Making your own Homemade Laundry Detergent
I finally decided to try and make my own homemade laundry detergent using ingredients you can buy at your local supermarket. I was a little bit worried when I saw how many ingredients I needed to buy to make this, and wondered if this would really be cost effective or not. But after making this, doing the math and using it I can tell I will always be making and using my own homemade from now on. It’s a great way to save money!
Here are the cast of ingredients to make your own homemade laundry detergent:
1 Box of Super Washing Soda 3 lb. 7 oz. ($3.24)
1 Box of Borax 4 lbs 12 oz. size ($3.38)
1 Box of Pure Baking Soda 4 lb. ($2.12)
3 bars of Fels-Naptha 5.5 oz. or you could also use Ivory soap ($0.97 x3)
1 container of Oxy-Clean 1.3 lb ($3.86)
*optional: Purex Crystals 28 oz. for scent (or you could use Downy unstoppables ) ($5-$6)
All these ingredients cost a total of $20.27 out of my pocket (Walmart prices).
And that was without using coupons. If some coupons become available you will spend even less.
The first step is to grate your Fels-Naptha Bar. You can use a cheese grater to do this, but I used my food processor as it was a lot quicker. Using my food processor I first grated the bar like cheese, and then used the regular blade to grate down fine. You could use Ivory soap (just microwave it and it will foam where you can just crush it into a fine grade).
Next I grabbed one of my plastic tote bins and put a black garbage bag inside of it. Then I poured each one of the ingredients inside like so.
Mix all these ingredients up well. Possibly throw in some free child labor.
Then add it all to your container of choice.
There is quite a lot of this homemade laundry detergent. In fact it is 18 lbs. worth!
That is 18 lbs of Laundry Detergent!
You only need to use 1-2 tablespoons per load, and yes you can use it in your High Efficiency washing machines (that’s what I have been using). Some people worry that just 1-2 tablespoons is not enough, but this stuff is concentrated and works really well! I have been using it for months now. My daughter has really sensitive skin, and this has been wonderful for her since all the others out there have add-ins.
But is this cost effective?
So I did the math of course, to figure out how much per load this recipe makes. I am super excited about the results because it is as low as $0.04 per load which is a stock up price when it comes to laundry detergent and using coupons. But watch for coupons on these items to even make the cost lower.
By Comparison –
Ultra Tide powder 143 oz. box, 8.9 lbs. = $17.97 at Walmart ($0.12 per load)
This Homemade Laundry Detergent recipe makes 18 lbs (or 288 oz.) and costs $20.27. 1 lb of this is about 28 tablespoons. 18 lbs equals 504 loads @ 1 tbsp per load. Final price is just $0.04 per load!
So $0.04 per load homemade versus $0.12 per load (Tide).
So even the largest box of Tide detergent at Walmart which has 102 loads won’t last as long as this homemade stuff. And you can save so much money by making this yourself. Give it a try, you won’t be sorry…I promise!
Homemade Laundry Detergent
Ingredients
- 1 box Super Washing Soda 3.7 lb
- 1 box Borax 4 lb 12 oz. size
- 1 box Pure Baking Soda 4 lbs
- 3 5.5 oz bars of Fels-Naptha
- 1 container Oxy-Clean 1.3 lb
- 1 28 oz *optional: Purex Crystals for scent or you could use Downy un-stoppables
Instructions
- Finely grate the Fels-Naptha. Mix all the ingredients together and store in container of your choice. Use only 1-2 Tablespoons of detergent per load.
Homemade Laundry Detergent – costs $20.27 to make – can last a whole year or even longer (504 loads)
Updating this post: this recipe has lasted 10 months for my family of 6!! Plus I wanted to share this awesome comment posted from Nick (thanks for your service Nick!):
I think that is the best comment ever!
OTHER GREAT DIY CLEANING RECIPES
- Best EVER Homemade Carpet Cleaning Solution
- All Natural Carpet Cleaning Solution Using Vinegar
- DIY Carpet Cleaner Powder Dry Shampoo
- Homemade Armor All Car Cleaning Spray
- DIY Liquid Hand Soap recipe
- Make Your Own Swiffer Wet Pads
About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
Comments & Reviews
Ellbee says
I made this detergent exactly as the recipe states. I have five kids, and I am OCD about my laundry. This detergent does not work well on stains. For a test, I washed a load of my small children’s clothes in regular detergent, including one sock from a brand new pair of socks that my daughter had only worn once, and then I washed another load with the other sock in it, using this detergent. The sock came out looking new again from the first load. The sock came out looking like it hadn’t even been washed from the load with this detergent. Also, the clothes still had stains everywhere. I did not pretreat them, because I never do. My previous method on my little girls clothes was to wash with Kirkland powdered detergent and oxyclean, and let the load soak overnight. I never have any stains on their clothes. I don’t let my children wear clothes with stains. So I can say from experience that while this recipe is fun, it does smell good, and I’m sure it makes some people feel good for various reasons, it does not clean well. I cannot imagine why so many people have left reviews saying it works as well as tide. There is no way this is true.
