This is the ORIGINAL homemade laundry detergent recipe, all others only imitate what you’ll find here.
This is a fun project that will save you money and help you rid your home of toxic chemical cleaners.
When you’re done making this check out these other related articles:
- Homemade Fabric Softener and Dryer Sheets
- Homemade Dishwasher Detergent
- Homemade Dish Soap
- How To Make Wool Dryer Balls
Note: No time or desire to make your own natural cleaners? Then we recommend buying these natural cleaner brands.
When we first set out to make our own homemade laundry detergent we thought it would be difficult and time consuming, turns out it’s neither. Making your own laundry powder is fast, easy, and inexpensive.
We opt for powder over liquid in respect of opportunity cost, storage, and simplicity (the liquid variety takes longer to make, requires more storage space, and is more complicated). And now, years after making our first batch, thousands of others have tried it and loved the results.
This powder detergent recipe requires just three simple ingredients and takes only a few minutes to make:
- find the written instructions below
- visit page two for pictorial instructions
- visit page three for the cost savings breakdown, notes on HE washers, septic tanks, and borax safety.
Note: This soap/detergent works in all HE front-load washers; read more below.
Soap recipe
Each batch yields approximately 32 ounces (between 32-64 loads based on how many Tbsp used per load).
- 1 bar (or 4.5 ounces) of shaved bar soap (Ivory, ZOTE, Fels-Naptha)
- 1 cup of borax
- 1 cup of washing soda
Thoroughly stir together for 5 minutes and enjoy the results! That’s it folks…seems too good to be true, but it is true indeed!
Use 1 Tbsp per load (or 2 Tbsp for heavily soiled loads).
Laundry ingredients
I purchased all these ingredients at my local grocery store:
- 1 – 55 ounce box of Arm & Hammer® Super Washing Soda = $3.99
- 1 – 76 ounce box of 20 Mule Team® Borax = $4.99
- 1 – 10 pack of 4.5 ounce bars of Ivory® Bar Soap
Note on ingredients: use whatever ingredients you are comfortable with. Many people cannot afford natural soaps, while others make their own. Whatever you do, never judge others for not being where you are – instead work to facilitate a spirit of encouragement and education to help further all our knowledge together. Brands of commonly used bar soaps include Pure & Natural®, Fels-Naptha® and/or ZOTE®. Both ZOTE® and Fels-Naptha® are made for and sold as “laundry bar soap.” If you’re looking for a pure, natural solution you’ll need to go with a handcrafted soap so you can be sure of its ingredients.
All items were found in the laundry aisle.
Continue reading pages 2 and 3 for the pictorial instructions, cost savings breakdown, notes on HE washers, septic tanks, and borax safety.
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About Matt Jabs
Matt and Betsy are passionate about living naturally and building a like-minded community focused on the sustainable lifestyle.
DIY Natural is about rediscovering the traditional value of doing things yourself, doing them naturally, and enjoying the benefits. Welcome to the movement! 
Hi Cheryl,
In my laundry soap recipe, I use 1/2 the borax to 1 bar of soap and i cup of washing soda. Then I always add at least 1/2 cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle. Not only does vinegar disinfect equally as well as clorox, but it dissolves mineral deposits in hard water, and removes any soap residue on the clothing.
Please note, this recipe is extremely concentrated. The recommended amount per load is 1-2 tablespoons, since it has no additives. So you could make a small batch: an ounce of flaked Ivory or Kirk’s Castile (the others have too many harsh chemicals) plus an ounce of washing soda and 1/2 ounce of borax.
Even if your kid’s skin has a bad reaction, these same ingredients will make great household cleaners. I wish you success.
I know No-One who has skin as sensitive as mine, and this recipe has saved me. Why not try a very small load just to see if the recipe works for your children?
Thank you Zi, I just made a batch and am trying it right now.!
Hope it works out okay, with a family of 5 we are always looking for ways to save money and live as natural as possible.
Hi,
Just found your recipe for home made laundry soap and love it, made two batches now and find that it works really well. The only thing I am not sure of is how much to use in a regular sized top loader machine? We have very soft water so I am thinking not much, but it must be more than two tablespoons?
Thanks
PM
Glad you found us PM. We have a top-loader too, just use 1-2 Tbsp. Blessings.
Yup ~ one to two TBLS
i am using the little slivers and leftover pieces of bath soap. how much measure wise of grated soap should i have/ one cup, two cups, a half cup?
