How To Make Homemade Laundry Soap (Powder or Liquid)
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Making your own homemade laundry soap is one of the easiest steps you can take to save money. This DIY laundry detergent is so quick and easy to make, you’ll be wondering why you didn’t start making your own laundry soap sooner.
I first started making my own laundry soap 18 years ago.
We had recently moved from our old farm to an apartment and were new parents.
Money was tight and I was looking for anything I could do to stretch our budget.
A friend taught me how to make laundry soap from scratch and I couldn’t believe how easy it was!
You might be wondering if homemade laundry soap works, from my own personal experience I have to say yes!
We have a large family, and our kids love to help in the gardens, barns, and, of course, get dirty as all kids do. I’ve had no problems using my DIY laundry soap to keep our laundry clean for years.
Why Use A Natural Laundry Soap?
Many commercial laundry detergents are loaded with chemicals and fragrances. If you have sensitive skin or allergies, you know just how irritating some laundry soaps can be.
But don’t worry, making your own laundry soap is easy! You need only 3 simple ingredients to make liquid or powdered laundry soap at home.
Laundry Soap Ingredients
- Bar Soap – you can use any bar of hand soap you like, my favorite is Ivory.
- Washing Soda
- Borax
- Water (for the liquid version)
How To Make Powdered Laundry Soap
Grate your bar of soap using a cheese grater or pulse in a food processor until finely shredded.
In a large bowl, mix 2 cups of borax, 2 cups of washing soda, and the grated soap.
Pour into a container for storage, a plastic container with a snap-on lid works well but my favorite to use is the large mason jars.
How To Make Liquid Laundry Soap
Shred the Ivory using a cheese grater or food processor.
Place the grated soap in a pot with 8 cups of water and melt over low heat. Stir the mixture constantly until the soap is completely dissolved, about 10 minutes.
Pour the borax and soda into a 5-gallon bucket, add hot water, and stir until the powders have completely dissolved.
Add the melted soap mixture, stir, and fill up the bucket the rest of the way with 4-5 gallons of hot water. Stir to mix everything together well.
Cover with a secure lid and let it sit overnight.
The next day, it will look like a clumpy gel, this is totally normal and nothing to worry about.
You can leave it as is or stir the laundry soap until it’s smooth. I always used a long-handled spoon for this part, and it worked well. You can also use an immersion blender if you have one.
Then pour into gallon jugs or other containers. If you want to save space, just refill an old laundry detergent container from the bucket as needed.
How Much To Use Per Load?
For the powdered soap, use 2 Tbs. to 1/4 cup per load of laundry.
The liquid version I’ve found best results with 1/2 cup to 1 cup per wash load.
The amount you use will depend on what type of water you have (hard or soft), how dirty your clothes are, and your washing machine.
Can You Use Homemade Laundry Soap In Cold Water?
Yes, you sure can! We wash most of our laundry in cold water and have never had a problem using homemade laundry soap that way.
If you do find that the powdered version isn’t dissolving for you, then simply use a food processor or blender to turn it into a fine powder that will dissolve in cold water more easily.
Another option is to dissolve the powder in 2 cups of warm water before adding it to your washer.
Can You Add A Scent?
Yes, you can add your favorite essential oils to your laundry soap, but it’s completely optional.
The essential oil doesn’t add to the cleaning strength of the mix but does give it a lovely scent.
If you are looking for more ways to save money on your laundry, using a clothesline to dry your clothes helps a lot! Use these tips to keep your line dried clothes soft.
How To Make Homemade Laundry Soap
Equipment
- Cheese grater
- Measuring cup
- Storage container
- Large sauce pot (for liquid version)
- 5 Gallon bucket (for liquid version)
Materials
- 1 Bar soap Ivory, handmade soap etc.
- 2 Cups Borax
- 2 Cups Washing Soda
- 4-5 gallons Water for liquid version only
Instructions
- To Make Powdered Laundry Soap
- Grate a bar of soap using a cheese grater or pulse in a food processor until finely shredded.
- In a large bowl mix 2 cups of borax, 2 cups of washing soda, and the grated soap.
- Pour into an airtight container for storage, a plastic container with a snap-on lid or mason jar work well.
- To Make Liquid Laundry Soap
- Shred the bar soap using a cheese grater or food processor.
- Place the grated soap in a pot with 8 cups of water and melt over low-medium heat. Stir the mixture constantly until the soap is completely dissolved, about 10 minutes.
- Pour the borax and soda into a 5 gal bucket, add hot water and stir until the powders have completely dissolved.
- Add the melted soap mixture, stir and fill up the bucket the rest of the way with 4-5 gallons of hot water. Stir until everything is well combined.
- Cover with a secure lid and let it sit overnight.
- The next day it will look like a clumpy gel. Leave it as is or stir the laundry soap until it’s smooth using a long-handled spoon or immersion blender.
- Pour into gallon jugs or other containers. If you want to save space just refill an old laundry detergent container from the bucket as needed.
Video
Notes
To Use:
- Use 2 Tbs. to 1/4 cup of powdered soap per load of laundry.
- Use 1/2 cup to 1 cup of the liquid per load of laundry.
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Kim Mills is a homeschooling mom of 6 and lives on an urban homestead in Ontario, Canada. Blogging at Homestead Acres she enjoys sharing tips to help you save money, grow and preserve your own food.
I wanted this to work. I foster a special needs cat and also have my own 2 special needs cats. I have a load of laundry to do every day so I am always looking for cheap but good laundry detergent. I did a load in hot water with 1/4 cup of this mixture. As I was pulling it out of the washer when it was done, the smell was still there as was the poop smears. Not only that, bits of ivory soap were all over the laundry. The ivory didn’t dissolve.I rewashed the load in my detergent I normally use and it came out smelling and looking clean. Not sure what I will do with all the stuff I bought to make it.