Homemade Laundry Detergent?

[lindseymw]

Just wondering if anyone makes their own detergent and what recipe they use. I have had a look online and there is 1001 different ones.

I quite fancy trying it out for costs and chemical reasons. My sister is going to be my guinea pig as I have just bought a ton of detergent for myself and her LO has really bad eczema so was hoping to try something out that would help. I'll be looking at switching once I have used up mine.

I'm in the UK so can't get borax (can source a substitute if needed).

Thanks

 

[mandaa1220]

Interested in answers as well!

 

[lindseymw]

Interested in answers as well!

I've found a recipe that I am going to try:

3rd bar of household soap (Amazon £3 for 3 bars)
1/2 cup (100ish grams) of Soda Crystals (Sainsburys £1 for a kg)
1/3 cup (60-70g) of Borax Sub (Amazon £6 for 1.5kg)
30 drops essential oil (optional - I'm using tea tree as I have some knocking about)
Makes 4.5l of liquid detergent

Soap & Borax should be delivered tomorrow so will give it a go.

 

[misspriss]

I had no idea you couldn't get borax in the UK!

I was going to post that I used to make my own, but I used borax.

It was (IIRC) 1 part grated household soap (~2 bars) 1 part washing soda, 1 part borax. I did about 2 cup "parts". It was okay but not recommended for diapers, so I've quit using it.

 

[lindseymw]

I had no idea you couldn't get borax in the UK!

I was going to post that I used to make my own, but I used borax.

It was (IIRC) 1 part grated household soap (~2 bars) 1 part washing soda, 1 part borax. I did about 2 cup "parts". It was okay but not recommended for diapers, so I've quit using it.

Thank you! Seems about the same as I've come up with, just different amounts.

You can't get Borax in UK or EU. It has been banned....no idea why (not looked into it). You can get a substitute off Amazon/eBay.

Stopped using cloth nappies, so don't have to worry about that.

 

[misspriss]

Well, it isn't something you want to ingest or anything, but it's hardly that bad! We used it to kill off the fleas in our carpet too.

I liked the powder version. Some people make borax-free versions to use with diapers. I think they use oxygen bleach instead? But it seems a borax substitute would work.

This was what I found (on a UK site selling borax)

Please Note: This product has been reclassified by the ECHA as Reprotoxic Category 2 and as such is not available to the general public. This change does not affect availability for business users or scientific research.

I've never heard of that! I will have to look it up. I think it is based on much higher concentrations than you would use in laundry though.

 

[mandaa1220]

Did you like the outcome of using the homemade detergent? We are planning to PT cloth diaper, but could use the homemade stuff for everything else possibly.

 

[Monzter79]

I do 2 parts washing soda, 2 parts borax, to 1 part grated soap, and several drops of essential oil. You can substitute a 50/50 mix of baking soda and Epsom salt in place of the borax.

My latest recipe (with the substitution) would be: 4 cups washing soda, 2 cups baking soda, 2 cups Epsom salt, 2 cups grated soap, & 10 - 20 drops (to your preference) of the essential oil of your choice.

I have a front loading energy efficient machine and I add 2 rounded tablespoons to each load, along with 1/4 cup (50-ish ML) of white vinegar in the fabric softener compartment.

Works great, smells clean (not "soapy"), saves money, and doesn't irritate my skin.

 

[wookie130]

Here's mine:

1 4 lb tub of oxiclean
1 4 lb bag of baking soda
whole box of washing soda
whole 4 lb box of borax
box of Zote laundry soap flakes
1 container of purex crystals

It is amazing, and environmentally friendly. 2 T per load is all that is needed.

 

[lindseymw]

The recipes that you have posted, are they for a powder?

The recipe I have got is for a liquid one, so melt all the ingredients into 4.5L of water. Just wondering, as you seem to use a lot more stuff that what the recipe I have found uses. Wondering if I should up the ratio as looking at it, it doesn't seem to be a lot to be diluted into water. Any thoughts?

 

[minties]

I haven't read through the thread but household soap caught my eye. I always read that soap is a no-no with nappies? I'll see if I can find where I read it. It was something about it clinging to the fibres and reducing absobancy.

 

[lindseymw]

I haven't read through the thread but household soap caught my eye. I always read that soap is a no-no with nappies? I'll see if I can find where I read it. It was something about it clinging to the fibres and reducing absobancy.

A PP has mentioned about it being a not suitable for nappies. I personally no longer use cloths anymore as Jacob is fully potty trained so it won't affect me.

However it's good to know for anyone else thinking about it using it. I wouldn't have given it a 2nd thought if I still used cloth.

 

[wookie130]

I have also read that using homemade laundry soap on cloth nappies also voids the warranty on several brands, if that actually makes a difference to anyone! LOL!

 

[ChiiBaby]

Might have to try this!

 

[Mintastic]

I make one similar to this one https://backtoherroots.com/2014/08/04/homemade-borax-free-laundry-detergent/
but I do use the lemon oil in it also. I don't have kids yet though so no clue if it would work well for diapers/nappies.

 

[minties]

I am really happy with the earth friendly brands available here which do a food job. But it is fun to do home made stuff

 

[Earthylove]

Hi Everyone!

I use soap berries, aka soap nuts. they're basically little berry things you throw in the wash and they release natural cleaning properties into the water. they came with a little drawstring pouch to put them in so they don't get lost in the washer or anything. I've been using them for almost a year on everything; clothes, sheets, whatever i would normally put in the wash. i was skeptical at first, but I love it! the clothes come out fresh and clean every time. Even my husband's work/exercise clothes. I also, in the last few months, started adding borax and washing soda because i heard good things about them, but i definitely recommend the soap nuts. for my rinse cycle i add a few drops of essential oil and a splash of vinegar.

I get my soap nuts online from Nautroil if anyone is interested in having a look, but I know soap nuts are available elsewhere as well.
they work with cloth diapers too! (diapers are mentioned in the faq section of the website)

 

[lindseymw]

Thanks Earthylove. I'll have a look into them for the future.

My ingredients have finally been delivered but at work today so will be making the concoction tomorrow! Will update to let you know how I get on.

 

[wookie130]

What's your recipe?

I have heard good things about soap nuts...hmmm.