How to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent and My Homestead Laundry Routine

As homesteaders, we generally like to learn how to make and grow things ourselves. I have started experimenting with making different homemade natural cleaners and today I’d like to share with you two recipes for make your own homemade laundry detergent.

Making your own homemade laundry detergent is a great way to save time and money! Even better, you can make your own eco-friendly laundry detergent.

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Here’s how to make the best homemade eco-friendly laundry detergent.

First, you actually have two options here. You can make powder detergent or liquid detergent. The instructions for both are included.

Liquid Detergent Ingredients:

* Cheese grater (Sturdy food processor with a grating attachment or a blender can work well too)
* Large saucepan (needs to hold at least six cups of water)
* 8 oz. soap (glycerin or other natural soap works best.)
* 2 cup washing soda – you can find this at your local home store or supermarket
* 2 cup borax
* Large bucket. Needs to hold approximately two gallons.
* Water
* Storage container

Directions:

Step One: Grate 8 ounces of your soap (about one cup)
Step Two: Turn burner on to medium low. Heat six cups of water in large saucepan. Slowly add soap flakes. Let them dissolve before adding more.
Step Three: Add washing soda and borax. Continue stirring. Mixture will thicken. Remove from heat.
Step Four: Add four cups of hot water to your bucket. Pour soap mixture into the water. Stir to combine.
Step Five: Add another gallon of water to the mixture. If you’re using a two gallon bucket simply fill the rest of the bucket up with water. Stir well. Let sit overnight.
Step Six: Pour mixture into your storage container. When you’re ready to do laundry, use ¼ cup of detergent per load.

Two clear glass jars with white powder in them, one is labelled Borax and the other is labelled Washing soda

Powder Detergent Ingredients:

* 1 cup borax
* 1 cup washing soda
* 2 cups soap flakes (use glycerin or other natural soap grated with a cheese grater or food processor)
* 1 Large bowl or bucket for mixing
* Storage container

Directions:

Making powder eco-friendly detergent is easy. Simply combine the ingredients in a large bowl. Store in your container of choice. When ready, use approximately 1/8 of a cup of detergent.

Note* The ration for powder detergent is one borax to one washing soda to two soap flakes. So you could easily double, triple or quadruple the recipe. Just keep the proportions equal.

What is Borax and is it safe?

Borax, also called sodium tetraborate, is a powdery white mineral that has been used as a cleaning product for several decades. It has many uses:

It helps get rid of stains, mold, and mildew around the house.
It can kill insects such as ants.
It’s used in laundry detergents and household cleansers to help whiten and get rid of dirt.
It can neutralize odors and soften hard water.

Borax is marketed as a green product because it doesn’t contain phosphates or chlorine. Instead, its main ingredient is sodium tetraborate, a naturally occurring mineral.

People sometimes confuse sodium tetraborate — the main ingredient in borax — and boric acid, which has similar properties. Boric acid, however, is usually used exclusively as a pesticide and is much more toxic than sodium tetraborate, so it should be handled with extra special care.

While borax may be natural, that doesn’t mean it’s completely safe. Borax often comes in a box with a caution label warning users that the product is an eye irritant and that it may be harmful if swallowed.

How to safely use borax

Generally, borax has been found as safe to use as a cleaning product if you take the appropriate precautions. Using borax safely involves minimizing your routes of exposure.

Here’s some safety tips to follow for handling Borax:

Do not use cosmetic products that contain borax.
Avoid inhaling borax powder by always keeping it a safe distance from your mouth.
Use gloves when using borax as a cleaning agent around the house.
Fully rinse the area you’re cleaning with water after washing with borax.
Wash your hands with soap after using borax if it gets on your skin.
Make sure clothes washed with borax are fully rinsed before drying and wearing them.
Never leave borax in the reach of children, whether it’s in a box or used around the house. Don’t use borax to make slime with kids.
Avoid using borax and boric acid products around pets. This includes avoiding use of borax as a pesticide on the ground, where pets may be commonly exposed.
Keep borax away from your eyes, nose, and mouth to minimize your risks of exposure when using as a cleaning product.
Cover any open wounds on your hands when using borax. Borax is more easily absorbed through open wounds on the skin, so keeping them covered can reduce your risk of exposure.

Is Washing Soda the same as Baking Soda?

Washing soda (a more abrasive cleaning agent) should not be confused with baking soda (a less abrasive cleaning agent), although the two compounds are closely related since they both contain the mineral trona.1

Washing soda and baking soda can be used together in DIY detergent recipes to remove stains, but washing soda has more of a stripping action to remove residues of oils, minerals, and fabric softeners.2 The sodium carbonate in washing soda “softens” water to help other cleaning ingredients lift soil from the fabrics and suspend the soil in the wash water. The washing soda binds to the minerals which make water hard and allows the detergent to be absorbed into fibers to properly clean the clothes. Read more about washing soda here.

My eco-friendly Homestead laundry routine.

Now, you know I try to use my homemade laundry detergent in the washing machine as much as possible but what about drying laundry? My laundry drying routine is a little different with the seasons and dependent on weather. In the spring, summer and fall, like many homesteaders, I like to line-dry my laundry as much as possible. There’s just something about fresh line-dried laundry that is just so satisfying.

When it is winter (and where we are we get a lot of snow!) I still try and line dry in the house as we have an indoor drying line set up near our wood stove. I also utilize drying racks for smaller items like socks and underwear and dish cloths.

When I do use our dryer, I use wool dryer balls for a natural fabric softener option instead of chemical laden dryer sheets which are bad for our health as well as bad for the dryer. The wool dryer balls also help decrease drying time which in turn saves money on the electricity bill. Also, they are reusable, so they are super economical. I have had my current set for about 3 years now and they are still in great shape!

I hope these recipes and laundry tips help you on your journey to have a great eco-friendly, frugal laundry routine.

Making eco-friendly laundry detergent is easy. You can find all the ingredients you need at your supermarket. You’ll find the ingredients at a much lower cost than buying a jug of manufactured detergent. Plus, a homemade batch will last you quite a long time. It’ll save you money and it’s much better for the environment.

How to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent and My Homestead Laundry Routine