36 Reviews of Homemade Laundry Detergent

From: Amy - Ellie's Mommie

On Jan 23, 2004

I LOVE THIS DETERGENT!! I made this with the Fels Naptha, but will be using Pure and Natural soap for my second batch. Mom has horrible childhood memories of being washed with Fels Naptha as a cure for poison ivy... This detergent got all of my wash sparkling clean, with no residue, no odor and no perfume. When combined with Homemade Fabric Softener, this recipe will save you so much money. The first batched lasted almost two months in our house (two adults and one baby girl). Edited to add: the second batch came out even better! It gelled much more and smells great when made with the Pure and Natural soap. editing again to add that while the soap gelled better and smelled good, the Pure and Natural version tends to leave white residue on my black clothes and it takes more to get stuff clean...back to Fels Naptha for us!

From: carolyn lynch

On Oct 16, 2003

I will never buy laundry detergent again. I have made 2 batches since the day this recipe was posted. The first, I used baking soda like the last reviewer and it did a good job but didn't gel up. The second I did exactly like the recipe and it is super. I have terrible water even with a water softener and so laundry is somewhat frustrating but our clothes were so clean with this and talk about removing odors from horrible socks! With 6 active people in this house (including 2 teenage daughters) this lasts so long. This is great. THanks

From: Neophyte in USA

On Jan 27, 2008

This does work well. Honestly, I don't know why anyone doesn't make this versus buying the stuff from the store. The store products will take the colors out of your clothes because they have additives in them, like ash. Look up the ingredients online---it's not the best stuff in there. FABRIC SOFTENER: You know those little plastic balls you are supposed to put liquid fabric softener in so during your spin cycle it spins out onto your clothes? Put some white distilled vinegar in it. It will soften your clothes without the smell. And here's another tip: If you get static cling, wad up some aluminum foil and toss it in your dryer when you dry your clothes----it takes the static cling out of your clothes!

From: Chef #471830

On Mar 26, 2007

As a former lover of Tide and Downy, I LOVE this and have used it for about 6 months. It works VERY well, and it is very inexpensive. I changed it a little though. I used half a bar of Ivory lavender soap, 1/2 cup of Washing soda, and no borax. Instead of pouring into a 5 gal bucket, I poured it into my old 300 oz Tide plastic container. Then I added enough hot water to fill it, and shook it to mix well. The next day it was gelled perfectly. Also, for fabric softener I mix 1 part fabric softener with one equal part water and one part white vinegar. It makes your fabric softener last 3 times as long, and it smells great. The first batch or two you might not smell it because you're used to the super-strong smell of the straight fabric softener, but after the 2nd load, it was awesome.

From: StrawberryParfait

On Jun 11, 2007

I've made the same recipe...without the water so that it's a powder form...works wonderfully. Didn't find washing soda in my area the last batch...which it worked ok...but definitly needed...so I may order it from amazon or something. But it works well overall, cleans clothes well. In powder form: I use 1 tablespoon for small load, 2 for medium, 4-5 for a large load.

From: Romany The Cat

On Sep 19, 2003

Thanks for this good recipe. I have made a half quantity and it has worked out just fine...didn't know how I was going to store 20lts of liquid but 10 is easier. I used a soaped called 'Laundry Velvet' which is a pure soap and has a lemon fragrance. I also used baking soda instead of washing soda, since the 2 are so similar and I wasn't able to buy washing soda easily (can check the discussion thread about this). I have done 2 loads of washing using this mix and everything seems to have come out just fine, judging from the colour of the water during the wash. Will be interested to see what it does on really soiled clothing.

From: TRushforth

On May 25, 2006

This is a great recipe! It was really easy to make, and it saves a ton of money. I'll never do store-bought again. I recommend using a fabric softener with this detergent, though. When I didn't, my clothes came out a little bit stiff.

From: Chef #192632

On May 31, 2009

An awesome money saver! I use 5 one gallon buckets (empty plastic ice cream containers) with 3T Arm & Hammer Washing Soda and 2T Borax placed in each bucket. I grate a bar of Fels Naptha and place it in a large pot with water on medium heat until the soap dissolves (15-20 minutes). I then equally pour the dissolved soap into the 5 buckets and mix with the Arm & Hammer and Borax. I then add hot water to fill the bucket, stir and place a lid on it.

From: Sully7

On Oct 3, 2003

This works very well and so cheap! My husband didn't even notice that I was using something different. I think it rinses cleaner than regular laundry detergent. The washing soda is a bit hard to find but it is well worth the effort!

From: Lightly Toasted

On Feb 20, 2004

This is certainly more economical than a name brand cleanser, but with our lousy water here, it just didn't do the job. My clothes just didn't come clean. All is not lost, however, I use it for "general cleaning"....walls, counters, baseboards, etc.