I am going to preface this by saying that not only have I made my own soap, I loved it. I stopped for the past 2 years but am going to go back to it. I love it. I love the homemade laundry soap powder anyway- the liquid was way too messy for this mama!!
Have you ever wondered how to make your own laundry soap? Well thanks to reader Rachel, here is a recipe she shared with fans! Let us know if you try the recipe or have one of your own!
Ingredients:
- 1 bar of Fels-Naptha Soap
- 4 cups of hot water
- 1/2 cup of Borax
- 1 cup of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (It has to be the Super Washing Soda, baking soda or just Arm & Hammer will NOT work!)
- 5 Gallon Bucket
- Empty laundry containers or any kind of pour container
Directions:
- Grate your bar of soap into a sauce pan with the 4 cups of hot water.
- Stir continually on low-medium heat until all the little flakes of soap melt.
- Fill your 5 Gallon bucket halfway full of hot water and pour in the borax, the arm & hammer, and the melted soap mixture and stir until all the ingredients are completely melted. Then fill the remainder of the bucket full with hot water.
- Stir the mixture once more, just to ensure everything is mixed well. Then you need to cover the bucket (if you have the lid to the bucket, let it have a little bit of breathing room, because it will expand since it’s full of hot water) and let it sit overnight to gel, it will gel HARD. Then take your dispenser (old tide container for me) and fill half with your laundry soap (I have to use a funnel) and half full of water and shake well each time you use. Will be very liquid-y but works great!
This recipe makes 10 gallons of laundry detergent so if you want to make less simply reduce the ingredients by half, etc.
Lisa C says
Is there a reason you don’t have the Pinterest “button” on all of your posts? It is so convenient.
Brett says
Lisa- I changed themes and haven’t finished going through all posts to get them pinnable. So sorry. It’s fixed now!
MADDIE K says
I had some folks ask me how to make laundry soap. I make mine as a powder, not a liquid. I don’t have the space to house a 5 gallon container of liquid. Here is my version replete with lots of pretty pictures. The only thing that I do differently is that I add Purex Crystals only because I like the smell, but they are totally optional. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152740681755495&l=e5c6002550
Maddie K. says
Cheryl, you use the same amount liquid that you would with regular detergent. About 1/3 to 1/4 of a cup.
I make laundry soap all the time. I don’t make the liquid though. I don’t have the space for a 5 gallon container of soap. I do make it dry and just use it dry. I also add one cup of purex crystals to my recipe since I like the smell it imparts. I add two tablespoons of dry for an extra large load and between one and one and one half tablespoons for a small, med or large load. Since it doesn’t suds like regular laundry soap it’s great for HE washers, though mine is a top loader.
Kristin says
I have been making this for 6 months now and will NEVER go back to buying laundry soap at the store!!! Such a savings in this with 2 boys and a husband, lol
Jennifer Wilkerson says
I’ve always been interested in the idea (emphasis on idea :)) of making homemade cleaning products but I’ve always been kind of scared to. I guess I was worried about the mess and how well they would work, etc. After reading this post and a couple of the comments, however, this is something I just might try! Thanks for the tip!
Diane Brimmer says
I too have been making my own laundry detergent. Just love it!
kristen says
We have already made the decision to make our own once our stockpile of detergent is gone. We will also be making our own dishwashing powder!
Christin Szczesniak says
I’ve been wanting to look up a recipe for homemade laundry soap. I am bookmarking this. Do you notice any big difference in the cleanliness of the clothes?
michelle warner says
that is amazing, im going to try this out, laundry soap is so expensive for the good stuff
Megan Stietz says
I also used a recipe like this except we didn’t have to do the saucepan with water part. We would just shred the Felsnaptha soap and then mix it with the Borax and A&H Super Washing Soda. I loved it but I couldn’t use it on my daughter’s cloth diapers so we stopped using it so we wouldn’t have multiple types of detergent but are going to start once there are no more diapers in this house. I love the smell of this over any other detergent I have tried!
Cheryl says
Question what amount do you use when you do the laundry though?
Karina Lee says
i’ve made my own laundry soap and it’s wonderful. It really is a great way to save money and there’s no artificial colors or junk in it.
lisa brown says
Thank you. I love hand made soap. Great recipe and instructions.
Renee @ Made By Renee says
thank you! I will be sharing this with my readers 🙂