Today is Earth Day, so I thought it would be fun to share a great recipe for making DIY laundry soap that is super earth-friendly and great for kids with sensitive skin. Another bonus? It can be made for a great price too!
My friend Lindsey shared this recipe with me and I recently got around to making it. I’m in love! It cleans our clothes well and is a way less intimidating recipe than some DIY laundry detergents out there. It literally took me five minutes to make and with minor clean-up! Here’s the scoop:
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups hot water
- ⅓ cup of salt {works as a abrasive to help clean stains}
- 1 cup of washing soda {found in laundry aisle} can also just use plain baking soda!
- 1 cup Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap in liquid form {Found in the natural body products section at my Meijer. I adore the scent of the French Lavender!}
- Clean empty gallon milk jug
DIRECTIONS
Mix 2 cups of hot water with salt and washing soda in a bowl until dissolved well. Pour mix into the empty milk jug, then add the cup of Dr. Bronner’s. Fill the rest of the milk jug with water, letting some suds out as you fill it. Shake well and don’t forget to label the jug!
DIRECTIONS FOR USE
Shake jug before each use. Use ¼ to ½ cup of soap per load. Add ¼ cup of white vinegar to loads that are especially stinky {i.e. workout clothes or undies} to help with odor control.
IMPORTANT: This is compatible with HE washers. High efficient washers like low sudsing soaps, and this does just that. I use it in my LG front loader and just place the liquid in the top compartment.
Initial investment for supplies = Just under $18 {stores may vary}. Very budget-friendly compared to the big brands out there and there are NO harsh chemicals. Makes approx 5 gallons.
What are your favorite DIY items for household use?
Sounds interesting! I’ve never made my own laundry soap before but I bet that this would save a TON of money!
What about fabric softener?
I’ve actually never used fabric softener, but I do use dryer sheets. I need to figure out how to make my own 😉 One way I do save is to cut them in half. My clothes still smell amazing, and they last twice as long!
I’ve never done this because I doubt it could match the quality of a commercial soap. I might give this a try. It sounds good for business.
Hi! Just made a batch of this, but haven’t used it yet. I did quarter all the amounts, just to try a batch first (and, mainly, I only had quart jars around the house – no gallon jugs). Is it supposed to be the consistency of water? “Cause, that’s what it is!
Yes! It works best when it’s more liquid-like 🙂 Just give it a good shake if you can first. Hope you like it!
Do you know if this is safe for septic tanks?
I can’t be 100% sure, but I would assume since it’s all natural versus laundry detergent, which has chemicals.
Thanks 🙂
So do we need a “Clean empty gallon milk jug” as in one because further down you say this recipe yields 5 gallons? Also what is the wisdom behind letting some suds out as you fill it? Thank you.
I am having a hard time getting the washing soda and salt to dissolve in the hot water. I just use hot water from the tap. Is it supposed to be boiling?
Thank you for the ‘recipe’. I was very excited to make and use this. However, I made this the other night & it clumped much like cottage cheese. Eeeeewwwww. Couple questions for you: (1) What did I do wrong? & (2) can I salvage this at all??
Help!
You cant mix vinegar and Dr Bronners in the same container… it creates curdles like rotten milk! Add the vinegar by itself LAST as an add-on to the detergent. You’ll have to throw it away and restart keeping the two separate. Just keep a jug of white vinegar in your laundry room with a measuring cup.
Why won’t my washing soda and salt mixture disolve in my near boiling water? Will this affect the performance if I move to the next step?
Does this recipe. Yeild 5 gallons. After mixing it in a 1 gallon jug and you pour what you have made into 4 other jugs or is this how many jugs you will get from buying all the ingredients?
You say the product yeilds 5 gallons of usable product or is it 1 gallon of usable product? Please clarify.
This will actually be the third time I have tried to get a response on the Hills of the product. It has also Clump the baking soda and salt to the top with the water below do I need to lose heat to get it to dissolve what do I need to do. I have subscribed to your newsletter but if I do not have a timely response I will not be subscribing to anything under your blog and will remove you from my page. Your urgent response is appreciated.
Hi. Just a question. Yo mentioned that with the initial recipe you need a one gallon jug, but later on you said that it makes five gallons. So when you finish the initial gallon, you pour another four gallons of water to complete the five.
Love home made laundry soap.I have never made the liquid version. This is simple .Thank you.
I use this recipie to wash all of my clothes but it always gets lumpy. I think it is the baking soda or washing soda that clumps and floats but I’m not sure. How do I keep that from happening?
I have been making my own laundry soap now for about six months this is almost the exact same recipe I’ve been using. To answer some of the peoples questions below( Not sure why the original blogger isn’t.) The clumping is totally normal. I use a funnel and a ladle. There will be washing soda / salt in the pot at the end. Just scoop it into the funnel and use hot water from your tap to help push it down. Then keep adding hot water to almost the top of gallon. Like the author states. Shake the jug every time before you use it. The clumps dissolve mostly. Not completely though. Your soap will look very watery. I add about 20 drops of essential oil for sent. I use this in a HE front loading washer. I’ve never had an issue in six months. The clothes have all come out great and we own a gym so I have put it to the test! We also have septic and it is fine. I believe what the author means by 5 gallon yield is that all the ingredients once purchased will make a total of 5 gallons. hopes I hope this helps everyone.