Homemade laundry detergent is easy and inexpensive and does just as good a job of cleaning clothes as commercial laundry detergents.

I used to make a recipe that included Borax but with recent concerns about health issues related to Borax I decided to make a Borax-free laundry detergent. For this recipe I simply replaced the Borax with baking soda and I’m quite pleased with the results.

This homemade laundry detergent powder works equally well in top-load washing machines and front-load high-efficiency (HE) washing machines.

Here’s My Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Bar of Soap grated and chopped (I use Dr. Bronner’s Citrus Orange Pure Castile Soap)
  • 1 Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
  • 1/2 Cup Arm & Hammer Baking Soda

Homemade Laundry Detergent Ingredients

Step 1 – Grate the soap

Grating Soap for Homemade Laundry Detergent

I use a regular cheese grater on the small shred side.

Step 2 – Chop up the grated soap

Chopping Soap for Homemade Laundry Detergent
I like to chop the soap a bit after it’s grated since it’ll be used as a powder. If I was making a liquid laundry detergent I would skip this step since it would be melted in water on the stove.

Step 3 – Add the grated, chopped soap bar to a bowl.

Adding Grated Soap to Homemade Laundry Detergent

Step 4 – Add 1 Cup Super Washing Soda

Adding Washing Soda to Homemade Laundry Detergent

Step 5 – Add 1/2 Cup baking soda

Adding Baking Soda to Homemade Laudry Detergent

Step 6 – Mix well

Stir Homemade Laundry Detertent Ingredients

Step 7 – Store in an air-tight container.

After the powder is in the container I shake it vigorously for a few minutes to mix it well. My powder never really mixes completely but it may depend on the type of bar soap you use. I just make sure that when I put the powder into the washing machine I have a good mix of the soap and powder ingredients in my scoop.

If you look closely at the picture of the cheese grater in Step 1 you can see that I tried using the side of the grater that gives a powdery result (like for Parmesan cheese). I thought this might save the step of chopping the soap but the grater got completely clogged. You could make this recipe in a food processor but I don’t have one so I just use a knife to chop the shredded soap into smaller pieces.

Just a Tablespoon Does a Full Load

I use one tablespoon of the powder for a load of laundry. For heavy soil you could use 2 tablespoons but I never have.

For front load washers (which is what I use) you put the powder in the same dispenser you would put liquid laundry detergent. For top load washers it’s business as usual.

Why Powdered Homemade Laundry Detergent is Best

I used to make a homemade liquid laundry detergent but this powdered version offers a few benefits and no negatives.

Making powder laundry detergent has fewer steps and uses less energy than producing liquid laundry detergent. Making a liquid detergent means heating water on the stove to melt the soap and filling a 5 gallon bucket with water.

Powder laundry detergent takes up much less space. Before, I would lug a heavy 5-gallon bucket from the kitchen to the laundry room to take up precious floor space. Now I just have a small plastic container full of laundry detergent powder sitting on a shelf.

So using the same ingredients (sans water) to make a powdered laundry detergent saves time, energy, storage space and my back. And it does an excellent job of cleaning my laundry. My clothes and linens come out clean and fresh-smelling every time.

A Word of Caution About Fels Naptha Soap

A lot of homemade laundry detergent recipes call for Fells Naptha Soap. I prefer to use Dr. Bronner’s soaps since they’re organic, Fair Trade and not animal tested. I’ve also researched both soaps and according to the 2009 Fels Naptha Heavy Duty Laundry Bar Soap Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), Fels Naptha is considered a hazardous substance that causes eye, skin, gastrointestinal and respiratory irritation. The Fels Naptha MSDS is 6 pages long detailing proper handling, exposure limits, proper disposal, first aid measures and more. Why would anyone wash their clothes in this stuff?

Dr. Bronner’s Organic Bar Soap’s MSDS is just 2 pages long. Under the section listing hazardous ingredients is just one word: “None”.

If you have any questions or suggestions regarding homemade laundry detergent please leave a comment.

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Filed under: Easy Green Ideas • Homemade Stuff • How To... • Natural Alternatives

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