Learn how to make homemade laundry soap with all natural ingredients for under 5 dollars. This DIY Laundry Detergent is an effective way to clean clothes and fight stains.
Hey friends!
I want to reintroduce you to my sister Laura from Our Oily House.
She shared with us a few weeks ago a tutorial for how to make All Natural Organic Cocoa Lip Balm.
Today she is back with another DIY recipe that you can use to keep your clothes clean, without all the junk.
I will let Laura take over, as she shares how to make homemade laundry soap.
Homemade Laundry Soap is Inexpensive
A few years ago, I started making most of my household products.
The main reason was to cut down on toxins entering the body. The other bonus is it saves us lots of money!
Making laundry soap is super easy, and very inexpensive! All you need is a handful of natural ingredients, many of which you may have on hand if you are already creating natural cleaning products for your home.
It makes 5 gallon bucket worth and that lasts my family five months (I do a load everyday) and it cost under $5!
It is worth the 15 minutes it takes me to whip it up.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Get my full disclosure HERE.
Tips For Making Homemade Laundry Soap
- You can scent your detergent with a variety of essential oils. Orange happens to be my favorite of the moment. Make sure when using essential oils they are 100% pure. Don’t fall for cheap grocery store kinds.
- This natural laundry detergent will become thick and chunky my morning. Stir it up using an immersion blender or even a drill with a paint mixer attachment.
- The type of water you have at your house may impact how effective this recipe is. Those who have hard water with a lot of minerals may find that it is less effective. I’ve been using this recipe for 5+ years and still love it.
Homemade Orange Scented Laundry Soap Ingredients and Supplies
water
30 drops essential oil of choice (I like lavender or anything citrus)
Homemade Laundry Soap Instructions
1. Shred a 5 ounce bar of Fels Naptha Soap with a cheese grater. You could also use a food processor.
2. Put the soap in a saucepan with 2 cups of water, over medium heat, and stir constantly, until the soap is all melted.
3. Fill the five gallon bucket 1/2 way with water. Add 1/2 cup Washing Soda, 1 cup Borax, and your melted soap water mixture.
4. Give it a stir, and fill the rest of the bucket with water.
5. Add essential oils for scent.
- My favorite is Wild Orange!
- I do 25-30 drops for a 5 gallon bucket.
6. Let it sit overnight with the lid on.
7. In the morning give it a good shake, or stir to mix well. Stirring it with a drill paint mixer attachment, or an immersion blender, really helps to get the clumps out!
That’s it!
How To Use Homemade Laundry Detergent
Add about 1/2 cup per load in my HE washer per load, so it lasts a VERY long time.
You can add directly to the washer or place it in the load and go compartment (if you have one).
Making laundry soap is quick and easy!
You can feel good about using this soap, as it is made out of all natural ingredients, and works very well.
Find More Homemade Products:
- Homemade Non-Toxic Bathroom Scrub
- Minimalist Cleaning Essentials
- Natural Homemade Diaper Rash Cream
- How To Make Beeswax Candles
Homemade Laundry Soap
Equipment
- 5 gallon bucket with a lid
- drill paint mixer attachment
- cheese grater
- Measuring cup
Ingredients
- 1 cup Borax
- 1/2 cup Washing Soda
- 1 Fels Naptha soap bar
- Water
- 30 drops essential oil of choice, I like lavender or anything citrus
Instructions
- Shred a 5 ounce bar of Fels Naptha Soap with a cheese grater.
- Put the soap in a saucepan with 2 cups of water, over medium heat, and stir constantly, until the soap is all melted.
- Fill the five gallon bucket 1/2 way with water.
- Add 1/2 cup Washing Soda, 1 cup Borax, and your melted soap water mixture.
- Give it a stir, and fill the rest of the bucket with water.
- Add essential oils for scent. I do 25-30 drops for a 5 gallon bucket.
- Let it sit overnight with the lid on.
- In the morning give it a good shake, or stir to mix well. Stirring it with a drill paint mixer attachment, or an immersion blender, really helps to get the clumps out!
- To Use:I use 1/2 cup per load in my HE washer, so it lasts a VERY long time.
Notes
- You can add any variety of essential oils that you like. My favorite is wild orange.
- The type of water you have may impact the effectiveness of homemade laundry detergent. It may not work as well if you have hard water.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Pin it for later:
Hi Lisa. Thank you for an amazing blog. I wonder if you have a recipe for wool wash for the machine?
I have made this exact recipe for a while. But then I converted to using a Dr. Bronner’s bard. But I wonder, have you every tried using Dr. Bronners liquid castile soap?
I have a question. Is this soap supposed to be pretty thin? That is how mine turned out, which is fine but I just want to make sure I didn’t make a mistake. Lol
I used zote instead of fels Naptha. Thanks
Yes it can be pretty thin especially compared to store-bought laundry soap.
Hi Lisa!
I was wondering if I could replace the bar of Fels Naptha Soap by some liquid Castille soap and how much would i need? 1 cup? 2 cups?
Thank you for this recipe 🙂
I’m a little iffy on the bar soap, it has some not so good ingredients in it, is there a different kind of bar soap or even liquid soap I could use?
I also worry about thw soap because on the link to buy it it says non-HE washing machine and all I have unfortunately is HE machine
I’m going to make this with the Dr. Bronner’s unscented pure Casteel soap because the soap she recommends in the recipe is full of harmful chemicals/ artificial color.
I can’t use so I substitute Ivory bar soap. Works well and lasts. I use lemon oil as it is my favourite. More people should do this. It is so easy.
I’ve been making this and we love it! Thank you so much for sharing.
Just finished making my first batch. It seems like the top remained waxy. Do I need more hot water? Seems like it’s not mixing very well😢😢💔.
Hi, with which brand or type of product can i replace the Fels Naphtha? Amazon don’t deliver it to my country. Thank you!
ivory bar soap. I use two personal size per 5 gallon bucket. I have alergies so this works for me.
Do you think I could use Dove soap??
Maybe. I’ve never tried it. But other people have had success using other types of soap.
I have made this three times, and all three times I used an immersion blender and all three times the detergent separates after an hour or so. What am I doing wrong?
could i use Zote instead? Also, do you think this would be ok to use on my cotton flat diapers?