Dashell says
Curious about something. Would any brand of baking soda work? Some of the other baking soda brands are a tad cheaper and hell they even sell it at the dollar tree. Just wondering if it has to be Arm and Hammer (not that it’s a big deal if it has to be)
I plan to try this soon and I’m very excited.
Happy.MoneySaver says
No it doesn’t have to Arm and Hammer but it does have to be pure baking soda! I am excited for you to try it!
Dashell says
so there’s a difference between baking soda and pure baking soda?… makes sense I guess. I’ll let you know how it comes out
Xara says
For alternatives that don’t contain talc, a known carcinogen, Castile soap can be used instead. Zote and Fels Naptha BOTH contain talc. I would use caution and not let my child do the mixing otherwise. Just my 2 cents. 🙂
Pat says
I made the soap, love it, but had to buy a replacement for my food processor as the smell will not come out of the plastic container. Now I’m worried about the plastic around the blade. Has anyone else had the same problem? If so, how did you get the smell out? I tried vinegar, baking soda, and practically anything I could think would help, but still smells.
Lisa says
I’ve been making a similar recipe for a couple of years with good results. The only difference was I made it without the baking soda, oxy clean and the scent boosters. For many years, I worked at a job that didn’t allow scented products, and I’ve become accustomed to having no scent to my clothing. I decided to make this recipe this time, only I added the scent booster separately to a couple of loads to test the scent. Apparently I’ve gotten so used to not having scent that I actually no longer like it in my clothes. Oh well, a little additional cost savings for me. I also don’t add the oxy clean in the mixture; I just add it separately to my white loads. But I do really like the addition of the baking soda. I used to use two tablespoons for towels to get rid any mildew odor. The baking soda takes care of that using just one tablespoon. Thanks for the recipe. I made this in April and it will probably last a year, if not longer (only two of us in the house). I also bought extra products to make the detergent for my mom and sisters. Thanks for the recipe. It’s working wonderfully.
Cat says
Hello!! Thank you so much for this awesome recipe :), I have been wanting to make laundry detergent for a while now, and decided to go with your recipe. I must admit that I was very skeptical at first to all homemade detergents but based on the comments, I decided to go with yours, and I’m so glad I did. I made 1/4 of the recipe just to try it out, and used LA’s totally awesome oxygen base cleaner which you find for $1.00 a pound at Dollar Tree stores instead of OxiClean. The totally awesome cleaner turned out to be the orange one, which I had to look up on line, when I opened the container and found that it was wasn’t white, like it usually is. I used it anyways with the rest of the recipe,and was so excited when my clothes came out clean, smelling great and soft. Thanks so much, it saves time and money!!
Robin says
If you substituted Zote Flakes, how many boxes would you need?
I have been using this for a year now, and absolutely love it! I want to use the flakes next time but can’t seem to find the recipe using the flakes! HELP one or two or three boxes?
Happy.MoneySaver says
I have never used it but from the other comments they used the same recipe but used the 17 ounce box of Zote flakes. I may have to try that sometime!
The LA Lady says
Please please PLEASE be careful with washing soda and borax around your children. 3-7 grams (depending on the size/age of your child) is deadly if ingested. Washing soda is very caustic and should be rinsed off immediately when it comes in contact with skin. Both of these ingredients are incredibly effective as cleaning agents but they are by no means “safe” despite their naturally-derived origins.
Liv Ratha says
Sorry if i want to order the product ,how can i contact. i live in Cambodia(Khmer).i want to buy Borax,Super washing soda,Baking soda,Zote?
Happy.MoneySaver says
You can get all of the ingredients from Amazon. Click on the links in the post and it will take you directly to the order page. Happy shopping!
Christine says
Hi Karrie!
I love the idea of making my own laundry detergent. As the jury is still out on the potential harmful effects of Borax…and if that particular ingredient were to be left out…do you have a substitution that could be used? Is Borax absolutely necessary?
Thanks for your time
Happy.MoneySaver says
I have heard you can use baking soda or vinegar in its place but I have never tried it. Other readers have also mentioned that they add in the borax separately on as-needed basis.
Cas says
Congrats for the amazing recipe! I had a similar recipe – using for the last 6 months – that was working very well but I was missing a strong sweet ‘smell’ from my clothes. Today I made my first batch of your recipe with the Purex Crystal and I loved it. I’ll share on my FB page.
