Have you ever collected a houseful of laundry and sorted surmounting loads preparing to tackle a week's worth of wash at once and began to pour your first measure of detergent only to discover a trickle of drops...! "Oh, yeah", you remember, "I was supposed to restock this last week."
This was my story last weekend. Sigh... But no need to put off laundry or make a mad dash to the store to spend money that is not in my budget this week! I've found a homemade laundry detergent recipe that I like even better upon second try. And I especially like that it took me less than 30 minutes to put together.
Here are a few ingredients to keep on hand in your laundry cabinet...
This was my story last weekend. Sigh... But no need to put off laundry or make a mad dash to the store to spend money that is not in my budget this week! I've found a homemade laundry detergent recipe that I like even better upon second try. And I especially like that it took me less than 30 minutes to put together.
Here are a few ingredients to keep on hand in your laundry cabinet...
Homemade Laundry Detergent
1 cup Pure Castile liquid soap (Dr. Bronner's) OR Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds - I prefer Sal Suds for overall performance.
2 cups water
1/3 cup salt
1 cup baking soda or washing soda - I use washing soda found at grocery stores or Walmart
2 cups water
1/3 cup salt
1 cup baking soda or washing soda - I use washing soda found at grocery stores or Walmart
- Bring water to a boil. Add salt slowly, stirring to dissolve while incorporating. Once dissolved, add washing soda in same manner. Soda will not dissolve as completely as the salt but continue to stir until most is dissolved.
- Add 1-2 cups water slowly, stirring continually. This dramatically helps the texture. You should have roughly 4 cups of liquid at this point.
- Transfer to one gallon container. I used an old milk jug. My Mama always told me to pour items like this over the sink... and it's an even better idea to use two hands.
- Instead of filling the jug from the faucet at this point, I rinse the pot twice with a bit of water to catch up the residue. Fill the jug with this water, cap jug and shake a bit, then fill the rest of the way from the faucet.
- Jug will foam but continue to fill until you see the liquid reaching the top. Cap and rinse. Gently shake and set aside to let settle.
You can stop there and use the milk jug to dispense your detergent OR you can reuse another container. I tried a container with a spout this week and find it works well as long as I gently mix the liquid on the day I do laundry. The consistency is watery, so pour slowly, but washes great.
- Use 1/4 - 1/2 cup per load, depending on size and how dirty the clothes are. (For a large load, I often fill a 1/4 measuring cup one and a half times. It creates plenty of soapy water and cleans sufficiently.)
| Printable Recipe |
So how does this compare in performance and price?
This detergent does clean very well and even leaves a light and pleasant smell when using Sal Suds. It doesn't compete with strong cleaners on tough stains but I have found that spot treating or adding a small amount of Oxyclean takes care of any tough stains I've had so far.
It's hard to calculate all ingredients like salt but I keep a large box from Sam's on hand which lasts a long time and makes it pennies. Roughly $15 for Sal Suds and less than $4 for a large box of Washing Soda is about $19 total for materials. This recipe makes enough for 64 loads (1/4 cup per load) for roughly $4 or less per batch. This comes to about 0.06 cents per load.
Softener - To keep cost down further, I add White Vinegar to my softener ball for the rinse cycle. If you can't live without the clean clothes smell of purchased softener, then mix vinegar and softener half and half to stretch out the more expensive product while keeping the desired fragrance. Note: Vinegar does not leave a smell on clothes at all.
This recipe was adapted from one originally found on Passionate Homemaking.
It's hard to calculate all ingredients like salt but I keep a large box from Sam's on hand which lasts a long time and makes it pennies. Roughly $15 for Sal Suds and less than $4 for a large box of Washing Soda is about $19 total for materials. This recipe makes enough for 64 loads (1/4 cup per load) for roughly $4 or less per batch. This comes to about 0.06 cents per load.
Softener - To keep cost down further, I add White Vinegar to my softener ball for the rinse cycle. If you can't live without the clean clothes smell of purchased softener, then mix vinegar and softener half and half to stretch out the more expensive product while keeping the desired fragrance. Note: Vinegar does not leave a smell on clothes at all.
This recipe was adapted from one originally found on Passionate Homemaking.
If you're interested in another homemade detergent recipe, a friend of mine loves this one found on the frugal girls. I have not tried it but intend to when I have a little more time. It does seem like it would take more time to prepare but makes twice as much for less, I think. This recipe uses Borax, Fels Naptha (1/3 bar) or Ivory soap (1 bar), and Washing soda. Friend says she prefers Ivory for fragrance.
Happy soap making y'all!
Happy soap making y'all!
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