Well I finally did it!!! Did what you ask??? Well make my own Homemade Laundry Detergent. I know this is not food related in any way, but it definitely is a frugal idea. So I really wanted to make sure to post it. I have see this recipe floating around the Internet and a lot of different frugal bloggers have been making their own laundry soap for years. I guess curiosity finally got to me. I really wanted to know if it cleaned as well as the leading brands on the market. If you ask me some brands which I wont mention are ridiculously overpriced. Plus I have noticed the price has been increasing and the product size has been decreasing. I don't know why I didn't get around to doing this lot sooner. I think it was because I thought it would be impossible to find all the products needed to make the detergent. I mean I had never seen the Fels Naptha Soap, well that's only because I haven't been looking for it. It has been right there all along it is just something I don't normally shop for.
A lot of the people have stated that it would be really hard to find all three products needed at one store, so I was prepared to make trips to two different stores. Well surprisingly I found all three products at my local Kroger. I couldn't believe it. You will need the following items to make you own laundry detergent. Mule Team Borax, Arm & Hammer Washing Soda & Fels Naptha Bar Soap. I recommend buying 4 bars of the Fels Naptha Soap, that way you can pretty much use all of the products without having anything left over. The Borax cleans, disinfects and softenes the water. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda works on grease and neutralizes odors. The Fels Naptha Soap is a heavy duty laundry soap bar & stain remover. If you follow the recipe below you will have enough laundry soap to wash 160 loads of laundry. Total price to purchase all the items to make my own detergent came to $11.24.I thought this was a great deal. When buying and making your own laundry soap there a few things to keep in mind. Do not buy Arm & Hammer Baking Soda in place of Washing soda. They are two different products that are not interchangeable and results will vary if substituting one for the other. Also, grate the soap first this is so it dissolves better in the wash. The finer it is, the quicker it dissolves. Keep in mind this is the most time consuming part of the whole thing after that its a breeze. Homemade detergents are low sudsing, you won’t see many suds in the wash. No worries, this is normal and your clothes will still come out clean. You only need 2 Tablespoons of laundry soap per load. This roughly comes out to about 1/8 cup. I just store a measuring cup inside with the soap container. One thing I have noticed is that sometime when using commerical laundry detergents they will leave a residue on my clothes when they come out of the washer. I line dry a few items and that is where I notice this problem. Well, since I started using the homemade detergent I have yet to see any residue.
The washing soda and the borax are usually the easiest to find at your local grocery store you can locate them in the laundry isle. You might have a bit of a problem finding the Fels Naptha Bar Soap. Fels Naptha is a Dial product, so I have included a link to the dial store locator listed at their website. Store Locator for Fels Naptha Soap. This should help you find a store in your area that sells the soap. If you still cannot locate the soap you can substitute by using Zote, Sunlight or Ivory Bar Soap. I have seen the Zote Soap at Walmart. Making you own laundry soap is really a personal preference, some might think its just really going to far or a big hassle to make it yourself. I don't think so, a lot of the commercial laundry soaps have so many harsh chemicals, dies and perfumes that is is really sensitive for some people. This is just your basic plain jane laundry soap. I do hope you give it a try, I am loving this stuff. And even loving it more that it cost me only 7 cents per load. Lets get started........
To beging the soap will need to be grated.
you can use a cheese grater or a food processor. (If using a food processor make sure to wash the blades really well after) I am using a old grater that will only be used for soap.
Add washing soda then
borax
stir well.Place in sealed container or tub and measure out two tablespoons (or 1/8 cup) for each load. I just leave my measuring cup inside the tub so it is always handy.
Store in a air tight container with a good sealing lid.
I have also started to line dry my clothes to help cut the cost of our electric bill. We have a electric dryer so with 5 people it really runs through the week. If I don't do laundry at least every other day it will pile up. I have noticed that with the homemade laundry soap my clothes are not stiff at all. Plus here in Texas they take no time to dry. I haven't took the plunge into homemade laundry softener but you never know that might be next. Here is a break down of the total cost of the products. Mule Team Borax Laundry Booster - $3.69
Arm & Hammer Washing Soda - $2.79
4 - Bars Fels Naptha Soap - $1.19 each bar = $4.76
Total Price - $11.24
Price Per Load - 7 cents
Homemade Laundry Detergent
Large Batch Recipe
4 - Bars Fels Naptha Laundry Soap
6 - Cups Mule Team Borax
(this is roughly one box I had about 2 cups left over from box)
6 - Cups Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (this is roughly one box))
Grate soap using cheese grater. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Place in sealed container or tub and measure out two tablespoons (or 1/8 cup) for each load.
