How I Make MY Laundry Detergent

Image of my dining room table with 20 Mule Team Borax, Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, Oxi Clean, Fels Naptha bar laundry soap, measuring cup, improvised funnel from 2-liter bottle, metal cheese grater & a long handled spoon.

One of the many ways I save money at home is by making my own laundry detergent.  You may have even seen another internet video of someone making it... but you haven't seen MINE!  I have a slightly different (and in my humble opinion, better) recipe for laundry detergent.  I've been making my own detergent for about 1.5 years now and thought I'd share my secret recipe with you folks.

Everyone who makes their own detergent uses the same three basic ingredients:
1) 20 Mule Team Borax
2) Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (not baking soda - two different products folks)
3) *Fels Naptha's laundry soap bar.

*There are other brands of laundry bar soaps, like Zote, Kirk's Castile, etc.  Even lye soap or regular Ivory soap will work for this.  You DO know lye soap is milder and gentler than any commercial soap out there, right?

I have also noticed several variations in the detergent recipes out there in cyberspace.  Some folks say use 1 cup of each powder and 1/2 bar of the soap while others say use an entire bar of soap and 1/2 cup of the powders, add some water, add a lot of water, etc, etc, etc.  I have tried it several ways and eventually came up with my own special recipe that I have found to be the most effective in getting our clothes clean for pennies on the dollar compared to commercial detergents.

Here are the ingredients you will need:
1) 20 Mule Team Borax 1.5 cups
2) Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (not baking soda - two different products folks) 1.5 cups
3) Fels Naptha's laundry soap bar (or whatever brand you can find) Grate up the entire bar
4) Oxi Clean Stain Remover 1.5 cups
5) Any brand of powdered laundry detergent you like the smell of  (I buy whatever's cheapest!)1 cup
6) Two gallons and two cups of hot tap water

Here are the tools you will need:
1) Clean 5 gallon bucket
2) Metal cheese grater & bowl
3) Measuring cup
4) Long handled spoon
5) Med-Large Sauce pan or pot
6) Funnel (the larger the opening the better - you can make one by cutting the top 1/3 off a plastic 2 liter bottle
7) Empty detergent, juice, pop, etc.. bottles to hold your finished product

This recipe will produce approximately 8 quarts (2 ga) of finished liquid laundry detergent.

--==Scroll Down To See Video==--

Step 1
Grate your bar of laundry soap.  I have used a food processor for this in the past, but find you will need to add some borax in with it before grinding or it will gunk up the blades and not grate up as fine.  It only takes a few mins with a regular ole box grater anyway and there's less cleanup afterward.

Step 2
In a med-large saucepan add 2 cups of hot tap water and the grated bar soap.  Stir frequently until the soap pieces are melted.  Don't get too fanatical about making sure every little bit is melted.  After all, we all know what happens to soap when it's left in water-it melts all on it's own!  Just don't let your soap boil as it may form hard bits that won't melt and for goodness sake, don't let it boil over on the stove - what a MESS!

Step 3
Add 2 gallons of hot tap water to your 5 gallon bucket

Step 4
Add your melted soap to the bucket of water and give it a stir

Step 5
Now add the powdered ingredients and STIR after each ingredient is added:
1.5 cups Borax
1.5 cups Washing Soda
1.5 cups Oxi Clean
1 cup of good smelling powdered laundry detergent

Step 6
After you're sure all the ingredients are well mixed, place the lid on the bucket and let it sit overnight to gel.

Step 7
Bottle your detergent!  Leave a couple inches of head space at the top of each bottle to make it easier to shake before the first use.   You will eventually see some water separation in your final product so shake before each use.

Top Loading Washers:
Feel free to experiment with the quantity needed for each load of laundry.  If you have a water softening system, you may only need 1/2 cup; but if you have hard water, you'll probably want to use a full cup.

H.E. Front Loading Washers:
I don't have first hand knowledge about H.E. washers since I'm not lucky enough to own one, so just follow the manufacture's recommendations for the amount of soap to use and you decide how much from there.

After your clothes have been washed a couple times with your home made laundry detergent, they feel noticeably softer and more comfortable next to your skin.  That's because there are no commercial detergent residues left in the fabric. So give it a try!