Janel from New Jersey asks: Do you know anything about making your own laundry detergent to save money? I have come across a recipe for Fels-Naptha or Ivory bar soap, Borax and Washing Soda. I like the idea of natural ingredients, but does it really save money and clean the clothes at the same time? Thank you…God Bless, Janel
Jill: It is a little cheaper to make your own laundry detergent, but only if you get the ingredients at a good price. It cleans as well as your average store-bought detergent. It is time consuming to make.
For the few pennies it saves you making your own laundry detergent, there are many other things you can do regarding your laundry that will save you quite a bit more money in the long run. We have a laundry detergent recipe if you would like to try it. My daughter used it for a while but, a couple of kids later, decided it was easier to just buy laundry detergent. Here’s our recipe and a link to a story we wrote recently along with some tips to give you some other ideas.
Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe
Homemade Laundry Detergent Video
Demystifying The Laundry Detergent Dilemma
I make my own laundry soap and save TONS. I make a bucket about every 3 months for a little over 1.50, taking about 15 minutes. We live on a cattle/horse/grain farm, so have LOTS of dirt. I am very pleased with the savings and value.
Suggestion: use only in cold water. I purchase laundry soap & bleach to keep my whites white.
I love making this laundry soap, and I mainly started making it because I was tired of carrying the heavy detergent bottles. I don’t like the fact that it doesn’t make suds, but I figured I could just toss the soap in the machine, toss the clothes in and not watch. I always use cold water, unless I am washing sheets in the winter. In the summer, I hang them out to dry and figure the sun will kill any germs. I have been using this soap now for a year, and my clothes get just as clean as before. I was leary in the beginning, because every batch I make comes out a different consistency, but I just shake it before I use it.
I just grate the Fels Naptha and add the borax and washing soda to it dry. It is tons simpler than mixing and boiling. I use 2 T. per load, but you could probably use less. We’ve been doing this a long time and it works great. I’ve started grating the soap in my bullet-type blender. I’ve varied the proportions and it always works.
I had to laugh, when I received a catalog in the mail, touting saving money on homemade detergent. They were advertising a “starter kit” which consisted of five bars of Fels Naptha soap, a box of washing soda, a box of Borax, a small grater, for the soap, and metal measuring cup and a five gallon plastic bucket. The price was $49.99 plus shipping!
You can get the ingredients relatively inexpensively at the grocery store, and a five gallon plastic pail is about five dollars at the big box home stores. I have several that I have gotten free.
I hope overly zealous spenders don’t pay over fifty dollars to make their own detergent!
I make my own as well. The ingredients are cheap and I am VERY pleased with the result. I don’t take the time to make liquid, I use a recipe for dry powder. I throw chunks of soap and all the ingredients in my food processor and give it a spin. It takes literally 5 minutes to make a 30 load batch. I WOULD SPEND LONGER CUTTING COUPONS!
Also, I have a Downy ball, but instead of expensive fabric softener, I fill the ball with vinegar. YOU would NOT BELIEVE how soft my clothes come out. I think the homemade is just BETTER than what I could buy. It is soo clean and soft and there is no sticky residue on the clothes. I have also heard that using the vinegar leaves your washer and dryer in better conditioner than commercial products.
Good Luck!
For anyone who needs more info I posted a comment on http://www.livingonadime.com/washing-soda/ and explained why your clothes seem so soft with the vinegar and why the difference.
It really isn’t so much the vinegar making it soft but the fact the vinegar helps to rinse the detergent out. Left behind detergent and clothes not rinsing properly is what causes clothes to be dingy, and not so soft. Hard water makes it worse too.
I bought a special machine 15 years ago way before the HE machines were here. They had me wash my first load without detergent. I was shocked at how much soap was in that wash and had been left in my clothes. I didn’t have to use bleach, vinegar or anything and my clothes turned out whiter, brighter and softer then ever.
does this homemade laundry soap work in the new HE machines?
Yes. We have had several readers and ourselves said that it works great in their HE machines.
Hi Tawra And Jill..
I just made Tawras laundry soap this weekend.. It was super cheap
super easy, and oh boy does it get the clothes clean..
My husband of almost 15 yrs was raised w/ Tide and prefers it… But it kills me to pay the prices..
The batch I made (when you take into account what ALL of the ingrediants cost and divide into the amount you are using for a batch) turns out to be about .80 to $1.00. You are then going to have enough left over for 2 more batches+ more with an additional bar of gels naptha soap.
Cheap cheap cheap !
I then took 2 Old Tide containers and FILLED them with Tawers recepie.
This made me even more excited because I can do 130 loads of laundry for approx
$1.00. This is a $39 savings over the Tide Brand.. It cleans very well and best of all, my husband is impressed. My only regret is… I wish I learned of this 15 yrs ago.. Oh the savings..
Thank you Tawra, I love your wisdom and your news letter
OOPS… That was supposed to be FELS NAPTHA not Gel!
I also use the fels-naptha/washing soda/borax mix dry. I’ve always used powdered detergents, so when I made my own I never tried the gel/liquid stuff. I put 1 T. per load and only use cold water. I’ve never bothered to figure out exactly how much it saves me. I started doing this the same time I started making a lot of my own cleaning products and personal care products — I was having skin issues and was trying to get all the unpronounceable chemicals out of my house. I’ve gone back to buying some things (like anti-perspirant), but still make laundry soap and hair gel because for these two in particular I found they worked MUCH better for me than anything I ever bought.
i am very excited about the liquid soap i made with tawra/jill’s recipe .. and the video helped too ..
the clothes came out wonderfully .. and the vinegar made the clothes so soft too! ..
granted we hung the clothes out and they were stiff but they were still soft ..
and i do agree .. the powder recipe is alot easier to make .. and faster ..
…
denise .. can u share the recipe for ur hair gel? .. just curious ..
i told my sister (again) about the laundry soap (this is the sister in fl, not the one in nj.. ) .. and she said this was a very creative idea ..
i told her that i would be giving her a sample when we meet again in melbourne (she lives in s florida and helps take care of my mom.. i live in central fl between daytona and orlando and we meet in melbourne (central fl too but closer to the beach; this is where most of the family lives) but we all visit together in melbourne bc its just easier .. esp with mom .. ) .. so i told her when i see her again i will be having samples for her to try .. she thought that was wonderful ..
I am looking for a homemade laundry detergent that is free of the dyes and perfumes for my son who has eczema. The Fels Naptha soap has a fragrance in it, is there a substitute I could use? I tried your recipe, with a extra rinse cycle and his skin has become worse. Before I found your site and recipe, I had been using the Arm & Hammer, dye and perfume free laundry soap and his skin was better. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Michele, you can use Ivory, Pure and Natural or Zote. I don’t have the ingredients for them in front of me but you can use those if they have the right ingredients for you. Also if those don’t work try basically any bar soap that won’t bother him.
I wanted natural ingredients with my infants. I used plain baking soda to wash their clothes and blankets. I would occasionally use lemon juice or hydrogen peroxide on stains. Sometimes you could see the hydrogen peroxide dissolve the stain. I was surprised how clean and soft the clothes were, so I tried my clothes and they came out clean and soft as well. I also use baking soda to clean the bathtub and sink. I like to add a bit of peppermint soap and it works great and not hard on your skin.