Learn how to make homemade laundry soap with all natural ingredients for under 5 dollars. This DIY Laundry Detergent is an effective way to clean clothes and fight stains.
Hey friends!
I want to reintroduce you to my sister Laura from Our Oily House.
She shared with us a few weeks ago a tutorial for how to make All Natural Organic Cocoa Lip Balm.
Today she is back with another DIY recipe that you can use to keep your clothes clean, without all the junk.
I will let Laura take over, as she shares how to make homemade laundry soap.
Homemade Laundry Soap is Inexpensive
A few years ago, I started making most of my household products.
The main reason was to cut down on toxins entering the body. The other bonus is it saves us lots of money!
Making laundry soap is super easy, and very inexpensive! All you need is a handful of natural ingredients, many of which you may have on hand if you are already creating natural cleaning products for your home.
It makes 5 gallon bucket worth and that lasts my family five months (I do a load everyday) and it cost under $5!
It is worth the 15 minutes it takes me to whip it up.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Get my full disclosure HERE.
Tips For Making Homemade Laundry Soap
- You can scent your detergent with a variety of essential oils. Orange happens to be my favorite of the moment. Make sure when using essential oils they are 100% pure. Don’t fall for cheap grocery store kinds.
- This natural laundry detergent will become thick and chunky my morning. Stir it up using an immersion blender or even a drill with a paint mixer attachment.
- The type of water you have at your house may impact how effective this recipe is. Those who have hard water with a lot of minerals may find that it is less effective. I’ve been using this recipe for 5+ years and still love it.
Homemade Orange Scented Laundry Soap Ingredients and Supplies
water
30 drops essential oil of choice (I like lavender or anything citrus)
Homemade Laundry Soap Instructions
1. Shred a 5 ounce bar of Fels Naptha Soap with a cheese grater. You could also use a food processor.
2. Put the soap in a saucepan with 2 cups of water, over medium heat, and stir constantly, until the soap is all melted.
3. Fill the five gallon bucket 1/2 way with water. Add 1/2 cup Washing Soda, 1 cup Borax, and your melted soap water mixture.
4. Give it a stir, and fill the rest of the bucket with water.
5. Add essential oils for scent.
- My favorite is Wild Orange!
- I do 25-30 drops for a 5 gallon bucket.
6. Let it sit overnight with the lid on.
7. In the morning give it a good shake, or stir to mix well. Stirring it with a drill paint mixer attachment, or an immersion blender, really helps to get the clumps out!
That’s it!
How To Use Homemade Laundry Detergent
Add about 1/2 cup per load in my HE washer per load, so it lasts a VERY long time.
You can add directly to the washer or place it in the load and go compartment (if you have one).
Making laundry soap is quick and easy!
You can feel good about using this soap, as it is made out of all natural ingredients, and works very well.
Find More Homemade Products:
- Homemade Non-Toxic Bathroom Scrub
- Minimalist Cleaning Essentials
- Natural Homemade Diaper Rash Cream
- How To Make Beeswax Candles
Homemade Laundry Soap
Easy orange scented homemade laundry detergent is a simple, natural, and effective way to clearn your clothes.
Materials
- 1 cup Borax
- 1/2 cup Washing Soda
- 1 Fels Naptha soap bar
- Water
- 30 drops essential oil of choice (I like lavender or anything citrus)
Tools
- 5 gallon bucket with a lid
- drill paint mixer attachment
- cheese grater
- Measuring cup
Instructions
Shred a 5 ounce bar of Fels Naptha Soap with a cheese grater.
Put the soap in a saucepan with 2 cups of water, over medium heat, and stir constantly, until the soap is all melted.
Fill the five gallon bucket 1/2 way with water.
Add 1/2 cup Washing Soda, 1 cup Borax, and your melted soap water mixture.
Give it a stir, and fill the rest of the bucket with water.
Add essential oils for scent. I do 25-30 drops for a 5 gallon bucket.
Let it sit overnight with the lid on.
In the morning give it a good shake, or stir to mix well. Stirring it with a drill paint mixer attachment, or an immersion blender, really helps to get the clumps out!
To Use:
I use 1/2 cup per load in my HE washer, so it lasts a VERY long time.
