I always try to do inventory of the house before I go grocery shopping. In the past when I haven’t done this, I’ll come home with, say, two bottles of maple syrup, only to discover I already had two bottles in the pantry.
The same is true with checking other household goods. That’s why I’m glad I checked in the laundry room before heading out to the store earlier this week to go food shopping. I picked up the bottle of liquid laundry detergent and gave it a shake–there was barely anything in it. OK, I thought, now is the perfect time to finally experiment with making your own laundry detergent.
I’d read about this practice of DIY laundry detergent on a number of blogs and websites, including Frugal Dad, who said that homemade laundry detergent wasn’t for him. I’d seen recipes for liquid detergent (some involved boiling your DIY laundry detergent on the stove; no thanks) and recipes for dry detergent.
Since the dry detergent seemed to be the easiest to make, I figured I’d give it a go. So that night I went shopping, I added the three ingredients I would need to make my own laundry detergent to my shopping list:
- Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
- 20 Mule Team Borax
- Bar of Fels-Naptha Soap
Thankfully, I was able to find all three items at my local supermarket in the laundry aisle.
At first I’d looked for the washing soda in the bakery aisle, because I figured baking soda? washing soda? Must be the same thing. But it’s not.
I’m already a huge fan of Borax for its stain-removing abilities so I knew where to find with the commercial laundry detergents.
And right above the Borax were the bars of Fels-Naptha Soap. My take on Fels-Naptha stuff is that it is like an old-school stain-removal stick except it comes in bar form.
Once I got the stuff home, making the laundry detergent was pretty easy. My plan was to store everything in a reusable Rubbermaid 10-cup container with a lid. So as I went through the steps below, I just dumped the ingredients (shown below) right into this tub.
- 2 parts washing soda (I did this quite literally and started with two cups of washing soda)
- 2 parts Borax (again, the literal approach with two cups)
- 1 part grated or chopped Fels-Naptha soap (I’d read that some people put the soap in a food processor to get it into tiny bits; I just got out my cheese grater and put it to work)
- Mix all ingredients (I put the top on the container and gave it a couple of shakes. I could have stirred it with a spoon)
- Do laundry (I dropped a 1/4 cup measuring spoon into the container for doling out the detergent. Most of the recipes I’d read recommended using anything from 3 tablespoons to 4 tablespoons of detergent in the wash. I figured why not just measure out the 1/4 cup–which equals 4 tatablespoons–and be done with it)
It took me five minutes only to put this all together. Really, only five minutes. Grating the soap is what took the longest.
I have a top loading washing machine (came with the house), so I’ve gotten in the habit of pouring/dumping my laundry detergent in first and letting the tub fill before adding the clothes. Waiting like this allows the detergent to dissolve. In the past I could usually tell that the dissolving was occurring because I could see bubbles. With DIY laundry detergent? Not so much. Actually, not at all. And that had me worried.
But I dumped in my first load of clothes, let it run its course and came back when I heard the washing machine turn off.
Everything looked clean. And everything smelled clean. I figured, OK, this might just work. And I tossed the wet clothes in the dryer for five minutes to get out the excess water (like I always do), and then started hanging up the items one by one to dry.
I started a second load, then a third and now here I am, four days later, and you know what I’ve discovered? This stuff works.
The only problem is that we, as Americans, have been brainwashed–no brainwashed is too strong a term but it’s a good pun since I’m talking about laundry right–or led to believe that the more bubbles in a cleaning product, the better.
Bubbles=clean.
And when you’re using DIY laundry detergent, you just don’t have the bubbles. And you need to get over that.
Besides, here’s the upside to my DIY laundry detergent experiment:
- I made my own laundry detergent. (How cool is it to be able to say that?)
- I spent about $6 in the process, and I imagine that this laundry detergent is going to last me a long, long time–much longer than $6 spent on a commercial brand would.
The one downside to my DIY dry detergent? Since I’m still scarred by those “ring around the collar” Wisk commercials from the 1970s, I’m pretty anal about trying to get those rings out of my husband’s work shirts. In the past I would pour the liquid detergent on the “ring” and then sprinkle some Borax on it. Usually just water and Borax didn’t do the trick, which is why I added the liquid detergent to the mix. So when Bill’s shirts came out of the laundry yesterday–and hadn’t been pre-treated–the ring was still there. I considered investing in a small bottle of liquid Tide, just to keep on hand.
But then I thought, wait! Maybe I should try rubbing the Fels-Naptha soap on those rings.
With the next load, I’ll have to give that a try. And I’ll let you know how that goes.
READ LEAH ON HOME GOES STRONG
I have been using my recipe for 2 years with the new HE washers and I have a septic system too. My plumber told me that Washing Soda and Borax are the safest cleaners you can use for a septic system.
http://farmingonfaith.blogspot.com/2010/04/farming-on-faith-new-and-improved.html
I am saving so much money making my own cleaning supplies!
Glad to know that you have a similar recipe that’s working for you and is good for your septic system, which we have, too! Thanks for posting a comment.
