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This homemade liquid laundry detergent recipe is so easy to make, it saves money, and it actually works!
For many years, I’ve been a fan of homemade cleaning products with natural ingredients. I’ve made my own DIY all-purpose cleaner, homemade glass cleaner, DIY hand soap, and DIY toilet spray. But making my own laundry detergent has been one of my favorite DIYs ever.
It literally only takes about 20 minutes to make your own homemade laundry detergent! And, it lasts a long time, depending on how many loads of laundry you do in a week. As a family of seven, when everyone is at home, we do lots of laundry every week! But this stuff still lasts for a long time, because it only takes a small amount to effectively clean a load of laundry.
If you’re looking for ways to save some money, consider learning how to make your own laundry soap. It’s such an easy way to save on your grocery bill! And, by making your own detergent, you’ll also know what’s in it, and you can avoid many of the toxic ingredients commercial detergent often contains. While you’re at it, you may want to make some homemade wool dryer balls to shorten drying time, which also saves money!
Why We Love It
- Quick and Easy to Make: This is truly one of the simplest DIY projects. I can whip up a batch super fast whenever we’re running low.
- Saves Money: One of the reasons I started making my own liquid laundry soap was for the purpose of saving money. Compared to store-bought detergent (especially the more natural ones), this homemade liquid laundry detergent recipe is so cheap to make!
- Non-Toxic Ingredients: I’ve always been concerned about the toxic ingredients that many laundry detergents contain. With this super easy recipe, you get to control which ingredients go into your laundry detergent.
- It Actually Works: In addition to all the reasons why I love this DIY laundry detergent, I have to say again that it really does work to get even our dirtiest laundry clean! I have friends who use it successfully with cloth diapers, and we use it on work clothes and kitchen towels and dishcloths.
Equipment
- Large Stock Pot
- Half-Gallon Glass Jars (I have a leftover glass kombucha jug that I use, and I also use a half-gallon Mason jar) or Gallon Glass Jar or Plastic Buckets
Ingredients
Find the full list of ingredients, amounts, and instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Washing Soda: While similar, this is not the same thing as baking soda. Washing soda is sodium carbonate, and baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. Washing soda softens water and helps remove grease and stains.
- Borax: Borax softens water and enhances the power of the laundry detergent. It also helps remove grease, helps lift stains, and is a deodorizer.
- Liquid Castile Soap: I use the liquid castile soap, instead of the castile bar soap.
- Essential Oils (optional): In addition to the main ingredients of water, washing soda, borax, and liquid castile soap, you can also add some essential oils for scent (this is totally optional). I like to add lavender essential oil, as it makes the detergent smell so good!
How to Make Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent
Step 1: In a large saucepan or stock pot, heat 7 cups of water on a medium-high heat until just starting to boil, then turn down to simmer.
Step 2: Add the washing soda and borax to the pan of simmering water, stirring until the powders are dissolved. Add the liquid castile soap and stir again. Turn off heat.
Step 3: Add 7 cups of room temperature water to the pot and stir. Allow the mixture to cool for about 10 minutes. Then add essential oils, if using, and stir again. You can also use an immersion blender to mix the soap if you prefer.
Step 4: Once soap is cool enough, transfer to a gallon jar or two half-gallon jars.
Step 5: Add a label to your jars and allow to cool for 24 hours before using. After 24 hours, the detergent should have thickened and become more of a gel consistency. If the gel is more watery, or if the mixture separates, shake or stir the container before using.
How to Use
To use your homemade laundry detergent, here are a few tips:
- Shake before using. You’ll need to shake it to mix it before using each time, as it tends to separate.
- Use 1/4 cup per regular-sized load, 1/8 cup for smaller loads. (If you have an HE machine, use about 1-2 tablespoons.) I just keep a 1/4 cup measuring cup next to the jar of laundry detergent.
Tips
- This recipe makes a gallon of homemade laundry soap. If you’d like to make less, it’s easy to halve the recipe and make a smaller batch. You can also make a large batch in a 5-gallon bucket if you want to stock up.