Thanks again and Blessings to you!
Happy.MoneySaver says
So glad you liked it!
TKO says
Forgot to mention….. I’ve never used baking soda or OxiClean in my detergent. I made it this time with the baking soda as noted above (excited to see how it freshens the laundry) but not the OxiClean. I’ll just use BioKleen oxygen boost separately for each load.
TKO says
I just made this detergent using a combination of 1 bar Fels Naptha and 1 bar Zote (Zote is a larger bar) because that’s what I already had on hand; however, I’ll use all Fels Naptha from now on. As someone else stated, Fels Naptha is amazing for getting out stains, even old, set-in ones. I have a small piece of a Fels Naptha bar that I keep in the laundry room. I just wet it and rub it into the stain. You’ll be shocked how well this works vs. traditional stain removers.
Amanda says
Hi, First or all I just want to say I love this recipe, I have been using it for over a year and I really don’t ever want to go back to buying detergent. It smells great and it works. I make a 6 month supply for around $20 and I love it. But now (half way through my 6 month supply) we buy a new HE washer and Ive read all the articles saying that I can still use it in the new washer, but I have noticed that the Fels Naptha does not disintegrate like it should, and I just don’t know if it will start sticking inside the new washer. So I guess I’m asking if I can take the mix I already have and make it into a liquid, then when its gone, I can make a new batch in liquid form. But how do I do that? Any help would be great. I just really don’t want to go buy expensive HE detergent if I don’t have to. Thank you in advance for any advise.
Happy.MoneySaver says
No, once it has been mixed together as a powder you don’t want to try to put it in liquid form. The processes are so different from the beginning. But on Wednesday I will be showing you my favorite liquid laundry soap. So stay tuned!
Diane L Junk says
If you don’t use homemade castile soap and buy Fels-Naptha….buy it well in advance so you don’t have a relatively “fresh” bar. If you let it sit in the wrapper several months, it grates a lot finer. I used my multi-purpose blender/grater/shredder/beater/mixer/chopper gizmo to grate…if it’s too soft, the soap bar tends to gum it up.
Next time, I’m gonna try using my homemade soap scraps instead.
Laurel L. says
So I stumbled on this recipe for laundry detergent back in July 20 1 4 since then I’ve only had to mane two batches. Tomorrow I will be making my 3rd. I have a pretty big house full of people. 3 kids, my husband and my mom. Plus my mil comes over often to do her laundry. That’s a lot of laundry and this recipe doesn’t disappoint. I have also used your dish detergent recipe as well. Again another home run winner! Thanks you so much.
Vickie Gillespie says
I’ve used Arm and Hammer liquid detergent. To me the stuff isn’t worth buying as nothing is clean when I’m done. It short it doesn’t work in cold water which is about all I use. Also like Tide I’m allergic to it; they make me itch. I love the home made laundry detergent. I don’t use the scent crystals and I don’t use the oxiclean so mine costs even less but it doesn’t last quite as long either as there is less of it. I didn’t do the math so I don’t know my costs. The only product I buy at Walmart is the washing soda. Everything else I get at the dollar store. To me the oxiclean doesn’t make the clothes any cleaner or brighter and the scent crystals just aggravate my COPD and asthma. A cup of white vinegar in the rinse washes away any lingering traces of soap.
Ruth says
Just a reminder that Zote soap is not made in the USA and Fels Naptha is.
Hammerdog says
Thanks for a great idea. I have some questions about your mathematical analysis however.
First, how did you arrive at $0.12 per load for the Tide? It cost $17.97, and supposedly contains 102 loads. So I get $17.97/102 ~= $0.18 per load.
But to keep the comparisons easier, let’s compare based on price per pound, and assume we use the same number of tablespoons per load for each. So this Tide product is 8.9 lbs, so 17.97/8.9 = $2.02 per pound.
Now, with the prices of the inputs to your recipe, I get a total of $15.51 without the crystals, or about $21.01 with the crystals (assuming the crystals cost $5.50 – midway between the $5-6 you mentioned). For the total weight, I get ~14.5 lbs without the crystals, and ~16.25 lbs with the 28oz of crystals.
So, without the crystals, I come to 15.51/14.5 = $1.07 per pound.
With the crystals, I come to 21.01/16.25 = $1.30 per pound
So with that analysis, your recipe is definitely a money saver over the Tide.
I went to a Walmart today, and surprisingly they had all these ingredients right next to each other. But, the prices were all higher than what you were able to get.
