I first started making my own laundry powder about four years ago. A lot of commercial soaps use irritating fragrances. My husband and I started becoming sensitive to those "artificial" scents. If you or someone in your family suffer from asthma, eczema, or any type of allergies, you might want to give this a try. Or if you just want to save some money, this stuff seriously cost pennies per load. This initial cost is around $13 for supplies, and will last you anywhere from 60-128 loads of laundry! Plus you'll have extra left in those boxes of Borax and Washing Soda to make a couple more batches. Much cheaper than the commercial stuff!
It doesn't take long and it's super easy! You'll need these three ingredients.
I use Fels-Naptha but you could also use Ivory or Zote. Avoid Heavily fragranced soaps.
All of these products can be found in the laundry aisle. If you cannot find them in stores you can always order them off Amazon.com.
- 2 Cups Borax about $3.97 for 76oz box
- 2 Cups Washing Soda ( NOT baking soda) about $3.24 for 55oz box
- 4 Cups of grated Bar soap (about 3 bars) about $1.99/bar
I use Fels-Naptha but you could also use Ivory or Zote. Avoid Heavily fragranced soaps.
All of these products can be found in the laundry aisle. If you cannot find them in stores you can always order them off Amazon.com.
I usually wear gloves, the soap can be kind of irritating to sensitive skin, but that's just me.
- Grate the bars of soap. No need to measure exactly, like I said 3 bars make around 4 cups grated. I use a food processor but you can grate by hand. It takes a while to grate by hand and I want this to be as easy as possible. If you do use a food processor make sure you wash it thoroughly afterwards.
- Mix grated soap with 2 Cups of Borax and 2 Cups of Washing Soda. Store in an airtight container
- Use 2 Tablespoons per load for a conventional Washing machine and 1 Tablespoon for HE (High Efficiency) machines. I add an extra scoop for really soiled loads.
Voila! All done. Easy peasy! This makes 128 Tablespoons, so depending on how many scoops you use, it can last a while. About 10 months for me! I store mine in an empty Oxyclean container, but you can always get fancy with a glass jar.
A few things to consider.
Happy Washing! Please let me know in the comments if you've tried this or something similar. Any tips, suggestions or questions are greatly welcome.
- This soap is low sudsing so it is perfect for HE machines. Be aware using anything other than what your machine manufacturer recommends may void the warranty.
- If you have hard water or well water and your clothes come out dingy, try adding Oxyclean to each load or white vinegar as a softener. Vinegar also helps clean any residue that builds up in your machine. I just add it into the softener compartment on mine. Oxyclean however is recommended to be added into the drum with the clothes on my front load HE.
- My clothes come out smelling like, well, nothing! If you want a little fragrance you can add about 5-10 drops of you favorite essentials oils while mixing.
- Another note: I use warm water to wash clothes, and occasionally use cold water. This stuff dissolves completely for me.
Happy Washing! Please let me know in the comments if you've tried this or something similar. Any tips, suggestions or questions are greatly welcome.