A couple months ago I wrote a post about my adventures in making my own powder laundry detergent. (To see that post, click HERE) I wanted to make my own detergent in hopes of saving money. I found a recipe, tried it out, and had good success with it. It cleaned well and met my goal of saving money.
Recently, my friend Amy from A Blossoming Life shared a recipe for homemade liquid laundry detergent that’s really easy to make and the cost is about $.005 cents per load! That caught my attention as it was cheaper than the current recipe I was using.
A LOT cheaper.
So: does it work?
YES! I’ve been using it for a couple months and I’m satisfied with how it cleans and smells. Amy has been using it well over a year and has great results.
Does it smell good?
Yes. The Fels Naptha soap has a light, clean lemony smell that I really like. My house smells really good when I make it! The smell of my laundry products is really important. Regardless of how it cleans, if it doesn’t smell good I won’t use it.
No more yellow spots!
This recipe also solves a problem: no more yellow spots on my whites! One problem I had with the powder laundry detergent recipe is little yellow spots would sometimes show up on my whites. I think this was due to some of the Fels Naptha soap not melting in the load. One little bit would get stuck on a part of clothes and wouldn’t get washed away. Since Amy’s recipe involves melting the soap down, there aren’t any issues with yellow spots!
So if you want to make the full batch, go ahead and see the video tutorial and recipe on Amy’s blog here. If you’re wanting to make a smaller batch like I did, keep on reading!
Homemade Laundry Detergent
This recipe will make approx. 120 loads worth of detergent!
(recipe adapted from A Blossoming Life)
Supplies:
5 quart pot
1/2 cup borax
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 bar Fels Naptha soap or other non foamy soap
Containers to hold finished product. I used 4 fabric softener containers like this:
Directions:
Fill the 5 quart pot with water leaving a little room at the top for the rest of the ingredients. Then set on the stove to boil.
Meanwhile, grate the Fels Naptha soap. I use a cheese grater with very small holes to help the soap melt faster. This is what the soap looks like after being grated:
Once the water is boiling, slowly add Fels Naptha soap and turn down the heat to medium low. Once the soap is melted slowly add in borax and washing soda. Stir until dissolved.
Let the mixture sit for awhile (about an hour) and cool down and mix well again. The soap will get thicker as it cools down and will look like this:
Once the soap has cooled down (to where it’s safe to transfer) use a measuring cup to pour the soap into the containers. Fill up each container halfway with the soap mixutre. Then add warm water to the soap until the container is full. Shake it up a little to mix the water and soap.
That’s it! You’re done!
Use 1/3 cup of laundry detergent per load for big loads. It will not produce a lot of bubbles! You may notice after you have used it for awhile that it will start to get thick chunks, just shake the container (if it has a lid) or mix it again with a whisk or stick blender.
This laundry detergent has saved my family a lot of money over the years! Here’s to clean clothes and a bigger wallet!
(Linked to Give Me The Goods Monday, Inspire Me Please Blog Hop, Create It Thursday, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Serenity Now, Inspiration Monday, Whimsy Wednesday, The Weekend Re-Treat, Do Tell Tuesday, Awesome Things Tuesday, Think Pink Sunday, Share Your Creativity, Show Me Saturday and In and Out of The Kitchen)
Hi,
I am really intrigued by this post, I would love to give it a go. Just one thing; borax was banned in the UK in 2009, is there something I could sunstitute it with?
Liz x
I really enjoy making my own laundry detergent simply for the money it saves so if you’ve never tried it I hope you do! I didn’t know about the ban over there….I did some research and found this article that might be helpful.
I’ve used this recipe for almost two years now except I use Zote soap instead of the Fels Naptha. This is because I found the Fels Naptha to have no whitener and my whites were getting dingy. Once I switched to the Zote I noticed a big improvement in the brightness of the clothes. Also, the washer stays cleaner than it ever has. I highly recommend this recipe (with the exception of the soap, which is a matter of preference).
I made some of the liquid laundry soap and am not sure it came out right. Overnight it had congealed into a solid gel in the center with a small amount of liquid around it. It also left a film on everything it touched that could not be rinsed off but had to be wiped off to remove. Would this also coat my washer since I mostly use cold water?
