As part of my mission to live on The Teacher’s Salary, I decided it was time to try out some homemade laundry detergent. I am finding that by adding just 1 little infant to our home, my laundry has practically quadrupled (or so it seems) so I needed to find a way to save on keeping all this laundry clean!
I found THIS RECIPE online and knew of a few people who felt like it worked well. I moved away from powdered laundry detergent a few years ago because I found it didn’t always dissolve, but I figured I’d still give this a try since I heard so many good things.
Here are the ingredients for this magical mixture (all of which were found in the detergent aisle at my local Walmart):
Ingredients:
(1) 28 oz. bottle of Purex crystals (optional) (not pictured)Total Cost = $19.29
1. Start out by grating the 3 bars of Fels-Naptha soap. I used my cheese grater, but you can also use your food processor if you would like a finer texture. This will take a little muscle, but is the hardest step in the process, so no fear, the worst part is now done!
2. Mix all the ingredients together in a 5 gallon bucket lined with a garbage bag. I poured everything in first and spent some time making sure it was mixed well. This does not have an overpowering scent, but you can add laundry crystals if you’d like to add fragrance. I have not done this myself since I am using this for our entire family and did not want to risk any skin irritations by adding fragrance.
3. This makes approx. 2 gallons of laundry detergent and can be stored however you’d like. I spent about $12 on this 2 gallon glass jar from Target. Since you only need to use 1-2 tablespoons of this detergent per load, this should last me for quite some time! I’m using the scoop from the OxiClean container to measure and I store this on the ledge behind my washing machine.
Results:
One thing I was concerned about was stain removal. As you can imagine, we need a detergent that can hold up to diaper leaks, spit up, and the dirt and food stains that comes with kids. So far, I have been pleased with how it has performed. I can’t say that it has done miracles on our clothes, but it is doing the job to my satisfaction. I still use Shout spray for set-in and the tougher stains, but it gets our clothes as clean if not slightly cleaner than our old liquid detergent. I do feel our laundry is looking a little “fresher” too. (UPDATE: I have since started making my own laundry stain remover and LOVE it. No more Shout!)
Related Posts:
My Simple Laundry System
My Favorite Homemade Laundry Stain Remover
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Would you ever consider making your own laundry detergent?
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I have all the stuff to make this but haven't done so yet…I had a stockpile of other detergent and have been using that up but I am glad you like it….will have to make mine soon!! I did try a recipe for homemade dishwasher detergent and it clumped terribly….didn't like how it worked so I was discouraged by that. Excited to try this myself! I believe all my stuff added up to less than $20 and I have read this mix can last months!
Yes, the link to the recipe post mentions it lasting around 9 months! I was like you and had to use up what I had first, but I've been pleased so far! Let me know what you think once you make it and use it for yourself!
Grating the soap makes me so nervous…I slipped and took off the back of a knuckle last batch I made so now I grate the soap with a oven mitt on! Haha! I may have to try your powder recipe next time…looks great! I cannot wait to see your stain remover recipes! The boys wreak havoc on their clothes!
I know what you mean, Megan! I actually used an oven mitt too, for fear of the same thing happening to me!
I made this last September, but I added the Purex crystals to it because I'm a sucker for nice smelling stuff. I do a lot of laundry and I still have half a bucket left over after nearly a year of using it. We'll be using this for a long time! Although I have noticed it is starting to clump up. But a quick agitation breaks up the lumps and gets things back to normal. Also, don't know if you're on a well, but apparently Fels Naphta is horrible on septic systems. When this runs out I'm trying another brand of soap.
WOW! You have been using the same batch for a year?!! That's impressive! I am getting lower but still have enough for a lot more loads, but I doubt I'll make it to a year. I also know I use more than I need to, though. I plan to try the crystals next time b/c I love nice smelling laundry – somehow it makes the folding a little more bearable! 🙂
If you use the grate/slice blade for your food processor then chop it with the blade it is much safer. I have the cuisenart brand food processor and the fees naphtha bar fits perfect in the food chute
Great tip! That would make it even faster and easier to make up a big batch. I'm hoping to get a food processor soon – so many good uses. 🙂
If you add a handful of rice in a cheese cloth or mess bag it helps prevent the clumping and hardening
Really? I'll have to try that – I definitely had to chisel some when I got down to the bottom of my jar! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Does this work on a high efficiency washer?
The original blog where I found the recipe mentions that it is okay to use on HE washers, although I've never tried it for myself since we have an old washing machine. Here's the link to that original recipe post, along with some of the comments.
http://beingcreativetokeepmysanity.blogspot.com/2010/11/homemade-laundry-soap.html#comments
Thank you very much for this great post.
Chaffey Cleaners