Yield: 1 gallon
Borax-Free Homemade Laundry Detergent
Don't shell out all your money for natural laundry detergents. Make your own homemade laundry detergent for less than $5 per gallon instead!
Prep Time
10 minutes
Total Time
10 minutes
Difficulty
Easy
Materials
- 14 cups very hot water, divided
- 1 cup baking soda, divided
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1 cup unscented liquid castile soap
- 30 drops lavender essential oil, optional, for scent
- Gallon-sized jug
Tools
- Large glass measuring cup or bowl
- Measuring cups
- Spoon
Instructions
To Make:
- In a large glass measuring cup or bowl, combine 7 cups of the hot water with half the baking soda (1/2 cup) and half the salt (1/4 cup). Stir well until completely dissolved. The mixture will start out cloudy and fizzy, but when it’s completely dissolved, it should be mostly clear. Pour the mixture into a gallon-sized jug.
- Repeat step one with the remaining water, baking soda, and salt, and then add the mixture to the gallon-sized jug.
- Add in the liquid castile soap and essential oil, if using. Swirl gently, close, and label.
To Use:
- Shake the container to mix ingredients, then either pour 1/2 cup (you can use more if it’s a particularly dirty or large load) of the solution into the washer while it fills, or place it in the soap cup provided in your washing machine.
- This recipe has NOT been tested with a front-loading high-efficiency washer. I use it in my top-loading HE washer just fine though.
Notes
- We break up the baking soda addition mostly because people don’t usually have a 16 cup measuring cup! It also seems to help get the baking soda to dissolve properly. This recipe uses almost the max amount of baking soda density that can dissolve in water, so make sure not to add more baking soda or use less water.
- If you are having trouble dissolving the baking soda, heat the water, salt, and baking soda in a large pot over medium heat until completely dissolved.