Why would anyone want to make their own laundry soap, when commercial detergents are so convenient and readily available? I’ll give you 3 reasons:
- It’s less expensive.
- It’s eco-friendly (less packaging, no harsh chemicals).
- It’s easy (I chose to make the powdered version because it’s the easiest)!
If you’d like to try making your own all you need is:
- Borax
- Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (not to be mistaken with baking soda)
- A bar of soap (I used Fels-Naptha, but you can use Ivory, Zote, or any other kind of bar soap that you like). I easily found Borax and soap at my local store, but I could not find the washing soda so I had to order it online.
Once you have all of your ingredients, you need to grate the bar of soap. I grated the entire bar and ended up with about two cups of grated soap.
Mix equal parts Borax,Washing Soda, and grated soap (in my case it was 2 cups of each). If you need some extra cleaning power, you can increase the amount of Borax for a little boost.
Once you have thoroughly mixed the ingredients, pour them into an airtight container and add a scoop about the size of a tablespoon for measuring. I got a plain white container at IKEA and I stenciled the word “SOAP” onto it using a Sharpie marker and I had an old scoop that we used for coffee grounds that I threw into the container.
Use 1 tablespoon per load or 2 tablespoons for heavily soiled items. That’s it!
Notes: This detergent is very low in suds which means you can use it HE front-load washers.
I’ve been using the detergent for a week now and I’m quite happy with it. I don’t notice a difference in the cleanliness of my clothes in comparison to store bought detergent. I have been using 2 tablespoons per load regardless of how soiled the items are because I can’t believe it takes so little to clean a whole load, but I have no reason to believe that 1 tablespoon wouldn’t be enough for a non-heavily soiled load.
That’s the coolest! I like the container too. I’ve heard that people do this. Does it remove odour too, and stains? Keep at it and tell us again in a month. I’m really interested.
Yes, it does remove odor and stains. I’ve used it on the baby’s clothes and carrier that get really dirty and it does just as good of a job as my store-bought detergent. I haven’t tried it on any oily stains yet, though.
This is so cool!!!! Thank you!
Oh WOW! Oh WOW WOW WOW! How easy is that? I’m going to try it out. Where do you get the borax?
I get it at Target.
This is so cool! I’ve got to give this a try.
This is just too cool for me and I will be trying it out, I already use Borax which I love cause it makes the clothes look brighter. Thanks for sharing and I will let you know how it turns out.
So since you already know the wonders of Borax. I keep the box of Borax next to the homemade laundry detergent and if I’m washing something particularly grimy like the rug or dog’s blanket, I add a little extra Borax because that stuff really cleans. I don’t know why it took me so long to discover Borax, but now I can’t do without it.
Wow! You are truly amazing! I love this idea
Well, aren’t you great for my ego?
I only did it because it was easy.
It does look easy…but how long did it take you to grate the soap? Did you figure the cost savings – or is it too soon to tell? I’m just curious – how much detergent can you make with the 3 items? If I ever try this – I’ll let you know 🙂
Now had you made the bar of soap from lard it would have been much harder. I imagine the selection of the soap bar would make a big difference. I don’t think Irish Spring would work well.
I will have to try this. Sounds pretty easy. I love your container. Reminds me that I need a trip to IKEA!
Mmmmm this sounds very interesting. I wish you could buy the washing soda at a local store – I know me and ordering on line is going to deter me from trying I just never get around to ordering online!!
Apparently, the washing soda is sold at many stores in the laundry aisle. I just couldn’t find it in SF, but we don’t have that many “big” stores.
Borax is the only natural miracle cleaner! I was at a science workshop and the teacher/scientist told us because of its chemical make-up it is the only cleaner that job is to take out stains. Okay, my explanation isn’t going so well, but I use it for everything. Plus mix it with a little water (with some food coloring) and then add it to Elmer’s Glue…you make your own silly putty…AND wash your hands at the same time. My students love it!
Not something I will be doing any time soon! I’m far too lazy… lol !
It sounds wonderful but Tide is the only thing I’ve found that ‘ill get Farm Boys, machine oil, manure, ground in dirt, liquid molasses cattle feed out. I’d love to try it but would hate to mix up a big batch and not be able to use it.
Have ya had any experience with machine oil, manure, ground in dirt, liquid molasses cattle feed??? Heeehehehehe! (I didn’t think so) :o)
God bless ya and have a marvelous Valentine’s Day sweetie!!! :o)
No I have not, but I highly recommend Borax in general. I used it as a booster with my store bought detergent and it made such a difference in getting poop out of baby clothes that it made me want to try making my own detergent with Borax. Plus it’s cheap.
I have a group of friends in New Orleans who make hand soap and laundry detergent. They have been doing this for years, but I never realized how easy it is to make until I read your post. Laundry detergent is very expensive in Honduras. I may ask friends from the US to bring a package of borax and washing soda when they arrive here in March. Bar soap is inexpensive and good quality here.
girl, this is right on! I love the “greenness” of it! And the container is great… great job stenciling it!
REally??? I don’t think I saw this: How long does it take to make the soap?
It took about 15 minutes and most of that was me grating the bar of soap with a box grater.
I love making different things! I will love to try this! Very different!
I have to try this. Just need to check where I can get Borax and soda. I read somewhere that baking soda is used to wash baby clothes as it is a milder alkali and its pH is lower, therefore gentler on the clothes. Washing soda’s pH is 11 (more acidic) and baking soda 8.1 (7 is considered neutral, for example water).
But I guess a majority of washing soaps do use washing soda. This sounds super-easy and sensible. Thanks for sharing, UM (and 🙂 sorry if I bored you with chemistry). I like ours, though and happy Valentine’s Day! 😀
Very cool! I’ve always wanted to make my own but had no idea it was this easy. I love that you are teaching your kids how to do this too, they will always remember it.
Magnificent, to get in shape.
I want to try this. We use a lot of soap around here and I could use a savings option.
Is it itchy? My skin is really sensitive.
No, I have sensitive skin and that’s part of why I switched to it. When I use store bought detergent I have to get the kind that has no dyes or fragrances. I’m really happy with the detergent I made and haven’t had any skin irritation.
Totally trying this! We had used Charlie Soap in the past which is a natural, powder detergent so we have a ton of the scoops left over. Can’t wait to try it, just pinned it for later!
Thanks for the recipe! I want to try the homemade version when I run out of our current laundry detergent stockpile.