How to make homemade laundry detergent: recipes, costs and HE tips

Homemade laundry detergent has been passed around frugal families for decades, usually on an index card taped above the washer. It really is cheap to make, and for lightly soiled everyday clothes it does a decent job. It is also not a miracle, and a few things about it are worth knowing before you grate your first bar of soap.

What goes into it

Nearly every recipe uses the same three ingredients, all sold in the laundry aisle at Walmart, Target or most grocery stores:

• A bar of laundry soap, such as Fels-Naptha or Zote. Plain Ivory also works but is softer and more for skin than for stains.
• Washing soda (sodium carbonate), such as Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda. This is not baking soda. It is stronger and softens water so the soap can work.
• Borax (sodium borate), such as 20 Mule Team. It boosts cleaning and helps with odors.

Some people add a few drops of essential oil for scent. It is optional and adds cost.

One tip before you start: buy the washing soda and borax in the largest boxes your store carries. Each box makes many batches, and the bar soap is the only ingredient you replace every time. If washing soda is missing from your store shelf, check the laundry aisle at a hardware store or order it online, since it is sometimes shelved far from the detergent. A cheap box grater set aside only for soap keeps soap flakes out of your cheddar.

Recipe 1: the powder

This is the easiest version to store and the one most people stick with.

1. Grate one bar of laundry soap on the fine side of a box grater. A food processor makes it faster, but wash it well afterward.
2. In a large bowl, mix the grated soap with 1 cup of washing soda and 1 cup of borax.
3. Stir well, breaking up clumps. Wear a dust mask if you are sensitive, because the fine powder can make you sneeze.
4. Store it in a lidded container with a scoop and a label.

Use 1 tablespoon per load in a regular top-loader, up to 2 tablespoons for heavy dirt. For HE machines, read the section below first.

Recipe 2: the liquid (gel)

The liquid dissolves more easily in cold water but takes more work and storage space.

1. Grate one-third of a bar of laundry soap.
2. Heat it in 6 cups of water in a large pot, stirring until the soap melts.
3. Stir in 1/2 cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup of borax until dissolved.
4. Pour 4 cups of hot water into a clean 2-gallon or larger bucket, add the soap mixture and stir.
5. Add cold water to bring the total to 2 gallons. Stir again.
6. Cover and let it sit for 24 hours. It will set up as a loose gel, sometimes lumpy. That is normal.

Shake or stir before each use and use about 1/2 cup per load. Label the bucket clearly and keep it covered; a bucket of liquid is a drowning hazard for toddlers, so store it where small children cannot reach or tip it.

The honest cost math

Prices change by store and year, so here is the method with round example numbers. Swap in your own receipt.

One powder batch comes to roughly 3 1/2 cups once the grated soap is fluffed in, which is about 55 tablespoons, or about 55 loads at a tablespoon each. That works out to roughly 6 cents a load. The exact weight of a cup varies with how packed the powder is, but the per-batch cost stays around $3 either way.

Compare that with the jug you already buy. Divide its price by the number of loads printed on the label. Name-brand liquid detergents often land somewhere around 20 to 30 cents a load, store brands lower. So the homemade version usually wins, but by cents per load, not dollars. A family running eight loads a week might save somewhere around $50 to $100 a year against name brands, and less against a store brand bought on sale.

That is real money, and it only holds if the homemade batch cleans well enough that you are not rewashing or buying extra stain remover.

Soap vs. detergent: why it matters

Here is the part most recipe cards leave out. What you are making is technically a laundry soap, not a detergent. Store detergents are built from synthetic surfactants that keep working in hard water. Soap does not. When soap meets calcium and magnesium in hard water, it forms soap scum, the same film you see on a shower door.

In soft water this is barely noticeable. In hard water, which covers much of the US, it can build up in fabric over weeks. The signs are dingy whites, towels that feel stiff and do not absorb well, and a faint smell in workout clothes. Washing soda fights this, which is why it is in the recipe. If you notice buildup anyway, try:

• raising the washing soda slightly,
• dissolving the powder in a cup of hot water before adding it,
• running a load with regular store detergent every few weeks to strip the film.

Not sure whether your water is hard? Your local water utility publishes an annual water quality report that lists hardness, and cheap test strips from a hardware store give an answer in a minute.

HE washers: read this before you use it

High-efficiency front-loaders and HE top-loaders use very little water, so they need low-sudsing detergent. The homemade mix is low-sudsing, which is why many people use it without problems. Still, two cautions are worth taking seriously.

First, washer manufacturers design their machines around HE-labeled detergent, and some owner’s manuals say other products can void the warranty. If your washer is new or expensive, check the manual before switching.

Second, soap residue collects in the places you cannot see: the drum seal, the dispenser and the hoses. If you use homemade detergent in an HE machine, use a tablespoon or less, pre-dissolve it in hot water, wipe the door gasket weekly and run the washer’s cleaning cycle once a month.

A lot of families settle on a middle path: homemade powder for everyday clothes, store detergent for heavy loads, baby clothes and anything with oily stains.

Safety around kids and pets

Borax and washing soda are ordinary household products, but they are still chemicals. Borax can irritate eyes and skin and is harmful if swallowed. Washing soda is alkaline enough to irritate skin and eyes, too. With little ones in the house:

• Keep both boxes in their original packaging, labeled, on a high shelf or in a latched cabinet.
• Store the mix in a container with a lid children cannot pop off, never in a food jar, cup or drink bottle.
• Wash your hands after mixing, and wipe the counter.
• If a child swallows any, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 right away.

Never combine bleach with ammonia or with vinegar in the same load or container. Both combinations release toxic gas. If you want to use bleach on whites, use it on its own in the bleach dispenser.

Softening without fabric softener

Many people pair homemade detergent with a splash of white vinegar in the rinse, about 1/4 cup in the softener dispenser. It helps rinse out soap residue and makes towels feel softer. Some washer makers caution that frequent vinegar can wear rubber seals over time, so check your manual. Wool dryer balls are another way to skip dryer sheets.

If you like the idea of making your own household basics, the same thinking carries over to homemade lotions and bath products. For more ways to trim household costs, the family and home tips page collects dozens more, from utilities to holidays.

Label the lid of your container with the dose, “1 Tbsp per load, 2 for heavy,” so whoever does the laundry that day uses the right amount. Overdosing is the most common reason a cheap batch stops being cheap.