Did you know it’s actually ridiculously easy to make your own Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent? You won’t believe how much money you’ll save!
Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent Recipe
Who knew making your own Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent could be SO easy?
Just a few simple ingredients, and you’ve got a fabulous laundry soap to clean your clothes for pennies!
Seriously, this one trick will save you SO much money!
Tonya writes: “I have been making this for years. I spend about $15 for a year for 5 of us and fur babies. We are always doing laundry. One 5 gallon bucket lasts about 3 months!”
This DIY Liquid Laundry Detergent is thrifty, simple to make, and works great!
Now you’ll never have to buy expensive laundry detergent at the store again!
Trust me… once you start making your own detergent, the savings are mind-blowing! It’s such a simple way to Save Money Fast!
Prefer powder detergent? No problem!
Simply use this Homemade Laundry Detergent Powder Recipe instead!
Then after you make your own homemade laundry soap, don’t forget to make some Homemade Fabric Softener, too!
So are you ready for this DIY Recipe for the best homemade liquid laundry detergent already?
Here’s what you’ll need to get started…
Related: 50 DIY Homemade Cleaners That Actually Work!
Why Make Your Own Laundry Detergent?
There are so many reasons why I love making my own laundry soap! Here are just a few…
> It’s easy to make!
> You’ll know exactly what ingredients are going into your laundry products.
> It will reduce packaging waste.
> You won’t run out often… each batch lasts a long time.
> If you want to stock up even more… just double the batch.
> It’s ridiculously frugal ~ you’ll save SO much money!
Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap Reviews
What Your Frugal Friends Are Saying About This DIY Laundry Soap Recipe…
Misty writes: “I wish I had discovered and known about this many years ago!! I could have saved so much money!!”
Tia writes: “I made my first batch and love how it cleans.”
Rose writes: “Just finished my first batch so making a 2nd time. Works great.”
Tonya writes: “I have been making this for years. I spend about $15 for a year for 5 of us and fur babies. We are always doing laundry. One 5 gallon bucket lasts about 3 months!”
Kristy writes: “I’ve been using this exact recipe for laundry detergent for almost a year now”
Kristen writes: “The Fels Naptha laundry soap bar is by far the best stain remover on clothes ever! It’s my secret ingredient for my messy children and it’s so cheap!
Wet clothing, rub bar on stain, rinse under cold water and repeat until it comes out. Then I toss in the wash! I invested in some nice clothes for my little ones so I invest a lot of time in keeping them nice 🙂 ”
Ingredients for Homemade Laundry Detergent
You’ll just need 3 simple ingredients to make your own liquid laundry detergent…
- 1/2 Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (not Baking Soda)
- 1/2 Cup Borax
- 1/3 Bar of Fels-Naptha Soap (you could also use Ivory soap, but if using Ivory… use the whole bar.)
- Bucket (2 gallon size or larger)
- Empty laundry detergent containers or bucket with lid to store detergent.
- Funnel
How to Make Laundry Detergent at Home
Making this laundry detergent at home is easier than you might think.
Here’s what to do…
1. Grate 1/3 bar of Fels-Naptha Soap, then transfer to large stockpot.
2. Add 6 cups of Hot Water.
3. Heat on stove over Medium-High heat until soap dissolves and melts.
4. Once soap has melted, add Washing Soda & Borax, and stir until dissolved.
5. Then remove from heat and set aside.
6. Pour 4 cups Hot Water into large plastic bucket, then pour in Soap Mixture and stir well.
7. Then, add 1 Gallon + 6 Cups (22 cups total) of additional water, and stir again.
8. Transfer to empty laundry detergent containers using your funnel.
9. Allow detergent to sit overnight, or up to 24 hours, to thicken and gel up. Then it’s ready to use! Stir or shake before each use, as it will continue to gel.
Note: Consistency and color will vary depending on your soap & water ~ it may be lumpy and watery… kind of like a watery gel, but it works great!
How Much Laundry Soap To Use in the Washer
Keep in mind, the amount of laundry soap you’ll use depends on a variety of factors, including the size of your laundry load, how heavily soiled your clothing is, and the type of washing machine you’ll be using.
You’ll want to use more in upright machines, and slightly less in HE front loaders.
So wasn’t that easy?? Now you know how to make your own laundry detergent at home!
Bonus Tip: How to Make Washing Soda
No washing soda? No problem! Check out this simple tip from frugal friend Lynn…
Lynn writes: “Making your own washing soda saves even more money. Put a layer 1/2″ thick of baking soda in a half sheet pan, into preheated 400 degree oven.
Bake for 1 hour, stir 2 or 3 times in that hour, then cool and use as washing soda.
I always make mine as it is not always available.”
More Easy Cleaning Recipes
In addition to this easy recipe, I have even more ideas that will help you can save money on laundry and cleaning supplies.
So be sure to check out these tips to make sure you’re saving as much money as possible…
Homemade Laundry Detergent Powder Recipe
Do you prefer Powder Laundry Detergent? It’s so easy to make that, too!
Homemade Fabric Softener Recipe
This Homemade Fabric Softener with Vinegar and Hair Conditioner Recipe is about as easy as can be! You won’t believe how much money you’ll save!
DIY Wool Dryer Balls
I love my wool dryer balls. I can’t even imagine doing laundry without them!
DIY Wrinkle Releaser
You need to try this DIY Wrinkle Release Recipe that is both fast and frugal!!