I have been using this recipe for several months. Our laundry is never heavily soiled. I have found that on sheets there is a white residue left from time to time and the fragrance of deoderant is left in t-shirts.
I have started using a 1/4 of the amount of liquid laundry detergent that I used to use and 2 tablespoons of this recipe to boost. That seems to help.
I have begun using 2 parts hydrogen peroxide to 1 part Dawn dish soap mixed in a spray bottle. I spray it on the armpit area of tshirts, and the smell is gone. (Be careful not to breathe it in.)
Fascinating..I’ll have to try that.
I have made and used this soap recipe. I washed my washable floor cleaner pads and they just didn’t come out clean, I had to wash them twice. I don’t have hard water but I’m thinking of grating another bar of hard soap into the mix. What do you think?
So I tried the laundry detergent today pretty easy to make and seemed to work fine for me. No residue was left and I washed some pretty nasty stuff with only using 1 tbsp. thanks for sharing!
Awesome, glad it worked for you. Blessings.
I love the laundry soap recipe and have made it a few times. I am though having trouble with the ivory soap. I have been grating it and then mixing it in but see little chunks of it on my clothes when I pull them out of the washer. How can I prevent this? Thank you
Try blending the ingredients together or use a grater that yields finer shavings. Blessings Angela.
Matt, I just grated it, and then put some of the washing soda/borax mix in my food processor along with the grated soap. Took some extra time, but worked nicely! Do you have a recipe for some sort of dryer sheet? I was thinking a mixture that you could use along with a wash cloth (reusable) Thank you & blessings back!
Yeah, that’s what many others did as well Angela, good stuff. Yes, we do have a dryer sheet/fabric softener article. Enjoy!
I’m still microwaving the soap until it puffs up, then dropping it into the blender or food processor until it’s a ground up to the size of coffee grinds. After that mix everything together using whatever method you prefer.
However another contributor (Sandy maybe?), suggested cutting soap into 4 or 6 pieces, and freezing it, which makes it easier to grind or grate.
One tool I haven’t heard anyone mention are those hand graters in a jar, which operate by pressing down on the lid… has anyone used them for soap?
Hi Matt,
I’ve been looking for exactly this for our new HE machine but I do have what may be a dumb question. We’ve been using liquid detergent as well as liquid fabric softener since we purchased the new machine. There is one ” tray or drawer ” inside the machine with two compartments into which you pour both, shut the tray door, and let the machine do its thing. If I switch over to your powder detergent using the powder receptacle in the machine would I still be able to simultaneously pour the liquid fabric softener into the liquid receptacle without problems ?
Our HE machine also has one tray with separate sections for detergent (that has a divider to set it for liquid detergent or powdered) and fabric softener as well as one for bleach. We use this recipe for powdered detergent and liquid fabric softener (or vinegar sometimes) all the time with no problems. We do have to take the tray out now and then to clean it but we did this when we used store bought laundry soap as well. PS: there is no such thing as a dumb question.
We have always used top-loaders so thanks for answering Colleen. Blessings.
Hi Colleen,
Thanks for that ! The machine we have has one tray towards the rear inside of the machine with a divider. The left section is for liquid fabric softener while the right section is for liquid detergent. In the front left corner of the machine there is a receptacle for powdered detergent. I mention that only to clarify what may have been a confusing earlier post. Would I still be able to utilize both if using powdered detergent in the front along with only liquid fabric softener in the rear tray ? I happily admit to having zero in the way of mechanical aptitude so not sure if it really matters.
Our machine has the tray on the outside of the machine at the top left. It slides out for adding detergent and fabric softener and then slides back in before you start the machine. I would say that it should work if it has a place for both. I would think the machine would separate the input of the detergent and the fabric softener as one is used in the wash cycle and one is for the rinse cycle. Our machine is a Maytag HE machine that we bought in 2006 (we are in Canada).
Matt, thanks and blessings on you and your family as well.
I tried this and it didnt clean a lot of the clothes. So researched online and adjusted the recipe to 8oz bar soap, 2 cups borax and 2 cups baking soda wash. Then it called for 1/8-1/4 cup per load. This seems to work well. The soap doesnt seem to dissolve before I put the clothes in but I never had chunks left on them when its done. Maybe it dissolves as the clothes are swished around. We have really hard water, which may be why I had to increase the recipe and use more. I added 1/2 cup vinegar with lavender oil to my downy ball. Not sure if it made a difference or not.