You probably made it correctly but this laundry soap does tend to thicken over time. Did you pour it into some ‘shakeable’ containers and add water? If so, you can shake up the liquid until it breaks up. When you use the soap in your washer it should be in a liquid state so that way it won’t coat your washer. If it’s still in a solid state, I would break it up and possibly add more water to help it stay in a liquid state. I hope this helps–let me know if you have any more questions!
You could add mor water its pretty concentrated
Yes you can add water!
I love the smell of my clothes when ib use tide with April fresh downy. I want to try this but would like the same smell. Is there a soup that is similar to downy? My sister and I are going to make this. ..
This laundry soap has a light lemony smell that’s really nice. If you really prefer the Downy scent, I would just use the April Fresh Downy fabric softener with this laundry detergent, either the liquid or fabric softener sheets. That way you still save money with the detergent and your clothes will still have the scent you really enjoy! I hope that helps, Jennifer!
Is it really only a 5 qt pan? Then it would only make about a gallon and a half – 5 qts of water and another quart of detergent. Looks like my 8 qt pan? Sorry, I’m a newbie at this!! I’ve made powder and feel its really harsh on my clothes. Thanks anyone that can help!
Hi Julie! Yes sometimes the powder is harsh on clothes. The good thing about this detergent is you can use just a little so it won’t be too harsh on your clothes.
You will use the 5 quart pan for cooking the detergent. Once the detergent is cooled down, you will pour the laundry detergent into 4 or 5 fabric softener containers until each container is halfway full. Then pour enough water into each container until they are full. So that way the detergent won’t be too strong. After you make this, test it out using only 1 tablespoon per load and see how it works on your clothes. I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!
I love making my own laundry detergent. For our family of five, it is a HUGE savings. I have read that the Naptha soap itself can be used as a stain treatment but I haven’t tried it yet.
Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Yes I’ve also read on the package that Fels Naptha is a great stain remover. This is one of the little things we do to save money. Put a lot of little things together and we end up saving a lot of money!
I wet the Feels Naphtha and rub it on stains. Works amazing!!
Thanks for the recipe. I cannot find FelsNaptha anywhere! Do you think it’s ok if I use another bar soap, such as Yardley Lemon Verbena? I love the smell, but wonder if it will be too “foaming.” Thanks for your help!
I buy the Fels Naptha at Walmart in the laundry detergent aisle. It’s really easy to miss! I think you can use other soaps. I would make a small batch and see if you’re happy with the results. That way if the Lemon Verbena is too foaming you’re not stuck with a big amount. I hope that helps!
My Walmart does not carry it. I was told that Yardley soap is also used to make homemade laundry detergent. That is what I purchased. Everyone says Walmart, but I guess not all Walmart carries it. Where else can you purchase it?
Have you tried buying it online? Maybe on Amazon?
Is this okay to use in HE washers?
I’ve heard that it is okay but considering the high cost of HE washers I’d be really careful. I don’t have an HE washer so I can’t tell you for sure. Honestly I would call the manufacturer and see what they say. I hope this helps! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
I use a recipe similar to this. I love it. Saves money, works well and is easy.
Thanks for sharing your version with us at “In and Out of the Kitchen”
This has been such a money saver for us so I’m glad to share it! Thanks for checking it out!
Our ingredients are the absolute same. I’ve increaded my powders to 1 full cup though. We’ve saved so much money by this alone! At first my hubby was skeptical but now he is on board! yay!!!
I’ve had to do a little convincing on my hubby too. So far we’ve saved a TON of money using this recipe so he’s on board too! We are a family of four living on one income, so this is one way we’ve been able to make it work!
I love reading all of the different homemade laundry recipes. I like that yours does not include a 5 gallon bucket. I found you via Liz Marie linky, I would love it if you visited my little cleaning blog.
Have a wonderful weekend!
You and I think alike, Angela! It’s essentially the same recipe, it just doesn’t make as much! I’ve visited your blog and pinned a lot of great cleaning ideas (I could use all the cleaning help I can get!) You’ve got a lot of really great tips! Thanks so much for stopping by!
I just ordered some from Amazon but it is going to cost more with shipping and handling.
I’m sorry you couldn’t find any locally. I would just keep an eye out for it even at stores you wouldn’t expect–like hardware stores or other grocery stores.
I can’t wait to try it. I have seen directions on making it before but yours is more detailed with pictures. Thank you, it makes it a little easier to understand.