Homemade Glass Cleaner Recipe
I’ve been using this Homemade Glass Cleaner for years and I love, love, love it! It’s so fast and easy to make, so frugal, and honestly works better than store bought glass cleaner!
Homemade 409 Recipe
Just a few simple ingredients, and you’re on your way to an effective and thrifty all-purpose cleaner!
DIY Foaming Dish Soap
You’ll love the simplicity of this ridiculously smart tip. Sometimes it’s shocking how easy it is to save money!!
How to Keep your Washing Machine Smelling Fresh
Keep the odors away with this easy Smelly Washing Machine Fix!
DIY Homemade Febreze
This DIY Homemade Febreze Recipe is such a cinch to make, and you’ll save SO much $$ with this simple little trick!
DIY Carpet Powder Freshener
We love using this DIY carpet powder on the carpets, what an effective and frugal way to make carpets smell fresh!
How to Make Your House Smell Good (HUGE List of Genius Hacks)
Nobody likes a stinky home. So skip the stink, and transform your home into a paradise of lovely fragrances with my easy hacks!
50 Homemade Cleaners Recipes That Work! (Surprisingly Easy)
Get ready for some serious savings with these simple DIY Homemade Cleaners Recipes and Tips!
How to Save Money Fast (20 Genius Tips to Save $2200 this Month!)
Are you wondering how to Save Money Fast? It’s easy when you start slashing expenses and adding these extra sources of income to your finances!
So have you tried making this Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent at home yet??
Leave a comment and share…
I have been making this same recipe for years now. I love making my own laundry detergent and it saves a lot on my grocery bill. I do tweak the recipe however since I have a teenage boy living at home. Although it costs a little more some of the things I have had success with adding to make the detergent to make it a little more efficient for heavily soiled loads are as follows: 1) I add about a cup of Oxy Clean to help the clothes from getting too dingy, 2) I add vinegar to help prevent the loads from smelling sour especially towels that sometimes dont come out smelling clean when they start to get old. It also helps take urine smell out of loads from kids who still have accidents at night. If it is a really bad odor I will sometimes just add extra vinegar to the entire load. 3) I add Febreeze laundry deodorizer (which I have only been able to find at Wal-Mart) to give it a more pleasant smell. I have had pretty good luck with making my own detergent. I have found however that if you have more heavily soiled laundry you have to tweak it somewhat to make it more effective.
I have been using vinegar as a laundry boost because hubby’s Army ACUs get NASTY (he brings them home in a trash bag because they literally drip sweat) but I didn’t realize I could use it as fabric softener too. I’ve got a Bounce dryer bar right now-I was shopping the commissary for some cheap fab softener & there was a $1 off coupon in front of the display. Love it! It ended up being just over $1 commy price.
I am SO trying this recipe, hubby’s work clothes alone are 2-3 loads weekly & I didn’t see any optical brighteners in the recipe so it will be safe to use on ACUs. Too bad I just bought detergent 🙁
Hi Neven ~ if you’re unable to find Fels Naptha soap at your local store, you can also buy it on Amazon.
~ Heidi
where can I buy Fels Naptha soap bars. it’s too hard to find!
I found Fels Naptha at Walmart for 97 cents!
That’s a great price, Cindy!
ACE Hardware also stocks Fels Naptha bars if your local Walmart doesn’t have it. More money, but still cheap at $1.49
I’ve found it at the following stores: Wal-mart, Neighborhood Wal-mart (all items were here $9.50 total price!!!), Kroger, Dollar General, and Family Dollar. Each carried the soap for less than a $1.
Make it & try it before you run out of the store bought….I use 1/2 cup….my husband works around machines & always has some “who knows where it came from” spot..my Dad was a diesel mechanic…takes out that grease, too….Love the low cost more than anything…Works wonderful in place of HE.
I have wanted to do this, but my husband is concerned it won’t work as well as store bought detergent. He’s a mechanic, so his work clothes are pretty gross most of the time, and he isn’t so sure it’ll work. I currently have 4 bottles of store bought stuff, after that’s gone, I’m going to make some and not tell him LOL
I started making this about a yr. ago in the liquid form. It’s done great! I never could find Fels Naptha, although my store used to carry it, so I used the Ivory bar. I’d like to try the Zote. I’ve had to use the Tide Free for my DH’s undies, but this works great. Sure beats the price! I use vinegar for the dishwasher rinse aid, but had not thought about it for clothing. Guess I’ll have to try that.
For fabric softener I’ve used vinegar with a few drops of jasmine and vanilla oils (or what ever you like) and they come out great and smell good too just like regular fabric softener.
I’ve been using my homemade laundry soap for about a month now and I LOVE it. After many years of using store bought laundry soap it was hard to believe that our clothes were clean because they didn’t really “smell.” I use the Duggar family recipe and add fabric softener to the wash. A friend of mine also gave me a recipe for making fabric softener sheets. You take a bottle of your favorite fabric softener and add it to a bucket. Then fill the fabric softener bottle with water, shake, and add it to the bucket. Do this twice. Take a few medium sized sponges, cut them in half, and add to the fabric softener. When you are ready to use them, wring one out and toss it on top of your clothes in the dryer. It works really well 🙂
what does the recipe look like the next day? mine seemed to thicken but is still kind of watery. also, when you use yours do you put 1/2 soap 1/2 water in the container or do you not dilute it at all?
I’m a little confused on the fabric softner mix, do u mean 1 bottle of softner to 2 bottles of water?
It works great for HE washers because it suds very little.