Homemade Laundry Detergent

Since I have challenged myself to 12 DIY projects for the year, I wanted to get started right away.


Laundry soap has been on my want to try list for quite some time now. I was scared of how hard it would be to make and how it would work.


It was easy to make and so far has been doing great compared to my old name brand detergent. Since this soap does not suds much, it is great for my new HE washer!! (Merry Christmas to me!!!!)


 I will admit that it has been a little difficult getting use to the fact that more suds does not equal more clean.


I wanted to try homemade laundry detergent for 2 reasons.

#1: My girls all have eczema and often get skin rashes. I have read that this soap is extremely mild and great for sensitive skin.


#2:  Cost
             soap: $6 (which will make at least 6 if not 8 gallons of detergent)
             grater: $2 (I didn't really want to use my regular cooking utensils for soap making :)

             funnel: $2

             2 gal. of bottled water:  $2 (we have rusty water)

So really this will cost $8 for  6-8 gallons of detergent. YAY!!!!




This literally took me less than 1/2 hr to prep, make and clean up. I totally expected a lot more work!


I found many different recipes for laundry detergent but chose this one because of all the great reviews. As I continue to make laundry detergent I will probably find special tips & trick to making it better. For now, this seemed to work and so I will share my method with you.


Let me know if you make your soap, if you like it and if you have suggestions for next time. Good luck!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

{use 1/2 c per load}

• 1 bar of soap (any kind you want).

            ** I used Ivory because I heard it was easy to grate and wonderful for sensitive skin.
            ** Fels-Naptha is more for laundry soap & smells good.
                 I just wanted to be safe with Ivory this time.

• 1 cup of Borax 
• 1 cup of washing soda 
• a big pot ( that holds more than 2 gallons) 
• a grater
• a funnel
• a long spoon
• 2 empty gallon jugs/containers or 2 gallons of bottled water

Grate your bar of soap into your pot.

Fill one gallon jug and pour water into pot with grated soap.

Cook until the grated soap dissolves. (My water was cold and it took 10-15 min on med/ high heat)

Add the Borax and washing soda.

Bring to a boil. It will coagulate.

Turn off the heat. Add 1 gallon of cold water. Stir well.

Pour 1 gallon of your detergent into each container.  A funnel helps tremendously.

I thought that the drink dispenser that I has stored away in a cupboard would work perfectly. I was wrong. The soap was too thick. I ended up using the bottled water bottles that I had just emptied. I may decide on something different for future batches but this works for now.


The detergent will thicken when it cools. Shake with each use.


Since I was not going to use the drink dispenser for the detergent, I decided to use it for the vinegar. For a couple months I have been using white vinegar in my wash loads to freshen them. Vinegar will not only help the everyday laundry to be fresh but will also fix those loads of laundry that we forget about and stay in the washer way too long. A bouncy ball is perfect for the vinegar. I fill the ball 1/2 way with vinegar and just throw it in every load. Since my girls have sensitive skin, this does not give a smell to our clothing but just freshens them. A large bottle of vinegar is much cheaper than fabric softener. Here is a site that gives more uses for vinegar in your laundry.

*** to address those of you with the issue of the detergent becoming too thick. Try using 1/2 of a bar of soap instead.