Natural laundry detergent: Make Your Own Sustainable Laundry Detergent At Home

Making your own natural laundry detergent at home is a great way to avoid harsh chemicals and reduce plastic waste from buying conventional detergents. With just a few simple ingredients, you can make an effective and eco-friendly laundry detergent that is safe for your family and the environment.

Why make your own laundry detergent

There are several benefits to making your own laundry detergent at home:

Avoids harsh chemicals

Conventional laundry detergents contain many harsh chemicals like fragrances, dyes, brighteners, and preservatives. These can irritate skin and cause allergic reactions. Making your own allows you to control what goes into your detergent.

Reduces plastic waste

Laundry detergent bottles are a major source of plastic waste. Making your own reduces single-use plastic from detergent bottles piling up in landfills.

Cost effective

Homemade laundry detergent costs a fraction of what you would pay for conventional detergents. The ingredients are simple and affordable.

Customizable

You can tweak your homemade detergent to suit your needs. Add essential oils for scent, use a gentler soap for sensitive skin, or enhance stain-fighting power as needed.

Better for sensitive skin

The natural ingredients in homemade laundry soap are much gentler on sensitive skin compared to harsh detergents. Great for babies and those with allergies or eczema.

Environmentally friendly

Homemade laundry detergent contains biodegradable ingredients that are safer for waterways compared to chemicals in conventional soaps which can harm aquatic life.

Simple DIY natural laundry detergent recipe

Making your own laundry detergent is easy and requires just a few simple ingredients:

Ingredients:

• 1 bar of soap – grated (Castile or other plant-based soap works best)
• 1 cup washing soda
• 1 cup borax
• Essential oils (optional)

Directions:

1. Grate a bar of soap into flakes. Castile or plant-based soap works best.

2. In a bowl, mix together the grated soap, washing soda, and borax. Stir well.

3. Optional: Add 10-15 drops of essential oils for scent if desired. Lavender, lemon, and tea tree oil work well.

4. Store the powder detergent in an airtight container. Use 1-2 tablespoons per load.

That’s it! With just 3 main ingredients you can make an effective eco-friendly laundry detergent.

Tips:

• Use coarse grated soap so it dissolves better in the wash.
• Don’t use old soap slivers – grate from a fresh bar for best results.
• If mixing by hand, use a fork to break up any clumps in the powder.

Choosing the right ingredients

While homemade laundry detergent is simple to make, choosing the right ingredients is important:

Soap

• Use plant-based soap – Castile soap works best. Avoid animal-based soaps.
• Grate finely – Coarse grated soap dissolves better.
• Soap provides cleaning power by lifting dirt from fabric.

Washing Soda

• Helps soften water which improves cleaning ability of the soap.
• Do not use baking soda – it is not the same as washing soda.
• Look for washing soda in the laundry aisle or make your own washing soda.

Borax

• Acts as a water softener and whitening agent.
• Boosts the cleaning power of the detergent.
• Find borax next to laundry supplies in most supermarkets.

Making your own washing soda

Washing soda can be hard to find in some stores. Luckily, you can easily make your own from baking soda:

What you need:

• 1 cup baking soda
• Saucepan and spoon
• Parchment paper
• Oven and oven mitt

Directions:

1. Spread baking soda on a parchment lined pan.
2. Bake at 400°F for about 1 hour. It will be powdery and clumpy when done.
3. Remove from oven and break clumps apart with a spoon as it cools.
4. You now have washing soda! Use in detergent recipes.

Baking the baking soda changes its chemical structure, turning it into washing soda.

Using your homemade laundry detergent

Your homemade laundry detergent can be used the same way you would use conventional detergent:

• Use 1-2 tbsp per standard load in the washing machine. Adjust amount as needed.
• Pour powder into the drum or detergent dispenser before adding clothes.
• Wash clothes on a normal cycle, with cool or warm water temperature.
• Can be used on all washable fabrics – towels, sheets, clothes, etc. Shake stains first.
• For best results, don’t use fabric softener with homemade detergent.

Some tips for homemade detergent:

• May need to use more detergent for very dirty or smelly clothes.
• Doesn’t produce as many suds. Focus on cleaning performance not bubbles.
• Works fine in HE machines despite low suds.

Enjoy fresh smelling laundry cleaned with your own natural, plastic-free laundry detergent! Making your own is cost effective and better for the environment.