I used this for quite a while but then my whites and light colors started to look kind of dingy and now I am using regular detergent again. I am thinking though that maybe I can get away with using the homemade stuff if I use store bought once a month or so to brighten things up…. just a thought
The best (and Cheapest) way to get rid of that “ring around the collar?” Use shampoo! Yes, a regular shampoo for your hair will do the trick nicely. And for a LOT less.
50/50 washing soda and borax does well and you do not need the fels naptha soap.
I use magnets and add washing soda to help reduce the impact of the hard water.
I’ve found that the clarifying shampoo (which I can get for $.99 a bottle) does a great job. Thanks!
what about skin irratations from the Borax? is there any feedback from that? Our kids have sensative skin but thinking about trying it.
If I get the Borax powder on my skin when it’s wet, it can sting. But remember: the Borax and washing soda are being dissolved with like, 100 parts water to the one part Borax. I imagine it will be so diluted as not to cause a problem.
Why not check your favorite allergy-free powdered detergent and see what the ingredients are? Maybe you can replicate them in your own DIY recipe.
You can also use Zote. I have bought it in Walmart or Big Lots. It is a dollar or less per bar and is a nice lemon scent.
Be careful with Borax. If you use hot water it can turn to hydrogen peroxide and “bleach” some colors. It is extremely toxic if ingested. It can be used to kill insects.
You can use Zote in a pinch to wash dishes and it is used down here in the south as catfish bait.
Sensitive skin? Try soapnuts for your laundry and bathing. Check out Botanika Soapnuts!
To make a liquid detergent instead (that you can pre-treat stains with), melt your grated soap (and kirk’s castile is great for hard water, but fels-naptha is awesome too) in 4 cups of water. Add this to half a 5 gallon bucket of hot water. add borax and washing soda and stir until dissolved. Fill bucket with hot water, cover and let sit overnight to thicken. You can then either mix it 50/50 with water or I use it full strength and it’s like a gel. My clothes are clean and smell great, and if you start to notice discoloration, well just add a cup or so of white vinegar to the load and that’ll fix that problem! It costs literally less than two cents a load-a little more if you use the vinegar.
Thank you for this tip. I’d never heard of Zote. I will check it out.
How long does the melting and dissolving take? And what about storage? Does it stay oK?
It takes 5-10 minutes of boiling to dissolve the soap shavings. A minute or two of stirring for the powders to dissolve. I usually make 10 gallons at a time, and store it in old laundry soap bottles. I currently have about twenty five bottles in my basement. The only problem I’ve run into is sometimes if it gets really cold it thickens. Add a little water and it’s just fine again!
This has not been mentioned, but if you have hard water and get “greying” or just notice a “greying” of your laundry try using Mrs. Stewart’s Bluing. Just a couple of drops of it in the rinse cycle (some say it works just as well in the initial wash cycle) and the clothes come out sparkling. If you can find it locally, great! If you buy it from mrsstewart.com they will charge you about $7.45 per 8 oz. bottle when you buy three bottles which includes shipping/tax. I’ve found they are the cheapest online supplier. But remember, there are 3,648 drops in 8 oz. and you only need a couple drops in each load!
Are the homemade laundry detergents safe for he washing machines? I would like to try something like this but I am afraid it may damage my expensive washing machine. I imagine I would need to use less per load as well, since the machine only uses 10 gallons of water for a wash cycle.
I use 1/3 of a cup of the dry detergent. I don’t know if they’ve been “approved” by the washing machine manufacturers but the ingredients themselves aren’t so far out there as to kill a machine, I would imagine.
another way to be frugal with your detergent is to just use a 1/4 to a 1/3 of the regular amount of detergent. Instead of my box of original tide powder lasting me 120 loads it lasts me 480 loads.
But does it get your clothes as clean?
[...] 10 offbeat ways to be frugal, which includes my advice on DIY laundry detergent. [...]
I’ve been making homemade liquid detergent for about 4 months now. I love it. Last week I tried making a Concentrate of it, using the same amount of Soap (1 bar Fels), Borax (1 cup), Washing Soda (1 cup), and only 1 gallon total of water. I made it the same way, making sure to use a container that had a large mouth on it, so I could stir it easier since it would be thicker. It is somewhere between a gel & a paste. I only use a little less than 1 1/2 tablespoons per load (I have a top load washer). It seems to be doing the job as well as the regular recipe, but now I only have to have 1 gallon container of detergent sitting around instead of 5.
I’m not a fan of powdered detergents, so that is why I went with the liquid in the first place. I put the Paste version in the washer with the clothing, and it dissolves easily. My niece just made her first batch ever, using the Paste version, and has an HE washer. She said it all dissolved for her also and things seemed to come out just fine.
Just thought I would pass it along to see if someone else has tried making a concentrate also.
[...] You can save money in many different areas of your house and the laundry room is no acception. Thing…small changes you make will ultimately save you money. [...]
[...] It isn't hard to save money when it comes to using your laundry room. Things are tight for everyone …the long run. [...]
Does the bar soap since it is just grated dissolve easily in a HE machine?
Yes! I have used it without a problem in my front loading HE machine!