Homemade Laundry Soap Recipe
I want to teach you how to make homemade laundry soap! It always smells delightfully fresh and clean! I leave the lid off the container just to inhale the wonderful fragrance whenever I walk through the laundry room. Every time I make a batch, I feel thrifty and virtuous! Each batch lasts a long time, works great, and is super economical to make! It makes enough for about 300 loads of wash! That’s what I call a win-win-win!
Our laundry comes out soft and fragrant without any additives or fabric softener. The mixture is highly concentrated, so I only need two tablespoons to do an entire load of laundry. But if I ever have stains I need to pretreat; I have another concoction I mix up! I’ll share that recipe with you, too!
Here are the ingredients you need to make a giant batch of homemade laundry detergent. You will need a very large bowl or bucket to mix all the ingredients and a big spoon! I use my food processor to pulverize the soap bars, but you can also use a grater. The soap dissolves rapidly in the washing machine.
Homemade laundry soap has become more popular, and at times I have to shop in more than one place to round up all the ingredients. The day I made this batch, I could only get an extra-large container of Oxi Clean, so I will use what’s left over to presoak white socks! Zote bar soap, either the pink or white bar, also works well. They are bigger, so you may only need 2 bars instead of three.
Step By Step Directions For Your Batch Of Homemade Laundry Soap
Begin by grating or pulverizing the soap bars. Sometimes the soap bars are quite fresh and soft, and other times they will be drier and harder. It seems to depend on how long they have been on the grocer’s shelves. I cut each soap bar into cubes and put them in the food processor with the blade.
That day the soap was soft, and I found it pulverized more completely when I added some dry ingredients with the cubes. I pulverize one bar at a time. When I finished, the soap looked like this.
Now dump all the ingredients into a big bowl or bucket and be amazed at the fragrance!
Now take that big old spoon and mix everything thoroughly! This step takes a while because there is a large amount of product to blend! Even distribution is important so take your time!
All that’s left to do is put your wonderful homemade laundry soap into containers. Two big ice cream buckets that hold at least a gallon work very well. However, I am so crazy about how it looks and smells that I bought a pretty gallon jar I leave open on the counter.
Our daughter keeps the whole batch in a huge decorative bowl in their laundry room. The great smell is a whiff of “welcome home” every time they walk in from the garage! ❤
Don’t be tempted to think more is more when you do laundry. Two tablespoons are enough for a load!
How To Make Homemade Laundry Soap
Great-smelling homemade powdered laundry soap that costs pennies a load. Very easy to make.
Materials
- One 3.5 to a 4-pound box of baking soda
- One 3.7 pound Box of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda
- 0ne 4-pound 12-ounce box of Twenty Mule Team Borax
- 0ne 3 pound carton of Oxiclean
- One 37.8 ounce canister of scent booster
- 3 bars of Fels Naptha Laundry Soap
Tools
- very large bowl or clean bucket
- food processor or box grater
- long spoon
- two one-gallon containers such as ice cream buckets
Instructions
- Grate or pulverize bar soap in a food processor (cut the soap into cubes before putting it in the food processor)
- Combine all ingredients in a large container and mix thoroughly.
- Store in a dry place.
- Use 2 Tbsp per wash load or 3 Tbsp if clothing is very soiled.
Three Ingredient Recipe For A Terrific Homemade Stain Remover
If you need to pretreat stains, combine an equal amount of peroxide, Dawn dish soap, and baking soda in a dish or shake together in a squeeze bottle. Put some on the stain and use an old toothbrush to scrub it in lightly. This mixture can even sit on your clothes in the hamper for a while. It works on blood, grass, grease, makeup, and even tomato stains.
All the ingredients are safe and pure, and this stuff really works!
GB spends a lot of time in the laundry room and the kitchen! I sure hope you try this homemade laundry soap and the stain remover as well! I have had great results from both, and I’d love to hear from you! If you have any laundry hints, please pass them along!
This is the best idea! I use a lot of those products individually but have never heard of the Fels Naptha. My husband is an avid athlete and I am always looking for help with his clothes. Time to get out the food processor!!
Can you make the laundry soap without the scent booster. I have a problem with scents
Hi Sylvis,
I emailed you because I was at work. I checked to be sure, but you can also get Oxyclean in fragrance and dye-free. The scent boosters are 100% optional. Leave them out, and you will also save money. Happy news!
Is this recipe good for HE washers?
Wow. I made this stuff for years with Oxyclean, Borax and Fels Naptha bar. Used Ivory soap once too. Never used any of the other stuff you mentioned. Loved it. No one else seemed to care till the boy went off to college and developed a need for softener smells. LOL
I’ve used it for years with great results and our laundry smells SO good! Our daughter uses it too! The stain remover hint at the bottom of the post works really great! Thanks ever so much for taking time to comment!!💜
I have an HE washing machine. Can I use this in in my machine?
In a word, yes! Here’s a very informative article from one of my most trusted resources.https://www.thespruce.com/is-homemade-detergent-he-washer-safe-2145711#:~:text=Homemade%20laundry%20detergent%20can%20be,in%20a%20high%2Defficiency%20washer. Just copy and paste that link into your search bar for lots of good info!
I can’t use the scent stuff we where thinking could i add lemon oil or just nothing
you can use any essential oil like lavender or lemon for sure; just mix it in with the powdered ingredients.