How to Make Laundry Soap (Liquid or Powder Recipe)

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Liquid or Powder Natural Laundry Detergent
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Making your own natural, homemade laundry detergent is one of the easiest parts of a transition to natural living. This natural laundry soap recipe a great way to save money on laundry detergent and is incredibly easy to make. This homemade laundry detergent post is an updated version of this recipe that addresses high efficiency washers and borax safety.

Why Switch to Natural Laundry Soap?

Conventional laundry detergent is loaded with chemicals like sulfates, fragrances, phenols and more. Many brands contain things like petroleum distillates, which are linked to cancer and lung disease. Fragrances in these detergents are made of a mix of harmful chemicals. (This is also why I make my own linen spray.)

Luckily, making your own laundry soap is an easy and fast process! You only need three basic ingredients to make either a powdered or liquid laundry soap:

DIY Laundry Soap Ingredients

  • Washing Soda (Arm and Hammer Brand available at most stores)Borax Powder
  • Borax (20 Mule Team Borax available at most grocery stores)
  • Bar Soap (Dr. Bronner’s,  Ivory, or other natural, unscented bar soap)

Washing Soda and Borax should be available at your local grocery store on the laundry aisle. Natural bar soaps are in the health, beauty, or organic sections of the store, or online. You can also add a couple tablespoons of baking soda to help freshen clothes.

Wonder What’s in These Ingredients?

Borax is a naturally occurring mineral made up of sodium, boron, oxygen, and water. It is an ingredient in most of the natural soaps available now (Seventh Generation, etc.) but it is much more inexpensive to make yourself. There are some concerns about the safety of Borax, but here’s why I feel comfortable using it, especially for laundry.

Washing Soda

Washing Soda, sometimes called sodium carbonate or soda ash, is made from common salt and limestone or found as natural deposits. If you can’t find this locally, you can make your own from plain baking soda with this tutorial. Here are some other great household uses for washing soda.

Dr. Bronner’s soaps are fair trade and made with vegetable castile soap and pure organic oils.

Liquid or Powder Natural Laundry Detergent
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4.10 from 66 votes

Natural Laundry Soap Recipe

This homemade laundry detergent recipe is easy and very inexpensive to make, plus you avoid the chemicals of conventional detergents.
Prep Time15 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Yield: 2.5 cups
Author: Katie Wells

Materials

  • 1 bar soap (such as Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Bar Soap or homemade coconut oil soap)
  • 1 cup washing soda
  • 1 cup borax

Instructions

  • Grate the bar of soap or chop it in a food processor until finely ground.
  • In a large bowl, mix together the grated soap, washing soda, and borax.
  • Store in a sealed container.
  • To use: add 2 tablespoons to ¼ cup of soap per load of laundry.

Notes

See below for instructions on making a liquid version of this laundry soap.
Homemade liquid laundry soap recipe

How to Make Liquid Laundry Soap

  1. Grate one bar of soap with cheese grater or food processor.
  2. Put grated soap in pan with 2 quarts water and gradually heat, stirring constantly until soap is completely dissolved.
  3. Put 4.5 gallons of really hot tap water in a 5-gallon bucket (available for free in bakeries at grocery stores, just ask them) and stir in 2 cups of borax and 2 cups of Washing Soda until completely dissolved.
  4. Pour soap mixture from pan into 5-gallon bucket. Stir well.
  5. Cover and leave overnight.
  6. Shake or stir until smooth and pour into gallon jugs or other containers.
  7. Use 1/2 to 1 cup per load.

These recipes are also a great way to save money on laundry. By my calculations, I am saving over half on my laundry bill by switching

A Note About Soap vs. Detergent

All Natural Laundry Soap Recipes - two ways

As mentioned above, there is chemically a difference between soap and detergent. The advantage of conventional laundry detergents is that they are formulated to work specifically in washing machine environments. Many soaps are designed for skin and are not as strong. Some sources suggest that over time, natural soaps can leave buildup in washers.

I’ve found that while this recipe works well for me, it isn’t suitable for all water types and washer types. If you’ve used natural laundry soap and experienced clothes getting dingy, this may be the reason.

I’ve found one natural detergent that works brilliantly and can be used alone or in combination with homemade laundry soaps like this one. I often add 2-3 Tablespoons of Dr. Bronners Sal Suds per load as a natural detergent. Sal Suds gets out tough stains and odors and is still a natural product (though technically a detergent/surfactant and not a soap).

Don’t Want to Make it?