I went to Costco and noticed they have a Kirkland Signature Powder detergent – “Super Concentrated” as well. It is 28 lbs for $15.89, or 15.89/28 = $0.57 per pound. The marketing for this product claims you can get up to 200 loads, at a cost of $0.07 per load. This seems to be the most cost-effective approach so far, though not as much fun as making your own.
Perhaps if you could buy all the ingredients to your recipe in bulk, you could beat this Kirkland efficiency. And only then would you really be reducing, by a slightly significant amount, the packaging waste as opposed to buying a Tide or whatever. (At least this Kirkland stuff comes in a nice rectangular bucket you could definitely re-use).
Note – I do not work for or represent Costco in any way – I just went there to see if they had the ingredients for this recipe and found their powdered detergent. I was actually kind of bummed by my conclusion here, on some level, because I was looking forward to making my own detergent, but my primary goal is to minimize costs.
Sheila says
Since you are comparing the two by weight, does that mean the Cosco kind only takes a tablespoon per load?
Hammerdog says
For the purposes of my analysis/comparison, I assumed we are using 1 tablespoon per load for both the recipe and the Costco product. I don’t know how much they actually recommend using for each load. But, it says “Super Concentrated” right on the box, I figured a tablespoon of the Costco stuff *ought* to be as potent/effective as the Borax/washing-soda/Oxy-Clean mixture. But I’ll have to double check when I go back to Costco. Obviously the cost-effectiveness of the Costco stuff compared to making your own would decrease if you have to use more of it per load.
Shelly says
Hammerdog – You said, “…But, the prices were all higher than what you were able to get.”
I’d like to mention a couple of things about your comment, that you may, or may not, have thought of. First of all, if your not shopping in the same town or “Wal-Mart district” your prices are subject to be different, higher or lower. Prices are different all over the country, region to region. Secondly, and MOST importantly . . . when Karrie was quoting prices it was when this article was written . . . IN 2013! We’re now in 2015! Of course the prices are higher. EVERYTHING is higher now. Just for a point of reference . . . I just bought all the ingredients to make a batch about a week ago. . . here’s the list and the prices, then and now, as a comparison:
2013 2015
Super Washing Soda 3 lb. 7 oz. $3.24 $3.97
Borax 4 lbs 12 oz. size $3.38 $3.97
Pure Baking Soda 4 lb. $2.12 $2.24
Fels-Naptha 5.5 oz. ($0.97×3) $2.91 $2.91
or you could also use Ivory soap
Oxy-Clean 1.3 lb $3.86 $3.86
Purex Crystals 28 oz. for scent $4.76 (?) $3.62
(or you could use Downy unstoppables ) ($5-$6) ?
TOTALS $20.27 $20.57
The question marks are obviously prices unknown. She didn’t list the actual cost for the Purex Crystals and I believe that the $5-$6 might have been meant for the Downy product, because as you can see, I didn’t pay anything near $5-$6 even two years later for the Purex Crystals. But, I suppose that she could have depending on where she is in the country. (I’m in North Carolina) I arrived at the $4.76 for her cost on the crystals by adding up the total cost of everything else she listed and subtracting it from her listed total. When I was buying the ingredients, the Fels Naptha was my only option, my Wal-Mart did not carry the Ivory, also, I didn’t price the Downy product, as I was uninterested in buying it. So in all, even though my cost WAS higher . . . it was only higher by 30 CENTS! EVEN TWO YEARS LATER! I thought that was kind of impressive.
And lastly, when making cost comparisons, you can not ever assume that one product is as concentrated as another one and you can properly compare the cost per load “assuming” that you can use the same amount of one product as you can the other product. For obvious reasons! If you have to use twice the amount of one product over the other product, then your math for the comparison just washed down the drain! (yes . . . pun was intended) 😉
Shelly says
Sorry guys . . . the website screwed up my formatting above! After each product there should be two prices. The first price/cost was Karrie’s from 2013 and the second was my cost from a week ago in 2015. The same is true for the “Totals” The first was Karries and the second was mine, obviously the time frame is the same. Gotta hate it when that happens! ;-(
Amanda says
I apologize if this question has already been asked an answered, I skimmed the responses but didn’t see it.
Is the OxyClean a must have ingredient? My boyfriend is allergic to it. I’d love to make this and start using it for the savings and the cleaning results, I just wonder if you have to use OxyClean or can you use something else in it’s place?
Happy.MoneySaver says
I have always used oxyclean but some others have tried using Bioclean, Sun Oxygen Cleaner and Borax in place of it. Another reader said that they didn’t use the Oxyclean at all and put in Purex color soft bleach instead and it seemed to be be working well and it was the same measurement as the oxyclean and it was $1.97. Try it out and see if you like it!