Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe: Just Two Cents Per Load!
Making your own laundry soap at home will help you save a lot of money. Plus, you can customize the scent using your favorite essential oils.
What if I told you that if by using you own homemade laundry soap at home, you’d be spending just 2 cents per load?
Liz over at Carpé Season Photography was kind enough to share her recipe/fomula for homemade laundry detergent. Thank you, Liz!
Why Make Your Own Laundry Detergent?
I started making my own laundry detergent a couple of years ago, after reading this cost breakdown.
I’ll sum it up for you: homemade laundry detergent is going to cost you about 2 cents per load as opposed to your standard Tide load, which is going to hit you up for 20 cents per load.
Or, to put it another way…if you did one load of laundry per day, you’d save yourself roughly $65 per year.
Do you also have $$ signs in your eyes, or is it just me?
If you’re not convinced yet, please let me tell you how easy this process is. It literally takes 15 minutes to put a batch together (a batch that will last you 52+ loads) and includes only 5 steps (more specific instructions below):
How To Make Homemade Laundry Detergent
Scroll down for detailed instructions + amounts. But here’s the process, in a nutshell:
1. Grate a bar of soap into curls.
2. Boil water.
3. Add grated soap to water and dissolve.
4. Pour boiled soap mixture, borax, and washing soda in a large bucket and mix.
5. Pour and mix in more water.
Done. And two of the steps include pouring, so does those really even count?
Does It Clean As Good As Store-Bought?
Finally, this stuff works.
My clothes feel and smell clean (without any of the perfumey after effect some detergents have), and they don’t appear to be any more worn down than what I had experienced using store-bought detergent for many years.
I hope I’ve at least convinced you to think about making your own detergent. It really is super easy, effective, and best of all, cheap…which can feel really good as you head into this holiday season and see all of those gift-buying receipts piling up.
Find out how to make your own homemade, less-toxic dishwasher detergent at home.
This is just one way to save money on laundry: Learn 9+ ways to save money on laundry.
Homemade Laundry Detergent
1. Use 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of detergent for a large load; less if your load is smaller.
2. You can either leave your detergent in the bucket and use a measuring cup to scoop it out, OR I’d recommend asking friends for their old store-bought detergent bottles, giving them a good rinse, and then using a funnel to pour your homemade detergent into the used bottles. The used-bottle way is just a little less messy and a little more convenient, but definitely not necessary!
Ingredients
- 1 bar of soap (I used Dove unscented, but whatever you prefer is fine!)
- 1 cup washing soda
- 1/2 cup Borax
- 4 cups + 3 gallons of water
- Essential oils, optional
Materials
- Cheese grater
- Medium-sized pot
- Long mixing spoon
- Large 3-gallon+ bucket with lid
Instructions
- Bring 4 c. of water to boiling in a large (preferably covered) pot. Meanwhile, grate your bar of soap into small curls (or cut into tiny pieces with a knife). Once water is at a rapid boil, add your soap curls, and stir until mostly dissolved.
- Once dissolved, pour your boiled soap mixture, washing soda, and borax into a large bucket. Add and stir in 3 gallons of water. At this point, you could also add in about 30 drops of your favorite essential oil if using. Cover your bucket and allow to sit for 24 hours.
- After 24 hours, stir your detergent. At this point, it’s ready to use. Mine always has the consistency of liquid gel, similar to dishwasher detergent. Additionally, the color may vary a bit depending on the type of bar soap you used.
- Use 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of detergent for a large load; less if your load is smaller.
Notes
Adapted from The Simple Dollar
Yes yes yes! Homemade laundry detergent is MILES better and cheaper than the name brands. I usually make mine in powder form–a cup of washing soda, a cup of Borax, and a bar of grated Ivory soap–and it lasts us months and costs practically nothing. Plus, no perfumes or irritants! THE BEST.
I like the powder method! How much do you put in per load?
Hi Marie – Honestly, not too much! No more than 1/3 cup. My laundry always comes out clean.
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Love the idea-didn’t know it could be done.
Question – is it a typo that the homemade costs 2.25 per load and the Tide or equivalent costs 20 cents per load??? see below:
“I started making my own laundry detergent a couple of years ago, after reading this cost breakdown. I’ll sum it up for you: homemade laundry detergent is going to cost you about 2.25¢ per load as opposed to your standard Tide load, which is going to hit you up for 20¢ a load. Or, to put it another way…if you did one load of laundry per day, you’d save yourself roughly $65 per year. Do you also have $$ signs in your eyes, or is it just me?” That threw me off a bit.. I think I will definitely look into making this though.. no dyes etc… is it safe in an HE machine as well?
Thanks for pointing that out! You’re right, it’s about 2 cents per load… not $2.25 per load.
Is this detergent suitable to use in a front load washer, as only high efficiency, low sudsing soap is supposed to be used in them?
Hi! I just made this and I’m so excited to use it! My question is how much do you put in your wash?
It doesn’t take much! Use 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of detergent for a large load; less if your load is smaller.
Hmm, I followed the amounts in your ingredients and mine came out more watery than gel. I’m going to do a test load with it now…
Hi, I have a top loader washing machine that’s an HE. I hope you can tell me the exact measurements for a small load, medium load and large load. I made the product today and I am anxious to hear back from you. After I made the product, I noticed that a lot of stuff floated to the bottom and wouldn’t dissolve. I guess I have to wait 24 hours for it to dissolve. Thank you for your help.