When we made the switch a few years back to all-natural cleaning supplies, we switched our laundry detergent, too. We started off shelling out lots of cash for all-natural versions on store shelves, but we figured there had to be another way—they were just so darn expensive!
My husband and I started researching homemade laundry detergent out there, and there were a ton of options. And a lot of them used borax—an ingredient that we were hesitant to use. Many folks consider borax completely safe to use in the home, but for us, it was important to use as few ingredients as possible. Borox wasn’t something that was readily available at our small-town grocery store, so we wanted to try our hands at making a laundry detergent with the ingredients we could easily get our hands on. So that meant it was experimentation time!
It took a few trials, but we ended up figuring out a borax-free laundry detergent that works really, incredibly well for us. We’ve been using this for years and our clothes get clean—like, really clean. And we’re pretty tough on our laundry.
Why should I make homemade laundry detergent?
Homemade laundry detergent is a huge budget-saver—especially if you tend to purchase organic and natural versions of your favorite detergent. That’s our main motivator! Combine that with knowing exactly the ingredients that go in every batch, and we were sold on it.
Does homemade laundry soap really work?
We do a lot of manual labor around here—playing in the dirt in the garden, hauling firewood, sweating up a storm, and getting our clothes into all kinds of not-so-clean situations. We’ve definitely put this stuff to the test. And we’ve been happy with it!
But I will put a caveat out there that to determine if this laundry soap “works” or not will depend on your personal definition of “clean.” To us, clean means no smells and no dirt! And this laundry soap does the trick. If your definition of “clean” means heavy scents, this isn’t the detergent for you.
Isn’t homemade laundry soap bad for your washing machine?
We get this question a lot, and we can only speak from our experience—we’ve been using this laundry soap for over five years in our modern, top-load washing machine without a speck of issues. When we had a repairman out a few years ago (to look at our dryer), I asked the question about homemade laundry soap, and he said just as long as you don’t use vinegar in your machine—which can erode the seals—he saw no reason why it would be a problem.
Will this get out stains?
We pretreat all of our stains with either straight castile soap or a purchased stain stick. This detergent will work like typical laundry detergent on stains—it’ll get out the ones that aren’t set in, but you’ll need some more power to get tougher stains out.
What does this detergent smell like?
I think my favorite part of this detergent is that my clothes don’t smell like anything when they come out of the dryer. No lilac fields or clean summer dew scents. It took me a really long time to learn that “clean” doesn’t smell like something. Rather, true “clean” smells like absolutely nothing. And this detergent gets our clothes to smelling like nothing!
Of course, if you like some scent in your laundry, you could throw in a few drops of your favorite essential oil to the mixture (in fact, lemon is an all-natural stain-fighter, and lavender is always a wonderful scent to add to almost anything!).
Does this work in an HE washer?
We have regular HE top loading washer, so I have no idea if this will work with the HE front-loading machines. It might—because it’s a low-soap, low-suds mixture—but try at your own risk! We also didn’t use this stuff when we were washing cloth diapers, because I had no idea if it would break down the absorbency—we just stuck to Rockin Green for those.
How much homemade laundry detergent should I use?
This recipe will make a gallon of detergent. About a half cup of this stuff gets a super-large load of our clothes very clean, but you might need to do some trial-and-error to figure out what the right amount is for your machine.
Is this cost-effective?
It costs me less than $5 to make each gallon of homemade laundry detergent. And using a half cup per load, I get about 40 loads of laundry out of one batch—what a steal!
Does this work for sensitive skin?
We don’t have many sensitive skin issues in our family, so we haven’t tested this on anyone who has sensitive skin issues. The baking soda might be irritating to some.
What ingredients are in this homemade laundry detergent?
You only need a handful of ingredients to make laundry detergent, making this super cost-effective. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Hot water
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Unscented liquid castile soap
How do I make laundry detergent?
