If you have never made Homemade Laundry Detergent Powder, you may be surprised at how easy it is to make AND how cost effective! Many people who use it like it better than anything they can buy in the store.
You can make a fairly big batch of this Homemade Laundry Detergent Powder and it will last you quite a while. The recipe below will be enough for 250-500 loads, depending on how much detergent you use in each load of laundry.
Here is a great recipe for Homemade Laundry Detergent Powder:
What you Need:
3 bars of Fels-Naptha or Zote Soap
1 Box of Super Washing Soda 3 lb. 7 oz.
1 Box of Borax 4 lbs 12 oz. size
1 Box of Pure Baking Soda 4 lb.
1 container of Oxi-Clean 1.3 lb
You can also add Purex Crystals or Downy Unstoppables to add some scent. This is a great way to customize the scent of your detergent to something you really like.
What you Do:
STEP 1:
The first step in the process is to grate your bar soap into as fine a powder as possible. You can do this in a food processor or by using a cheese grater. If using a cheese grater you may end up larger pieces or soap in your detergent, which is fine.
Or you can opt to microwave your soap bars, Cut in large chunks and place in the microwave for about 2-3 minutes until the soap expands into puffy clouds. Allow to cool 1 hour before crumbling because the soap will be extremely hot!
STEP 2:
Pour all of the ingredients into the container and mix well. Crumble the Soap into the container and stir!
STEP 3:
Add in your favorite essential oils! The purex and oxi clean are optional, if you skip those items to make this a more natural option then I highly recommend adding essential oils!
STEP 4:
Next you want to grab a large bin with a lid. A 5-gallon buckets from Home Depot or something similar work great for mixing and storing the large quantities. And the lid keeps it all sealed tight. Or plastic totes work well too.
That is all there is to it. You now have laundry detergent to last you a up to a year or more depending on how many loads you do per week! How awesome is that!
You can purchase all of these ingredients for about $15 – $20 depending on where you are shopping. Typically an entire batch will last me for 6 months or as much as a year depending on how much you are washing laundry.
ENTER Is it ok for He front loading machines ?YOUR COMMENT HERE
I don’t have one, so I’m not sure. I would look up an HE specific recipe just to make sure.
I have a Samsung, he, front load washer. It is the worst purchase I’ve ever made. With this homemade detergent, the horrible odors are gone and my clothes seem to be much cleaner. Me and the washing machine thank you for sharing as it was about to be replaced.
I used to make my own soap, but noticed that my clothes were fading in color. Do you have this problem with this recipe? I am about to have my 4th blessing, so any help I can get, I will take.
Hi, how much detergent do you use per load?
I use 1-2 Tablespoons per load
not awesome at all. this is outdated, old fashioned and we learned this in girl scouts back in 1965 over 50 years ago. nowadays you can purchase ready made BREAD, clothing, fisher-price toys, tomato sauce, and LAUNDRY DETERGENT. this is stupid.
True, but it’s significantly cheaper to make than to buy. Plus it is much more natural and you can control what goes in it. Feel free to buy what you want but don’t rag on people who choose to make things themselves.
I have made this… it is my back up when I get low on my liquid.. I keep in 3lb buckets…… and I know people that make it and have a front loader and works fine… does not sud up alot….. Also fine for HE washers…. When I make it…. I leave out the Fels… and use more oxy in mine…. Fels has a very strong chemical smell….
Is it safe front loaders (EF)?
Hi Vanessa, I don’t have an HE Washer so I am not sure how it would work on an HE Machine, you might want to try to find a more specific recipe for HE Machines.