DIY Natural Laundry Detergent

Learn how to make your own DIY Natural Laundry Detergent with just a few ingredients and essential oils. Save money with this non-toxic laundry cleaner.

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I just can’t believe how easy it is to make your own all-natural laundry detergent. It makes me cringe to think how much I used to shell out for natural and organic store-bought laundry detergents. It’s so simple to make your own.

Ingredients to Make Laundry Detergent

• Castile soap in a bar is great way to really stretch out your dollar. You just grate the bar soap (like you would cheese) and then follow the directions in this recipe to mix it into a powder with the other ingredients. It provides a mild sudsy action that helps to clean clothes.
• Washing soda helps to soften hard water to make cleaning clothes more effective.
• Boarax helps to brighten clothes. It very alkaline so it helps to clean clothes well.
• Essential oils provide the natural fragrance in this recipe. 

Purification essential oil (a blend of citronella, lemongrass, lavandin, rosemary, melaleuca and myrtle essential oils) is very effective in deodorizing and removing odors from fabric. You can also use Citronella essential oil in place of Purification.

How to Make this Laundry Detergent – Step by Step

1. Grate one soap bar with a cheese grater.

2. Combine all grated castile soap, 1 cup washing soda, 1/2 cup Borax and 10-15 drops essential oils in a blender or food processor and mix until it turns into a fine powder.

3. Process the small pieces of soap, washing soda and Borax together in a food processor or blender until it is well mixed.

4. Store the laundry detergent in an airtight glass container.

5. Use 1-2 tbsp of detergent per load.

How to Use This Natural Laundry Detergent

Use 1-2 tbsp of this DIY laundry detergent per load. You may need to do an extra rinse if you find the granules don’t break down (possible if you have a HE washing machine) and/or include white vinegar in the laundry rinse.

I’ve gone green with my laundry for a few years now. We have a front-loading energy-efficient washing machine, which I love because it cuts down on water usage significantly. I always use just a scoop or two of this DIY Laundry Detergent.

While it’s tempting to use more, it’s important not to do it. Too much detergent can create excess suds – that doesn’t make your clothes cleaner, it actually creates more problems.

Are You Using Too Much Laundry Detergent?

Here are 7 reasons why you should avoid using too much laundry detergent:

1. It leaves a stain or residue on clothes.
2. The odor in many washing machines is caused by excess residue trapped in the washer.
3. Loads may not have a change to drain properly – causing clothes to be more wet and take more time to dry.
4. Leaking, particularly in front load washers, can occur.
5. It may take more energy to wash clothes as the washer automatically adds extra rinses and pauses to break down the excess suds.
6. The water savings you think you’re getting is literally going down the drain due to the extra rinse cycle needed to rinse out the extra suds.
7. There’s could be increased wear and tear on the washing machine’s pump and motor because the suds act like a brake, and the washing machine works overtime all the time.

So when it’s time to do laundry, be sure to use the amount of detergent – whether it’s a scoop or two of a DIY detergent or what’s indicated on the bottle of a store-bought detergent.

More Posts You Might Like

• DIY Natural Bleach Alternative
• DIY Natural Household Cleaner
• DIY Linen Spray (Homeamde Febreeze)

Did you try this? Don’t forget to rate it and comment below to let me know how it went. You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

DIY Natural Laundry Detergent

Don’t Mess With Mama

Learn how to make your own DIY Natural Laundry Detergent with just a few ingredients and essential oils. Save money with this non-toxic laundry cleaner.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Servings 30 uses

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 bar castile soap
• 1 cup washing soda
• 1/2 cup borax
• 10-15 drops essential oils Lavender essential oil is my favorite

Instructions

 

• Grate soap bar with a cheese grater.
• Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and mix until it turns into a fine powder.
• Process the small pieces of soap, washing soda and Borax together in a food processor or blender until it is well mixed.
• Store the laundry detergent in an airtight glass container.
• Use 1-2 tbsp of detergent per load.

Notes

How to Use This Natural Laundry Detergent

Use 1-2 tbsp of this DIY laundry detergent per load. You may need to do an extra rinse if you find the granules don’t break down (possible if you have a HE washing machine) and/or include white vinegar in the laundry rinse.

Tried this recipe?Mention @dontmesswithmama on Instagram

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