I found this post a few years ago when I first got on Pinterest. I have always used liquid laundry detergent, but I was drawn to making my own detergent that cost a lot less money and lasts a lot longer. I’ve been making my own detergent ever since then! My man does most of the laundry and is extremely meticulous about it. He washed a load of just yellows and khakis the other day. WTH?! Anyway, even he loves this stuff. It cleans our clothes extremely well whether we wash with cold or warm water, and I’ve yet to have any issues with colors running (I wash ALL of my son’s clothes together), clothes shrinking, or skin irritating (both of my boys have very sensitive skin). There were times before I starting making this that I was stressed out about running out of laundry detergent and mad that I had to pay so much for so little. That never happens now!
I’ve tried a few different versions of the recipe, and this is the one I like best:
1 4lb box of Borax
1 4lb box of baking soda
1 box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (3 lb 7 oz)
3 bars of Fels-Naptha soap
1 3lb box of Oxy Clean or a generic brand
1 24oz bottle of fabric softener crystals (I switch the brand/scent) – OPTIONAL
Grate the Fels-Naptha soap using a regular cheese grater or a food processor:
Then mix everything else in. It should make about 2 gallons of detergent. That’s it! I usually store it in an air-tight container, since I keep it in my humid basement laundry room. There’s no scent other than the fabric softener crystals.
I use one tablespoon-size scoop per load, two if the clothes are really dirty in my front load HE washer. As a family of 3, we wash about 5-6 loads of laundry a week. This mix lasts us about 6 months and costs about $20. You can’t beat that!
Lately I’ve been experimenting with making my own liquid laundry detergent. More info coming soon…
Please let me know if you have any experience with home made laundry detergent!
