Thursday, March 8

Homemade Organic Laundry Soap

Today I wanted to share an awesome DIY on how to make your own homemade laundry soap.
Super easy to make, inexpensive, free of any fragrances and chemicals that are not only bad for us but for our little ones as well.
I've been doing a lot of research lately on everything that we tend to use around the house. From stuff that we put on our hair, skin, face, feet...to house cleaners that we think are doing a good job keeping our house free of germs when in reality, its just chemicals that go right into out bloodstream when we touch them and smell them as well. Scary huh?!?! Even nail polish! I was amazed at how bad it is for us. It looks so innocent huh? Pretty colors that match any outfit, with glitter even. And oh don't they look so pretty on our baby girls nails?.?. Don't be deceived though, nail polish is full of chemicals such as toluene and xylene. They are petroleum -based products that have been linked to CANCER! You can read more about it here.
Anyways with all that being said, Im going as natural and green as I possibly can.
Here is an awesome recipe that I found in Natural Home & Gardens Magazine.
This recipe can last up to a year if you use 1/8 of a cup, which is equivalent to two tablespoons. Since I wanted to make a small batch first to make sure that I liked it, I cut the recipe in 4. So in another words, the batch I made will last for up to 3 months. You can do the same or you can take my word for it and trust me when I say that this laundry soap is the best I've ever used.
I will never go back to store bought soap. This is definitely a keeper.

HOMEMADE ORGANIC LAUNDRY SOAP
16 cups baking soda
12 cups washing soda
8 cups of grated castile soap
10-12 drops lavender essential oil
*************
Grate the castile soap and mix it with the baking soda, washing soda and essential oil. Stir until all the ingredients are incorporated. DONE! Easy right?
I bought Hemp Rose Castile Soap. It was on sale for $3.29 at my local Sprouts. Since it already smelled lovely because of the roses, I omitted the lavender essential oil. That's completely up to you though. ( By the way, 1 soap makes about 2 cups, so you would only need one soap to make 3 months worth. )
I'm not using dryer sheets anymore either, but I have found that with this recipe you don't even need it. Our clothes are so soft with just the laundry soap. If you'd like though, you can add 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar to your rinse cycle and that works as well.
Also my hubby found that getting a piece of aluminum foil and forming a little ball helps with static electricity. Simply throw it in with your clothes as their in the dryer:)
Blessings

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35 comments:

Ami Allison said...

I've been hearing a lot about this too. I really wanna try this and see if I like it too. It works on stains and everything?? OH and tennis balls in the dryer work great too. They even fluff up your towels.

Michelle@Crazy For Crafts said...

Thanks for the great info! I have been thinking about trying something like this too. What kind of washer do you have? I'm wondering if it will be okay in a high efficiency washer?

Michelle@Crazy for Crafts

Unknown said...

oh wow! That is great! Maybe I will try this! Works good too; huh! I have been buying mine, but seems this might be a less expensive route. Thanks for sharing! Now I need to make the time to try it:)

Herryponting said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Just Craptastic... said...

I've been making my own liquid laundry soap for over a year now and love it. Just recently my little one developed symptoms of some sort of allergy on her little feet. So, we are trying to determine what she's allergic to. This will be great! I'm making it today and hope that the rash on her feet disappears! Thank you for sharing this!

Marie said...

I'm planning on trying this. I had bad eczema as a child and it seems to have flared up again to a point where I want to try some chemical-free stuff! My question is how large a container do I need for a full recipe?

Tammy said...

Does the grated soap melt when using a cold water setting?

Erin M said...

Tammy,
The grated soap won't melt but it will dissolve. I like to put the grated soap into my food processor along with some of the baking soda so it turns into minute pieces. Doing that also prevents it from clumping in the wash.
-Erin

Unknown said...

Can this be turned into a liquid form?????

Unknown said...

I'm so glad I found this! THANK YOU! I recently made my own laundry detergent with borax and fels naptha.... and am having an allergic reaction. I can't WAIT to try this! ♥

Unknown said...

I just made this and will be testing it on my nappy wash tonight. Cant wait to see how it performs. I didnt use any oil as i couldnt see a way of adding it without it clumping and my soap was minty so i figured it would be fine.

Unknown said...

If you use the unscented soap, what other e.o's can you use??