Homemade Natural Effective Laundry Soap Recipe

We usually make our own detergent, but for times when we are traveling or I haven’t had time to make it, I’ve found a few good brands of eco friendly laundry detergent that actually work (all received an “A” by the Environmental Working Group):

  • My Green Fills Laundry Detergent – Just a warning… after you try this laundry soap, you may be ruined for DIY forever. This is the best smelling non-toxic laundry detergent I’ve tried and it works well on tough stains and dirt. Similar to my favorite all-purpose cleaner, a huge bonus is their eco-friendly approach. The detergent comes concentrated in a small refill packet (hence the name) which you add to warm water in the provided bottle. Super smart!
  • 2 tablespoons Sal Suds + 1/4 cup Baking Soda or Washing Soda (highly effective and super simple!)
  • Ecover Zero Laundry Detergent– Works well, relatively cost effective and low/no risk of developmental or reproductive toxicity and cancer according to the EWG.
  • Emma Eco Me Detergent – Also rated well by the EWG and cleans up to 64  loads for $12. Good scents.
  • Planet Natural Detergent –  Relatively eco-friendly and cost effective at $9 for 32 loads.

Obviously, the most frugal option is to make your own, but these natural alternatives are a good choice if you aren’t able to make your own or don’t want to.

Have you tried making your own laundry detergent? What ingredients did you use?

This homemade laundry detergent recipe is easy and very inexpensive to make, plus you avoid the chemicals of conventional detergents.
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Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

906 responses to “How to Make Laundry Soap (Liquid or Powder Recipe)”

  1. Shelby Avatar

    I whipped up a batch of the liquid detergent last night with some Ivory soap I had laying around. I couldn’t think why I’d have to leave it overnight, and was considering pouring it straight into my laundry bottles, but I’m so glad I followed the instructions! When I went to fill the bottles, the detergent had all gelled up! I tell you, it was neat reaching my arm into a five gallon bucket of jello to mix it up. I wanted to save some for my husband to play with when he got home. Anyway, I filled two big bottles and the bucket is still half full. I used two capfuls in a load of clothes and it worked very well. I tried adding essential oils, but I didn’t put enough so it only smells like Ivory.
    I was right about to use this with a load of diapers, thanks to the commenter who warned against that.

  2. brett markel Avatar
    brett markel

    Hi,

    we just got a new front loader washer which states the HE detergent should be used, I want to make your powder detergent, can you advise on this?

    Thanks!

  3. mary kraus Avatar
    mary kraus

    can you use homemade lye soap? My Mom had a big box of it that I ended up with when we sold her house.

  4. Brianna Avatar
    Brianna

    Do you really only need to use 1/4 cup per load?
    (I used that much for the large load setting on my washer)

  5. Grace Avatar

    hi! I just made your soap for the first time today with my daughter! I washed several loads with it and none of my stains came out. I could only do 4 gallons of water because the 5th wouldn’t fit. Looks like all of the soap floated to the top because the top is extra thick and bubbly. Any advice? I’m so disappointed nothing came out!

    Thanks

  6. Kristin Avatar
    Kristin

    Hi! I use this recipe but for the bar soap I got Kirk’s Castille Soap at WalMart, 3 bars for $3.28, so it was even cheaper!

  7. Erin Avatar

    Very cool! But are you able to use this soap with HE washers?

  8. Kayla Avatar

    I’m not sure if this has been asked, but is it possible to use liquid Dr. Bronner’s soap instead of the bar? I have the other 2 things I need and there isn’t a store that carries it in my town, but I’m out of laundry detergent.

  9. Riette Gasser Avatar
    Riette Gasser

    I’ve been using your natural liquid laundry detergent for almost 2 weeks now and am pretty pleased. I add 2 teaspoons of Bicarbonate of Soda to each load as well and it comes out smelling clean without any overpowering perfume smell (which is bad for my sinus allergies anyway). My kids’ clothing does have some stain spots that are hard to budge (from playing in dirt & oily hands mostly) so advice would be welcome!! Maybe there is some potion I can make up to soak them (clothing, not the kids!) in before washing. I can only wash in cold water because my machine doesn’t heat the water and I don’t have a hot water tap connection.
    Thank you!
    Riette
    Johannesburg, South Africa

  10. Janna Renee Avatar
    Janna Renee

    This is an awesome recipe, but is there an option for not using soap bars? Or a soap bar that doesn’t have coconut? I have a coconut allergy, so I have to avoid SLS AND coconut 🙁 I wonder if I could do the Borax, Baking soda, and maybe vinegar? Or would the reaction from the Baking soda and vinegar mess up the fabric?

      1. Joseph Ashford Avatar
        Joseph Ashford

        Actually soda and vinegar tend to do the opposite of gunk stuff up. I would recommend adding the vinegar to the wash separately though, so as to really get the potency of the reaction of high pH to low pH.

