Making your own laundry soap is one of the best ways to save money and live green. Laundry soap is very easy to make and won’t contain all the harsh chemicals of store-bought detergents like phenol, sulfates and fragrances. Many recipes call for washing soda and/or Borax which can be found in the laundry and cleaning aisles of your local store. Washing soda removes dirt and odors while Borax is a laundry whitener and deodorizer. As far as bar soap, the best brands to use for laundry soap are Kirk’s Hardwater Castile, Fels-Naptha, or Zote.
Basic Laundry Soap Recipe
Ingredients:
¼ bar of Zote or Fels-Naptha
1 cup of Arm & Hammer washing soda
1 cup of Borax
Instructions:
Shave off ¼ bar of soap. You can use a cheese grater for this task. Add the soap to an airtight container. Add in washing soda and Borax. Mix the ingredients together until well combined. Use 1 tablespoon for a small load of laundry or 3 tablespoons for large or heavily stained loads.
Laundry Soap with Vinegar Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup of white vinegar
1 cup of baking soda
1 cup of Arm & Hammer washing soda
¼ cup of liquid castile soap
Instructions:
In a bowl, add the vinegar, baking soda, washing soda and liquid soap. Mix well. You will notice the recipe is a thick paste first but once you continue to stir, you will notice it turn into a heavy powder. You want to be sure to break down the hard clumps when you are stirring. Store the detergent in a sealed container. Use about ½ cup for each full load of laundry for best results.
No-Grating Homemade Laundry Soap Recipe
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons of Borax
2 tablespoons of Arm & Hammer washing soda
2 tablespoon of dish soap
Instructions:
Add the Borax, washing soda and dish soap to an empty and clean gallon jug. Pour in 4 cups of boiling water and swirl until the ingredients are all dissolved. Let the mixture cool down and then fill to the cop with cold water. Warning: Do not place lid on plastic container with hot liquid, may burst.
I have heard that homemade laundry detergent is the best for not only saving money but is better for your health too. Thank you for this these recipes.
I have most of these ingredients, except the 1 cup of Arm & Hammer washing soda. I would love to give this a shot for my HE washer.
I’d love to try making this ,my Nana used to make a lot of her own products including laundry soap
Thanks for these recipes. I have never made my own detergent.
Great recipe. Will have to make this this coming weekend and see how it works on the laundry load. Sounds like it will be quite nice. Thank you!