Are you using homemade laundry detergent or considering making it? You need to read this first because it may not work as well as you think and may actually harm your clothes and washer.
I’m sure you know some that makes homemade laundry detergent. There are recipes everywhere. Spend any time looking on Pinterest you are sure to see a few and they likely promise to cost just a couple of cents per load.
All of the frugal homemakers and those looking to be greener are making this switch. Most of the homemakers I watch on YouTube and most of the homemaking bloggers I read have at some point made homemade laundry detergent.
It promises to work, be dirt cheap, and natural. It sounds amazing and you know I love making things myself. However, there are some important things to understand before you consider making your own laundry detergent.
What is Homemade Laundry Detergent?
There are many recipes out there but they normally contain three types of ingredients:
- Soap: Fels Naphtha is what I see the most or for the more natural recipes castile soaps are often used. These are usually grated to be added to the recipe.
- Water Softeners: Borax or washing soda are usually included to help with hard water.
- Other: Many recipes also call for things like OxiClean or even scent boosters.
Why Shouldn’t I Use Homemade Laundry Detergent?
The first thing we need to talk about is the fact that these recipes aren’t really detergents, they are soaps. The difference between the two is soaps are made from fats or oils mixed with an alkali base. A chemical reaction causes the fat to be saponified.
Detergents, on the other hand, is made with surfactants created with a complex chemical reaction. Detergents are usually man-made, while soap is natural.
Soap also has surfactants but they are oil-based and work differently than detergent surfactants. So what are surfactants? They are compounds that lower surface tension between two liquids or between liquids and a solid.
Surfactants are found in both soap and detergents but soap works differently and is oil-based. Detergents trap soil and suspend it in the water and are easily rinsed away. Soap, however, can react with hard water and cause insoluble residue that clogs drains and sticks to clothes.
This is part of why people with soft water tend to have better results with homemade laundry soap. But even if you have soft water and even with the added ingredients to soften your water, there is often build up with soap verse detergent.
It’s also not just your clothes that the laundry soap could be harming. The soap also builds up in your washer and can cause mold growth. This is especially true with HE washers.
What Do I Use Instead?
I’m currently using soap nuts. Soap nuts are actually berries and they contain saponins which are a natural surfactant. I make mine into a liquid because if you use the whole berries you need to use hot water to get the soap to release from the berries.
I’ve been using this for years and there are pros and cons as with everything, but overall I’ve been very happy with the results.
Pros:
- It’s still quite cheap. I buy a 1 lb bag that is 240 loads worth of berries. That’s just under $0.08 a load. Compared to $0.27 for a best selling Tide laundry detergent and $0.10 a load for a leading natural brand.
- It’s easy to use. Making the liquid only involves boiling the berries.
- It’s safe for HE machines.
- It doesn’t build up on clothes or your machine.
- Unlike most homemade laundry detergents, soap nuts rinse away easily.
Cons:
- It’s not the best at stain removal. It’s best to pre-treat stains.
- It doesn’t whiten clothes well. Some color safe bleach or even line drying your clothes helps with this issue.
- You have to use hot water or make the liquid detergent, but it’s easy so not much of a con.
Another option is to try a natural laundry detergent. These are a few options with good ingredients, plus the soap nuts I use. I haven’t used them but I’ve heard them recommended from other people.
Mary says
Laundry detergent is on sale each week. For me, I can’t imagine making it when some brand is always on sale. Out washer was too expensive to ruin. Thanks for this info and saving others from wrecking theirs.
CyndiBThatsMe says
I made the homemade washing detergent several years ago. Can’t speak for the scientific attributes of all the ingedients, but I can speak to the quality of the cleaning efficiency. There was none! My clothes did not come as clean as I desired and after several washings, my clothes had, and there is no better way to describe it, a funky smell! Went back to the factory made, commercial grade detergent. The homemade stuff may save pennies per wash, but in the end, you will have to buy all new clothes, towels and sheets.
Cory says
This is a nice article, but I do disagree that homemade laundry soap does not work and harm machines. I have been making my own for three years. My clothes come out just as clean as using detergents. What I like about the homemade soaps using washing soda and such is that it keeps my clothes soft while getting them clean. No need for fabric softeners. The soap also works well in cold water, which saves money on heating water and saves wear and tear on my water heater. After three years, my washer still works great. After my experiences, I don’t see the evodence that backs the claims made in the article.
