I’ve been making my own detergent for over ten years. Luckily, my family is used to me and went with it when I made my first batch. We were all surprised at how well it works.
Making your own soap isn’t for everyone. Here are the good and bad of making your own detergent at home.
Pros
Save money! – To make one batch of soap will cost you $4 for 64 loads of laundry. Name brand liquid detergent runs around $12.47 for 64 for loads and a container of pods is $27 for about the same number of loads.
Multiple uses! – You can also use this recipe to make a stain remover for tough stains on your clothes.
HE washers. – This soap is low sudsing, my washer for the past 15 years has been a front loading HE washer. I have not had any issues with using the recipe below.
Time – It doesn’t take a whole lot of time. The longest time is letting it sit for 24 hours to gel. Actual time is less than 30 minutes.
Cons
Planning – It doesn’t take a lot of planning, but you want to make sure you have detergent on hand. You don’t want to get in a situation where you need to do a load of laundry and you’re out of detergent and need to make a batch. That is just a pain. Though, it can be done in a pinch.
Gelling – After mixing the mixture could gel up again. Which isn’t too much of a problem a little stirring can’t fix. The recipe below solves this issue.
Space – Depending on the method you choose, you could have to store a large amount. You can have a half dozen mason jars, a large bucket for a dry mixture or even a 5 gallon paint bucket. Buckets aren’t esthetically pleasing either. Again, the recipe below offers a solution.
Tips and tricks to making detergent
- Buy a few bars at a time. It’s easier to grate a dried out bar,giving you small bits of soap which melt quicker. Buying a few extra allows them to dry out before making the next batch.
- Watch your pot and keep your temp medium/low. The water only needs to be hot enough to melt the soap. Higher heat can cause a spill over. It cleans up easily, but why have the extra work?
- If needed, you can use the soap immediately after mixing. Let the remaining sit for 24 hours. And proceed as instructed.
- If using a glass container as shown, I filled it half way with hot tap water to help preheat the container. Then I added my hot soap mixture.
- A danish dough hook works well for mixing. The gaps break up the gels nicely without having to use any mechanical tools
Recipe
- Water
- 1 Bar Fels-Naptha
- 1 ½ cups 20 Mule Team Borax
- 1 ½ cups Arm & Hammer Washing soda
- ½ cup Scent booster (optional)
Equipment
- Large stock pot
- Danish dough hook, or large spoon
- 3 gallon heat safe container
- Ladle or scoop to measure when adding to washer
Fill stock pot with water and bring to a low boil. Finely grate the Fels-Naptha bar and add to pot. Keep an eye on the pot so it doesn’t boil over and keep mixing often to help the soap melt. Once the soap is melted add the borax and washing soda. Continue to mix until melted and well incorporated.
In your heat safe container, add about a gallon or two of hot water to the container, then slowly pour the soap mixture into the container. Adding more hot water if needed to fill to the top. Add scent booster. Mix well.
Allow the mixture to sit for 24 hours. Then stir well with a dough hook or large spoon to break up the gel.
