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Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent

Meet Ruth and Rebecca. They’re expert laundry soap makers. Why are you seeing their photo? Well, because I tried making some laundry soap at home and it was a total dud. I mean, it was the duddiest of the duds. I got mad. This should be something I can do, right? Well, my soap chunked up and became almost un-stirrable. It was sad. I was sad. I was mostly mad though. I hate when I mess something up. So, I contacted Rebecca because I knew she made her own laundry detergent with her mom. I asked if I could come over and take photos to find out what I was doing wrong. Well, I wasn’t adding the same amounts of stuff that they were. Turns out that not everything you read on the internet is true. GASP! Sorry Al Gore. So, here is the story of the soap – the right way.

You need the same things to make this stuff as for the dry version, but you’ll add water…..lots and lots of water. You’re going to boil water like you’re having a baby folks. The amounts that I’m going to give you here are for half of a 5 gallon bucket – or 2 ½ gallons. Yes, I  graduated college with a math degree – not.

Now, where does one get a 5 gallon bucket? I’m sure you can buy one at Lowe’s, but maybe you have one just collecting dust somewhere in your garage – or maybe you in-laws have one gathering dust in their garage. Don’t go out and buy one until you ask around for a free one. You can even call restaurants and ask them if you can have their empty pickle bucket…..or maybe you can ask them to donate a few pickles too. I love pickles. Ruth used a big, white bucket with a nice handle – I use this jobber. I got it from Sam’s when I was buying this laundry detergent. That was before mom and I both determined that it was making our washer smell funny. Guess there was  a reason it was so cheap.

So, you need to grate your soap. About half a bar. It’s going to make your house smell really pretty. I feel pretty, oh so pretty! Oh, and try not to grate your knuckles like me. We don’t want bloody laundry detergent.  Doesn’t Rebecca have nice hands? She should be a hand model.

Here it is all done. It looks like yellow snow. Yikes. You know what they say about that. Don’t eat it!!!!

Now, you should have some hot water almost boiling on the stove. I guess I should have told you that earlier. Oops! Add your grated soap to the water a little at a time and stir well.

Now, this is important….listen up! Bring the mixture to a boil and stir until the soap is all melted. I didn’t do this part, so maybe that was part of my issue. You need the soap totally melted. Mine never got that way because I didn’t boil it. I just let it warm over low heat. Thanks for the tip, Ruth!

Here is it melted. It will look like yellow Kool-Aid. But please don’t drink it – unless you have a dirty mouth. Keep stirring and boiling until it’s all melted and no little clumps remain.

Grab a smallish bowl and add one cup of Washing Soda. Like I said yesterday, you can find this stuff at Food City and Kroger. If you know of somewhere else to find it, please let us know!

Now, add a cup of Borax to the Washing Soda. Mix well. If you have clumps of Borax, just use your hand to break them up. For some reason my Borax always clumps….but Ruth says her’s does too so I’m in good company.

Pour your soap mixture into your big bucket. Add the dry mixture to the soap water and stir well until it starts to dissolve.

If you want your soap to smell all pretty and nice, then you can add ½ ounce of essential oil. They used Lemongrass Sage. It was delightful! I would love to smell like Lemongrass Sage all day……or Tootsie Rolls.

Oh, and I also should have told you to have a big pot of water simmering on the stove. When you’re done stirring your Borax and oil mixture then you can add this additional water. Stir until the dry ingredients are totally dissolved.

Now, top off your bucket – half full for this 5 gallon bucket – with warm water from the tap.

Ruth covered her bucket with Saran Wrap. But if your bucket has a lid, then you can do that. You’ll want to stir it a couple times over a 24 hour period – you won’t use it for 24 hours anyway.

Now, Ruth says that this detergent is like soup – no two batches are the same. It could be that your detergent is really thick and chunky, like goop. Or it could be thick on top and thin on the bottom. That’s ok, because you’ll need to stir it each time before you use it. So, if you look at your detergent and think “this isn’t right” then congratulations! It’s right. Mine was terribly wrong because it had large chunks of soap that hadn’t dissolved and a large, LARGE layer of foam on top. I didn’t let my soap all melt. Don’t make my mistake. Don’t be stupid. Ruth says her detergent looks like snot. Yep, I’d agree with her. But guess what? It’s really pretty smelling snot!

