I Did A Thing: Homemade Laundry Detergent

28/3/20 myopicprophet 24

A few weeks ago I went to the grocery store and noticed that not only were people panic-purchasing shit tickets (and don’t even get me started on the shit tickets again!), but they were also panic-purchasing cleaners, vinegar, and laundry detergent.

“Seriously people!” is all I will say, while sparing you my internal RANT.

Anyway, I decided to dust off a pamphlet my mom made for me when I was in my twenties titled: Homemade Household Products. I ordered all of the necessary ingredients for a few things in bulk. It’s safe to say that you’ll never catch me at a grocery store purchasing laundry detergent…EVER AGAIN.

DIY Laundry Detergent:

  • Put 1 1/4 cups of white vinegar in a bowl
  • Add 1 cup baking soda and whisk aggressively
  • Add 1 cup washing soda and keep whisking
  • Add 1 cup borax and keep whisking
  • Add 1/4 cup liquid castile soap (I used the peppermint scented because it was the cheapest)
  • Whisk for about 15 minutes until it is like a soft cake-like loaf
  • Store in sealed container and use 1/4 cup per load of laundry

If you use unscented castile soap, feel free to add a few drops of your preferred essential oil into the mix.

After a couple hours, before it completely hardens, break it up with a butter knife so there are no large clumps and you’ll end up with a powdered detergent.

The Result:

I just completed my first load of laundry using this homemade detergent and the result (even with the peppermint scented castile liquid soap), clean with no real smell.

I’ll let you know when my dish soap is finished cooling.

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About myopicprophet 129 Articles
Kinja refugee. Rants often. Right sometimes.

24 Comments

    • Money would be the biggest factor for me. I’m not entirely sure to be honest. I do know that adding vinegar to the rinse cycle takes out the old towel smell out of towels so that might have something to do with the vinegar being involved. The washing soda and borax seem to label themselves as “detergent boosters” among several other things, but I’m not sure exactly what they actually do.

      On the pamphlet my mom made, there is another detergent recipe which also has washing soda and borax and “Fels-Naptha” soap.

      Honestly, I have no clue what I’m doing. I just trust my mom.

      • I highly doubt any vinegar is remaining by the time you use this.

        What isn’t consumed reacting with the baking soda will probably be consumed reacting with the washing soda.

        The CO2 bubbles produced from the reaction might be important to the recipe, giving the soap some “fluff” or similar, but I really don’t think any of the vinegar makes it to the end of the recipe.

        I’ve heard of adding vinegar to the rinse cycle, and I sometimes do that, but that’s slightly different. If it were added to the wash cycle, it would at least partially react with the soap/detergent, lessening the effectiveness of both.

    • I’m not certain about this, and am mostly pulling anecdotes, so, grain of salt and all that…

      I had an old friend recommend washing soda as an additive to laundry, they claimed it worked great for removing odors from synthetics, particularly workout clothes and such, which I think have a reputation for tenaciously clinging odors… However, I can’t seem to find it where I live very easily, and when I do, it’s easily as, if not more expensive than the laundry detergent.

      And I think borax might be useful for cutting grease/oils, but I’m not certain if it’s any more than most soap. Although, I see it in most laundry aisles, so some people must find it useful…

      I’ve come across similar recipes before, but usually dismissed them because the ingredients were far more expensive than even name brand laundry detergent, but that’s based off the prices on grocery store shelves. Maybe it’s significantly different if you can find some wholesale/bulk sources or something…

  5. I make the fels naptha/washing soda/borax detergent. 1 bar of fels naptha grated [i use a dedicated food processor for this] 1 cup each of washing soda and borax. I use 2 scoops for a large load, coffee scoops like you used to get in some brands of coffee. I have a top loader, someone else that tried it who has a front loader claimed the soap didn’t dissolve. What about dishwashing liquid? I haven’t found a homemade one that I like. I like my suds. Homemade window cleaner, the one with cornstarch, is awesome, though.

      • Yeah, it seems weird, that’s why I had to try it, but it works!
        The recipe is
        1/4 cup rubbing alcohol
        1/4 cup white vinegar
        1 Tab cornstarch
        2 cups water

        Mix in spray bottle. Shake before using, the cornstarch settles over time.

        • huh. I wonder what purpose the corn starch serves…

          But, thanks for posting the recipe, Generally just using a rag and scrubbing the hell out of the window/mirror works pretty well, and when it doesn’t, just moistening the rag and scrubbing usually works, but then I don’t think I tend to get much dirt and such on my windows/mirrors, more dust than anything else…

  6. Ah, the internet says the cornstarch provides abrasion. I live on a main road and my windows get really grimy and this works great. Also great for the shower door to get rid of soap scum.

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