4 DIY Laundry Detergent Recipes

diy

If your laundry is getting dingy-looking, and it smells a lot like last week’s campaign promises, perhaps you need a new detergent. And if you don’t have the heart to pay–or simply don’t want to–the high prices for detergents, what follows are five great recipes for your own homemade laundry soap.

Powdered Soap Nuts.

Please, don’t ask why they call this soap nuts. It makes us think of the old Euell Gibbons hickory nuts commercials. The truth be told, we wouldn’t eat either one, but the later is greater for washing clothes. Here’s what you will need:

* 3 Boxes, Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (55 oz)

* 1 Large Box of Eco Nuts Soap Nuts (approx 8 cups of berries or 4 cups soap nuts pow powder)

* 1 Tub, OxiClean Free or “Baby” (3 lbs)

* 1 Box Baking soda (16 oz)

Run all of the ingredients through a food processor, add to a sack or bottle to dispense. Add one or two tablespoons to your laundry.

 

No-Grate Laundry Detergent

If you are tired of all the grating that comes with other detergent recipes, try this one. Here’s what you will need:

3 Tbs Borax

3 Tbs Washing Soda 2 Tbs Dawn Dish soap

Combine these products in a one-gallon jug. Pour 4 cps boiling water in the jug. Mix until all of the ingredients are thoroughly dissolved in the liquid. Let mixture cool. Then fill to the top with cold water.

 

Easy Laundry Soap

OK. Why this one is called “Easy” is beyond us. Let’s just say that it’s easier to make than others. Everything you need to make it is here.

1 Bar (14 oz) Fels-Naptha, Zote Soap

2 Cps Arm & Hammer Super Wash

2 Cps Borax Mix all of this together, and you’ve got a great, and inexpensive detergent.

Homemade Liquid Soap Nuts Laundry Detergent

This recipe is a little more work than others but still is nice. Combine these ingredients:

1 Cup Eco Nuts berries (approx. 2 oz)4 Cups Water1/2 Cup Vinegar (natural preservative)

Combine all of the ingredients in a large pot and bring it to a boil, stirring and mashing the lumps as it cooks. Turn the heat down and allow to simmer, and let it cook for 30 minutes. This takes out a lot of the excess water. After the simmering is finished, put the mixture through a piece of mesh into a clear jar for use.

 

Castile Soap

If you’re really into protecting the environment, this is a safe bet for you. Here are the ingredients:

Washing soda or baking soda

SaltThieves Household Cleaner

That’s part one of this recipe. For packing an extra punch, add these ingredients:

White vinegar or fabric softener

Hydrogen peroxide

1/2 Tbs of citric acid

This recipe is great on everything but diapers.

 

And that’s it. If all of these seems like a bit too much work for you, give the Laundry Center a call. With not only making your laundry cleaner than you have probably ever seen it, plus free pick-up and delivery, it couldn’t be easier.