Homemade Laundry Detergent {Improved}
Eight months ago I shared a recipe for homemade laundry soap. And since I needed to make another batch this week, I thought it was time for me to give you a little update on how it has been working. Well, in one word… GREAT! I don’t think I will ever go back to buying laundry detergent! Seriously! This stuff smells amazing and cleans wonderfully! Plus it lasts such a long time! I made my first batch back in August 2012 and I just made my 3rd batch. Craziness. This time I decided to try a slightly different and improved version of my Homemade Laundry Detergent.
Here is all you need:
- 1 bar Laundry Soap Bar {either Fels-Naptha, Zote, or Ivory}
- 1 cup Borax
- 1 cup Washing Soda {found near the laundry detergents in your grocery store}
- 1/3 cup Scented Laundry Crystal
- 1/2 cup Powdered OxiClean
Grate your bar of soap with a cheese grater into a large bowl. {I promise your grater will be just fine!} Pour all the other ingredients into the bowl and stir them together. The ingredients may separate a little when placed in a container. Just give it a good shake before each use! If you don’t like the separation, toss it into a blender or food processor and blend well {that is what I did this time around}.
You only need 1-2 tbsp per load depending on size of load and dirtiness of clothes. And this detergent works great with high efficiency washers because it has zero suds.
I only switched up two little things on this recipe. I decided to add OxiClean at the recommendation of my darling friend, Kati. How brilliant was she to add OxiClean!? Now my brights stay bright and my whites get even more white! I also increased the amount of scented laundry crystals because I wanted a little more of the great scent!
Again, like my first batch, this recipe is great for people who don’t have space for a giant 5 gallon batch. Sure, you still have to store the boxes but those are much easier to store than a 5 gallon bucket! This recipe is just enough to fill a large mason jar. And a single batch will last for about 32-50 loads… that is about 4 months around here. I love this stuff! It is wonderful!
Plus, it doesn’t hurt that it is significantly cheaper than buying brand name detergent. I haven’t had to buy anything else since my first batch 8 months ago, with the exception of the OxiClean and another bar of soap. I think it comes out to around $4 per batch of homemade laundry detergent compared to around $9+ for store bought detergent. Who doesn’t love cheap and thrifty!? No one. That’s who!
Have you ever made homemade cleaning supplies?? Any recipes you want to share?
