I will be the first to admit: I’m not an overly active person. I wouldn’t call myself lazy, but I don’t usually go out of my way to make things any more complicated or involved than they need to be. I like finding methods that work for me and sticking to them stubbornly until someone or something convinces me of a better way.
So, I surprised myself by taking on the task of making homemade laundry detergent. I figured we recommend so many homemade cleaning products here at The Spruce that I might as well put one to the test. And it luckily coincided with laundry day and two new sets of sheets.
Here’s how I made the detergent, and why the results really surprised me.
How to Make Homemade Detergent
As far as homemade cleaning products go, this was probably on the harder end of items to source. By which, of course, I mean I had to go to two different grocery stores (one was without borax).
Ingredients
The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska
- 1 5.5-ounce bar of pure soap (or 1 cup of soap flakes)
- 1 cup baking soda
- 1 cup washing soda (sodium carbonate)
- 1/2 cup borax
Method
In a large bowl, I grated the bar of Castile soap; I used a Dr. Bronner’s citrus-scented bar for the added scent, but unscented works just as well. I added all of my ingredients to the bowl—handling the washing soda with care as it is caustic—and mixed them together with a gloved hand.
Simple as that: I was done in less than 10 minutes, and it might have taken me only two if I had used soap flakes instead of bar soap.
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The Results
After spending about $20 on supplies, I was feeling pretty down. A store-bought liquid detergent would usually cost me about $7, and none of the work of making it. But I wasn’t ready to give in just yet.
All in all, I made a quart of detergent. If I use two tablespoons per load, I get about 30 or so washes out of my entire endeavor. This easily competes with the 32 loads I supposedly get out of my 42oz of store-bought liquid detergent. And, if I want to make an entire quart again, it would only cost me a $4 bar of soap to do so.
So, logistically, it holds its own. But what about the actual cleaning results?
I would say that these loads of laundry were indistinguishable from any other load I’ve ever done. They washed well, felt and smelled clean, and turned out all the same. It was another regular day in the laundromat, which I wasn’t expecting.
I was initially worried about my laundry not smelling as nice, not coming out as soft and fresh, or possibly bleeding colors for whatever reason. But everything went off without a hitch and I had a great feeling of success for it.
Would I Do It Again?
The final test comes down to if I would do it again, and the answer really, really, really surprised me: Yes.
If all it takes to make detergent for another 30-ish loads is a $4 bar of Castile soap, I’m going to go for it. I get the feeling of success and achievement for having made something myself, I know I’m not adding anything to the machines that could clog or damage them, and I can even personalize my detergent with different scents!
So, I’ll continue making detergent, I will definitely recommend it to others, and I will think again before doubting our homemade cleaning products.
