Make Your Own Laundry Detergent! #DIY Laundry Soap Recipe

January 6, 2012 by 10 Comments

     During November, I really began thinking about where we were “wasting” money so-to-speak. As I’ve stated here quite a few times, I am one of the cheapest people. I know that cheap doesn’t always equal quality, but I also know that you can come by quality for cheap if you keep your eye out. If you know what things cost, and are an informed consumer than chances are you will have a hand-up in the savings game. I came to notice, that every time I would have to purchase laundry detergent, I was always looking for the best smelling, cheaper prices but formulas that I trusted. The only thing is, Tide costs $21 for a jug that lasts a month. Gain is nearly $19 and has the scent I love.


    I used Purex after I left the other two brands behind due to price “inflation” or what-have-you. Purex works great and that is my go-to when I find it at a great price. The only thing is, the size I used to buy went up by two dollars. It was a better choice than the others but still wasn’t in a price range I liked. That’s when I decided to take matters into my own hands. My mom and I had been talking about making our own, but we never took the plunge to do it.


    One day, I invited B’s sister over and asked if she would like to make laundry soap. She said that would be alright, so she was on her way over. I bought all of the ingredients we needed the week before, but my mom was at work over seas and couldn’t do it with me. Truth be told, I was quite afraid of doing it on my own. It seemed like such a daunting task, and I was really afraid of messing it up.

Ingredients:

1/4 bar of Fels Naptha or Zote soap
2 Tablespoons Borax powder
1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons) Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (not baking soda)
1 Cup of your favorite Purex Crystals (edited 1/12/12)
 *I use Tropical Splash in the yellow container.

Note:

     All four of these products can be found in your laundry detergent aisles.The Borax costed around $3.50, the Arm and Hammer Washing Soda costed close to $3.89 and the Zote and Fels-Naptha were both around $1.25. The Purex Crystals will add on another $4 but only one cup is needed so it’s still affordable with more for your actual loads.
    Total for all ingredients: $13.89. With the exception of the Zote and Fels-Naptha, I can make more than 4 batches.I grated everything by hand. I grated both the Fels-Naptha and the Zote since I wanted the cleaning agents of the Fels-Naptha and the smell of the white bar of Zote. I mixed it and used a bit more than 1/4 of a cup of the mixture of both grated soaps. 
     The Purex Crystals make it smell even better! One cup is all it takes for two jugs to give a hint of scent.
1. Cut your Fels-Naptha or Zote bar into fourths.

2. Grate a fourth of the bar, and store the other three-fourths for your next batches.
3. Pour that fourth of grated soap into your pot. I used a stock pot since I knew I would be adding water. 
4. Pour one cup of hot water into your pot, and turn the heat to medium-low.

5. Stir continuously, being sure that all of the soap dissolves. I used the wooden spoon to push the soap around the edges to melt into the water. It will have bubbles as shown below. Be sure there aren’t any chunks of soap.

6. In a bowl pour the 2 table spoons of Borax, and the 1/4 cup of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda into a bowl and mix together. Add in the 1 cup of Purex Crystals. 

7. Pour ten cups of hot water into a bucket, or large container. I didn’t want to buy anything I didn’t need, so I used the hospital bath basin they let me take home from Little Girl’s surgery in August. 
8. Pour the hot mixture you just melted into the pan. There will be a few bubbles.

9. Next, pour your dry Borax, Purex Crystal and Arm and Hammer Washing Soda powder mixture into the pan, and stir thoroughly.

10. Add ten more cups of hot water into the container, and mix again.
11. Cover, and let sit over night. 

To be honest, I didn’t cover mine, I just let it sit overnight in our back room. I went in the next day and the whole room smelled good. It will gel through the night!


 Now to make the finished product:
    Using a rinsed Xtra Jug my mom gave me, I put a funnel into it, and poured one cup of the gelled mixture until it was half full. I poured the same amount of hot water into the jug, and put the lid back on. I shook it really well, and tried my first load of laundry with it! I was able to fill two 100 ounce jugs with one batch of the recipe above. We have been using this laundry soap for more than a month now, and it works really well! It doesn’t turn sudsy like most detergents, but that is not what cleans your clothes. It is the Borax and Arm and Hammer Washing Soda cleaning agents that do.


Regular machines: Use like regular laundry soap.
 (Around 3/4-1cup per load.)
HE: Use 1/4 cup per load.

     You can add essential oil to make the formula smell, but it isn’t necessary. The Arm and Hammer Washing Powders do well with clean-no-smelling laundry. The Zote has a light scent, and the Fels-Naptha does as well.
     I do continue to use Purex Crystals, as I love the smell. Even though I continue to buy those, we haven’t had to buy any laundry soap in more than a month! I justify my saving money on making the laundry soap for what little I spend on the Crystals. My step-dad used the other bottle I made, and he likes it really well. The entire process took me 22 minutes. That is the same amount of time it would take me to drive one way to my nearest Wal-Mart for  detergent! 
     Tonight I plan on making my second batch so I can make another two jugs tomorrow! These two jugs costed me way less than $2 to make, and one bottle was enough for a month. With the Purex Crystals is only costs around $2.25-$2.50 per batch (half that per jug since a batch makes two jugs!  )
   
    How do you plan on saving when it comes to your laundry? Share your ideas and suggestions in a comment below! 
Filed Under: DIY, Recipes, Savings

Comments

  1. Cheryl E says:
    January 6, 2012 at 9:05 pm

    Thanks for posting this. I've been wanting to make it for awhile and it was really nice that you had pictures of all the steps. It's nice to know that I'm on the right track when I'm doing it!

    Reply
  2. April says:
    January 6, 2012 at 10:34 pm

    That's so funny! I just bought the ingredients to make mine too! I'm making the powder version though. Glad to know it works well!

    Reply
  3. Candice says:
    January 7, 2012 at 12:14 am

    I make this too except its all in powder form. I just love it!

    Reply
  4. Cathy Davis says:
    January 7, 2012 at 3:56 pm

    Great post! It's amazing how much we pay for convenience, isn't it? And, it looks so easy to make the DIY version!

    Reply
  5. Felissa Hadas says:
    January 7, 2012 at 4:32 pm

    I think I will buy my detergent because I use a natural one. Plus I don't have all that much laundry to do so a bottle lasts a while.

    Reply
  6. Liz says:
    January 7, 2012 at 5:18 pm

    Thank you for the tutorial! I've been wondering about this for a while. DH says I should wash my jeans less and that will save money – I'm trying to decide if I really can deal with not washing them after use!

    Reply
  7. Garilyn S says:
    January 11, 2012 at 3:31 pm

    I've been making my laundry soap since August and I love it. The savings is great. The clothes smell clean. I encourage anyone to try it at least once!
    (My recipe was a little different and it didn't get both times I've made it. But it still works great.)

    Reply
  8. Janice says:
    January 11, 2012 at 7:14 pm

    Wow you are soooo good! I would have never thought of making my own laundry detergent. I often complain about the high price of detergent. I now buy whatever is on sale. I like your thinking! Thanks for sharing :)
    tweety800265(at)yahoo(dot)com

    Reply
  9. Pam2424 says:
    January 11, 2012 at 10:26 pm

    Thanks for this post. I make most of my own cleaners, but I didn't have a recipe for laundry detergent until now.

    Reply
  10. Nan says:
    February 5, 2012 at 2:36 pm

    One of my resolutions this year is to learn to make items I have been buying. Laundry soap is on that list. Thank you for these instructions.

    Reply

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