  11. Dani Avatar

    We live in an apartment building with a shared washer and dryer so I haven’t tried using self-made detergent. I’ve recently been using detergents from The 7th Generation and Roux Maison and they seem fine for our regular clothes from what I can tell. My biggest challenge though is getting the stink out of our workout clothes and I wonder if anyone has recommendations here. I’ve tried the Roux Maison Sports detergent and adding baking soda and distilled white vinegar to laundry to neutralize odor but it seems like a lot of our shirts are still somewhat smelly even after a couple of washes. Maybe it’s just a matter of finding the right quantities or maybe someone has recommendations on adding essential oils that might help with that?

    1. Joseph Ashford Avatar
      Joseph Ashford

      If odors are not eliminated by use of vinegar and soda, try using ammonia instead, I use lemon scented, but if you’re trying to get away from more chemicals, straight ammonia works just as good.

  12. Amanda Avatar

    I have a stinky teenage boy who likes to wear his clothes for at least two days straight and I have found my homemade detergent gets his stink out without needing to pre-soak. I am quite amazed and so happy! Not only does this save on money and water, it saves on time.

  13. Ashley Avatar

    Hi there,
    I’m trying your laundry recipe and had a question. Regarding the ratio, for the one part of grated soap do I use the amount of grated soap or the original amount on the bar of soap (i.e. a bar of soap is 5 oz but a bar of grated soap is 16 oz.)? Thanks in advance!

  14. Stephanie Avatar
    Stephanie

    I made this and I like it a lot when using in warm water. However, I noticed it doesn’t seem to dissolve well in cold water. Do you have a recommendation for cold water usage?

    Also, I have seen other recipes that use a 1:1:1 ratio of washing soda, Borax, and soap flakes. However, your recipe uses a 2:2:1 ratio. Any reason why? Just curious.

    Thanks!

  15. Brittany Avatar
    Brittany

    Hi Katie, I have been introduced to the environmental working group website recently (www.ewg.org) and have discovered borax has a rating of “F” based on its ingredients. The arm and hammer has a rating of “A” so there is no health risk in using it. Just because it’s natural it doesn’t mean it isn’t harmful. A lot of the natural brand like seventh generation have items with a rating of “F” as well as everyday items. I have been trying to get the best products for my family after realizing how many harmful ingredients are being used. I wanted to make my own and found your blog I am still going to make some but I am going to omit the borax and just use the arm and hammer and the soap. I am not sure how crucial the borax was to the mix but definitely don’t want to add it. Based on your blog I feel that you want the best and most natural for your family so I urge you to check out this website. It also has personal items rated as well so check out the soap your using too. I opened a can of worms when I found this site but I am now better informed and I hope the same for anyone else you takes a look. Thanks

  16. Megan Avatar

    I recently tried to make the liquid version of the recipe, using Ivory bar soap. After I let it sit overnight, I went to pour it into containers, but it had almost completely solidified. I made sure I followed the recipe. Should I melt it down again and add more water or will this dilute it too much to the point of it becoming an ineffective detergent? Any tips I could get would be greatly appreciated. 🙂

    1. Joseph Ashford Avatar
      Joseph Ashford

      If the soap is re solidifying, simply add a liquid that breaks down (vinegar or ammonia) until you get the consistency you are looking for.

  17. Karen Avatar

    Just made a batch, so excited… Cost me $7.14 plus $4.99 for oxyclean, I read somewhere you can add it in the same 2part quanity

    1. Joseph Ashford Avatar
      Joseph Ashford

      Be careful with adding the oxy clean, if you add too much it will pulp your clothes. I add oxy clean separately to ensure I don’t get too much.

  18. Brittany Avatar
    Brittany

    We use this and have for over a year 5 out of 6 of us have less skin issues and less problems with eczema (the 6th one had no skin issues in the first place).

  19. Doris Avatar

    I’m using a Borax/Baking Soda/Ivory soap version of this detergent. 2 things are happening…

    1. Hardly no suds.
    2. No smell at all on the clothes.
    3. I’m not sure I’m putting the dry detergent in the right spot…

    I normally put liquid store bought directly into the barrel of the washing machine, where the water starts to fill up, I pour it in there to get the suds going. It isn’t having the same effect with this soap and I want to make sure I understand how to do this. I read on another blog that I should be putting it in the center agitator? (where I normally add the softener.)

    Please clarify! 🙁

    Also, I use vinegar now instead of softener.

    1. Joseph Ashford Avatar
      Joseph Ashford

      You may have hard water. To resolve this, add mpre baking soda, the sodium bicarbonate will break down the calcium and other minerals that are not allowing the suds to form. And, if you feel that the detergent isnt working, take a pinch of the detergent add it to a bowl of water. And fill another bowl with just water. Disolve the detergent and then rub your fingers together while being immersed in the seperate bowls. The water with the detergent will have less molecular cohesion (it’ll feel wetter). If you want a smell/ fragrance add a drop or two of essential or oil to the wash, separately, I use lavender or lemon.

4.10 from 66 votes (62 ratings without comment)

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