I can’t believe it finally happened; I ran out of laundry detergent. In an effort to live a simpler life, I made my own homemade laundry detergent for just pennies. I haven’t bought any laundry detergent for a while, since I have gotten several bottles and packs of laundry detergent to review and giveaway. And now I have run out. It is way too rainy today to go outside and spend money on something I wash down the drain. Here are the ingredients I use for a great and powerful homemade laundry detergent.
Each ingredient in homemade laundry detergent has a different function.
Soap – The soap gives the detergent the cleaning power to clean the clothes. Other recommended brands to try are Fels Naptha, Zote or even a castile soap. I used Ivory, since this is what I had on hand.
Borax – Is a naturally occurring mineral and is used to act as a deodorizer and whitener in the detergent. Come back tomorrow to enter to win a box of Borax for FREE!
Washing Soda – This is specifically for washing and is not baking soda. Washing soda helps remove dirt and odors from the clothes.
Dawn Dish washing Liquid – This is awesome for a clothes pretreater for stains. It also acts as a degreaser to remove the oils from your skin left on clothes. If it can get oil off of ducks and marine life, it can get your oil out of your clothes. Click to read more about Dawn and using it in your Laundry.
Oxy Booster – This helps boost the laundry detergent to help fight stains and whitens clothes with out bleach. (optional)
Homemade Laundry Detergent
Ingredients for Homemade Laundry Detergent:
1/2 cup Borax (Check tomorrow for FREE Borax!)
1/2 cup Washing Soda
1 Bar Ivory Soap
1/4 Cup Dawn Dish Liquid (secret ingredient)
1/2 cup Oxi booster (secret ingredient, but optional)
Lots of water to fill large laundry detergent bottle
Directions how to make Homemade Laundry Detergent with Dawn
1. First shred 1 bar of soap. I used Ivory soap. This looks like yummy coconut when it is all shredded in the plate. I have had people ask if I use my cheese grater for this. Yes I do, then I put it in the dishwasher to clean it. It’s soap it washes off.
2. Add six cups of water into a pot on the stove. Put in the shredded soap and heat until the soap melts and dissolves completely in the water. This doesn’t take long.
3. Next add the washing soda, Borax, Dawn Dish Liquid and Oxi booster. Mix well until dissolved. (gently stir)
4. Pour four cups hot water into your stir pot. Then pour your soapy mixture in there and mix well. You can add about 20 drops of essential oil to make your clothes smell clean and fresh.
5. Now add around 20 cups of warm water to your mixture and mix well. Just enough to fill the laundry detergent container. Mine is for 96 loads. Let this set for 24 hours to set thoroughly. To use just pour about the same amount you normally would use when washing 1/2 cup – 1 Cup. I use the same measuring cup that came with the container.
Update: It seems people are having issues when adding the Oxy booster. I use the generic Oxy booster from Kroger and I have not had any issues with this foaming or bubbling. Also after you add the Oxy booster stir thoroughly, but try not to agitate the mix a lot.
That is homemade laundry detergent for just pennies a load. Before the wash shake the container a little to make sure the laundry detergent is mixed well. It tends to separate over time and might be a little watery if you don’t. This recipe is great if you have kids or a husband with a dirty job. This will tackle lots of stains to get really clean clothes every time.
Using just the first three ingredients will get you the basic homemade laundry detergent recipe. Add Dawn give a degreaser and added stain remover to this homemade laundry detergent. The oxy cleaner gives an added boost to the detergent for brightening the clothes.
How much did this cost me. Hard to say. The Ivory soap was FREE, both Boxes of Borax and washing soda were around $3.00, the Dawn was $0.50 for the bottle and the Oxy powder was around $3.00. This probably cost me less than $0.55 to make. This recipe is my own. I don’t think I have seen this particular recipe anywhere on the internet with both of my secret ingredients. Have you ever made homemade laundry detergent? If you make this recipe, let me know how you like it. Check out my homemade fabric softener recipe or how to make homemade fabric softener crystals to soften your clothes.
Camille says
May 30, 2012 at 1:40 pmHooray for being in the top 3! Thanks for the linky!
Amy says
May 31, 2012 at 11:00 amYou are so welcome! I can’t wait to see what you have been working on this week!
April says
May 30, 2012 at 2:06 pmYay! Thanks for the shout out!
Amy says
May 31, 2012 at 11:01 amYour dress was so cute from last week. Thanks so much for sharing!
