Homemade Natural Laundry Detergent Made Easy
Sorting Out Life, One Load At A Time
I’ve done my share of lumpy laundry. Newborn clothes with with the tags and hangers still on? Check. “Gifts” from my helpers, including a trojan poopy diaper in my whites? Oh yeah.
As you can imagine, I’ve been more than happy just to be able to keep clean underoos in the house at all times for the past few years. Buying “eco-friendly” laundry detergent seemed like a pretty good option until I re-read my brands ingredient list recently. Undisclosed proprietary ingredients? No thanks!
If you’re looking for a good, non-toxic brand I did eventually find one here, but not before I learned to make a simple homemade powder version that WORKS. The basic recipe is nearly identical to this one, but for some reason every time I share this link with someone it seemed to create more questions than answers. I dunno, it made perfect sense to me, but for what it’s worth here is exactly. what. I. do.
But first, let’s talk ingredients!
Powdered Laundry Detergent: What You Really Need
Bar Soap (ALWAYS) – Coconut oil-based soaps are best, but tallow and lard can also be used.
Baking Soda (SOMETIMES) – No one uses this in commercial formulas . . . not even Arm & Hammer! According to this post, “Baking soda is only half as strong as washing soda at softening water and doesn’t allow the cleaning pH to go nearly as high. And if you have a stronger product on hand, why dilute it with a weaker one?” Fortunately, if you have some on hand you can use it to make washing soda.
Borax (NOPE)- Opinions are split on whether this product is safe, so I avoid it when possible. Fortunately, according this post washing soda perform the same function, so you’re not missing out on anything. (Plus, from what I hear Borax only works well in hot water)
Lemon Essential Oil (DEFINITELY) – Works well as a stain remover and de-greaser. I just dab a few drops on stains as I find them and then throw them in the wash.
Vinegar (YUP) – Though not a part of the main recipe, I use 1/2 cup vinegar as a rinse for two reasons:
- Laundry detergent has a very alkaline pH, which can irritate skin. Using a vinegar rinse resets the pH to a skin-friendly level
- It helps dissolve excess detergent and salts off clothes
Oxiclean or Peroxide (SOMETIMES) - For brightening whites.
Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe
Ingredients {Washes 42 – 62 Loads}
42 tablespoons
- 6 cups washing soda (here’s how to make your own)
- Three bars of 4.5 – 5 ounce soap, finely grated (one made with coconut oil works best, here’s how to make it)
- lemon essential oil (optional)
Additional Items You’ll Want To Have On Hand:
More on what to do with this stuff in the instructions below
- non-GMO white vinegar or Oxiclean
- Downy ball (optional)
- wool dryer balls (where to buy them, how to make your own)
- food processor
To Make:
- Cut soap into small chunks. Add to the food processor along with the washing soda.
- Blend until you have a fine powder (you may want to lay a dish towel over the top of your food processor to prevent a fine mist of powder from floating into the air)
- Pour into a clean container (keep the essential oil next to the jar and add 5 drops with each load)
To Use:
These instructions are for a top loader. I don’t have any experience with front loaders, sorry!
- Add 2-3 tablespoons laundry detergent per load ( If you are washing in cold water, dissolve it in hot water before adding it in. I prefer to start each load with a little hot water to dissolve and then put my laundry in)
- If desired, add about five drops of lemon essential oil as a degreaser
- If washing whites, add a scoop of Oxiclean or pour 1/2 cup peroxide in the bleach compartment
- Add 1/2 cup vinegar to a Downy ball or the fabric softener compartment
- For extra fabric softening goodness and a shorter drying time, toss some felted wool dryer balls in the dryer with your clothes.
Julia
I’ve been using Charlies for about a year now. You think some of the ingredients are not so safe? Also i’m guessing your detergent works well on cloth diapers? We’ve been having some stink issues lately. The diapers have been having a very strong ammonia smell and i’m not sure what to do. Thanks!
Julia´s last [type] ..Shopping for REAL food at the Grocery store
Heather
I haven’t used Charlie’s so I can’t really say. I just know I’ve been looking for a soap that is GMO-free (many are made from GMO-corn), sodium lauryl sulfate, proprietary ingredients I can’t check myself, etc. After a long search (which did yield a few brands I was comfortable with) I decided it was just easier to learn to make my own!
kelley
we used charlies too for a while. When I looked up safe for cloth diapers they seemed to do well so I figured it was super safe. then looked it up on ewg.org and the rated a D! http://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners/2428-CharliesSoapLaundryPowder
Rachel
Julia – My daughter’s diapers also started smelling really strong of ammonia after about a year. I started adding some vinegar to the first cold water rinse cycle, then adding detergent to the regular wash cycle followed with a final plain hot water rinse. They still smell stronger than when the diapers were new, but much much better than they did. It will help to be able to hang them in the sun this summer too! Ah sun…..
Tasha
try to hang your diapers outside Julia. The sun will help kill bacteria. (I don’t know how well it will work this close to winter though, the sun isn’t as strong).
Cathy
I began having a similar problem with my daughter’s cloth diapers — I had to abandon the homemade cloth diaper detergent (borax, oxyclean and washing soda combo) and go back to buying the expensive Rockin’ Green cloth diaper detergent that’s specially formulated for soft water, which we have. It really works amazingly but I’d rather find a better, cheaper and more natural alternative. They don’t smell at all when they are clean, and not AS bad as they did before once soiled. We just bought a diaper sprayer and I read that spraying the soiled ones before tossing them in the pail helps prevent the odors from permeating the fabric to the point that you have a difficult time washing it out in one wash cycle. I’m still dealing with a work in progress but that’s what has been improving our stinky diaper situation!
Bethany
You need to strip your diapers if they are smelling like ammonia. http://mamanatural.com/how-to-strip-your-cloth-diapers/
sarah
I’ve never made powdered. I always make a liquid with castile soap: I am seriously excited about the wool dryer balls-on my way to ckeck my stash right now! (don’t know why I never thought of that-Thanks!
Jennifer
Do you have bar soaps that you can recommend? Thanks!
Shelly
I’ve been making my laundry soap for almost a year now and did not realize Fels Naptha had GMOs!
Is there another bar soap that you would recommend for purchase?
Heather
I don’t know for sure that it does, but unless they are obtaining their tallow from pastured sources only it’s probably likely. Though I’d prefer to use a soap designed specifically for laundry (in other words, one that hasn’t been superfatted) I typically use Dr. Bronner’s bar soap because I’m more comfortable with the ingredients. I’ll post my recipe for homemade coconut oil soap soon!
Jiji
Oooh, I can’t wait for the soap recipe!
kelley
what bar soap do you use? Also, was that a yes that it’s cloth diaper safe?
Heather
I make my own – will post the recipe soon! For store bought options, I personally would consider:
2. Dr. Bronners. Though soaps made for skin rather than laundry are “super fatted” – meaning there is extra oil added in – I have not found this to be an issue with my detergent. I prefer to use Dr. Bronners because I’m more comfortable with the ingredients. You can find it here
3. Kirk’s castile soap, because it’s very affordable. i believe their glycerin usually comes from coconut or palm sources, but it may also come from GMO corn. Not sure what “natural fragrance” is, but the other ingredients are just coconut and water. You can find it here
I do use it with my cloth dipes. The vinegar rinse I mention in the instructions seems to keep them from needing to be stripped very often. However, I will say that only seems to work with natural fibers like cotton and bamboo. I tried it with some microfiber dipes I had back in the day and it “set” the stink rather than washing it out! My Kawaii covers – though synthetic – do fine with this recipe.
Laura
Kirk’s makes an fragrance free bar. It’s what I use for my personal soap. Definitely cheaper than Dr. Bronner’s.
Kim N.
I’ve been using soap nuts.
Karen
Would love a recipe like this but safe for the front loader washing machine. Have been nervous to make my own laundry detergent for that reason.
Ginny
I have used this or similar in my front loader for about 4 years. Never have a problem with it.
Bea
Kirks’ website gives a recipe and different amounts for top v. front loaders.
Bea
I might have missed this point, but what is the problem with GMO vinegar or glycerine? Other than not wanting to support the practice economically, I mean. If we’re using it for something other than eating or applying directly to our skin….?
Jessica T.
Oooh, YAY! I’m glad to find a recipe made without Borax since I’ve heard differing reports on its safety as well. Do you know how well this works with cloth diapers? We use prefolds and covers which generally aren’t as picky as other diapers, but I’ve heard that some homemade laundry soaps don’t clean diapers very well.
Jessica T.´s last [type] ..When you’re about to burst
Heather
Yes, I use it with my cloth dipes. The vinegar rinse I mention in the instructions seems to keep them from needing to be stripped very often. However, I will say that only seems to work with natural fibers like cotton and bamboo. I tried it with some microfiber dipes I had back in the day and it “set” the stink rather than washing it out! My Kawaii covers – though synthetic – do fine with this recipe.
Amanda
I would like to know more about which bar soaps are safe!
Carrie Willard
I’ve been making laundry soap for years and save tons. One caveat, it reduces absorbency of towels and diapers
Bea
Could it be that the recipe needs more washing soda? Just read (here?) that you can make your own by baking baking soda at 400 degrees for an hour or so. When I used to simply add washing soda to my regular (natural detergent from the store) wash, I noticed my towels were fluffier and worked better.
Heather
For those of you who have wondered about SOAP:
1. I will be posting my recipe for homemade coconut oil soap soon
2. I’ve also used Dr. Bronners. Though soaps made for skin rather than laundry are “super fatted” – meaning there is extra oil added in – I have not found this to be an issue with my detergent. I prefer to use Dr. Bronners because I’m more comfortable with the ingredients. You can find it here
3. Kirk’s castile soap is very affordable. i believe their glycerin usually comes from coconut or palm sources, but it may also come from GMO corn. Not sure what “natural fragrance” is, but the other ingredients are just coconut and water. You can find it here
Amber
Great recipe, thanks Mommypotamus! We tweeted it @elementbotanica
Lene
How cold is a “cold wash”? What temp do you use?
Heather
I’m not sure! My top loader just has a setting that says “cold.”
Susan
Heather… Is your recipe for a regular or HE machine? Thank you!
Heather
I have a regular top loader
Natalie
So lemon essential oil will get out grease stains? Do you rub it or just drop a little on? I am having trouble finding anything that will work for these little grease spots I keep getting on my clothes and usually only show up after washing and drying!
Heather
I’ve found quite a bit of success by just dropping a bit of oil on my kids stained clothes
Courtney Kafka
I am surprised to hear that you use OxiClean. I absolutely love the stuff, because I can get out any stain with it, but I had always assumed it was pretty toxic. Do you think not, or have you just not found anything else that works as well? I used to use Lestoil to get out grease stains, but I will have to try lemon oil!
Heather
From what I understand, Oxiclean is just washing soda (sodium carbonate), sodium percarbonate and peroxide mixed together. I think it has a small amount of alcohol in it, too.
Terri
My son and I both have allergies to the H.E. detergents…all of them. There is one ingredient they add to keep the suds down that we react to. We had skin problems after switching to a new front-loader. According to the warranty we can only use H.E. detergent. Well, after a long process of discovery, I’ve been using just vinegar with a few drops of essential oils. You don’t have any ideas for homemade liquid detergent, do you?
Bea
I kind of said this above, but Kirk’s Castile’s website has a recipe for homemade powdered detergent and amounts to use for front or top loaders; I think all front loaders are HE. Also, I have experimented with very low amounts of soap and alternating washes with and without soap. There is generally some soap residue (even from my store bought natural detergents), even when very little is used. I get clean, fresh smelling laundry (not really dirty stuff that needs stain remover) from as many as two loads without soap. (Water, alone, has the property of breaking chemical bonds, which is why it’s a good cleaner, in general.) This is even true for shirts with anti-perspirant (ok’d by my natural MD!) residue on them. It all comes off. Sometimes I’ll use vinegar instead of soap for one load. And, washing soda and borax don’t create suds, so if you’re concerned, you can add more of that. Borax is only toxic if you eat huge amounts of it.
Rae
Where do you get your lemon essential oil? There are soooo many essential oils on the market today, it’s hard to know which are best quality and safest. Thanks!
Heather
I usually buy most of my oils from Young Living, but I often by organic citrus-based oils NOW Foods also.
Kim
Is it me or my washer? When I put vinegar in the softener hole, it doesn’t spin out. Eventually I have to clean it out. I’m not coordinated enough to get to the rinse cycle on time!
Heather
Have you tried using a Downy ball? That’s what I do
Leah
I have searched everywhere for a non-GMO white vinegar, as far as I can tell, it doesn’t exist. Do you recommend a particular product?
Heather
Whole Foods says their 365 vinegar is non-GMO
Heather
Also, I’m thinking about doing a tutorial on making your own this spring.
Leah
Ohhh,, yes! That would be excellent. There isn’t a Whole Foods here, and I would rather not shop there but maybe I will stock up on Vinegar next time I’m in a city with WF. Also, I’m suspicious of their claim….
Sunny Espanet
Dear friend-who-loves-to-research….
Can you comment on whether or not this is ok for front-load washers? I ruined our first front-loader with “natural” detergent that wasn’t High Efficiency. So I doubt Mr. E will let me experiment with this one too.
Janne
The Kirks website says to dissolve it in water. You also might want to put it in the basin rather than in the compartment – sometimes certain chemicals (like vinegar) can ruin the transport tube things. It also says that a recipe, very similar to this one (it adds Borax) is safe for HE washers.
Karen
Thanks for the wonderfully ‘simple’ giveaway of your three favorite spring essential oils. I love the oils, but mostly I just love the simplicity of this particular drawing. I’ve been trying to simplify so most drawings aren’t options. When you are trying to simplify things, you don’t sign up for extra newsletters or clutter up your social networks with extra postings or take up tweeting. In this day when it seems everyone is pushing more of this electronic connection with no regard to the impact it has on our lives, I am grateful for your ‘simple’ approach. I enjoy your blog and especially the ‘how to’ directions. As you might imagine, it helps me simplify, gear down, and relax. There is something quite wonderful about making your own products when you run out of something. So thank you all around.
Rachel
Is this okay for HE washers?
Tara
I seem to recall reading somewhere that essential oils shouldn’t be added into the laundry because they can break down the clothing fibers, or something along those lines. Have you ever heard that? I’m wondering if it’s true in general, or only with certain oils?
Loretta | A Finn In The Kitchen
Darn! Now I don’t know if I should be using the borax I bought a while ago…I guess I have some thinking to do.
Thanks for the recipe though!
Loretta | A Finn In The Kitchen´s last [type] ..Nut and Granola Energy Bites
Windy
Beautiful and AMAZING, yes YOU are! So happy to have found your blog…
Erica
I just started making this and I love it!!! I love that it is borax free. Do you have a recipe for borax free dish soap. I do not have a dishwasher so I do all my dishes by hand. I am having a hard time finding a recipe for one that cuts grease.
Mandy
Can I use scented Dr Bronners or is unscented best?
Heather
Either one is fine!
Janne
I read on another website (with a slightly different variation of laundry soap) that you should not put vinegar in the place for liquid softener/bleach because it can ruin the “pipes” used to transport it into the basin. Instead, you should put it directly into the basin itself; though you might want to do it as a separate rinse cycle instead.
It looks like the Kirks website has instructions for using a recipe very similar to this one (it has Borax and a slightly lower ratio of washing soda to soap) in front loaders – dissolve the regular amount of soap in a bit of water. You could possibly put that mixture (if it was liquidy enough) in the actual spot for the liquid soap.
Summer
Excited about this. I’m washing my first load now. Hopefully I baked the baking soda long enough. It didn’t seem to mix too well. Will this soap sud? So far mine isn’t. Thanks!!
Heather
It does a little if you add it to the water and mix it a little before adding the clothes, but not a whole lot.
I hope you like the results!
Cynthia
I am wondering HEather if you or anyone else has used your laundry detergent recipe in very hard water? I have all of the ingredients to make your recipe and I am looking forward to it…..just don’t want to get any residue left on our clothes.
Thank you for your time in responding,
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[...] Homemade Natural Laundry Detergent Made Easy [...]
Maureen
I just made a batch this weekend using a similar recipe but it called for Borax. After I made it, my husband asked if that was the same stuff that kills rats. Woops. Should I toss my batch and remake without the Borax? Thanks!
Heather
Borax and boric acid are different products, though chemically similar. Some say Borax is totally fine. I think it’s probably better than a lot of things, but since I tend to be cautious I rarely use it. I think each person has to decide what their comfort level is with it
Linda
This might be a silly question. Would a microplane be ok to grate the soap? I don’t have the space or money for a food processor.
Heather
Yes, it would! You’ll need to stir the detergent for several minutes to get it to blend, but it will work
Andrea
Do you have to dissolve it in hot water first? I go through a lot of laundry and I always use cold water… Just seems like an extra step! Thanks!
Heather
It works MUCH better if you do
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[...] Homemade Natural Laundry Detergent Made Easy from Mommypotamus [...]
Kelly
I have been trying to find a better homemade laundry detergent and am THRILLED to find this post! I had never heard of Kirk’s Coco Castile bar and wanted to check into it. Imagine my surprise that I live less than 10 minutes from their newest ‘home’. Ha! I am happy to see it is a family owned company now instead of an acquired P&G product as it was for years. I wonder if they do any kind of tours??
I don’t know if you have posted your own coconut soap recipe yet, but I look forward to that as well!
Amanda
hi. wondering if that coconut oil soap has been posted yet. thanks!
Heather
Not yet – I’m posting it next week!
amanda
ok thanks. i made some so i was just curious. it just seems so ‘fancy’ for laundry
How To Make Pure Coconut Oil Soap (For Cleansing And Laundry) « The Mommypotamus
[...] Normally it is not advised to make soap with under 4% superfat due to the fact that it can be excessively drying and even burn skin if some of the lye remains unconverted, but for laundry soap it’s perfect! [...]
Diane
I’m looking forward to making my own laundry soap, and am looking for brand suggestions for bar soap. We have major sensitivities in my house and I can’t seem to find a coconut based soap without added fragrances or other questionable ingredients. Does anyone have a suggestion? I’ll also look back through comments…Thank you!
Heather
I just posted one today, Diane! http://www.mommypotamus.com/how-to-make-pure-coconut-oil-soap-for-cleansing-and-laundry/
Sara
Quick question to confirm…….I went out and got the ingredients to make this after discovering the detergent we’ve used for 7 years has been discontinued. But then I came back and re-read the recipe. Am I understanding that I need 3 bars of the castille soap and not just one to make this? I want to make your coconut soap recipe, but have to wait until I get an immersion blender. So for now, I’m getting Dr. Bronner’s soap as that is the easiest to find. I just need to know if I need to go back and buy two more bars, since I just picked up one today.
Sara´s last [type] ..Until Then I Thought It Was Just Me, Just A Fluke
Heather
Yes, three bars of soap! I can see why the wording was confusing, so I’ve updated it!
Sara
Thanks so much for taking the time to clarify! I went ahead and just made 1/3 of the batch today with the amount I did have on hand, which was the perfect amount my food processor could hold at one time anyway. It’s waiting for me in a decorated old peanut butter jar now.
I’m super excited to try it. And I priced immersion blenders yesterday and just have to read some reviews on each, so I’m hoping to add your coconut soap recipe to the mix soon enough.
Kate
Hi, how many pounds of washing powder does this make? I’m in Australia and coconut oil is a tad expensive so I’m trying to work out if making my own coconut soap is economical enough to do it. Many thanks
Leah
Is this recipe HE safe?
Heather
It is a low suds recipe so it should be in most case. However, check your owners manual since in some instances certain ingredients may void the warranty.
Carolyn
Thank you so much for this go-to recipe!!! I use it all the time for our laundry