I’ve posted my recipe for Cloth Diaper Detergent, but never considered to post the version for laundry detergent. Silly me 
They are basically the same, except that the regular detergent has soap in it
What soaps can you use?
From my understanding, most any bar soap will do. I think most people try to choose something that’s easy on the skin.
Fels Naptha
Ivory
Zote
Kirk’s Castile
etc.
If you don’t want to use bar soap, you could make the recipe without it and simply add a squirt of Dr. Bronners to heavily soiled loads.
So what’s the recipe?
Basically it’s this:
1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax
1/2 cup of oxiclean
1 bar of soap, finely grated
There are tricks to grating it. The best one I’ve heard is to chop it up (food processor can help here), lay it out on some cookie sheets to dry for a day or so, and then chop it up again (again, food processor, big help!) Be careful not to push your processor too hard (don’t rush it!).
Now, I said that the above recipe is basically the recipe. I don’t like leftovers and I don’t like having to do things over and over again, so I like to make large batches. It’s a little more work at the time, but a lot less work over time 
Here’s the full recipe:
3 Boxes Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (55 oz each)
2 Boxes 20 Mule Team Borax (76 oz each)
1 Large Tub OxiClean (96 oz)
24 Bars of Soap, finely grated
Depending on what soap you get and how you buy it (bulk, discount store, etc.) you can make a full batch of this for around $60 and it will last a VERY long time.
I’ve found that getting large buckets to mix this up makes it SUPER easy! Layer all of your ingredients into one (or more) buckets. Pour from one bucket to the next, and repeat until it’s mixed to your satisfaction. That’s it!
This recipe has a higher yield than the CD detergent, so yo may need more than 2 buckets to mix back and forth.
How do I use it?
I liked to use 2 tablespoons per load of laundry. My husband has a fairly dirty job and I have messy kids *cough*daughter*cough*
If I’m doing a cold wash, I have a jar that I keep close by that I can put my scoops into, add some hot water and help dissolve it a little before throwing it in the wash. It will work without doing that, but I like to.
**I’d like to make a note about the borax used in this recipe. A recent article by EWG cautions the use of borax for cleaning in the home noting that toddlers and young children face special risks from hand-to-mouth transfer of carpet or crack and crevice, dust or spray borax treatments. I would recommend not using borax as a general home cleaner – any cleaner (aside from pure water) used for these purposes will leave a residue. I feel comfortable using the minuscule amount in the detergent. It is not used on open surfaces and is washed out during the rinse cycle.
You can read a bit more on this debate here – there are some great points of view in the comments.
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
borax is a natural pest deterrent. My mother always bought borax to get rid of ant hills.
Yea! I found out that my Grandmother uses it on her garden
Do you think I could use the powdered Ivory Snow? How much do you think I would need for the smaller batch? It's 2x concentrated.
Thanks for the recipe!
Are those the soap flakes? If so, I think yes. I've heard of people using that, I think. I don't have access to them here or I would try it out.
I would use probably use 1/2 to 3/4 the amount and see how that goes, you can always add more
If you try it, let me know how it goes!
Awesome thanks for the reply!
We're going to try Zote first since it's cheaper and see if we have any skin reactions to it first.
Should I use the whole 14.1 oz bar of Zote or half?
You're welcome
I think a bar of Fels is like 5.5 oz. If it's 14 oz, maybe start with half and see how that works for you
I'd love for you to come link to my Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe Round-Up!
Super informative post you've got here!
-Lauren
I love this thanks! trying it out for the first time!
You might also want to wear a mask while mixing all these things. The fine powders will waft up and get ya!
I used Fels Naptha and it smells very strongly (not bad, but it can be smelled in the next room if the laundry room door is open). I grated the soap and it isn't fine enough. Next time I will try the food processor method. Thanks for the recipe.
Would it be easy enough to add essential oils to this for a scented version? If so, how much would you suggest?
I've made this a few times with the Fels but I am wondering if I use the Ivory and add oil if I can make it more personal?