If you can heat water, you can make laundry detergent! Here’s what to do:
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I have made detergent using this recipe for about six months and there are a couple things I have noticed. There is a maximum amount of baking soda and salt that can be absorbed in a gallon of water and this is about it. I live at 8,000 ft elevation so water does not boil at 212 F as it does at sea level, it boils at about 196 F. If I add 1/2 cup of water more the baking sofa and salt dissolve better. If the baking soda and salt are not dissolved well then the Castile does seem to harden. We have very dirty clothes, both of us work outside, so I do two things. The first is I presoak our socks, which are about the dirtiest of the clothes. And I use one cup of the detergent per large load. Our water is from a well and is very hard, so that may make a difference too. You do have to experiment a little to see what works best for you. And do not worry about sterilizing your clothes, there is no reason to. If someone in your household has a bad skin infection like MRSA then you would want to keep their clothing and linen separate. Don’t let tv commercials scare you into using things that are not good for you or the environment.
Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences with all of us, Rachael!
I was excited to try this! I have always been “all-natural” but am working my way towards plastic-free and trying to save money in the process. (I have an AMAZING all-natural, homemade dishwasher detergent recipe that leaves ZERO film on the dishes and they feel squeaky clean!) OK, back to laundry… I have two dogs… my husband works in grocery… so our laundry requires some heavy-duty attention. I hate to say it but this recipe made our clothes look dingy, feeling like there was build up, and not smelling well at all. I followed the recipe exact and used bottled distilled water and peppermint oil (a natural dust mite repellant as I have a dog with the allergy). I have a new set of LG HE front loader washer/dryer. I also wash separates, in five loads – darks, lights, whites, towels, “whosies” (socks and underwear LOL). I line dry everything (except whosies). Clothes were SUPER stiff with residue – more so than using store-bought natural laundry detergents. There are a couple of companies out there that use veg- or sugar-based plastic bottles vs. petroleum-based plastics… so I will return to those. But Cassie, I thank you for the suggestion!
Hello,
Does anyone have this recipe in Spanish?
Thank you kindly,
Lisa
Hi, Lisa! Unfortunately, we don’t have this recipe in Spanish. Sorry!
I have been using this mix for some time. I have been using up water softening salt, the mix always separates and the suds harden on the top of the mix . I have been using a citric acid 20% mix as a softener. After 6 months of use my laundry smells ‘doggy’ and unpleasant. I am now reading that these mixes are ineffective and I should strip the fabric to get rid of built up bacteria. I am at a loss what to do as I really want to continue mt ‘Green journey’.
From your site it looks as though I should be using sea salt to get a good mix but what do I do about the smell?
Any help you can give will be appreciated
Hi, Patricia! We’ve never tried the formula with any added citric acid, so we can’t be sure what changes that would make—but we’ve never had those smell issues before. If you are interested in stripping your laundry, we’ve used Rockin’ Green Funk Rock before when cloth diapering and can definitely recommend it for getting rid of stinky buildup!
Hi! I’m slowly working on changing out the products in our house for more natural and sustainable ones. This looks great! What’s the ratio for all of the ingredients? I’ve never made homemade anything when it comes to cleaning products before so I’m a definitely a newbie!
Hi, Lea! At the top of the post you should see our Recipe-at-a-Glance box and at the bottom of that box is “Jump to Recipe.” If you click that it will take you directly to the recipe card with all of the ingredients and their quantities, as well as the exact instructions for how to mix it up. I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions =)
I followed the directions. It was very cloudy before I added the Castile soap. And the Castile soap won’t mix. It’s floating on top. What could I have done wrong? Thank You so much!
Hi, Cindy! We haven’t had that happen to us when we make, but some other folks have commented with something similar. Our best thoughts on what’s happening are that either everything didn’t dissolve properly when it was first mixed up so it separated when it settles, or it might be the type of salt you’re using reacting with the castile soap. Table salt, in particular, can make castile soap harden so it’s not the best salt to use in this recipe.
You should be able to get everything to dissolve again by heating it back up, but this batch might continue to clump when it cools. Next time, see if everything is dissolved fully when first mixing (even add in an extra cup or two of water to help, if needed) and try sea salt or kosher salt instead of table salt. Hopefully that helps! Let us know how it goes!