Homemade Powder Laundry Detergent

 

Why?

Why make your own laundry detergent? I get asked similar questions about most all of my homemade items. The answer to "why" is different for a lot of people, for me it is a combo of things. It saves money, no fillers (you know exactly what is in it), it is simple, it is fun and the products work really well. I will be the first to say I am only going to use it if it works.

How To

The ingredients for homemade powder laundry detergent are surprisingly simple. I remember feeling a little overwhelmed when I first started my journey into homemade cleaning products because I wasn't sure how easy the items I needed would be to find. Much to my surprise and pleasure EVERYTHING I needed for my laundry detergent was right there together... in the laundry aisle (go figure). There are several different recipes out there but I have adapted the following recipe as what works best for my family. I use it on everything from the kiddos' clothes to the hubby's work clothes and it works wonders.

There are three main ingredients in my laundry detergent recipe:

 One large box of Borax

 One large box of Washing Soda

2 bars of low sud soap (I use Zote which is in the laundry aisle and it works best for me... I have also used Fels Naptha in the past and I have heard of others using the plain white dove or ivory soap. You may however want to up it to 3 bars if you use something other than Zote, as the Zote bars are much larger than the other options.)

Theses three above are the only necessary ingredients, however, I also choose to add:
One large box of baking soda (for hard water)
One large box of Clorox 2 powder for colors (for extra brightening and stain fighting)
One container of Purex Crystals (for some smelly goodness)

The actual process of making the detergent is so simple it will blow your mind. Grate the soap (I use a cheese grater and yes it is a little time consuming but that's what works for me). After that you've got it made in the shade so to speak :). Dump the entire box of borax, washing soda and grated soap (as well as any of those extras I mentioned) in a garbage bag or large bucket and shake/mix it around until it is thoroughly combined. I suggest doing this outside where you can get fresh air as some of the powders tend to fly into the air. Transfer to air tight containers and you are good to go.

How To Use It

Because your homemade detergent has no fillers you literally only have to use 1 tablespoon per load. That idea definitely took some getting use to. It also shows you how many fillers are in commercial detergents. I do tend to use up to 2 tablespoons for extra large or heavy soiled loads but I don't know that it is necessary, 1 tablespoon would probably still get the job done (this stuff is seriously amazing).

I always wash in cold water and have no problem with the detergent. I have heard several suggestions that if you wash only in cold water (regardless of what detergent you use, commercial or homemade) you may want to run one extra large empty load of hot water with a cup or two of vinegar in it once a month to keep buildup out of your washer. That's just an extra little helpful tip... free of charge of course :).

I have personally never used this detergent in a HE washer... but have heard through the grape vine that it should work just fine for those of you operating on that system. I will leave that decision up to you... but if it was me I would go for it.

****NOTE: I use this homemade detergent along with my homemade fabric softener and dryer sheets... check them out here!

Cost Break Down

For the sake of this post I am going to round my numbers because not all stores are priced the same, this should still give you a very good idea of the cost:

Borax (4 lb 12 oz box) approx. $4.00
Washing Soda (3 lb 7 oz box) approx. $4.00
Zote Soap approx. $1.00 per bar x2= approx. $2.00

If you only use these three ingredients you will spend around $10 and have enough detergent to last (in my busy home) around 4-5 months.

If you add the extras:

Baking Soda (4 lb box) approx $3.00
Clorox 2 (3 lb 7 oz box) approx $6.00
Purex Crystals (28 oz) approx $5.00

You will spend between $20-$25 dollars and have enough detergent to last close to a year.

Without the extras you are getting a deal at around $0.04 per load and are spending around $0.09 per load for the top notch homemade detergent. In comparison Tide Ultra sells for around $0.21 cents per load (and that is if you get as many loads out of it as they say you should....)

More To Come

Be on the look out because at some point in the future I plan to share the recipes for my whipped and liquid laundry detergents. Both of those use the same ingredients as the powder just in a different form/process. I wanted to share the powder version first because it is our current "go to" detergent. I have all three versions made up and on the shelf but we always seem to use the powder. My husband has been such a trooper in the transition to homemade products, he will use them... but only as long as they efficiently and effectively get the job done. The powder has by far been his favorite detergent so that makes it a winner in my book.

***If you try this detergent or have any questions or suggestions I would love to hear from you! Leave me a comment below!***

Live, Laugh, Love and DIY!