Easy to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent

Homemade laundry detergent has never been easier! And you can use it in your HE and traditional washing machines with equal success. I love a good DIY that is easy to make and saves my budget, don’t you? Well this detergent recipe is right up there with my favorites. Great smelling, easy to make and pennies per load. And NO COOKING!

I named this homemade laundry soap Laundryonaise because it looks like a jar of mayonnaise, to me.  You can make this detergent recipe 15 minutes or less and washes like a champ!

I have been using this homemade laundry detergent in my HE washing machine for years without any issue. Just make sure you do not put it in the soap dispenser – put in directly in the machine.

COST – I am able to buy all the ingredients for this homemade laundry detergent for less than $10.  The ingredients for both, combined were about $1.80 each; so I literally do a load of laundry for just pennies.

Homemade Laundry Detergent – Ingredients 

• 1 Fels-Naptha Bar (like this)
• 1 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, not baking soda
• 1 cup of Borax Laundry Booster
• 10 – 20 drops of essential oils (optional)
• 2 1-quart mason jars with lids (wide mouth like these are best)
• Hot Water
• Blender

Homemade Laundry Detergent – Directions 

• Heat up 3 cups of water to almost boiling
• Cut your Fels-Naptha Bar in half.  Then take each half, one at a time, and dice it up into small pieces.
• Add one of the diced 1/2 bar to each of the mason jars
• Pour 1.5 cups of the nearly boiling water over the diced soap in each of the mason jars.
• Let this sit overnight.

Homemade Laundry Detergent – The Next Steps 

• Heat up another 2 cups of water (truth be told I just filled my tea kettle).
• Now take a butter knife and loosen the gelled soap concoction in the jars.
• With a canning funnel, if you have it, add 1/2 cup of Borax & 1/2 cup of Washing Soda to each mason jar
• Add the hot water to just before the ring of the jar
• Gently incorporate everything with the butter knife and add (1 jar at a time) the ingredients to your blender
• Add 5 – 10 drops of essential oils if you wish
• Whip until it is the consistency of mayonnaise
• Clean out the jar and add the Laundryonaise back in
• Do this with the second jar
• Add the lids and you’re ready to go

Homemade Laundry Detergent – Using Your Soap 

• Scoop a heaping spoonful out of your jar and put it directly into your washing machine. I often put min on a washcloth and throw that into the washer.
• If you are not doing a full load you can put in less soap

NEVER PUT THIS HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT IN YOUR SOAP DISPENSER!

There you have it, an easy to make no-cook homemade laundry detergent that you can use in HE and traditional washing machines. A great DIY project that won’t take a ton of your time and saves you money to boot. WINNER!

Be sure to check out:  Doing Laundry By Hand and Clothesline Love and Appreciation