Now, after Ruth and Rebecca let their detergent sit for 24 hours, they divide it into smaller containers like this. That allows them to shake the bottle to incorporate it all together instead of stirring like I’ll do in my large bucket. You could also use an old, empty laundry bottle….but Ruth said that didn’t really work for them. See how it separates? That’s why you have to shake/stir before each load of laundry.  You’ll use 1/3 to ½ cup per load.
The cost difference for the liquid is about the same as for the dry version, about $.02-.05 per load….versus $.20+ for the store variations.Like the dry version, this is also compatible with high-efficiency washers, easy on sensitive skin, and reportedly safe for cloth diapers.Guess what? When I tried it the second time, it worked. Thanks Lord! I really didn’t want to make a million batches to get it right…….but I’ll probably use the dry version most of the time because of space issues.Thank you Ruth and Rebecca for sharing your time with us and showing us how to be better home economists!
Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent (2 1/2 Gallons):1/2 bar Fels Naptha soap, grated1 cup Washing Soda1 cup Borax

Enough hot water to make 2 1/2 gallons
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Comments

  1. I love this liquid laundry soap! However I use the full bar of Fels Naptha and 1/2 cup of Borax to three gallons of water plus about 6 cups I use to boil the bar soap. Sometimes it solidifies more than others and other times it is more slimy. I have tried other bar soap but I prefer the Fels Naptha by far, it smells and cleans better. I also use to pre treat stains instead of a store bought pretreater and it works just as well if not better.

    Reply

  2. I’m so glad you gave this recipe. Most I have found are for 10 or more gallons which is too much. I tried this one and loved it. The only thing I would add is for those with hard water may want to add a cup of homemade or store brand oxi clean.

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  3. Do you know if the powdered kind is okay for people with eczema? My 3 year old has eczema and using Tide is a no no. We use Arm and Hammer. Thanks.

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  4. my husband bought a cement mixer for his drill and we’ve made this same batch with less borax and soda, but with an entire fels naptha bar. It makes 10 gallons. We use the one from the Duggars (19 and couting). anyway, we fill 2 5 gallong buckets half full with our mixture, then after 24 hours (or at least over night) we mix with the hand drill cement mixer. So much easier than mixing by hand. also it seperates less after this has been done, almost like an emulsification process. then we fill the 5 gallong buckets all of the way to the top with hot water and slowly mix until incorporated. sometime I just make a 5 gallon bucket and then pour into a 1 gallon juice pitcher, half of a gallon and fill to the top with hot water. that way I still get 10 gallons total but don’t have to take up so much floor space with the buckets…hope the idea of the cement mixer helps

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  5. Thank you so much! I love your blog! I made the dry version of the laundry detergent last week, and I just tonight made my first batch of the liquid. I have 2 1/2 gallons sitting in the kitchen brewing lol! I used the Fels Naptha bar soap. I think it smells very good and is only 97 cents at walmart. I think the liquid is going to go much further than the dry version. It is not that hard to make at all for those that might have thought it too hard to tackle! I love to cook, but had no idea I would find the same enjoyment out of making homemade cleaning supplies 🙂

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  7. I should have taken a pic. Now that it is cool, it’s so thick. It looks like jello. LOL I added some boiling water.

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  12. That’s sucks. I really wanted to use Castile soap. But I can only purchase dr. Bonner liquid Castile soap in my area.
    Bummer. 🙁

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    • You know you can just put the castile soap directly into your wash, right? I’ve done that a few times in a pinch. Only two caps full.

      Also, try checking your local grocery store. That’s where I found mine (bar castile). It was with the other facial soaps. I was shocked to see it! 🙂

      Reply

  13. I was also looking at that recipe. Do you prefer that recipe more?
    Also, how much does it tend to make? It seems like it wouldn’t go a long way.
    I appericate your time.

    Reply

    • No, of the three recipes the castile liquid is the most expensive. I do like it, but I don’t use it often. My favorite is the powder detergent. You can make it with castile soap if you buy the bar castile soap……and that soap is usually pretty cheap. 🙂

      Reply

  15. You can go to your local store and ask the bakery If they have any buckets. The store I go to sells them really cheap to you with a lid.

    Reply

  18. I’m making this right now! So far it looks like yellow Kool-Aid! I’m excited! Macintosh Apple essential oil. ;O)

    Reply

    • I’m making another batch (last one was in April) and using oil to scent it. This time I’m making the whole bucket full. Maybe, it’s because I’m using Lavender Essential Oil (which is strong), but I’m only using 1/3 of an ounce and it almost seems like too much.
      How did the apple work out?

      Reply

  20. AGH! I love this! We have a high efficiency washer so I was just reading this for kicks thinking it wouldn’t be usable in our washer. Until I read the bottom! I was so excited I told Jeff! I think he rolled his eyes and huffed at me… He doesn’t like when I get big ideas, they’re usually messy!

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  21. Stacy, Not sure if men are allowed to read house wife blogs or post on same but I did anyway. Home Depot has the 5 gal buckets. About $2 or $3 if I remember right.

    Tim

    Reply
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