Homemade Laundry Soap

One of my least favorite products to spend money on was laundry soap. Anything that cleaned well but gently and didn’t destroy the environment was always priced well out of my budget. Then there’s the smell factor. Why is it that you can’t find compatible detergent and softener scents in the same store? Invariably, I’d pick two flavors that smelled wretched when put together on my clothes. I also noticed that only the expensive brands had an unscented variety, and that was usually more money. Why is that? Shouldn’t it be cheaper not to add fragrance?

Anyway, a couple of years ago, when I embarked on a mission to stop throwing money down the drain, I started making my own laundry soap. It’s cheap and easy, and it works!

By the way, in the last four or five years, I think I’ve only bought two small bottles of commercial detergent, and that was because I forgot to pack some on a couple of camping trips. I really need to stop doing that.

Laundry Soap

½ bar Fels Naptha or Zote laundry soap, grated

½ cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (NOT baking soda!)

½ cup borax

Water

Pour 3 quarts hot water into a large stock pot. Add grated Fels Naptha Soap. Heat mixture on medium high heat until the Fels Naptha has dissolved completely. Add washing soda and borax. Continuing heating and stirring mixture until it thickens to the consistency of honey. 

Carefully pour the hot soap mixture into a large bucket. Add 3 quarts hot water. Let sit for an hour or more to cool, stirring occasionally. Mixture will thicken as it cools. 

Divide cooled mixture between two 100 oz. laundry detergent bottles and top with warm water. Use about ½ cup per load of laundry. These two bottles last our family of four about a month. The soap has a clean scent by itself but doesn’t leave any scent on your clothes. If you like scented laundry soap, add a couple of drops of your favorite essential oil like lavender or patchouli to each bottle.

I’ve found that this is very gentle, low-sudsing soap. Okay, if you have hard water, it’s actually a no-sudsing soap. If you’re washing a particularly dirty batch of laundry, add ½ cup of washing soda or borax to the wash water. Vinegar is also a great additive during the rinse cycle. It acts as a fabric softener, a deodorizer, and a brightener for your dark colors. 

If you are having trouble finding the ingredients, check out the Arm & Hammer website for the washing soda and the store locator at the Dial Corporation’s website for the Fels Naptha soap. Borax is a pretty common product and can be found in the laundry detergent aisle of most grocery stores as well as home improvement stores. I can usually get a year’s supply of ingredients for less than $10.

The Zote soap costs a little bit more than the Fels Naptha and has a little more of a scent to it. However, it is also much better at preventing dinginess to your lights and whites. Home Depot and Lowes carry Zote.

The Fels Naptha Soap is useful to have around for more than laundry. Not only is it a main ingredient in this recipe, it is also an excellent pretreatment for tough stains, and it’s an effective treatment for Poison Ivy. 

I hope you try this recipe at least once. It’s gentle on your clothes, your washer, and your wallet.

Thanks for stopping by! Getting the dirty clothes through the wash isn’t really a housekeeping nemesis for me. Now, FOLDING the laundry is a different matter entirely. I’m so glad my children do the folding!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

Updated 9/26/2011 - Walmart now carries Borax, Washing Soda and Fels Naptha bars!