Lisa Sharp says
I’m glad you haven’t had any issues. Have you stripped your clothes? I’m curious if you have had the same issue at that point that many have. I still stand by what I said but like in all cases, not everyone will have the same experiences. 🙂
Cece says
Seven years later and I can’t help but wonder if you ended up ever having any issues. I used homemade for a very long time and was someone who would do just as you did, tell others that it works just fine and that it harming the machine was incorrect. Turns out, I was wrong. I started having issues with my machine (and I didn’t have a fancy washer, just an old school top loader) and the repair person refused to fix it due to the buildup inside my machine. When I mentioned my homemade laundry soap they said they’ve seen it happen a bunch of times – and that it’s never worth it. I agree <3
Jay Kay says
Nice post! Well researched and balanced.
I also looked into this topic (from a sustainability perspective) and found that homemade laundry detergent is often less sustainable than a commercial product that’s made by a responsible company.
Denise says
Make my own laundry soap with no issues with Felsbar Naptha ( soft water). The pink Zote soap continually clumps during the formulation process and during storage. I was wondering if running a cycle with hot water and bleach would mitigate hard water issue of clogged drain and mold issues for HE units.
Lisa Sharp says
I wouldn’t recommend bleach because it’s harmful to us and the environment. Different things will work for different people, this is just the science behind it. 🙂
Valkyrie says
I made my own for years, washing machine is great, clothes are clean and just to make sure I wasn’t just thinking they were clean because I wanted this to work I randomly switch to commercial detergent or to soap berries (I think most people call them nuts.) Then randomly I will ask my husband how he feels about the laundry. He has NEVER noticed a difference.
We have hard water, my laundry detergent consisted of castile soap and washing soda and instead of fabric softener I use vinegar. Yes this does clean if the castile soap you are using has been made properly. There should be very few ingredients in the soap, there should be no residue left on your hands after washing with it, and most importantly if it has been properly made there should be no oil left after it has been combined with the lye.
More recently, however, I have switched to soap berries not because they are superior but because they worked well are quite cheap and don’t take up all my time making them.
Brittney says
Could you share your recipe? I recently started making my own and don’t sure I love it. Interested to hear more about lye.
Janis says
Hi Lisa-
Thanks for the great post! My goal this year is to try to eliminate more of the chemicals from our home, and the laundry room is a big-ticket place to address. I love this information! I’m wondering how long your homemade liquid lasts before spoiling? I like the idea of making it up so it’s as easy to use as commercial liquid detergent, but would hate to waste it. We do about 4 loads of laundry per week. Thanks for any help you can give!
Lisa Sharp says
I make a few weeks worth at a time. It lasts a long time in the fridge. I’ve also seen where people freeze it in ice cube trays and that should last basically forever.
Eryn says
I was wondering if you knew anything about natural products for washing cloth diapers. My son has very sensitive skin and obviously having clean diapers wins out right now. However, I’ve been trying to lean into the zero waste lifestyle and washing them without buying hulking plastic containers feels like a challenge. Open to any and all advice on this matter. Thanks!
Rhiamom says
Back in the day when I was a young mother washing diapers, using detergent was not recommended for baby’s delicate skin – only laundry SOAP, the favored brand being Ivory Snow. The hottest possible water, bleach, and an extra rinse cycle. Hot dryer. Times change. Today’s washers don’t do well with soap. Have you tried a Free and Clear version of your detergent? It doesn’t have the scents and dyes that are the main cause of skin irritation. I’d also recommend the extra rinse cycle and drying the diapers in the sun. Sun drying kills germs and whitens.
Beth says
Thanks for the article. I’ve made powdered laundry soap for over 4 years with soft water and a HE machine, and also made it for my two sisters. We’ve not had problems with our washers and dryers. I use a fels naptha bar on stains. It’s helped with skin allergies and clothes are cleaner. I will use extra care and caution looking at everything to ensure we don’t have the issues you’ve spoken of.
Lisa Sharp says
You’re welcome!
Sarah says
I made laundry soap for a while using the grated bar soap, washing soda, etc. But I would notice abnormal stains on clothes that weren’t there when they went into the wash, now after reading this I know it was the oil from the soap. The biggest problem was when our septic tank had to be pumped and my husband had to CLIMB INTO THE SEPTIC TANK to break up the soap that had hardened in the pipe, blocking 3/4 of it! I’ve been banned from homemade laundry detergent ever since!
Lisa Sharp says
That’s horrible and yeah it seems like a great idea but there are just too many risks. Sorry, you had so many issues. Thank you for sharing so hopefully others can avoid them.
Jenne says
I used homemade when we had city water and it worked fine. Then we moved to the country and now have well water. I have oil stains that I cannot remove and stains that weren’t on the clothing when I put them in the wash. I am considering going back to regular detergent. I hear people say it works in cold water. I just don’t see how it can. It goops up my machine and I do not want to have to buy a new machine.
melissa says
I have been making my own for almost a year with no problems at all. My clothes are cleaner and it’s husband approved. His work T shirts always smelled sour once he got working and he would throw it away while he was at work. I tried many different brands of detergents and nothing made a difference. The homemade detergent leaves them smelling clean and he hasn’t had to throw a shirt away in a long time! It works for me.
