Stephanie!