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…
Oh by the way…I’m in Southern Indiana and I have found Fels-Naphtha at Ace Hardware, Rural King, and Schnucks. All three places also carry the washing soda. So far Schnucks is cheapest on washing soda at $2.99/55 oz box, Walmart is cheapest on borax at $2.98/64 oz box…I think. Can’t exactly remember the size of the box, and Rural King is cheapest on Fels-Naphtha at $1.29/bar. Hope this helps!
I have been making my own powder laundry detergent since Oct and I love it!! I have two children who love to get dirty and have yet to have a problem. However, I use Fels-Naphtha soap and Dove together only because I like the smell of Dove. I just use smaller amounts. But I read on another site that it is not recommended to use Dove because it has oil in it and can stain your clothes?? Has anyone else heard this or found it to be true?? Also, I was interested in adding essential oils to mine. I read one article that said just to add the oil directly to the powder. Has anyone else tried this? Definitely do not want a bunch of oil spots on my clothes!! Thanks so much!! Love frugal girls!!!!
I tried this- i use it although it doesnt seem to get my clothes really clean- I have 3 small children and its just not doing it- what else can i add or do to this to make it better??
Just made the dry recipe using Ivory soap. Surprisingly, it was much easier to shred than I imagined. I don’t have a grater, so I shredded it and then mixed 1/2 of the shredded bar with 1/4 cup of Borax in my Bullet chopper thingy and did that twice… then followed the rest of the recipe. It smelled great and we just finished washing the first load. Honestly, I would like a stronger scent, but it was nice with just the Ivory. I might play with that a little bit next time. Clothes are clean, soft and smell yum! I ended up making 3 batches, put it all in an airtight Tupperware container, and labeled it with today’s date so I’d know how long it lasts and how much I’m actually saving.
This stuff was nearly impossible to find locally!!! I was too anxious to wait for Alice.com to ship, so I was on a manhunt. Ended up finding A&H Washing Powder at Ace Hardware. The guy there said he’s had quite a few folks in there looking for it to make their own soap. I told him the ingredients, but didn’t purchase b/c that’s the only ingredient he had. Found only the Borax at Buy 4 Less and got it. By the time I got back to Ace Hardware, the guy told me he ordered A&H Washing Powder, Borax AND the Naptha soap LOL! The truck will be in Wednesday and I’m excited to try that soap as well!!! So keep that in mind… if you’re from a relatively small town, the small town folks might just order what you need! I might bring him a couple baggies of the stuff to hand out to customers who might be skeptical… I know that certainly would have helped me do this sooner!!!
I made this a week ago using Ivory Soap. I had two large Tide dispenser type containers. Forgoing the bucket I mixed everything in a large pot. I cut off the tops of 2 liter soda bottles to use as funnels and then used measuring cups to transfer the soap evenly to the containers. One recipe filled each container about 3/4 full. (Maybe a little more) Using vinegar as a fabric softener (just poor it in the little round dispenser like I do regular fabric softener)my clothes are fresh, clean, soft and cling free.
Thank you for this recipe!
Zote soap is amazing! My son plays baseball in WHITE pants that look brown after a game and that is the only thing that works! I am going to make my own detergent and I am actually excited! Thanks for the tips!
I made it today, can’t believe how easy it was. I plan to share with my daughters & daughter-in-law. I’ll have to let you know later how well we like the cleaning power. I love the smell.
Dr Bronner’s Castile bar soap is a little more pure than Kirk’s Castile bar soap.
RECIPE:
Makes 5 gallons
1 1/2 c Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1 1/2 c 20 Mule Team Borax
1 4-5oz castile soap or 1/2 bar Fels Naptha…shaved, as you would chocolate on a cutting board…
Dissolve in 3 quarts of hot water…DO NOT BOIL…
Divide into 5…1 gallon jugs or put in 5 gallon pail…
Slowly fill with water as not to cause sudsing…
Be certain to shake or stir well before each use…
Use 1/4 to 1/2 c per was load
Kirk’s Castile 4oz bar soap is .99 @Vitacost.com vs Dr Bronner’s citrus 5 oz bar is 4.09…however, Dr Bronner’s is a bit more pure…
RECIPE: 5 gallons
1 1/2 c Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1 1/2 c 20 Mule Team Borax
1 bar castile soap or 1/2 bar Fels Naptha (shaving is faster than grating…Shave like chocolate)
Combine the 3 ingredients with
3 quarts of water…heat to melt soap…DO NOT BOIL…
Divide into the 5 gallons I “SLOWLY” fill with water…
Be sure to not let foam.. I use gallon jugs…You could use pails…SHAKE before each use…use 1/1/2 cup per load…
We do not use laundry soap, bleach or hot water when doing our laundry. We have a Laundry Pure unit. It works great!