Lisa Sharp says
I’m glad you haven’t had issues. I just want to make people aware of the issues that can happen.
Terasa says
What method did you use. If you don’t mind me asking. I did the powder version and it seems to harden in the dispenser and I’m just dumping it out
Sydney says
I made it for a while but grating the soap caused breathing issues for me. I also tried making it into a liquid and almost choked to death from the fumes. I just didnt find it cleaned my husbands work clothes well. He comes home covered in locomotive grease and it couldnt get it all out. The only detergent that works on his clothes, that cleans them and leaves no smell is Tide. So I use that on his work clothes and for the rest I use All Free and Clear.
Hzlove says
I’ve used homemade laundry soap for five years and I’ve never had any issues. I even did the stripping process on a few of my loads and I’ve never had the black disgusting water that some people have. So I’m going to continue to use my soap and enjoy clean smelling clothes and saving money.
Lisa Sharp says
We all have to do what we feel is best. I have old plumbing in my home so it’s not worth the risk for me.
Whittney Hampton says
What did you use?
Sondra says
Thank you for sharing this. I literally just made a small batch of liquid laundry detergent last night. I was skeptical about the cleaning quality and didn’t want to waste a bunch of supplies. However, I had no idea about the information you just shared. I appreciate your sharing this!
Johnnie Phelps says
I’ve been making my liquid detergent for about five years and am still very pleased with it. I use the recipe made with Borax, Washing Soda and Dawn dishwashing liquid and have had no problems at all.
Lisa Sharp says
I’m glad you haven’t had any problems. It’s something to keep an eye on because they can happen over time.
Richard says
I haven’t read the entire article, but I can tell you what I know from my own experience. First of all, I live in an area with very hard water. When I rinse dishes and leave them to air dry, the dishes will be covered with spots of mineral deposits all over. Anyway, I’ve tried various recipes for homemade laundry detergent. I first tried making my own powdered detergent that includes laundry soap bar. Those bars contain fats. Fats in any bar soap will leave soap scum on your skin, shower and also laundry. So it made sense to me to just exclude the bar soap. As far as using borax, I’ve never used it because my wife and daughter have allergies and skin sensitivities. From what I’ve read about borax, it can irritate sensitive skin. So I never use it. My laundry always comes out fresh and clean. Now, about washing soda, it works, but I need to caution about using it with all cotton garments. It seems to be very harsh on all cotton material, especially garments such as plain weave T- shirt material. They will come out with white fuzz on the surface. It will look like faded spots, but it’s not faded. It will look as if the material was scraped and you will be able to see and feel the fibers. It is especially noticeable on dark colors such as black, navy blue and hunter green. It does not affect synthetic fibers and does not affect ribbed cotton material such as the material on A-shits. You will definitely feel it on light colors but it is not visually noticeable. I’ve been using less of the washing soda. The recipe I use now consists of only 3 ingredients: 1. Your favorite detergent (liquid or powder), 2. Biz (make sure it’s regular Biz, and NOT Biz detergent) 3. Washing soda. I don’t pre mix any ingredients. I use about half the detergent I would normally use, and only about 2 or 3 tablespoons of washing soda, and about 1/4 cup of Biz.
Dawn says
Thanks for the great post. I have been making homemade detergent with Sals Suds for about a year now and have had no issues. I always line dry and use aspirin for whites but, always love trying new things so this is next in my list.
Thanks again!
Lori says
What are your findings when it comes to homemade detergent boosters? I use a mix of baking soda, Sodium percarbonate (the main ingredient in oxy clean) and borax. I use amway sensitive detergent. The detergent alone never seemed to get the stains out or leave our clothes soft. With the addition of my homemade laundry detergent booster, my machine smells better and my clothes feel softer.
Do any of these ingredients harm the machine or the pipes?
Lisa Sharp says
Those ingredients sound fine. It’s largely the soap that is the issue.
Anna Baars says
I am a member of Choice consumer advice Australia which helps me pick the best products. Some ALDI (supermarket products) detergents etc. are cheap and excellent to use. I sometimes add a few spoons of washing soda and its as good as the expensive Omo. Very cheap per load.
DJ says
I’ve been using my HM laundry soap for the last several years. So far, I haven’t had any problems with my clothes or washer. I do use vinegar in the rinse water. (I put it in a Downey ball). It has actually cleaned my clothes better than store bought. I do grate my soap, and the let it dry some. Then I use a food processor and grind the soap with the washing soda and borax. It’s mostly all powder. I have used Ivory bath soap in it. It cleans very well. I usually grate the soap a day or so before I make my laundry soap.
Not disagreeing, just making a statement.