I know that you can add EOs to this for fragrance, I haven't done it on more than a jar's worth, so I'm not sure what it would take for the batch. I think I used just a few drops or so for a quart jar. The scent won't last through the wash and dry cycle though, but it will make your laundry area smell nice
As for the Ivory. I have heard of people using it (I haven't tried it), but I have read that it may not work well enough on soiled clothes. You could always try a smaller batch of it and see how it goes.
yeah borax does get rid of bugs and ants amazingly! we were overrun with ants last summer and borax was my friend….. but, be careful where you put it, cuz this is not nice stuff to your soil. i accidentally killed some of my plants.
Hello! My friend gave me almost the same exact recipe for detergent, but the end product is a liquid. If I make it your way, it's a powder form, right? Thanks!
It is a powder form
It can be made liquid (I think the method is to heat water add & mix) but I prefer powder as it's faster/easier to make and less bulk to store – plus I like that the bulk recipe leaves no leftovers.
Do you use this in an HE front loader or would I need to modify the amount I use?
I use this in a standard machine. From what I understand some people just use 1 tablespoon in their wash. You could always use more if you see that you need it.
I've been using this recipe, without the oxiclean, for my diapers. I noticed your diaper recipe doesn't have the Fels Naptha. Should I not be using it on the diapers? :-/
I would not use soap on your diapers. I can lead to build up issues and/or repelling.
I recently purchased all the ingredients to make this detergent however I am still trying to figure out how to tackle grating the soap…I thought laying it out to dry before trying to chop it up would help but I think that may take way too long. I will probably end up borrow my mom's a food processor. Anyway, I was wondering about the soap in this mixture. I was wondering if I could just add a box of my regular detergent to the other ingredients ILO the soap and the function would work the same? I would also be able to have the scent I like from my detergent in this mixture…OR would that be defeating the purpose of homemade laundry detergent?
You can microwave the bar of soap for about 90 seconds. It will look like fluffy meringue, but it will be dry and brittle, and when mixing it will turn into a powder.
Thanks for the tip!
I read on a few other websites that people had trouble with this leaving soap scum on the inside of their washer. Has this ever been a problem for you?
I have not had that experience Megan, perhaps it's the quantity being used, or the final size of the soap bits? I process them, air out and then reprocess to turn it to dust. Perhaps larger bits would leave a film?
I just made the large batch after using up my small batch. I had to go to 3 different Walmarts to find enough bars of soap.
Thanks for the recipe! I used to make my own detergent, but i never thought of adding OXICLEAn….>DUH! My fiance has an EXTREMELY greasy job – do you think these sort of recipes would work without the soap? i LOVE soda and borax…just dunno if it would cut the grease? I never really could tell a difference in the mix whether i used the fels or not.
I just made this “detergent” in powder form. I found it on a different website. Many people had stated they used Ivory Soap instead of the Fels. I tried this as me and my daughter have sensitive skin. The Ivory flakes DO NOT dissolve….I’m going to try and sift out my Ivory flakes and replace with the Fels and hope that works….
For those of you that have used a food processor to help with the bars of soap – what kind of processor did you use? How many cups? Any other advice with doing that? I’m trying to get a used cheap processor to designate just for this use. Thanks!
Do you have a recipe that’s suitable for HE washers? Ours says “liquid” only.
I had read that it’s OK to use powdered laundry detergent in HE washers as long as you add it to the tub itself and not the little drawer made to hold the detergent. It’s to do with the powder getting stuck in the hose between the drawer and the tub. I’ve added powdered detergent to the tub (where the clothes are) and never had a problem in my front-loader HE.
I’ll have to try this when my current stash runs low, but I was excited to see that OxyClean is considered eco-friendly. I tend to buy the eco friendly detergents but have found that with the kids’ clothes from school, I need a bit of Oxy Clean to cut through the dirt and always felt guilty about using it. Thanks for the good advice and the guilt-lifting.
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