DIY Laundry Detergent

I can't remember why I decided to try making my own laundry detergent. I think the concept just happened to pop up on a few blogs that I read and I thought that it was worth a shot. It wasn't until after I read more about the benefits that I realized how perfect the project was for me. It would save me money, was good for the environment, and was an all-natural alternative. This "experiment" was a complete success, I'm a total convert!

Why?

1. Saves money. A check of popular detergents on Amazon plus some quick number-crunching resulted in a per load cost of 25-30 cents. The per load cost of my homemade detergent is 1.4 cents (specific calculation in the recipe section)! It's not a misprint, the store-bought stuff really is 20 times the cost!
   
2. All-natural. A lot of people and babies have skin irritation from regular detergents. The DIY stuff is about as gentle and natural as you can get without going totally hippie. Plus, you're not leaching a bunch of synthetic chemicals into the environment.
   
3. Significantly less packaging. A box of borax, a box of washing soda, and dozen bars of soap stacked will produce enough detergent to wash more than 800 loads of laundry. Compare that to 26 bottles of store-bought 32-loads-per-bottle detergent!

Whether you care about saving the environment or saving money, you have to admit that the picture on the bottom is a whole lot better!

832 loads - 26 bottles - 1,300 ounces - $155.74

832 loads - 2 boxes plus 13 bars of soap - 188 ounces - $13.78

So you're convinced now, right? But are you wondering how well this stuff actually cleans? You have nothing to worry about, this detergent cleans just as well as your expensive store-bought stuff. If you're still not sure, scroll to the bottom to find out how you can order a sample of the DIY detergent.

How?

There are three ingredients that you need: washing soda, borax, and soap. Blogs I've read say that all of these things can be found at grocery stores, but I ended up getting my products on-line from alice.com. A box of Arm & Hammer washing soda (not baking soda) was $2.99. A box of borax was $4.29. And a package of 4 bars of Ivory soap was $1.92. Shipping was free and it was delivered to my door - cool! You'll also need a pot that holds 2 gallons of liquid plus enough room to stir and a big bucket or other plastic container. I use a Sterilite lidded 6 gallon container that looks fine sitting on a shelf in the laundry room.

Amounts:

• 1/2 cup borax
  
• 1/2 cup washing soda
  
• 1 bar of dye-free soap (like Ivory)
  
• 2 gallons of water
  

Now comes the mixing. This part is pretty fun, I'll admit.

1. Shave one bar of soap using a cheese grater.
   
2. Heat about a gallon of the water in the big pot and add the soap in small amounts until it melts/dissolves.
   
3. Add the 1/2 cup of borax and 1/2 cup of washing soda.
   
4. Add the rest of the water and heat until everything is dissolved.
   
5. Pour the hot mixture (be careful!) into the plastic bucket or container.
   
6. Let it sit for a few hours or even overnight until it cools and gels.
   

That's it! Now use just 1/2 cup of the gel in each load and let me know what you think!

Tips:

• If it doesn't gel, it's fine. Mine is kind of between Jell-O consistency and slime consistency.
  
• Since the soap is already dissolved, this can be used in cold-water cycles. (Even more money and environment savings!)
  
• Since the soap produces low to no suds, it's fine for high-efficiency washers. It's not the suds that clean, but good quality ingredients, don't let the suds fool you!
  

The Next Step

If you try this and are as excited as me, let me know in the comments. If you're just not sure and want to receive the ingredients necessary to make your own 32-load batch, send me $5 by Paypal (ginagrone@yahoo.com) and give me your U.S.-only address. I'll send the packet to you within a few days. If you're not sure and also living in Pittsburgh, email me at ginagrone@yahoo.com to set up a time to pick up a few loads worth of already-made DIY detergent! Only $2 for a 5-load sample, a good price to try this stuff.

OK, go to it!