Lena at frugalandthankful says
May 31, 2012 at 5:15 pmYou are so awesome making your own detergent. I’ve tried some recipes but I really hate grating soap 🙁 And I’m yet to try a homemade recipe that works like Tide. Maybe, I need to try it again!
Amy says
June 1, 2012 at 12:12 pmThanks Lena! It didn’t really take that long to grate the soap. I kinda thought it was fun. I added the Dawn for extra stain removing properties that you get in most commercial laundry detergents. I haven’t seen anyone do that yet. I add Dawn to my wash loads anyway. I just thought I would include it while making my own so now I wont have to add it every time. I am washing a few loads today to see how it does. It smells super clean! We will see how it works today.
Amy says
June 1, 2012 at 9:17 pmLena this worked GREAT! My little face left a nice blue frosting stain on my favorite pair of khaki shorts. I washed them with my new Laundry Detergent without any pretreating and the stain came right out! I was really impressed. This does work. You may want to add the Dawn. It works great in your laundry to get out tough stains.
Stephanie says
April 28, 2013 at 1:20 pmUmm, when I did step 3, it bound with the soap and turned to a thick “mousse” of bubbles on the top of the mixture. I heated this more and it reduced it a bit, but I was still left with a lot of thick foam that appears to be mostly the ivory soap now. I’ve separated it into containers with equal amounts of liquid and foam and will gently mix them to see if it dissolves again.
Amy says
April 28, 2013 at 8:38 pmHmm… This has not happened to me. Was the Ivory soap dissolved completely before you put the rest of the ingredients in? After it cools it will separate a little and you may need to shake it up a little before you use it. Let me know how this works for you.
Amber says
July 4, 2013 at 1:06 pmI had the same foam problem I am letting it sit to see if it dissolves.
Amber says
July 5, 2013 at 9:52 amI had to put the soap mixture in a bucket and add the water. I let it sit for 24 hours. It became a gel and works great.
Amy says
July 6, 2013 at 10:16 pmGlad to hear Amber!
Stephanie says
August 23, 2013 at 8:15 pmWell, I’ve almost run out of the two 4 litre jugs I made, but I was using it liberally to pre-soak my husbands cook whites and am about to make my 2nd batch. Hoping it doesn’t do the foam-gel thing again. Wish me luck. I do love how clean the laundry comes out with it.
Amy says
August 25, 2013 at 4:36 pmI would try to add the Oxi after it has cooled a little more.
William says
October 11, 2013 at 6:00 pmOk 45 minutes later and I’m not to impressed with myself. If all went as planned I would have been done at 25 minutes. Guess I shouldn’t have doubled the batch. The process went something like this:
1. I grated the 2 bars of soap and added it to a hot pot of water on the stove to let it dissolve.
2. In a 5 Gal bucket I added Borax, Washing Soda, Oxi Booster, Dawn and 6 – 2 Liter pitches of hot water.
3. Once the bars of soap dissolved i dumped them into the bucket.
4. I thought the fun began when I broke out my Ridgid drill and paint mixer and mixed the solution.
5. I sloped a bit of the mix so I went to the bathroom for a towel to clean up my mess.
6. Have you ever made a volcano out of vinegar and baking soda? Well I just made one of these with the above mentioned ingredients in a 5 Gal bucket in my kitchen.
7. I bet I have lost more than half of my mix. If I had not been so enthusiastic and doubled the mix the bucket may of contained it!
William says
November 15, 2013 at 3:43 pmTrying this again tonight! Going to ad the oxy powder once it cools down!!
Peggy says
January 1, 2014 at 1:55 pmhad to tell you that really made me laugh, sounds like something I would do. I have made some but not this recipe yet. I am going to give it a shot today. Glad I read this b4 starting. 🙂
Amy says
January 28, 2014 at 9:17 pmI have not had a problem with the oxi. I am not sure if it is because I have the generic Kroger brand. I also do not stir to quickly after the oxi is added.
Jill says
October 13, 2013 at 12:17 pmMine has foamed up too! Did I do something wrong? It just keeps growing!
Amy says
October 13, 2013 at 3:22 pmI am making this recipe tomorrow to test it out again to see what is going on with it. We are out of laundry detergent now and I need to make more.
