Easy Homemade Laundry Detergent. This homemade laundry detergent recipe is easy and very inexpensive to make, plus you avoid the chemicals of conventional detergents. Making your own natural, homemade laundry detergent is one of the easiest parts of a transition to natural living. Making homemade laundry detergent is easy, inexpensive, and effective in regular and HE washers.
It's easy to make and it doesn't irritate my sensitive. "Homemade laundry detergent recipe safe for HE washers and smells fresh and clean! Making a homemade laundry detergent is an easy and budget-friendly way to avoid the hazardous chemicals that can damage your skin and ruin your clothes. Easy DIY Laundry Detergent with Zote. You can cook Easy Homemade Laundry Detergent using 12 ingredients and 8 steps. Here is how you achieve it.
Ingredients of Easy Homemade Laundry Detergent
- Prepare 1 box of Borax, 4lb 12oz size.
- It's 1 box of Super Washing Soda, 3lb 7oz size.
- Prepare 1 box of Pure Baking Soda, 4lb size.
- It's 3 of bars of Fels-Naptha, 5.5oz.
- It's 1 of container of Oxi Clean, 1.3lb size.
- Prepare 1 of container of scented crystals (optional).
- It's 1 of unscented trash bag, regular size.
- Prepare 1 of cheese grater or food processor.
- It's 1 of bowl or cutting board.
- You need 1 of 5 gallon paint bucket with lid.
- Prepare 1 of sturdy plastic cup.
- You need 1 of small jar or canister with lid.
Zote soap is considered the Holy Grail of cleansers. Not only is it non-toxic, but it has a clean, citrusy. We have been using this recipe for about a year. We love how gentle it is on our clothes.
Easy Homemade Laundry Detergent step by step
- In the 5 gallon bucket, line the inside with the trash bag. Start evenly pouring the Borax, Super Washing Soda, Pure Baking Soda, and Oxi Clean into the trash bag a little at a time (put aside little blue scoop in Oxi container). Don't pour all of it in at once. I like to alternately pour each box for about 2 seconds then rotating. Once I've gone through one rotation of the boxes, I move onto the Fels-Naptha..
- Open 1 bar of Fels-Naptha and grate it into a bowl as you would a block of cheese. You could also use a food processor, although I usually do it by hand..
- After grating about half of a bar, I pour it into the bucket with the rest of the ingredients. You can close and pick up the trash bag at this point and give it a little shake to mix up the ingredients some more. Be careful, shaking without holding the top of the trash bag closed will give you a little dust party in the air.
- Continue repeating the previous steps by mixing in the powder ingredients while grating the other 2 bars and mixing in together. The trash bag may be too heavy to lift and shake at this point so I use the plastic cup to mix around the ingredients..
- Use the plastic cup to scoop out enough of the laundry detergent to fill a small jar or container for daily use. I used a sharpie marker to label mine, but I've heard others get crafty with cutting fabric letters and putting them on glass jars. My container is plastic with a "pop" lid to keep moisture out. I think glass near the washer is not safe, but that's just me..
- Remember that little blue scoop? You can use that to measure out your laundry detergent. ONE scoop is all you need for ANY size load. No more, no less. You can leave the blue scoop in the small container for daily use..
- Now back to the bucket full of homemade detergent. You now have about 2-2.5 gallons that you can store that will last you for at least SIX MONTHS. Yes, you read right. I've been making mine for over a year now and it has consistently lasted me for 6 months each time. Now that's just me wanting to make sure I don't reach for detergent and realize it's empty. So whenever I'm making it I still have maybe a few weeks or more worth left in my bucket still. Anyways, to store this and make sure no moisture gets in your bag and bucket and ruins your big batch of homemade detergent, I usually twist the bag around and leave that sturdy plastic cup on top of the bag inside the bucket to scoop out whenever I need to refill the small container. I prefer to store my bucket above the washer and dryer on a wire shelf. Keeps it out of the way and easily accessible. Make sure the lid is snapped onto the bucket!!.
- FAQs: YES, this is HE safe! I started out using this homemade detergent when I had a regular top loading washer and regular dryer. About a month ago we purchased a new HE front loading washer and dryer. I've consistently used the detergent in all machines with no issues. Make sure you put the scoop of detergent DIRECTLY IN THE TUB, NOT IN THE DISPENSER. The dispenser is for liquid. Yes, the Fels-Naptha will dissolve in the water (even cold water) but it would clog the dispenser. Also, about the scented crystals. They are optional in case you have sensitivity to fragrances and if it bothers your skin. I feel I get that way, which is one of the reasons I started using this homemade detergent. My husband likes to use it for his clothes so he uses one scoop of the detergent and pours some of the crystals in the tub with it. This gives you an option of having each load scented or not. Best of all, this only costs $25 total (not including the scented crystals) for laundry detergent that last.
Plus it's way cheaper than what we used to use! This laundry detergent recipe will not only save you money, but will help you avoid the hazardous chemicals and toxic scents found in store-bought brands. Fortunately for your wallet and the planet, the easiest way to save money in the laundry room is to make your own laundry detergent. Making your own laundry detergent can be an easy way to save money and live a little healthier. This recipe has a lot of the basic ingredients we've talked.