DIY Homemade Laundry Detergent Powder

[Dani]

3 bars laundry soap - I used Zote 14.1 oz bars, but you can use plain Ivory
1 4.1 lb box 20 Mule Team Borax
1 3.7 lbs Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
4 lbs baking soda

Grate soap but I find it easier to shave with a knife. It basically falls apart as you go. You can throw it threw a food processor to make it more like a powder. Then mix everything together. I use a 5 gallon bucket for this step and transfer to an old 22 lb laundry detergent bucket I had saved. Use 2 T per regular sized load. Super easy and so much cheaper.

I do not own one of those fancy frontend loaders so do not know if you can use it. Think you have to have a special detergent?

You will need 3 bars of soap. . . I had already started before thinking of taking a picture of ingredients.

 

[Terri9630]

You just have to add the soap to the tub. Not in the dispenser. I also use my own home made soap instead of Zote.

 

[Amish Heart]

Sometimes I add White King water softener powder to that recipe because our water is really hard.

 

[Terri9630]

Sometimes I add White King water softener powder to that recipe because our water is really hard.

Where do you find that? I've never heard of it.

 

[Amish Heart]

I found it at Smiths (Krogers), right next to the Borax Powder. It works well enough so that if I need to bleach some whites, I can add that and bleach, and the clothes don't turn out brown. Otherwise, bleach will turn everything brown.

 

[*Andi]

I tried this with a few different ingredients... but it didn't work well with our Virginia red clay. (sigh)
Hubby said give it up ... so I did.

 

[Amish Heart]

I'd keep trying. I don't like to pay the price for laundry detergent. Too expensive. Even grated Kirks Castille soap with some washing soda would work well enough.

 

[Weedygarden]

Thank you for starting this thread. How long does one batch last for you? How many people are you washing clothes for?

 

[Dani]

I am only washing for two so this will last us a long time. . . at least 4 - 5 months.

 

[Meerkat]

I found it at Smiths (Krogers), right next to the Borax Powder. It works well enough so that if I need to bleach some whites, I can add that and bleach, and the clothes don't turn out brown. Otherwise, bleach will turn everything brown.

Never heard of it either.

 

[captain belly]

I made a video on this a couple years ago. Listening to it, I talk like Christopher Walken..... not my best narration job, but hopefully someone will get an idea on how to make this.

 

[tiffanysgallery]

3 bars laundry soap - I used Zote 14.1 oz bars, but you can use plain Ivory
1 4.1 lb box 20 Mule Team Borax
1 3.7 lbs Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
4 lbs baking soda

I've seen this laundry detergent recipe with powdered OxiClean added.
Also read about someone who would wash clothes with only Baking Soda due to they're limited budget.

 

[Amish Heart]

It's ok to sound like Christopher Walken, just not Alex Jones.

 

[tiffanysgallery]

Found these formula's in MEN magazine Spring 2018, "Living On Less", pages 108-109...

Hard Water Formula
1 cup soap flakes or finely grated pure bar soap
1 cup washing soda
1/2 cup borax
2 cups vinegar
10 drops essential oil of choice
Combine the soap, washing soda, and borax in a heavy plastic container. Blend the vinegar and essential oils in a separate container, preferably one with a pour spout. Use 1/2 cup of the soap mixture for washing; add 1/2 cup of the vinegar mixture during the rinse cycle.

Lemon Fresh Linen Wash
This formula can be used for any type of laundry, but it's especially nice for cotton linens that have been allowed to dry naturally in the sun after washing.
2 cups liquid castile soap
1/2 cup aloe vera juice
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
1 tbsp powder citric acid
2 tsp grapefruit seed extract
15 to 20 drops lemon or lemongrass essential oil
Combine all ingredients into a plastic container, preferably on with a pour spout, and gently turn it upside down once or twice to make sure all the ingredients are evenly distributed before adding it to the washing machine. Use 1/4 cup for an average load.

 

[Terri9630]

For fabric softener I use a piece of old t-shirt that was soaked in vinegar and gently squeezed out tossed in the dryer instead of a dryer sheet. Not as good as Downey but since I'm allergic to Downey it's good second.

 

[Dani]

So I'm doing laundry today and needed to refer back to the recipe for how many lbs baking powder. . . I knew 4 but for whatever reason I always second guess myself. So @Weedygarden it last me until a couple weeks ago when I started using out of a different bucket. @Terri9630 I remember reading your tip about using the vinegar as a fabric softener thinking I need to try that. Well if it's not smack dab in my face I will forgwt. I have a load in the washer now. . .and as soon as I finish typing this out will throw an old sock that doesn't have a mate into a resealable tub of white vinegar and set on the drier.

 

[Meerkat]

Can't wait to try these out. Soon as I get time.

 

[Dani]

@Terri9630 the vinegar tip is a keeper Thank you!

 

[lilmissy]

I dont ever add that much baking soda compared to washing soda and borax. Will have to up the amount and see what happens. For static I put salt in an old sock, tie shut, works great.

 

[PopPopT]

I have a similar recipe as Dani but without the baking soda. I may add some next time.