Amy says
October 29, 2013 at 9:14 amI have made this recipe again and still no issues. It may be the type of oxy cleaner I am using. I am using the generic oxy cleaner from Kroger. I also gently stir the mixture, so I am not sure if you are stirring it to vigorously and it is causing bubbles.
Stephanie says
November 17, 2013 at 7:10 pmOkay so this is my third go making this. Instead of using Ivory, I found an Italian laundry soap bar at the store and decided to go with that. It dissolved fine in the water, and the moment I added the washing soda, BOOM it turned to pudding lol. I went ahead and added the Borax and mixed it in then added the extra water (cold this time to cool it quickly). I then added the oxy and no volcano this time so I’m guessing that letting it cool more was the key. Once all the other ingredients were in, I added the Dawn detergent and some lavender essential oil for a nice fragrance. It’s been over an hour since I made it and it is still like pudding, so I’m putting it in some empty kitty litter buckets I still have around the house that I didn’t know I needed until now =).
It is very thick but I can dole it out with a measuring cup. I’m so glad it didn’t go crazy foaming up like the last two times. Thank goodness for hand mixers which is how I got it to combine once it turned to pudding.
So, in retrospect, definitely let the mixture cool before adding the oxy.
Amy says
November 19, 2013 at 2:38 pmI am so glad it worked for you this time. I just made another batch the other day and no foaming. Yes it does thicken up a bit. I just give it a little shake before I use it and it is fine. I thinking about adding more water in the beginning next time to see if it will be a little more smooth.
Susan H says
November 26, 2013 at 8:53 amIf you don’t like grating, you can use a knife and cutting board to cut up the soap bar, does a great job, no pun.
Amy says
November 28, 2013 at 11:51 amAlso if you don’t like grating, put the ivory soap in the microwave for about 1 minute. It will get really large and it is fun to watch. Let it cool and it will crumble into a powder.
Stephanie A says
May 10, 2014 at 12:23 pmOkay, I’ve got it totally worked out. I grated the soap and instead of heating on the stove, I used straight hot tap water and swished the pot until it was dissolved. I then added the washing soda and borax, stirred like a mad woman because it gels up at this point. Next I added the 20 cups of water (pot in the sink, just in case) and used a hand blender to really get the ingredients broken up again. I next added the Dawn detergent and stirred with a bamboo spatula. Only then did I add the Oxy booster. Again I stirred it slowly with the bamboo spatula and it didn’t go crazy and foam up.
It’s perfect now and I can’t wait to use it. I had made another batch with an Italian laundry bar and my husband and I both had reactions to it. So I used it up cleaning the house and made the new batch with the ivory. This stuff makes an awesome bathroom cleaner, by the way.
On a side note, I had my summer clothes put away for winter and when I opened them up they smelled wonderful after being put away for 8 months. I was back to using retail detergent and that doesn’t make the clothes smell so good for so long.
I hope this info helps you guys that had trouble making the detergent, and thank you again for the recipe Amy.
Amy says
May 21, 2014 at 11:08 amThanks so much for posting what works for you. These are great tips anyone can benefit when making this laundry detergent. I just read about mixing it more after adding the water and I wanted to try that this week, since I am out. Thanks for letting me know this really works.
AutumnGo says
June 13, 2015 at 11:23 amInstead of grating the soap you can put it in the microwave. It swells up into a puffy cloud that is easily flaked apart when cool. Takes about a minute but watch it so you don’t burn your soap. Works with ivory or fells naptha.
Barry says
November 8, 2015 at 9:40 amWhat if you can’t get Borax, is there a substitute I could use, as I would really like to try this
Amy says
November 8, 2015 at 11:25 amI am not sure of a substitute. You could try just the soap and washing soda. The Borax acts as a cleaning agent, so your clothes might not get as clean.
Rebecca says
June 13, 2016 at 8:16 pmI have a super capacity HE top loader with an agitator. It says HE but it fills with lots of water, like that of the old standard washer. Seems like I would have to use quite a bit more detergent. We also have hard water. Any ideas of how much? Also, should this detergent get very thick and globby or remain a bit liquidy?
Amy says
June 15, 2016 at 7:02 amThis does tend to get a little “globby” as you described. I would shake the bottle before I would pour it out. If your washing machine is larger, then I would say yes you will need more detergent. I would use the same cup you would normally use for regular laundry detergent. I hope this helps.
Danielle says
May 11, 2018 at 5:02 pmDoes the borax fade the clothing?