Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe
Reader Heather shared her great frugal idea…how to make Homemade Laundry Detergent
I try to be super frugal while remaining as earth conscience as possible. Coming from a public health background, I try to avoid phosphate-based laundry detergent due to the detrimental effects on ground water. Buying earth friendly cleaning products (with the exception of white vinegar) is all but out of the question on my budget.
So, in an effort to save money and feel good about the impact on the environment and my family’s health I decided to make my own laundry detergent.
Here’s the recipe Heather uses:
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup 20 mule Borax ($3.59 for 4lbs @ shoprite)
- 1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing soda (sodium carbonate) ($4.29 for2lbs @ shoprite)
- 1 grated bar of soap or left over scraps (free)
Directions:
- Add grated soap to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
- Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved.
- Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
- Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use.
Makes 10 gallons of detergent for less than a buck! Low sudsing detergent: good for front-loading HE washing machines. I use a ~ 1/2 cup of detergent per large load. If you have a top-loading washer use 1 cup per wash. *I supplement with 1 cup of white vinegar which is a natural disinfectant & fabric softener
Printable verison (check the box to be able to print the recipe):
With a cloth diapered baby & half a dozen pets I have high standards but I am very happy with this detergent. In the future I will cut this recipe in half – 10 gallons is A LOT of detergent! Also, I might add a couple drops of essential oil.
Be sure to check out the other great frugal recipes for Homemade Handsoap and Homemade Baby Wipes