DIY: How to Make Your Own Homemade Green Laundry Detergent
I decided to research different recipes for making my own green laundry detergent. To my surprise, there were many different kinds, some that had to be cooked and had a thick texture and some that were just powders. I tried a few different recipes of both, and decided the liquid ones were too much work and too much of a hassle to store. I wanted to be green but I also needed something that wasn’t taking up too much of my time to make.
After trying a few powder recipes I found one that worked pretty well and with a few minor adjustments is now the green laundry detergent I use on a weekly basis.
To make your own green laundry detergent you are going to need: 1 up of Borax, 1 bar of Fels Naptha soap, 1/4 cup of OxyClean, and 1 cup of Washing Soda.
You are going to need about 2 grated cups of the Fels Naptha soap. This should be about the whole bar. I just use a cheese grater to grate it. It’s a good idea to keep this cheese grated specially for grating soap, and not continue to use it for cheese also, even if you wash it.
Mix together the grated Fels Naptha soap with the rest of your green laundry detergent ingredients. The mix is going to look lumpy and not like it is mixed correctly, but don’t worry. It should be fine.
Store the homemade laundry detergent in any kind of sealed container. I like to make a pretty large bucket full to use for a whole month or two at a time. If I have home made laundry detergent on hand I am less likely to get lazy and buy store detergent.
Use the green laundry detergent just like you would a store bought powder kind. Mix 1 tablespoon of it into the wash for a smaller load of laundry and 2 tablespoons for a larger load.
If you miss the smell of your normal laundry detergent you can always mix some of your favorite scent of essential oil into the mix, leaving your clothes smelling great.
