How to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent for Cheap!

Ever considered the amount of money you spend on laundry detergent? Estimating $20 for a 50 oz. bottle of detergent you could spend $25 and purchase all the ingredients necessary to make 2 gallons worth of detergent (about 256 ounces or five bottles of premixed laundry detergent).

Some of the benefits I find of making my own detergent is first and foremost the cost savings. I like knowing all the ingredients and that there isn’t anything extra. Plus, I Iike the added benefit of being able to customize the formula in cleaning power and scent to whatever I’d like.

First you’ll need the three ingredients to make the detergent:

1. Soap: The most common soap you can find in the store is Fels Naphta or Zote both of which are traditional heavy duty bar soap’s used as an effective soil and stain remover. You can usually find it locally at Walmart in the laundry aisle or online at Amazon.com.
2. Washing Soda: Comprised of sodium carbonate the most common I’ve found is Arm & Hammer Washing Soda available on Amazon.com. It’s primary purpose is to help remove dirt and odors.
3. Borax: The brand I’d recommend is 20 Mule Team and is easily obtainable online at Amazon.com. Borax itself is a naturally occurring mineral which is used as a laundry whitener and deodorizer.

For all of these ingredients they are usually found in the laundry aisle but in my experience they can be purchased cheaper and in bulk online and especially through stores like Amazon which oftentimes have free shipping and no tax. I do like to check the prices against Google’s shopping engine just to make sure that the price I get is the cheapest possible for the products I am looking for.

Then you’ll need the proportions and gather your tools:

1. 1/3 bar Fels Naphta or whole bar if using homemade soap or general use soap’s
2. 1/2 cup washing soda
3. 1/2 cup borax powder
4. **Optional** 1/2 to 1 ounce of essential or fragrance oil
5. 2 gallon pail or a bucket
6. A large old saucepan
7. A whisk and large wooden spoon
8. A grater to grate the bar soap
9. Two one gallon jugs (or any liquid storage container)

And lastly the directions:

1. Grate the soap into the saucepan and add 6 cups water and heat until the soap melts.
2. Add the washing soda and borax then stir until all the ingredients have dissolved then remove from heat.
3. Add four cups hot water to the pail/bucket then add soap mixture and stir using the wooden spoon to break up the clumps and the whisk to finely mix the formula.
4. Add an additional 1 Gallon 6 Cups of water and stir.
5. Optional: Add the optional fragrance if desired and stir into the mixture prior to letting it gel.
6. Let sit for 24 hours to allow the liquid to gel.

 

Experience notes:

• This laundry detergent formula only requires about 1/2 cup per load
• If you come up short of two gallons while making this recipe you can add hot water to the completed recipe to make up the difference and stir the mixture
• The finished liquid detergent will have a loose consistency and low suds but will regardless of either of these two characteristics work flawlessly in cleaning and deodorizing your clothes