How to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent

I have very sensitive skin and so do my kids.

Too many times I have bought laundry detergent that irritates someone’s skin. By making my very own laundry detergent, I can control the ingredients that go into it. There’s no additional perfume. Our clothes are clean, and our skin isn’t irritated.

Homemade laundry detergent calls for just 4 easy ingredients and takes just a few minutes to make. It’s 100% cleaning ingredients, without any filler.

It smells fantastic when you’re washing clothing, it simply smells clean- with no chemical perfume odor.

This is a cost-effective cleaning solution. You use less soap per load than commercial laundry detergent. Since we use soap in this recipe, there will be no detergent residue being left behind like in commercial laundry detergent. (All detergents leave a soapy residue behind). With no soap residue left on your laundry your clothes will be “cleaner” and cotton diapers will stay more absorbent.

It’s not just less costly, this is fantastic laundry washing soap that actually works and it’s much better for the environment too. And using the right ingredients, homemade cleansing solutions work equally well, and even much better, compared to their commercially made alternatives.

Powdered Laundry Detergent Recipe:

This laundry detergent is so concentrated that you only use 1 TBL for a light load or 2 TBL for a heavy load. This homemade detergent will also remove staining far better compared to costly commercial laundry detergent. You might need to use more detergent per load than I specified if you have hard water or well water. (The same is true for any soap being used in hard water).

• 1/2 bar laundry soap (Laundry bar soap is made for washing laundry. Common bar brands are Octagon, Fels-Naptha or Zote)
• 1 cup Borax powder (like 20 mule team)
• 1 cup washing soda powder OR 2 cups baking soda powder
• 1 cup oxygen bleach powder (like oxiclean powder)

Mix the 3 powder ingredients together. After that, grate or run the 1/2 bar of laundry soap through the food processor just a little bit at a time, mixing it in to the powder mix slowly and gradually.

It is much easier to combine the bar soap in to the powder in small amounts rather than all of it at the end. Additionally you can process all of the ingredients together until the powder has a sand like texture.

Baking soda (sodium bicarbinate) and washing soda (soda ash) are not the same thing but they work the same way. Washing soda is 2 times stronger than the baking soda. The recipe quantities have been adjusted accordingly.

Washing soda and Borax (such as 20 mule team brand) can be found in the laundry aisle at the grocery store. Of course baking soda is in the baking aisle.

Laundry bar soap is a soap that is made for washing laundry. Common brands are Octagon, Fels-Naptha or Zote. These are also found in the cleaning or laundry isle at the grocery store.

Oxygen Bleach:

Powdered oxygen bleach is made by combining hydrogen peroxide with soda ash or borax. When dissolved in water, the soda ash or borax releases the hydrogen peroxide. This allows it to remove stains and keep colors bright without damaging them in the way that chlorine bleach does.

Bar Laundry Soap:

Laundry bar soap like Fels-Naptha are formulated to be low sudsing for use in the washing machine. It is an excellent stain remover and pre-treater working especially well on oil-based stains.

Baking Soda:

Baking soda, (bicarbonate of soda, sodium bicarbonate) is a white natural crystalline powder. Baking soda is alkaline. As an alkallai it neutralizes acids and helps to break down proteins. Baking soda is an excellent deodorizer. When added to the water when washing clothing, baking soda will stabilize the pH level of the water which softens the water, making soap or detergent much more effective.

Washing Soda:

Washing soda is a highly alkaline white powder that is great to remove stubborn stains from laundry. It makes water softer such as baking soda does. It’s not the same thing as baking soda, although the two compounds are similar. As an alkali it takes 1 part washing soda what it takes to do the same thing with 2 parts of baking soda. Washing soda is caustic, make sure you use gloves when handling.