This is a project I have wanted to do for quite some time and yesterday I finally did it. Making your own laundry detergent at home is not only simple, it is a great way to reduce the amount of phosphates and other harsh chemicals we are adding to the environment every time we wash a load of clothes. Better still, homemade laundry detergent is inexpensive and doesn’t take much of your time either.
Possibly the best incentive is for those who may have allergies to additives in many commercial laundry detergents. This stuff is about as natural as you can get!
All of the ingredients you need for homemade laundry detergent are shown in the photo above. I purchased all three ingredients – which are enough to make three separate batches of laundry detergent – for less than the cost of a large bottle of our regular High Efficiency (HE) detergent.
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Borax
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Washing Soda
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Bar Soap
The Washing Soda may prove difficult to find in some areas, but it can be purchased online easily if you can’t locate it locally.
My Recipe
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2 cups Borax
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2 cups Washing Soda
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1 regular sized bar of soap (I used Ivory, but Fels Naptha or homemade bar soap will work)
This recipe is for dry laundry detergent, so instead of melting the soap you need to shred it somehow. I have seen every imaginable trick in the book for this from a cheese grater to a food processor but my way is the easiest, fastest and to be honest, the most fun!
This fluffy stuff isn’t a fresh meringue, it is what happens to a bar of soap when you put it in the microwave for 90 seconds! Now it can at times go a little crazy but the good news is that it is soap, so cleaning it up will just leave your microwave sparkling inside!
When you have finished microwaving the bar of soap it will be quite dry and brittle, which is exactly what you want.
I finish by adding the dried soap fluff along with a cup of Borax and Washing Soda to my Vita-Mix and mixing it on medium speed until thoroughly powdered and combined.
Then add the remaining ingredients, mix again and voila! you’re done!
It all sounds great but the real test is in how the stuff works, right? Well that’s the best news of all!
So far I have tested two loads of laundry with this recipe and so far, washing a load of bed sheets and a load of moderately soiled clothes have given great results. The results will be tested further this weekend when I wash some heavily soiled clothes after some work on the farm. I will of report my findings here as soon as I have more info!
NOTE: There has been some question as to whether homemade laundry detergent will work in a high efficiency machine. The recipe works perfectly in a HE washing machine and I only use 2 tablespoons of detergent per regular sized load! That is 1 ounce of detergent per load, which means each batch will wash 32 loads of clothes.
You will notice immediately that clothes washed with this detergent will not be perfumed in any way and while that may take a little getting used to, I personally love the undeniable smell of clean without perfumes.
UPDATE #1: I have now washed several loads with this homemade detergent including my first load of whites and I have to say that I am truly impressed. The last major test will be over the weekend when I wash heavily soiled work clothes but so far I couldn’t be happier.
UPDATE #2 (8/30/10): This homemade laundry detergent has met and exceeded all expectations and is still in use nearly a month later.
Based on a conservative estimate of being able to make three batches or 96 ounces of detergent, the cost per load is 7.5¢.
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Look forward to hearing your results, Kenzie.
I burned out the motor in my blender, is the vitamixer the best for this or should I put my ingredients in differently and , the smell of the soap in the microwave was so strong we had to open windows and put fans in to push the fumes out, what do you do for that?
I only recommend the microwave method for Ivory brand soap, and it doesn’t produce obnoxious fumes. I can’t speak to any other brand in the microwave. If you are having issues with the blender, You can grate the soap by hand and mix it yourself. The blender is not required.
My sister sent me this link, she’s been making this soap for awhile now and loves it. She tried the microwave at first but prefers using a potato peeler to avoid the lingering soap smell in her kitchen. Just made my first batch, and the potato peeler was quick. I let the chips dry out under a lamp and then can break by hand or food processor. I believe this batch will last me a year; not bad at all for the price. Thanks for sharing!!
Interested in trying this recipe out! Husband is in the military and I’m sure this will clean his uniforms better than anything we’ve tried so far.
What is the amount to use per load once the powder is made?
We use 1/8 cup per load and have excellent results. If the uniforms are heavily soiled you may need to use a bit more but not much.
