Monday, January 6, 2014

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Well, it's a few days past "New Year" but I think we should ring in the new year the right way by saving MEGA BUCKS! No, really! I've been using homemade laundry detergent for well over two years now, and we don't miss that overpriced commercial gloop at all!

So I'm here to share with you my: 

TOP SECRET stain busting, money-saving 
laundry formula 3000


Well, you get the picture.  It comes in two formula's, and two sizes per formula. Today I am sharing the powdered version of the laundry detergent.

Some tidbits to know:  
  • Safe for HE washers, just put it straight into the barrel
  • May need to use "warm" water setting or hotter to be able to dissolve the soap properly (depending on how cold your "cold" setting is)
  • 1 full recipe lasted almost a year and a half for the two of us!
  • Plain Ivory soap or similar can be substituted for the Fels Naptha (found in the laundry aisle), but it doesn't work as well in my opinion.

So here's the recipe in both sizes:


Homemade Laundry Detergent (about 100 loads)
  • 1 bar grated Fels Naptha soap 
  • 3 cups Borax 
  • 2 cups Super Washing Soda
  • 1 cup Baking Soda 
  • 4 1/2 cups powdered oxygen bleach (Sun Brand)
  • 1 cup fabric softener crystals 


Homemade Laundry Detergent (Full size - 1 year)
  • 3 bars Fels Naptha Soap 
  • 1 box Borax 
  • 1 box Super Washing Soda 
  • 2 cups Baking Soda 
  • 2 containers powdered oxygen bleach (Sun Brand) 
  • 1 container Fabric Softener Crystals 

Directions for both:
Grate Fels Naptha soap with cheese grater, or use food processor. If using food processor, cut bar into quarters and add a little of the baking soda with it to help the blades.


Mix all other ingredients together (if making the big batch, a trash bag works well for this)

Use 1-2 Tbs per load, put soap directly in the barrel even for High Efficiency washer. The scoop that comes with the Sun Cleaner works well for this.


2 comments:

Chaotic Kristi said...

what about the bleach.. I have things that dont get bleached, will it harm them?

Mrs Millennial said...

On my bucket it says not to use it with wool, silk, leather or other materials that would be harmed by water. I use it on all my clothes, even delicate's (I don't have silk or wool or leather) with no harm at all. It's not really a bleach so much as it it a stain fighter. If you are unsure about a particular item, test a tiny hidden spot for color fastness.

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