But... I don't make the whole 10 gallons of it at one time. I take my little kitchen scale and divide out the whole batch of dry ingredients into individual little Ziploc sandwich bags. I still have a gallon jug from about 7 years ago that had Tide in it that gets a new batch of ready to use detergent made up when I need it. I just fill the jug with water, pour into a pot, dump in a little baggie of the mix, heat on the stove and stir. I don't boil it but heating helps dissolve stuff. Let cool at least enough to handle and back into the jug. Fresh full bottle ready to go an no need to find a home for the 5 gallon buckets.

 

[Meerkat]

I have a similar recipe as Dani but without the baking soda. I may add some next time.

But... I don't make the whole 10 gallons of it at one time. I take my little kitchen scale and divide out the whole batch of dry ingredients into individual little Ziploc sandwich bags. I still have a gallon jug from about 7 years ago that had Tide in it that gets a new batch of ready to use detergent made up when I need it. I just fill the jug with water, pour into a pot, dump in a little baggie of the mix, heat on the stove and stir. I don't boil it but heating helps dissolve stuff. Let cool at least enough to handle and back into the jug. Fresh full bottle ready to go an no need to find a home for the 5 gallon buckets.

Sounds good POPop, I'd think the water would get sour after awhile but guess not since your using it. Do you add anythign to keep it from souring ?

 

[PopPopT]

Hmm... maybe I didn't say it very well.

I don't add any water until I'm ready to fill my 1-gal jug. I just divide up the dry stuff... soap shavings, borax, washing soda... all in the right amounts for just 1 gallon of detergent. (That's where my little kitchen scale comes in handy, electronic gram scale.) I think the last batch I made, I had 20 little baggies. They're like a dry mix. One little baggie, add water, mix and fill my jug and we're good for just that one gallon.

When I use all or just about all of that gallon jug, I repeat the process. Oh, and I don't throw away the little baggie, I put it back with the others, in a gallon ziploc bag where I also keep the recipe. It's not uncommon for it to be over a year in between mixing up batches so I need the recipe every time.

We first started this when we lived fulltime in an RV. There's just not a lot of storage space in an RV so having the little mixes ready to go was very handy and compact.

 

[Meerkat]

Hmm... maybe I didn't say it very well.

I don't add any water until I'm ready to fill my 1-gal jug. I just divide up the dry stuff... soap shavings, borax, washing soda... all in the right amounts for just 1 gallon of detergent. (That's where my little kitchen scale comes in handy, electronic gram scale.) I think the last batch I made, I had 20 little baggies. They're like a dry mix. One little baggie, add water, mix and fill my jug and we're good for just that one gallon.

When I use all or just about all of that gallon jug, I repeat the process. Oh, and I don't throw away the little baggie, I put it back with the others, in a gallon ziploc bag where I also keep the recipe. It's not uncommon for it to be over a year in between mixing up batches so I need the recipe every time.

We first started this when we lived fulltime in an RV. There's just not a lot of storage space in an RV so having the little mixes ready to go was very handy and compact.

Ok maybe I didn't understand what I read. I'll have to try that out.

 

[joel]

DW does dishes & laundry for about four years now.

 

[PopPopT]

No worries at all, Meerkat.

I know I have this well formed picture in my mind, almost a little video that plays in my head. Trying to put that into words... well, that's a challenge sometimes, and one I often fall short on.

Before this thread, I hadn't really thought much about adding the baking soda so the conversation at least inspired a little extra thought.

 

[Terri9630]

@Terri9630 the vinegar tip is a keeper Thank you!

Your welcome. Happy to help where I can.

 

[PopPopT]

DW does dishes & laundry for about four years now.

Joel, are you meaning that you/your wife are/is making your own dish soap, too? If so, please elaborate.

After spending a decade plus in an RV with no dishwasher, my wife decided she likes the dishwasher in our house. I wasn't so ready to start using it and still do wash some stuff by hand. (To me, it always feels like I have to 3/4 wash them by hand before putting them in the dishwasher anyway, but I have generally been banished from the kitchen for that detail as I "don't do it right" anyway. LOL!!)

Anyway, we do use dish soap, both the kind we'd use by hand (usually Dawn) and the kind that goes in the dishwasher (usually some kind of pod). The Dawn isn't that expensive considering a few drops does quite a lot and lasts a good long time. The pods are expensive, though.

Certainly interested in what alternatives you or others may be using / making.

 

[Terri9630]

We just replaced our dishwasher and it came with a couple of pods of cascade platinum. It works really well. No washing before washing. Just scrape off the big stuff. I even put in a canning jar that had beef in it without scrubbing, y'all know how the residue sticks to the sides, and it came out spotless.

 

[txcatlady]

I love Zote in mine. Don't use baking soda, but I do throw in a bottle of scented crystals. After mixing I put all ingredients back into the crystal bottles and the lid has a measuring line to measure out the powder. I found grating works best. I tried food processor and could not get the smell out. Same with microwaving the soap to make it puff up and crumble. Microwave smelled like Zote for a month! Been using this powder for about 5 years now.

 

[Amish Heart]

I leave grating the Zote as a job for the grandkids. I did find it grated at Walmart in a box but it costs more that way. The kids always wear a face mask when grating or they start coughing.
Geesh. Now I sound like a mean granny.
They really don't mind doing it though.