Forgot to mention we have a regular top loading machine, not an HE
oh i luv the microwave trick..and i luv the way the house smells
i have done this for about 18 months now. but i use 1/2 cup of borax and washing soda – to each bar of soap – i do three bars at a time and I can make it last for 3 months – i dehydrate my bar of soap over night in my food dehydrator!
Is it possible to sub reg baking soda for super washing?
You should not replace one with the other. Washing soda is sodium carbonate, also called soda ash. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. I have seen people use both, but replacing the washing soda outright will not have the same results.
I have been making my own washing detergent for 4 years. This is the first powder recipe I tried. I love how simple it is. It’s all the same ingredients as the liquid without all the boiling and waiting. Thanks so much. I’m on my second batch. The first I used a “Kiss My Face” organic soap and it was great. This time I’m using Fels Napha because it’s what I have in the house. I’m looking forward to continued use of this mix to keep my family of 5 clean. Thanks!
I have been hearing a lot of my friends making and using their own detergent. My question is, Is there a recipe for a home made fabric softner?
Thank you for reminding me that I have a drafted post about homemade fabric softener that never got finished or posted. I will get that up in the next few days.
Is there a way to lightly fragrance this? I’ve been buying the HE Method laundry soap, I love it, it washes well, has a wonderful light fragrance, but is a bit pricy. My youngest son has sensitive skin & it’s the only brand I can buy that doesn’t break him out. I’d like to try this, but have a little fragrance.
I like how finely you have everything ground up, is that how it always looks once u use a blender? I’m nervous using powder with an HE front loader, I’m afraid it won’t dissolve properly. A friend also told me using anything but HE detergent in an HE machine voids the warranty. That makes me nervous as well.
Essential oils will work for light fragrance. As for the fine powder, a blender does it but you will need to be careful as blenders aren’t generally made to grind powders so you have to do it in small batches. As for your HE concerns, I use this powder in my HE machine and have never had a problem at all. Don’t use too much. One of the most common problems anyone creates from themselves is using too much detergent.
Thank you very much. I meant to ask about homemade fabric softner. I look forward to the post.
OH MY! I LOVED the microwave trick- So easy! Ok, so the house smells a little soapy, but so what? I think it got rid of the burned popcorn smell at last! Thanks for that awesome hint!
Thank you so much for the microwave tip! I will never have to grate bars of soap (or part of my hand) again! This time I used Kirk’s Original Coco Castile Soap. I forgot how much it was, but I got three bars for less than $5 (which was cheaper than the one bar of Dr. Bronner’s lavender bar soap I bought at the same time. I didn’t know about the poof method when I made detergent with Dr. Bronner’s the first time last month). The Kirk’s soap is all natural and has a light clean scent. I live in Texas, so I purchased it in the natural products section of H.E.B. (which is only in Texas and a few in Mexico). It can be ordered online and I am sure can be found at other local stores. I microwaved one bar for 90 seconds in a square glass dish and the middle part didn’t poof up, so I scraped out the part that did and zapped the unpoofed part again for another few minutes, and it worked. The second bar I tried poofed up after 4 or 5 minutes straight and didn’t need to be repoofed. After I let the poofed soap cool a bit, I ground it up in my little Cusinart food processor. Also, thanks for the tip of doubling up the borax and washing soda. I now have detergent that will last me a while!
Thanks for some great info! Do you use the dry blade/container on your vitamix or the regular “wet chop” one?
Thanks
If you have the dry canister I recommend using that.
Hi, was wondering if Borax is really required? Can washing soda alone do the job? I cannot get borax in my country as it is a controlled item.
You can make it without borax as it is just a booster anyway. I would add some baking soda in its place.
Love the microwave trick! It made it so much easier and was fun. Thank you for sharing.
I have made this detergent with fels naptha and love the results in light of the savings.
I add 1/2 c. (or so) of OxyClean to each batch of this that I make. The soap works fine on its own, but I find that the oxyclean boosts the cleaning power a bit on the heavily soiled clothing
I made my first batch of homemade fabric softener today and it is great! Anxious to make this laundry detergent next. I have an HE machine so do I just put the ‘dry’ product in with the dirty clothes instead of using the dispenser I use when using liquid detergent? How do you think this will be for a new baby? Seem super gentle, no scents, etc. Thanks!!
