For years, I've searched for the best price for laundry detergent, clipped and matched coupons to sales and lugged home countless bottles of the stuff. Although I had heard about homemade detergents, these required a 5-gallon bucket, heating and mixing and lots of shaking each time a load of wash had to be done. All this seemed like too much trouble. I couple of months ago, I located a "recipe" for a powdered detergent. With only three ingredients, I had to give it a try.
To make a batch you will need:
- 1 bar of soap (I use Dial Natural to avoid dyes and fragrances. The Dollar Tree sells a 3-ct package.)
- 1 cup of Borax (Target and Wal-mart carry a box in the laundry idle for $4.)
- 1 cup of Washing Soda (Arm and Hammer makes this. It is NOT baking soda and can be found at Kroger or Martins for around $3.)
Follow these simple steps:
- Shave the bar of soap with a cheese shredder. (My boys fight over who gets to do this.)
- Add Borax.
- Add Washing Soda.
- Stir until well blended.
- Store in a container with a lid.
- Use 1 Tablespoon for 1 load of wash. (I used a sharpie to mark the side of an old medicine cup. For super capacity washers, and/or really dirty clothes, increase the amount of detergent.)
Does this really clean clothes?
Yes! I've had been using "free and clear" detergents and have found the homemade variety has gotten some items cleaner than before.
What if I prefer Natural Cleaners?
Borax is sodium borate. Washing Soda is sodium carbonate. Both are natural products. Use a natural bar of soap, if you do not want to add perfumes or dyes to your detergent.
Would you use this in an he washer?
I read many posts online before mixing up a batch because we do have an high efficiency washer. This type of machine requires low sudsing detergent, due to the decrease in water volume. Homemade detergents are low sudsing. (If you have a new washer, read the warranty prior to using homemade detergents because some require you to use commercial detergents.)
Does this really save money?
I can purchase a box of washing soda for $3, a box of borax for $4 and six bars of soap for $2 (2 x $1). My total purchase comes to $9 and will yield six batches of detergent. (Although I have yet to find coupons for the ingredients, I have purchased some while using a store coupon, such as "Spend $50, Save $8 instantly", which brings down...calculations here do not reflect this discount.) Each batch will contain at least 48 Tablespoons of product, for a total of 144 loads of laundry, which ends up being $.031 per load. My target price for sale purchased detergent was $.10 per load, so this is nearly a 70% savings. Also, there is enough remaining Borax to mix 1.75 additional batches of detergent. (NOTE: I have a super capacity washer, so I get fewer loads from a batch, but I also got fewer loads from each bottle of commercial detergent I purchased.)
What other benefits are there to using homemade detergent?
- This saves time, over seeking out deals and clipping coupons.
- It's easy and inexpensive to stock-up on basic ingredients without using too much space.
- My children are learning to be creative and resourceful.