Smaller Batch Recipe
2 - Cups Laundry Soap Shavings
(you can get this easily from one bar)
1 - Cup Mule Team Borax
1 - Cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
Follow instructions for above recipe.
Tina, The Mom in Mommy's Kitchen
32 comments:
I made laundry detergent 2 weeks ago to try to save money and add to my blog, but my results weren't as good as yours. I added baking soda and soda wash...may have messed something up. It takes 2 huge cups of soap for a medium load. I made liquid soap instead of dry, I still have all of the indredients so I may try your recipe this time. The liquid soap is also easy to make.
I havent attempted the liquid soap yet. I thought I would go the powder route. Ya know I really like the powder and it dissolves in the wash super well. I might stick to this only because I know it works. But who knows I might venture out and try the liquid recipe as well. I think this is just the coolest idea I am loving the idea of line drying as well. I did not think I would like it but, I have gone without turning the dryer on and I love that.
Thank you so much for this post. It would be a smart idea to learn to make it and have the supplies on hand just in case....
This is great to know. TFS
I do want to try this very soon. I use FelsNapa already for stain treatment. I know this sounds crazy, but I really want a scrub board to use with it. Best thing for white socks I heard.
is it ok for front load washers that need the HE type?
I'm glad to see you are line drying too! lol
I feel like I receive free cooking and baking classes every time I visit this blog. You sure do share a wealth of knowlege and I am learning so much. Thank you!
I have been making my laundry soap in this way for about 6 months. I would love to try the liquid version because they say it is easier on your washing machine.
Whats next, this is the information I found on tipnut.com.
Can You Safely Use Homemade Laundry Detergents With A High Efficiency Washer (HE Machine)?
I have no experience with this but there are lots of comments that say it’s fine to use. Be aware that using anything other than what your machine manufacturer recommends may void your warranty.
Homemade detergent is low sudsing which is important for HE machines.
Can You Use Homemade Detergent In a Front Loading Machine?
I have no experience with this but there are lots of comments that say it’s fine to use. Be aware that using anything other than what your machine manufacturer recommends may void your warranty.
Jess now that I know the dog wont chew at the hanging laundry its a go for us Yeah!!!!!
Judy I am so glad that you are learning new things. Looks like I am learning new things myself. I am so loving it.
I've been using this same recipe for about 6-8 months in my HE front-loader washer, and it's working great. I could never find Fels Naptha soap, so I use Ivory, and it works just fine (plus, Ivory is quite cheap- about .25c/bar). I just use about 1 rounded Tbsp in my washer, as it uses less water and therefore needs less soap. As far as fabric softener goes, plain white vinegar is a natural fabric softener, and removes smells and residue from your clothing. I put a few Tbsp in the liquid fabric softener slot, and it rinses clean and never leaves any vinegar-y scent.
Blakemore Family thank you so much for adding your input regarding the HE Front Loader. I dont have one so I was not a help on that. I might have to try the softner recipe.
If you don't want to grate the soap up, a food processor works great too :)
I have front loaders and I use the homemade liquid soap with the Fels Naptha. My hard ingredient to find was the washing soda(found it at Cub Foods). The Fels Naptha was actually in my grocery store's HBA department(at Cash Wise foods), so maybe look there if anyone is having trouble finding it.
I made a half batch of the liquid soap as posted on www.duggarfamily.com and find it works pretty well. The liquid is more economical also, I think (but who cares when its so cheap!) For how much the Fels Naptha made my eyes water from the soapy smell when I grated it, you really can't smell the detergent on the clothes after they are washed. I did not add any essential oils.
I've been using the liquid version for about 6 months now and have noticed very minor fading on brown screen printing and green dye. Not enough for me to stop using it, though. Even if you just use it for whites and towels, etc, its worth it to try. You may even be able to get someone to share some of their borax or washing soda thru freecycle.org or craigslist.
