Making your own laundry detergent (cheap!)

[lifeskills13]

1 1/2 bar of ivory natural soap( regular) i use a cheese grater to make the chunks small (very easy)
one cup of borax (found at walmart)
one cup of arm&hammer washing soda (also found at walmart)


melt the soap in like four cups of water on the stove..once its all gone. fill up the five gallon all the way up with warm water, mix in the melted soap and the borax and soda..wait all nite (if done before bed) or at least until it all forms a gel like look..VERY thick (i use a old punch spoon to stir it) for easy way of using it i use the spoon to fill up juice bottles so its not too hard to pour it for loads.


1/4 per load, i use 1/2 cup for work clothes (DH's jeans get almost black) i haven't needed to use shout or any other stuff for MONTHS. Its very natural and if you want to add a scent later..i did later. "essential oils" not warming oils. found at walmart or any craft store. i had a teaspoon of it (right now im using lavender/vanilla) in the juice bottles. just in case i want to share from the bucket i keep the scent from the bucket.

for added scent (which i use when lightly drying cloth diapers, i put three drops on a piece of linen i use just for throwing it in the dryer like a dryer sheet :D

$1.08 for 5gallons of homemade laundry detergent thats 320loads worth. So comparing to what I normally bought "ALL" 32loads for $5 when 32loads here cost me .11cents :D

Its sudless which is recommened for HE washers! and its all natural no chemicals and allergy free..plus cleans the same as store bought :D



you can make powder version..is quicker but for me I like to know all of it is mixed.

[CW&M Mom]

[clippyclippy]

Thanks!
Just one question- when people say that the homemade stuff cleans as well as store bought, are they comparing to Purex or Tide?

[lifeskills13]

im comparing to whatever i bought with coupons and was on sale lol when i ran out i bought ALL detergent ..the small bottles. i probably went thru that like crazy..months later im STILL on this batch :D and i already gave away 5juice bottles to others. Two of them already started doing it themselves. Some they hear about it and like yea but does it stink and does it really clean? thats when i give them some :D
My DH is a metal fabricator so when he comes home his clothes are filthy, thats what i was worried about the most when i made it..would it clean his clothes? My hubby even thinks his jeans look bluer lol *shrug*

[bali1228]

OP do you (or anybody else) know if this is safe for sensitive skin? I have been "itching" to make it (pun totally intended), but DD has horribly sensitive skin, and I don't want her to have to go back on steroid cream like the time I used Tide on her duds at Nana's house. Can any soap be used? Like maybe Dove soap? I usually use whatever "Free" brand is on sale, usually Arm and Hammer.

[Flutteringbee]

I purchased these ingredients recently in hopes of making my own as well. However, I was told you can't use this if you have an HE washer. Does anyone know if that is true or not?

[lifeskills13]

I purchased these ingredients recently in hopes of making my own as well. However, I was told you can't use this if you have an HE washer. Does anyone know if that is true or not?

i dont know why it wouldn't be, of all the people i know who does this have HE washers. :D the main reason is it doesn't create all the suds that other brands make to have the consumer think its "working". the reason for it cleaning has nothing to do with how much suds you create :D

the 1/4 amount has a lot to do with HE washers too

[lifeskills13]

OP do you (or anybody else) know if this is safe for sensitive skin? I have been "itching" to make it (pun totally intended), but DD has horribly sensitive skin, and I don't want her to have to go back on steroid cream like the time I used Tide on her duds at Nana's house. Can any soap be used? Like maybe Dove soap? I usually use whatever "Free" brand is on sale, usually Arm and Hammer.

wont hurt to try :D the reason i use ivory is the fact its all natural..no allergic or chemical based ingredient. also the other products for that reason to. (when i first found out i was expecting my third, i had a severe alergic reaction to something..rushed to the hospital and only they could do was overdose me on benadryl and a SAFE steriod for days..slowly watching it go down. I had to take the meds for weeks afterwards..STILL don't know what caused it. Its the reason i looked into this though :D my daughter has sensitive skin..itches and has tiny bumps all the time. She has been askin for lotion less often..so maybe it helped?

i also looked into it because i didn't want to spend extra on "natural" laundry soap in the stores when i have my newborn to wash his clothes :D

Dove now that i think about it has "lotion" in it so it wouldn't be good for clothes in my opinion..would cause gunk to stay on the clothes. Im sure it could be used though..just wouldn't recommend it for that reason :D

[calico32]

Just copied from a friends page..

This is the liquid recipe:
Water
1 bar grated Fels Naptha soap (any soap)
5 gallon bucket
1 cup washing soda (Arm and Hammer)
1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
4 1/2 gallons hot water
Put grated Fels Naptha in saucepan and cover with water. Heat on low until dissolved. Fill bucket with hot water and add soap. Stir to combine. Add 1 cup washing soda and 1 cup borax and mix well. As it cools, it will thicken. About 24-48 hrs. If mixture becomes too thick, add hot water to thin it to desired consistency. May be used immediately. Mix well before each use. Use 1/2(normal) to 1 cup per load (heavy). Cost per load .04.



This is the powder recipe:
Powdered Laundry Detergent

1 cup grated Fels Naptha Soap (any soap)
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup 20 mule team borax
Mix and store in airtight container or bag. For light or small loads, use 1 tablespoon. For normal loads, use 2 tablespoons. For heavy loads, use 3 tablespoons. Cost per load .15.
To make a large batch - grate 6 bars of Fels Naptha Soap and then add 3 cups of Washing Soda and 3 cups of 20 Mule Team Borax. Mix well and store in covered container.

TIP: The above recipes will NOT make suds in your washer so don't be alarmed. Fels Naptha Soap is a pure soap and typically makes little or no suds in the water. This makes it perfect for use in the new HE washers as well as tradional washers. You will also notice the need to either reduce your laundry softener or in most cases you can even eliminate the use of softener completely." -site unknown

[pjfrn]

I have HE washer and I tried to make my own laundry detergent. It worked well but my washer would have the suds code every once in awhile. There were not any suds but the suds code would still come up so I stopped making it. My warranty was almost up and guess what happened? My was washer was constantly in some kind of mode that would not let me wash clothes. I called the repairman. When came to my house he told me that the problem was that I use too much laundry detergent. He had to replace the sensors. He told me that you only need 2 tablespoons of laundry detergent with each load. The HE kind not the homemade kind. I only use HE. No more homemade for me. The homemade detergent will wear out your washer faster. Sometimes using too much detergent will make you itch also. Oxyclean he said to use 1/4 the amount in an HE washer.