I’ve been making my own homemade laundry detergent for years now. Since I’m working on my laundry room this month for a $100 makeover project I thought I’d share the recipe with you again. It’s super easy and will save a lot of money! BTW, these photos are giving you a sneak peek. You’ll get to see the whole thing on March 31!
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Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe
Three ingredients is all it takes:
- 1 cup borax
- 1 cup washing soda (NOT baking soda)
- 1 bar Fels-Naptha
The ingredients can be a little hard to find. In my area I can get them all at Ace Hardware. When I bought the ingredients for this batch the girl checking me out actually asked if I was making homemade detergent. She’s the first person I’ve ever met that knew what I was doing! She told me she had three little boys and has been making her own for a while. According to her, her boys are soooooo dirty it takes THREE tablespoons of detergent to get there clothes clean!
lol… Thats one big difference that you have to get used to when you start making this. It usually only takes ONE heaping tablespoon of detergent for a regular-sized load of laundry! That’s what I’ve been using. (Unless Bikeman is washing clothes… I’m not sure how much detergent we went through that week.)
Start by grating your soap. You can do this any way you like but you can see my secret weapon below. My grandmother got me (and my sister & sil) a salad shooter MANY, MANY years ago for Christmas. This is the only thing I use it for now.
After you grate the soap it will look like the photo below. I’ve found that these gratings are a little big. If I leave them this size they might not all dissolve in the wash. So I stick my hands in and break them up a little before adding the other ingredients. It looks like cheese, doesn’t it?
Measure out 1 cup of borax, 1 cup of washing soda, and mix all together.
You’re done! It’s that easy.
I keep a vintage Tablespoon in the jar and this is really all I use for a normal load of clothes!
I usually make three batches at a time (3 bars, 3 cups borax, 3 cups washing soda). I need to make a note next time and see how long that lasts us.
If you like this recipe for homemade laundry detergent, check out these articles:
- How to Make Homemade Dryer Balls
- How to Make Homemade Dryer Sheets (coming soon)
- How to Make Liquid Laundry Detergent
Try it out and play with the amount you use. I think you’ll be surprised at how little it takes!
‘Til the next project,
Ann @ Duct Tape and Denim
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Karren Haller says
I use Felsnaptha all the time, I have even made a paste I keep on hand to spread onto oily stains before going into wash. Even works on stains I missed in the next wash.
Love your easy recipe, just bought 2 new bars.
Have a great weekend
Karren
Shanice says
This is so cool! Thank you for sharing this post at City of Creative Dream’s City of Links last Friday! I appreciate you taking the time to party with me. Hope to see you again this week 🙂
Gina says
Wow – yours looks like a super easy recipe. I have made it before with more ingredients and it was pricey. Will try your version soon! For now I am ordering pods off Amazon. Laziness has struck.
Carolyn says
I make this all the time but I use cheap soap from the Dollar store. It works perfect!
Kapp's Kitchen says
This is pretty much the same recipe I use! It is great! Using the salad shooter is a great idea!!! I hate grating the Fels Naptha but I use it as a time to sit down and watch a little TV while I do it. 🙂
Stephanie says
Very cool. I’m thinking of making a batch and giving it a try. My 3 year old has bad allergies and we’ve noticed lately that he gets a terrible cough when he goes to bed. We think it’s the scented laundry detergent and fabric softener! We cut out the scents and he’s much better at night now. But I’m tempted to make a batch of this and see how it goes.
ducttapeanddenim says
Yes! Hope this will help. Let me know if it works for you.
Sandy says
Hi Ann,
Thank you for sharing your laundry DIY ingredients. I have been looking for recipes and yours is great!
Please excuse the newbie question. On your list of laundry products you also have Tide free and gentle along with the products to make your DIY laundry detergent. I’m not sure if I need to use that along with your DIY detergent?
Thanks for all the great info,
Sandy
ducttapeanddenim says
No you don’t need both. I just use Tide when I run out and don’t have time to make a homemade.
Ruth says
How does this work in very hard water?
ducttapeanddenim says
I’m sorry, I don’t have any firsthand experience with this homemade detergent in hard water.
Dale Raulerson says
Can you add essential oils for nice smells?
ducttapeanddenim says
I’m sure you could. I’ve never tried it so I don’t have the amounts you’d need. Test it out with a few drops first and see how it does.