I've had a few questions about the homemade laundry detergent I pictured in my laundry room re-do. It's really simple, super cheap, and now that I've tested it out for more than a month, I can tell you it does a bang-up job of cleaning our mountains of clothes and towels. We've put it through some tests, too!
Here's the recipe:
1c. Arm and Hammer washing soda
1c. 20 Mule Team Borax
1 bar (shaved) Fels-Naptha
Use 1 tablespoon per load (2 if very large or heavily soiled) - I use 2 on socks and underwear.
I have read that you can use Ivory soap in place of the Fels-Naptha, but Ivory is murder on my son's eczema. I have had no issues with his skin from using these products.
I also read a few recipes online that made liquid detergent. I think it's mostly personal preference, but I didn't feel comfortable keeping a 5 gallon bucket full of liquid around in my house of 3 small children. Didn't seem safe to me. I much prefer my little glass jar of dry detergent.
Here's the breakdown (everything was purchased at Walmart):
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| Super cheap ingredients. Borax $2.98, Washing Soda $2.77, Fels-Naptha $0.97 |
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| Just a few things you will need on hand: a grater (for the bar soap), a 1c. measuring cup or scoop, mixing bowl, spoon, and container to keep detergent in. |
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| It can take a while to grate the soap, but it passes quickly if you're watching your kids play or catching up on your "soaps". |
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| This is what the Fels-Naptha looks like shaved - and it smells FANTASTIC! |
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| All mixed up! |
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| This is 2 batches worth. Not bad! |
I made two batches of this back on June 15th, and I have yet to run out. I still have enough to last me through at least a couple of weeks, and remember - I'm doing laundry for FIVE people! This is an AMAZING savings for us. I haven't quite figured out the cost per load, but considering I've hardly made a dent in my boxes of Borax and washing soda (which together cost me less than $6), and I've used less than $2 worth of Fels-Naptha, I am positive it's much cheaper than the brand name I was buying (and I bought a cheap brand). So... I going to go out on an estimating limb and figure it costs me about a buck and a quarter a month. That's CRAZY cheap!
** For those of you wondering, NO you cannot use this on cloth diapers. Borax and washing soda are both laundry boosters, which means they have brighteners in them that cannot be used on cloth diapers. But for everything else - it's super!
