Best Homemade Laundry Detergent - Earth Friendly Tips

Feel free to share

Making the Best Homemade Laundry Detergent

If you’re trying to make an eco-friendly laundry room, one great place to start is by making your own homemade laundry detergent. This recipe is the best homemade laundry detergent because it’s non-toxic, will help you save money, and can help you avoid the dangerous chemicals in store-bought laundry detergent.

Don’t have time to DIY? That’s OK! Simply take a look at this list of the best sustainable laundry detergents or these top eco-friendly laundry detergent sheets for a variety of fantastic options that will get your clothes naturally clean.

Why Switch to Homemade Laundry Detergent

Before I started using soap nuts to do laundry and homemade soap nut liquid laundry detergent, I made my own homemade laundry detergent after learning about the toxic chemicals found in many store-bought detergents.

In fact, a study done at the University of Washington found that the top-selling laundry products emitted nearly 100 volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are known to have a variety of short- and long-term adverse health effects, including headaches; damage to the liver and kidneys; eye, nose, and throat irritation; and even some types of cancers.

Additionally, every product gave off at least one chemical regulated as hazardous or toxic under federal laws. Yet none of these products had the chemicals listed on their labels.

That’s because manufacturers aren’t required to list ingredients in cleaning products, including laundry detergents and fabric softeners.

To protect your health, the health of your family, and the environment, your safest option is to make your own laundry detergent. Fortunately, it’s incredibly easy to do so with this recipe.

Best Homemade Laundry Detergent Ingredients

When you’re ready to make your own laundry detergent, you’ll need the following ingredients:

You’ll also need to gather the following tools:

How to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent

Grate the bar of soap using the grater or food processor until it’s finely ground.
Put the ground bar of soap, washing soda, baking soda, and borax powder into the large bowl and use a spoon to thoroughly combine the ingredients.
Pour the mixture into the mason jar and secure the lid.
Use 1 tablespoon of detergent for small or medium loads and 2 tablespoons for large or heavily soiled clothes.

Using Your Laundry Detergent

This laundry detergent is safe to use in high-efficiency or regular washing machines.

Since the recipe uses unscented castile soap, it won’t have any fragrance to it. If you prefer a light scent on your clothing, you can use one of the scented castile soap bars. Some good options for laundry include lavender or rose.

Fabric softeners and dryer sheets can have some of the same health concerns as store-bought laundry detergents. If you want to enjoy soft clothes without using fabric softener, add a cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle and use wool dryer balls in the dryer.

You can also check out this post for even more excellent ways to naturally soften your clothes without using dryer sheets.

Plus, don’t forget to get one of these incredibly effective eco-friendly laundry stain removers to get rid of every type of stain on your clothes.

More Eco-Friendly Cleaning Tips

Now that you see how easy it is to make the best homemade laundry detergent, are you interested in even more eco-friendly cleaning tips? Then be sure to check out a few of our other popular posts: