Quick, simple and budget friendly! Homemade Laundry Detergent is something I never thought I would make. It is so easy to just grab some at the store and not have to fuss with making it, right? It is actually SUPER easy to make at home, in just minutes.
If you are tired of spending ridiculous amounts of money on laundry detergent, this recipe is perfect for you.
Laundry detergent is expensive. We all know it, and when you have a big family, you go through a lot of it. That alone is almost enough to convert anyone to making their own laundry detergent.
For me, that cost difference and the desire I have to eliminate unwanted and possibly harmful ingredients from my home really drove me to start making my own laundry detergent.
The best part is that it actually works. Like seriously, this stuff works really well and is far more budget friendly than what you can purchase. It only takes 3 ingredients. Yes, just 3 ingredients and you have homemade laundry detergent. Fels Naptha, Borax and Arm& Hammer Laundry Booster. All three of these ingredients are sold right beside each other at my local store on the laundry aisle.
If you have been following my blog for any length of time you may have seen me mention how I like to cut costs at the store, when I can, and this is one way that has really helped.
I cannot imagine how much we, a family of 5, were spending on laundry detergent before we started making our own.
I know right now as I am typing this, I can buy the ingredients to make this laundry detergent for just $12 and it will last for us roughly 2 months, give or take. That is only using a small portion of the Borax and Arm & Hammer Laundry Booster. Those boxes will actually make several batches of this detergent. So, I’m not even sure how much it costs for just one month of laundry detergent. I haven’t worked that math out, but I do know that it is far less than the other detergent I was using. Pennies on the dollar! That’s crazy!
Equipment/Ingredients Needed to Make Homemade Laundry DetergenT
- Hand-held box grater
- Food Processor preferably with a shredding attachment
- Something to store the laundry detergent in
- 1 bar of Fels Naptha
- 1 cup Borax
- 1 cup Arm & Hammer Laundry Booster (Super Washing Soda)
Having a food processor will really help move this along faster. Since I have the shredding attachment, I use the attachment instead of using the box grater. If you do not have a food processor you will need a box grater.
How to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent
- Begin by grating 1 bar of Fels Naptha. If you have a shredding attachment, use the smallest hole to shred the bar of Fels Naptha.
- Place the grated Fels Naptha into the bowl of a food processor, add 1 cup of Borax and 1 cup of the Arm & Hammer Laundry Booster.
- Turn the processor to high and let it go until the Fels Naptha is cut into small pieces. The detergent will resemble powdered laundry detergent you would normally buy from the store.
- Store in a container away from moisture. I found this cute container just when I started making this homemade laundry detergent.
I usually double this recipe whenever I make it. A doubled recipe works great for the size of food processor I have. It fills this container up halfway.
How to Use Homemade Laundry Detergent
For each normal size load use roughly 2 tablespoons of your homemade laundry detergent. For heavily soiled loads of larger loads use 3 to 4 tablespoons. Super easy!
How Does This Laundry Detergent Smell?
Are you familiar with Dial Soap? The plain orange colored soap, that is exactly what this laundry detergent smells like. It is because of the Fels Naptha. It is made by the same company that makes Dial hand soap. The smell isn’t strong at all whenever you wash your clothes, so if that smell is off-putting to you, it shouldn’t bother you after you wash your clothes. After washed, clothes have a kind of neutral smell. I might mention that I do not use fabric softener. So, there are no added fragrances in my laundry.