Several years ago, I became fed up with buying laundry detergent. The cost seemed excessive, the packaging was appalling, and I was averse to some of the fragrances. I started to research making my own detergent and it’s actually really easy and inexpensive. Plus, the basic recipe has been around for like, ever, so you know it’s good.
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Why make your own?
There are so many reasons to make your own detergent!
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You’re completely frugal and hate spending $8 to wash twenty loads of laundry.
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You hate suffocating the planet with giant plastic bottles filled with water.
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You’re a bit of a scientist (or maybe just a domestic diva) and like to learn about different products to use around the house.
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The smell of commercial laundry detergent makes you cringe and you’d like greater control over the scent.
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You already stopped using dryer sheets in favor of wool dryer balls (or nothing at all!) and are ready to make the next step.
So what’s in a basic laundry detergent?
- Fels Naptha (a stain removing bar by Purex)*
- Borax (sodium tetraborate)
- Washing soda (sodium carbonate)
- Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
Each of these items are likely available at your local grocer or hardware store. The borax and washing soda will run about $5 each/box. You can make several batches with a box of these ingredients, so they’ll last you awhile. Fels Naptha is about a $1/bar (one bar per batch) and baking soda is about $1/box.
I usually make a triple batch.
*Fels Naptha is not a plant-based product. Sub a bar of castile soap if you’d prefer a plant-based option.
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Other items
Buckets/jars: Of course, you’ll need a place to keep your final product, but I also recommend storing open washing soda and borax in plastic buckets. I reuse old ice cream buckets.
Food processor: If you don’t have one, check your local thrift shop. Many people don’t use them and end up donating them to your benefit!
Measuring spoon: You’ll need something to measure detergent with (I use about 1 ½ T./load)
Sharp knife or quality grater: If the Fels Naptha is soft, it should grate fairly easily, but if it’s been on the shelf for a while and has dried out, try scraping it with a sharp chef’s knife. Trying to grate hard Fels Naptha just makes dust (and takes a really long time). Turning it into dust is why we use the food processor.
Recipe
1 c. Borax
1 c. washing soda
1 bar Fels Naptha (or Castile soap), shredded or scraped
½ c. baking soda
Put all ingredients in a food processor and process until it’s a fine, well-mixed powder. (While running the food processor, I find it’s helpful to cover it with a damp towel to reduce dust emitted into the air.) Store in a jar or other air-tight container.
This should do about 30-50 loads of laundry based on 1 – 1 ½ T. per load (HE washer).
Fragrance
Personally, I don’t care to add any additional fragrance (Fels Naptha has a light soapy scent). There are fragranced castile soaps that you could use or you could add essential oils if you’d like. I recently discovered Chandrika Ayurvedic soap (a plant-based soap with a sandalwood scent) and will be playing with this option in the future.
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Other products
After making your own laundry detergent, you may start thinking about how to make some of the other detergents in your house. To start, here are a couple of great lists:
31 Surprising Uses for Borax from Urban Survival Site
18 Uses for Washing Soda from Wellness Mama
Have you ever made your own detergent? What has you interested in it now? Tell me in the comments below!
— Melissa, Funky Crunchy Mama
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