Today’s {DIY From Scratch} isn’t new to me. I’ve made DIY laundry detergent before both in the liquid, gloppy form and powdered form. We prefer the powdered. I used this recipe to make the powdered and chose to follow it again because 1) I’ve had good results and 2) we were out of detergent.
This recipe is incredibly economical and clean clothes well. The batch costs about $7 to make and yields enough for 128 loads. In our house this will last about 8 months!
The last time I made this detergent I used Fels Naptha soap and loved it, but was ready for a change. A friend told me about Zote soap which is also a laundry soap. It’s good for delicate clothes and supposedly whitens really well. It’s also pink!
The original recipes calls for 2 bars of the Fels Naptha, but the Zote bar is much bigger so I only used one bar. I grated the Zote soap into a bowl. I then mixed my washing soda, baking soda and borax into my detergent container (an old store-bought detergent container) and stirred them together. Just a quick note: Since the last time I made detergent there have been warnings going around about new studies that are showing that Borax powder fumes may cause reproductive harm in men. I wasn’t too worried because I’m making the detergent and after it’s all mixed together it doesn’t give off any powdery fumes. Obviously this is a decision you’ll have to make for yourself.
In the past I’ve made DIY concoctions, really like them, used them, then when I wanted to remake them, I couldn’t locate the recipe. Well this time, I’m not going to let that happen. I’ll be putting together a DIY recipe book for myself as I go along as well as writing the recipe and instructions on the container holding the DIY goodness. For today’s detergent, I wrote everything on top of the lid of the container.
Happy cleaning!
Until tomorrow,
Do you think this detergent could clean my tennis ball. It’s a bit dirty.
While Walking My Dogs 
I have been doing this for a couple years and I will never buy it at the store again. It works just as well and it saves a small fortune. I make it once a year in a 5 gallon bucket. My husband laughed at me at first but now he loves it.
That’s a great idea about the 5 gallon bucket. I don’t mind the mixing, but grating the soap is a pain. To only have to do that once a year would be great. I agree, it works wonderfully.
I’ve been meaning to try this. Did you find all the ingredients at the local store or did you have to order any of them?
I found all of them at Walmart and I’m pretty sure most grocery stores carry them in the laundry section. I did order the Zote soap from Amazon. Like I said I’ve made the detergent with the Fels Naphta soap and it was great. It was a wonderful fresh scent and I found it at the grocery store.
Thanks for the info. I have to use hypoallergenic laundry soap. I wonder if this recipe would fit the bill… I’m going to have to really look into it. It’s so much cheaper than the “organic-style” laundry soaps!
I would really research the ingredients and also look at the ingredients used in your organic soaps. There’s got to be a cheaper alternative out there. I’m even wondering about making a soap that I could use instead of the Zote or Fels Naphta. It’s important that I don’t use anything that would clog up my machine. The other thing to consider is the new HE machines. I don’t have one but if I start changing things around it might be a problem for any machine.
I agree that there’s got to be a cheaper solution. I just need to look into it. I don’t know why I’ve waited so long. There’s probably someone out in the blogosphere that has experimented and figured it out. We’ve just got to stumble across their blog. 🙂
I really want to do this, but just have a couple questions.
1) how big is the container?
2) where do you find the ingredients?
This particular container holds 22 lbs. it’s an old detergent container from the store. I buy my ingredients at Walmart or Winco. The Zote soap I found at Amazon, but the Fels Naphta soap you can buy at Walmart or Winco.
The recipe fills my container half way. So it makes approximately 10 lbs. you need an airtight container by the way to keep the soap shavings soft.
Love it! I recently just made the liquid gloppy kind but I really think it works well and I am so happy for how cheap it is!! Question: Do you ever add essential oils to your detergent and if you do how much would you say? 🙂
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I’ve never added essential oils but I think that’s a fantastic idea. I would start small, say about 30 drops for this batch. And mix it in really well. Maybe add it to the baking soda before you mix it into the other ingredients. Keep in mind though, the Fels Naphta soap has a strong clean scent while the Zote soap is milder. You’ll want to pick scents that complement not compete.
Okay, that makes sense to put it in the baking soda first! Thank you!! 😀