Over a year ago, I wrote a post about making homemade liquid laundry detergent. I loved and used the recipe exclusively — until a simpler recipe stole my heart a few weeks ago.
Powder Laundry Detergent!
This recipe is so quick, easy and compact to store. And it works great.
Quick and Easy Powder Laundry Detergent Recipe
- 1 bar soap (Fels-Naptha, Kirk’s Castile, Ivory, Dr. Bronner’s, etc.)
- 1 cup washing soda (not baking soda)
- 1 cup borax (20 Mule Team)
To make: Chop soap into small pieces. Add washing soda, borax and chopped soap to blender or food processor. Blend or process until mixture is a fine powder (about a minute or two). Store in an airtight container.
*If you have a food processor — use it. I don’t own a food processor and used a blender instead. My blender has held up fine throughout four batches of this recipe, but if you think the motor of your blender might have a hard time blending dry ingredients, test a small amount first.
To use: Add two to three tablespoons of detergent to washing machine (I like to start the wash using a little hot water to dissolve the detergent and then switch to cold water).
That’s it! This is a low sudsing detergent that will even work in high efficiency washers. I typically add a small scoop of baking soda to each load to soften the water as well.
By investing about 10 minutes of your time each month you can save money while controlling what goes into the detergent your family uses!
Below is a visual guide to making this simple and inexpensive laundry detergent.
I hope you love this simple, frugal and fun recipe as much as I have!
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I seem to recall dry-only ingredients stressing the motor in my blender last time I tried something like this.
Does the blender work pretty well, or does it have a rough time?
Oh, really Robert? My blender seems to handle this recipe well, but a food processor would probably work even better. Since I don’t own a food processor, I just toss everything into the blender.
I’ve made four batches so far and the blender is holding up fine.
It gummed up my mini processor from Cuisinart.
Thanks for this article! I too make this recipe and have enjoyed using it for the past 2 months. It’s great to know what I am actually using and what is going into our water system. I feel encouraged to know others use this recipe too. And I prefer the dry mix over the liquid one too! I love your column!
I wanted to add that I grate the bar soap on the smallest grating option and mix by hand. No blender needed.
Hi Shelley! Hand grating the soap is a good idea. I have a box grater and always seems to have a tough time grating the soap once it gets down to the end of the soap. I used to hand grate the soap when making the liquid detergent, but tossing everything in the blender is so quick.
Maybe using soap flakes would be gentler on your blender?
That’s a good idea Sam. And I could really chop the bar of soap as fine as I would like as well.
I love this idea and am going to buy the ingredients today. Do you have a sense of how many loads of laundry this recipe yields?
MK – I use three tablespoons per load (I have two messy boys!) and I get about 19 loads out of one batch. I have been making two batches of the recipe at a time, so I only have to make it once every month and a half or so.
Does anyone know if this homemade powder recipe is safe to use in a High Energy efficient front load washing machines? I’d much rather use this, but am afraid to ruin the washer. Or do I just add the detergent into the machine with the clothing (as shown in the photo of the top loader in this post) INSTEAD OF into the pull out drawer in the machine where the liquid soap is supposed to go????
Hi Annabelle,
I don’t personally have a HE washer, but I’ve heard from many that do that this recipe is safe to use in a HE washer because it’s low sudsing. You would use it just like you would a HE powder detergent.
OK, sounds awesome. I’ve only used liquid detergent, but I will check the washing machines manual, too.
I’d much rather make my own soap. I’m fed up with all the chemicals in the liquid brands. THANK YOU for your awesome blog!
Me too Annabelle! I love knowing exactly what’s going into the products we’re using.
Thank YOU for reading!
I have an HE machine and I’ve used this recipe with success, though I put the soap directly into the drum prior to putting in the clothes – instead of using the soap dispenser.
When using the liquid version through the soap dispenser I discovered it sort of gummed up underneath the drawer – not enough water use to really push it through well as it was a bit thicker than the commercial liquids.
Ok, I have used this recipe for a while and I have decided to make some changes with the next batch. My mom was just here and just noticed that it “yellowed her whites.”I feel like it could clean better too. I also find the chemicals in Fels Nepthfa to be undesirable so I will just use a regular cheap bar from Trader Joes. I am determined to find a good recipe or tweak it just right so thanks for sharing.
Other notes: you can use a cheese grater to get it smaller. It gummed up my mini food processor. The hot water tip is a great idea, I have put it in first but not always hot.
I’ve been using a similar version of this recipe for a few months now and absolutely love it! I use Ivory soap but thinking of trying another brand. I’ve heard that if you use distilled white vinegar in your rinse cycle it will whiten whites and brighten colors. It’s much safer than bleach and not supposed to make your clothes smell like vinegar when they’re done. I’m going to try it next time I wash. I use a hand grater and seems to work fine and doesn’t take too long. If you soak your grater or food processor blades in hot water for 10 minutes or so when you’re done the soap comes off better.
I have been using DIY detergent too for a few months, I use only washing soda and finely grated soap as borax is a controlled item here. It has been working well for few months now. I also dissolve the soap flakes with hot water before adding it into the washing machine. Never love the smell of clean laundry so much! (mine smell mostly of the washing soda,which is really fresh smelling)
I found if you unwrap the Fels Naptha and microwave it for 3 minutes. Warning it comes out looking like some weird fungus. Let it cool for a few minutes then cut up with bread knife. The pieces are very soft, lightweight like old bread. You can then put it in your blender or food processor without worrying about stressing the motor. It blends to a soft powder. I have a small $10.00 food chopper from Target that I use with ease to this. Thus far I am just using the laundry soap for white towels. bath and kitchen throw rugs, white bedding and socks. I have not used it on my brightly colored clothing.
I’ve been using the microwave trick too tenatproof! It makes the soap so nice and crumbly that it turns into a smooth powder when processed.
Thanks for sharing your tip!