On a side note, I have also tried home made dishwasher detergent (1 T. borax with 1 T. baking soda - I used my old fridge pack stuff for this)... didn't work very well getting the peanut butter off knives and more stuck-on food...
Nice posting....very informative site.
I made this, the dry version. I used it for a month and found things were dingy. Since it is just myself, I am going back to the commercial stuff.
Hi, the FelsNaptha while a bar soap is not a body soap. It has been around for years and is a stain remover. It works very well and is safe for most fabric and clothes (read clothing labels carefully)!
~ingrid
Thanks for posting your experience with this. Just yesterday I was looking for the ingredients to make the powder recipe, but couldn't find anything, the borax was out of stock and couldn't find the washing soda or soap. I'll keep trying and having the picture of what the fels naptha soap looks like is a huge help!
I am excited that you posted this because it is something I have been wanting to try as well! Thank you!
I make the liquid version of this and since I started making it a few months back I've never gone back... also to save money on fabric softener I bottle of good fabric softener empty it into a bucket, fill that bottle up twice with water to dilute it then I use sponges and keep them down in the softener and when I put my clothes in the dryer I squeeze a sponge out and throw it in with the wet clothes to dry.. works great!
Everytime I read one of your posts, I get more and more excited. I had decided that I wanted to start making my own cleaners, including washing powders and here you are with the recipe!! So timely!! Thanks for expanding your site to include other items for the household. Can't wait to try this.
Your welcome, I have really been trying to do a lot more frugal things. I also want to expand and work on some household cleaners as well. I need to get some spray bottles and start getting some recipes togehter. I will post them as i find them.
A few other things that I've tried in my quest to be cheap...er...frugal:
Dishwasher soap- Mix 1cup borax + 1 cup washing soda. Add 1Tbsp to each load. Occasionally (about a few times a month), I add a few Tbsp white vinegar to the jet dry compartment and it shines up the glasses really well. I use this solely as my dishwasher soap.
Windex substitute- In an old Windex bottle, Pour in 2 cups water, 2 Tbsp white vinegar, 1 tsp dish soap (I used Palmolive pure and clear). Love this! Works GREAT!
Dryer sheets- I tried the above-mentioned substitute of using diluted liquid fabric softener on a sponge then tossing in the dryer, but I bought the blue-colored fabric softener and found that it was leaving blue spots on my clothes (spots that would NOT come out, as they had been dried in). Now I just buy regular dryer sheets and cut them all in half. Half a sheet works just as well as a whole. Next box, I'm going to try to go down the 1/3 sheet. :-)
My next quest is to find an all-purpose cleaner substitute to replace my Formula 409...
I make the liquid laundry soap and love it!! In these times we need all the frugal information we can get!! I for one like the old ways and saving money where I can.. Looking forward to more "frugal" info on your site.
Thank you for this post I havebeen trying to trim my budget down alot and I know that this will help me.
I'm hunting down the ingredients for the detergent today. Also, i have been using the vinager for softner in my front load washer. I love it, and my front loader doesnt smell like mold anymore. thanks for all your info.
It's unfortunate that people got out of the habit of using clotheslines. They save so much energy, and it is kind of peaceful to hang the clothes.
Even apartment dwellers can air dry their clothes by using a laundry drying rack like this one. Being round it works really nice under a ceiling fan!
I make my own soap with the same ingredients - except only one bar of Fels Naptha. Is there a reason for using 4 bars? I make my own softener but it usually isn't needed because the Borax and Washing Soda get the clothes soft enough.
I tried the homemade detergent and LOVE it! I was using Tide and Melaluca. There is a nice fresh scent on my clothes, my lint catcher in the dryer barely needs cleaned,it helped with some lint on my clothes and I found no use for fabric softner when I used a little more than the 2 tbsp of detergent. The clothes were incredibly soft:) My clothes rinsed clean without all the residue. Thanks Angela
i have just tried this out and i love it. my clothes smell so fresh and clean. thank you for posting this recipe!
I am very interested in trying this receipe out. I am allergic to all commercial soaps that I have tried besides Dreft for babies. Do you think this detergent would work for me? I’m tempted to try it anyways just to find out. Dreft is sooo expensive it could be worth the gamble??
I have not tried the powder version of this. I made the liquid version and I like it. But I like the idea of having a smaller container and using less of the product when using the powder. I may try that the next time. Thanks for sharing!
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