Homemade Laundry Detergent

We have been using this homemade laundry detergent recipe from Mom 4 Real for over a year and it works great! This homemade detergent is chemical free and safe for all types of washing machines. Our clothes are clean, fresh and there’s no more chemical build up in the washer. Keep reading for my tips and a printable copy below.

I typically cut the recipe in half, because a half-gallon lasts us a LONG time at a ¼-cup per load. I also add a ¼-cup of vinegar and a ¼-cup of water to the fabric softener dispenser as a natural softener. There is no vinegar smell, just clean, fresh, soft clothes.

The recipe calls for essential oils, but as a personal preference, I have never added them. Oil and water don’t mix, so I don’t want to risk oil stains on our clothes. When I first started making this, I used the Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Liquid Soap – Baby Unscented, because of skin sensitivity issues for us. I have switched to the Lavender Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Liquid Soap and there are zero sensitivity issues. There are several scents available, peppermint or rose might be lovely I just haven’t branched out yet.

There are no bonding agents in this recipe, so you will need to secure the cap and shake the jug before each use. I typically add the detergent to the water and then add our clothes to ensure good mixing, but I have never had an issue just adding it in on top of the clothes.

Not only is this natural, it is CHEAP! I won’t claim to be great at math, but by my calculations, a half-gallon costs approximately $3.17 to make. There are 32 loads per half-gallon, so each load costs approximately ten cents.

Life gets messy, so if additional stain treatment is needed I use a mixture of baking soda and vinegar. I rub it in and let it soak for a bit, then wash. Occasionally for grease or grass stains, I will add a dab of Dawn to this mixture. I use this for Emma’s light colored softball pants and it works fantastic. The black softball pants just go in the wash and come out fine without additional treatment. Now if only there was a folding fairy…

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