Suzanne Robertson said...

Hi, Could you please tell me how much per load I should use?

downtoearthmommyto1 said...

I was wondering if this recipe for laundry soap can be used in a high efficiency washer.

downtoearthmommyto1 said...

I was wondering if this recipe for laundry soap can be used in a high efficiency washer.

Anonymous said...

TY for sharing this....I used to make laundry detergent with borax, until my wife complained that it was making her itch like a man in a fuzzy tree.
So we went back to commercial laundry detergent till I could find something w/o borax....
now that I have discovered it, there will not be any more commercial laundry products in this house... TY. :)

Unknown said...

Hi, I'm glad you posted this. I started using a Fels Naptha and Borax detergent I made a few weeks ago. My skin was been unhappy the last couple weeks, and it wasn't until this morning that I made the connection to my laundry. I washed my pillowcase and woke up with my face hurting. I can't wait to try this version! Phew.

Unknown said...

My daughter and I made this and it clump up on us and it is solid! Suggestions please.

sarah said...

Anyone use this for an HE washer? Also has anyone tried this in liquid form??

Unknown said...

Any feedback on the HE washers???

Voyaging Bushman said...

Hi Eva,
How many people are you washing for? Just trying to work out how long this will last in Australia for 6 children. Thanks :)

Clarissa said...

Is it calculated at 1 load per day, 90 loads for 3 months worth?? Or how many loads does a full (1 year's worth) make?? Thanks!

*Emmy* said...

So, I've been using this for a few months now. I just made some today and actually measured the chopped up bar of soap. 1 bar came out to be 1 cup for me..... I am using a ninja food prep (the small part, not the "blender" size. So maybe that's why? Less air between the bits. idk. I don't know if I should add more soap or leave it alone. Just thought I'd throw this out there in case anyone is thinking the same thing.

Cookie41804 said...

I've been using the same laundry soap for over a year now in my top load HE washer. Knock on wood there haven't been any issues. Know people that use it in their front load HEs without problem also. Grating it in a food processor (mix grated soap with washing/baking soda mix with blade) helps tremendously. Breaks the whole thing down to more of a powder instead of chunky soap flakes. Have never added essential oils to the powder mix. I do run a hot water, vinegar only cycle every month or so to help keep down any castile soap build up. Love it!

Krystle said...

Can you use liquid Castile soap? Do we have to add essential oils if we are doing everything unscented?

Unknown said...

For a HE washer, do you put it in the tray or just put it in the bottom of the drum before you add clothes? I can't wait to try this! I just made mine with peppermint soap :) Thanks so much! Have a blessed day!

Heather Keeney-Hurst said...

For HE washers, add to the drum before you put the clothes in. Do NOT put it in the tray. What I do put in the tray is some Apple Cider Vinegar and a couple of drops of essential oil in the fabric softener cup.

Jill said...

I just made this tonight but only 4 cups baking soda, 3 cups washing soda and 1 bar of grated castile soap (2 cups). Looks like it will make 30-40 loads or so. I'm using 2 tablespoons per load. Just started my first load...hopefully it works well! I filled the drum with a little hot water first then added the powder so it dissolves quickly...then changed to cold water then added my clothes. PS - who knew grating a soap bar would require 10+ minutes and a lot of muscle!? Haha

Unknown said...

How much do you use per load?

Jennifer said...

I'm noticing a chalky, gritty film/build up on some of my clothes, especially darks. It also leaves a film on my washer (HE front load). Any ideas??

Unknown said...

Can I ask why baking soda and washing soda are necessary? They are both simply sodium bicarbonate, so...?

Jenna said...

I LOVE this detergent! I too quartered the recipe and it lasts my family of 4 about 3 months. Thank you!

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing. I will try this as I also have sensitive skin, It is great it has no borax.

VintageBeckyM said...

Just found this on Pinterest. I have tried other recipes in the past for DIY laundry detergent and did not like them. Too much soap residue. I LOVE your recipe. No residue. LOVE, LOVE it. I shared a link to your blog on my blog. Thank you for sharing.
VintageBeckyM

Unknown said...

Look what I found to help with breaking down those bars of soap!

https://moneysavingmom.com/2013/07/reader-tip-no-grate-powdered-laundry-soap.html

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