Add the powder to the dispenser as you do with liquid. As for babies, while I have not tried it I can’t see why this recipe would not work with baby clothes just as well.
Be patient and wait for the soap to cool completely before putting it in a vita mix/blender! I almost burned out the motor trying to blend it too soon.
How about make the soap scented easily by using a natural glycerin bar that is already scented with essential oils? or how about adding dried herbs and essential oils directly in the vitamix?
I am allergic to sodium tallowate, so this recipe will work with vegetable glycerin soap right?
Oh and.. will this recipe work for the dishwasher? i’d love an inexpensive dishwasher detergent thats natural. thanks!
For dishwashers this won’t work well because it will likely leave a residue. When I make dishwasher detergent I use:
1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup citric acid
You can use any soap you like. I wouldn’t add dried herbs because that will be something that needs to be washed out.
I use white, distilled vinegar in the dishwasher where the ‘blue-stuff’ normally goes, along with the dishwasher detergent that you use. It gets things sparkling and is not only safe for the dishwasher but keeps it clean, too.
Tried the Fels-Naptha bar soap in the microwave for the laundry detergent and… Woah! GOOD, CLEAN FUN — will have to have the grandkids here next time I make this!! :) My husband says I’m easily amused. <3 keep on keepin' on and thank you.
in the ingredients you mentioned vita-mix…whats that?
It is a high end blender.
please disregard the previous question
First off….I ALMOST put the Ivory in the microwave immediately after reading this recipe…..which would have been a mere 10 minutes before my 9 yr old son (science enthusiast), stepped off the bus…BUT, I contained myself, and ran to greet him as he walked toward the back gate, hurrying him into the house to “put a bar of soap in the microwave”. I’m not sure who was more excited! We were both ‘glued’ to the microwave, oooing and ahhing, as the soap foamed and grew. THAT, alone, will make this adventure in homemade laundry detergent, worth it! I will be putting our next load of laundry in soon, but I just had to share with you how you made at least 2 people SUPER happy today, with such a simple task! ;) Looking forward to seeing how it works now!
Does the Fels Naptha explode in the microwave too? I have wanted to try it instead of Ivory
it will dry in the microwave, but I suggest using half power for short periods to avoid scorching. I’m not sure that it will puff like Ivory does.
I have been making my own detergent forever, same recipe and I love it! What I do to add fragrance and a little softener is add a few cups of the Purex Crystals to the recipe. I love it!
do you use a seperate vitamix container for soap and a seperate container when you grind wheat, or do you use the same for both? I realize I will just making “soap” and it should rinse/wash out just fine. But did wonder if I should have a consideration using the same container for both non-food and food items??
I have always used the same container. That is one of the reasons I loved this detergent recipe because there’s nothing in it that I am worried about should some trace amount find its way into my food.
To have irritation -free cloth diapers, ALWAYS use vinegar in the rinse cycle.
I used to use I cup vinegar per load, and never a problem with a sensitive baby. If you’re nervous about trying this soap recipe, do two rinses, one with vinegar and guaranteed satisfaction, although I think two rinses are unnecessary. Fabric softeners are also a big skin irritant and the softeners are not rinsed from the clothes. Vinegar gives fabulous results -fresh smelling, soft, and soap free. Thanks for your most effective laundry soap recipe. I’m enjoying the savings!
I’ve been making my own laundry detergent for about 1 year using this recipe. I make the liquid form. I have a front loading HE machine and I haven’t had any problems. I used to put fragrance in, but don’t bother anymore. I have grated the Fels Naptha in the past, but have recently started using Ivory snow flakes. I can’t wait to try the microwave! Thanks for the tip!
Just started using this, and I’m impressed. Gonna make a big batch and divide it up in mason jars and give them out as Christmas gifts….
Can you add sodium percarbonate to increase the efficacy of the laundry soap? Thank you!
You certainly can add sodium percarbonate if you like. I would add about 1 cup to the recipe listed above.
As great as having clothes with no smell has been, I’m starting to really miss putting on my comfy sweaters and smelling a beautiful smell. I love Purex Crystals! But I wouldn’t mind shredding a natural bar soap with a lite fragrance. Any recommendations?
Some essential oil would work just as well!
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