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. Holly Jo Avatar
    Holly Jo

    Hi, I have been using this recipe for quite a while but I am finding my whites not looking really clean, in fact they appear dingy. I use liquid bleach occasionally. Any suggestions, maybe powdered bleach? Thanks

  2. ali Avatar

    Is this considered biodegradable or safe for gray water? I have been using this recipe for two years and now want to run the used wash water to my lawn and trees. I use dr bronners baby milk but are the sodas safe for plants?

  3. Nicole Avatar
    Nicole

    I have tried both and love them my only problem is the dont sud up and I love to see my suds I just feel that means its actually cleaning and suggestions to help me get my suds?

  4. Terri Avatar

    I am trying to figure out why when making the laundry soap we have to put the bar soap in? I thought the washing soda and borax should be enough. Could you help me?

    Thank you

  5. adele Avatar

    Have you ever just used the Dr. Bronners liquid soap by itself?

  6. Cindy Avatar

    When “grating” the soap in a food processor, make sure you add a little baking soda or washing soda (1/2 cup or so). I did this yesterday and it made it the consistency of sugar! Very fine and I live it! I also add eucalyptus, lemon and lavender essential oils to the batch, about twenty drops of each.

  7. Tanya Avatar

    I can’t wait to use the dry laundry soap in my HE washing machine. I saw that some one posted asking if you can use any of the ingredients above, in a dish washer and the answer is yes. I use Arm & Hammer Washing Soap in my dish washing dispenser and White Vinegar as my rinse aid. I have a small spray bottle with a teaspoon of dish Dawn soap and fill up with water. I spray on dishes that are caked with food. When I notice that my dish washer is staining (since we have hard water) I run an empty cycle with bleach. Works great and haven’t had to by dish washing tabs or soap for over a year.

  8. Stacie Avatar

    I just wanted to say that I made my first batch of the liquid laundry soap last August, and am just now making another. I am very happy with how far this stretched for for our 2 adult household.

    I’m trying Kirk’s Castille (fragrance free) bar this time just because it’s cheaper than the Dr. Bronner’s. This should last us until December 🙂

  9. judy Avatar

    I’m going on a long overseas trip and I’d like to be able to make a bar of laundry soap to take with us for easier and cheaper than what the hotels will offer. Any recommendations on what that recipe would look like?

  10. Tracy Avatar

    I have been using this soap recipe with the fels-naptha for a couple of years. I want to let you know that you are using way too much in your loads. I use 1 tsp per load of regular clothes (kids school clothes or gym clothes). We live on a farm and my family comes in covered in mud, grease, manure etc… on those clothes I use about 2 tsp per load and everything comes out perfectly clean. 1/4 to 1/2 cup is basically just wasting it. I chop the bar of soap using the grater on my food processor and then blend in the rest in that so that it I mixed well and then as it is still mixing I will add in essential oils just to cut the strong soapy smell as my kids don’t like that smell.

  11. Karen Avatar

    Could you just use the liquid Dr. Bronners for the liquid version instead of grating up a bar? I wonder how much you would use of that?

    1. Amber Avatar

      Hi Katie, You can use 1 1/2 cups of liquid Dr. Bronners soap in place of 1 bar of soap you would need to grate.

      1. Amy Avatar

        I have seen this question come up repeatedly throughout the comments but there does not seem to be a response. I am also curious if liquid bronners can be used.

        Also, my husband is a mechanic and his clothes get very greasy. Any thoughts on what to add to cut that?

  12. Liz Avatar

    I have an HE washing machine. It is really sensitive to the type of soaps I use. I have actually had to replace it once because I used laundry soap I used wasn’t HE enough. Any tips?

  13. mindy Avatar

    My boys and I have extremely sensitive skin and can only use one type of laundry soap, same with bath soap. Has anyone had any problems with these ingredients? I would love to try making my own but am scared my boys and I will have a reaction to some or all of the ingredients. Also is this safe to use with a spray stain remover sprayed onto the clothing before going into the wash?

  14. Jess Avatar

    I’ve read through all the comments to see if there’s already an answer to this question and I don’t think there is! I’m planning on making the laundry soap, without borax, for a front-loading HE washing machine. I can see that 1-3 tbsp is the recommended dosage for each wash, but my question is: can I put it directly into the drum instead of the dispenser drawer? We have had problems in the past with scum gathering in the drawer so I switched to buying gel or liquid detergents that you measure out into a plastic pot that goes into the drum. I’d like to do this with the homemade soap (measure the 1-3 tbsp into the pot and place it in the drum) – will this be effective? Thank you ????

  15. Sylvia Avatar

    Having a problem with the liquid detergent , in this cold weather I have chunks of soap or something in the bottom of the detergent try shaking it but is still there any suggestions why this happen? The cold weather?

  16. Amber Avatar

    Can I use liquid castile soap? I have Dr. Bronner’s pure castile soap in liquid form and was wondering if I could use that instead and how much?

  17. Teresa Avatar

    Hi, I was reading you article on how to make homemade laundry detergent and was wondering where you purchased the ingredients at such a low cost (compared to Amazon). I have found that Amazon usually has lower prices than what I find at the stores but not according to your listing. Thank you.

  18. Jackie C Avatar

    Hi!

    I have been using the powdered version of this recipe since November, and I have loved the results and money savings. However, today my washer is clogged and not draining. Has anyone using homemade laundry soap experienced this? I do 1-2 loads of laundry a day and tend to mostly wash on cold. I also used Ivory soap instead of the other options because of convenience. I wash large to extra large loads and use 1.5-2 tablespoons of soap for each load. I am thinking that once I get my washer fixed I should switch over to the liquid version….

  19. Becca Simmons Avatar
    Becca Simmons

    Hello,

    I followed your recipe and tried using my first batch this morning. Like many of the posted results, my batch resembled egg drop soup, kind of slimmy, with chunks gel.

    I also had to use 3 cups just to wash one load of towels, but what concerns me is that at no point in the washing processes did I see any suds. Is this typical?

4.10 from 66 votes (62 ratings without comment)

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