FAQs
There are several different methods for making your own laundry detergent. For this easy liquid laundry detergent, I just mix together washing soda, borax, and liquid castile soap, and it works well for us!
Yes, generally, it is! I started making homemade laundry detergent to save money. As we are concerned about toxic ingredients in many name-brand laundry detergents, we prefer to buy non-toxic brands, and those can be very pricey. Washing soda and Borax are inexpensive to buy in bulk, and I have also found castile soap at an affordable price. For us, this homemade liquid laundry detergent recipe is a money-saver for sure.
High-Efficiency (HE) washers use less water, so a low-sudsing homemade laundry detergent is necessary for HE washers to avoid excessive buildup. The liquid castile soap in this recipe is a low-sudsing soap that is known to dissolve well, which will avoid the buildup a bar soap-based recipe may cause. However, you should always check the manual for your specific washing machine to make sure it is safe for your machine.
We had our water tested, and the results came back with, “very hard water,” but this homemade laundry detergent works well to get our laundry clean.
More Home DIY Recipes
- Homemade Wool Dryer Balls
- Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner
- DIY All-Purpose Cleaner Without Vinegar
- Homemade Toilet Spray
- DIY Glass Cleaner
- DIY Fruit and Veggie Wash
- Lavender Linen Spray
- DIY Natural Room Freshener
If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please leave a comment with a 5-star recipe rating and let me know! Thank you so much!
Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent Recipe
Equipment
- Gallon Glass Jar (1 gallon jar or 2 half-gallon jars)
Ingredients
- 7 cups water, heated
- 1 cup washing soda
- 1 cup borax
- 1 cup liquid castile soap
- 7 cups water, room temperature
- 40-50 drops essential oil, optional
Instructions
- In a large pan or stock pot, heat 7 cups of water on medium-high heat until just starting to boil, then turn down to simmer.
- Add the washing soda and borax to the pot of simmering water, stirring until the powders are dissolved. Add the liquid castile soap and stir again. Turn off heat.
- Add 7 cups of room temperature water to the pot and stir. Allow mixture to cool for about 10 minutes. Then add essential oils, if using, and stir again. You can also mix with an immersion blender.
- Once the soap is cool enough, transfer to a gallon jar or two half-gallon jars.
- Add a label to the jars, and allow to cool for 24 hours before using. After 24 hours, the laundry detergent should have thickened and become more of a gel consistency (it will also appear whiter). If the gel is more watery, or if the mixture separates, shake the container (or stir) before using.
Notes
- Shake or stir before each use.
- Use 1/4 cup per regular load and 1/8 cup for smaller loads.
- For HE washers, use 2 tablespoons.
- This soap will last for 6-12 months.
Plan on trying this!!! I have Fels Napa grated, can I use it in place of liquid castile soap?? Maybe dissolve in the HOT water first???? THANK YOU SOO MUCH!!!! Wish me luck!!!
Hi Amy! Technically, you can use Fels Naptha in place of the liquid castile soap, but I wouldn’t recommend it if you have an HE machine, because it creates more suds than castile soap, and HE machines require a lower-sudsing soap. If you’re fine with Fels Naptha for your washing machine, to substitute the grated Fels Naptha, you’d only need half of the bar (about 2–2.5 oz). Melt it into the initial 7 cups of hot water (before adding washing soda and borax). The final product will most likely be thicker and more gelled than the castile soap version. If you try it, I’d love to hear how it goes!
This is my favorite homemade laundry detergent recipe! It’s inexpensive, easy to make, and it works!
Hello,
I want to try this laundry detergent recipe, but I’m wondering, is it gentle enough to use for baby’s clothing?
Hi Damaris! I use this on delicate items on the delicate washing machine cycle, and I also have friends who use it with baby clothes and cloth diapers. I always add vinegar to the fabric softener compartment of my machine, as we have hard water, and it has worked well for us. You might want to halve the recipe and try the smaller amount to see if you like it before committing to a larger batch.
Great! I’ll give it a try then. I’ll take your advice and halve the quantity. Thank you for getting back to me 🙂
You’re very welcome! 🙂