Notes
You can add any variety of essential oils that you like. My favorite is wild orange.
The type of water you have may impact the effectiveness of homemade laundry detergent. It may not work as well if you have hard water.
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Mandy Gibson says
Hi! Love your blog and your sisters. Just to verify a 14 oz bar of Fels Naptha is 3 bars? I made it with 3 bars which is 15 oz and is super thick and doesn’t look as liquid as yours. Only one bar is 5 oz. Please let me know, thank you
Shari says
How many bars of Fels Naptha is in this recipe for a 5 gallon bucket???
Lisa says
Just one 14 ounce bar for a five gallon bucket. 🙂
MaryAnn says
Hi Lisa
You inspired me to try this again! Has been awhile since I did! In the recipe you said 5 oz soap but here you said 14 oz. Which one is correct?
Thanks!
Pete says
Hi Lisa
Is it a 14oz bar or 5oz bar per 5 gallon bucket? I don’t want to get overloaded with soap bubbles!!!
Lisa says
5 ounce bar. So sorry that was a typo!
Diane says
Thinking of trying this! Do you put it in a glass jar with spigot, as pictured, and then leave the remainder in the 5-gal bucket for refills as needed?
Sofia says
I am also interested in this question.
Thanks
Sofia
Chasity Gehlhausen says
I did (I thought) everything as directed but ended up with the grated bar soap being chunky in the mixture.. what can I do to avoid this? Thanks!
Lisa says
You could try using a stick blender to incorporate it better. 🙂
Grace says
How much soap would you use for a regular washer vs an HE? The 1/2 cup is for an HE washer? So, 5 oz fels naptha, 1/2 C washing soda, 1 cup borax, 25-30 drops essential oils with 5 gallons of water? It’s a lower soap to water ratio than I have used previously. Thanks!
Oksana says
The Fels-Naptha laundry bar has the following ingredients:
Ingredients :
INGREDIENTS: SOAP (SODIUM TALLOWATE*, SODIUM COCATE* (OR) SODIUM PALMATE KERNELATE*, AND SODIUM PALMATE*), WATER, TALC, DIPENTENE, COCONUT ACID*, PALM ACID*, TALLOW ACID*, PEG-6 METHYL ETHER, GLYCERIN, SODIUM CHLORIDE, PENTASODIUM PENTETATE, TETRASODIUM ETIDRONATE, TITANIUM DIOXIDE, TRICLOCARBAN, FRAGRANCE, ACID ORANGE 24, ACID YELLOW 73 *CONTAINS ONE OR MORE OF THESE INGREDIENTS
How are they non toxic to us?
Carolyn says
Fels-Naptha changed their ingredients about 5-6 years ago to include things that are toxic to me. I no longer use their product.
Charles Johnson says
Thank you for your helpful feedback
Ewelina says
HI Lisa, would any other soap do? I have grated soap (palm kernels) and wonder if I can use it here?
Ari O'Hara says
Lisa, can you use a Dr. Bronner’s castille soap bar for this as well? They’re also 5 oz bars.
Lisa says
Yes, you sure can!
Shannon says
Is this soap baby friendly? If not how could I adjust it to be?
THANKS!
Lisa says
Yes! It is baby friendly. 🙂
Pamela says
Is this the liquid detergent that you use for your cloth diapers too? I am going to make this very soon and I need to prep my newly purchased prefolds and inserts soon.
Stephanie says
Hi Lisa,
Just wondering how you felt about the mixed reviews on borax being bad for you? I haven’t had time to do a ton of research but really love all your info and trust it!
Thanks!
Lisa says
I haven’t done a ton of research on it, but I do think this article from Wellness Mama makes a lot of sense: https://wellnessmama.com/26407/borax-safe/
Peggy Sue Johnson says
Please be careful with Borax… it can be harmful to children or person’s w/ chemical sensitivities…
Dawn says
Can you use Dr. Bronner’s liquid castile soap instead of grating a bar?
If so, how much liquid soap would you use to replace the 5 oz. bar?
Little Miss Homemaker says
The Fels Naptha bar soap gets a C on EWG standards. This isn’t all natural, it uses chemical color dyes.
https://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners/441-FelsNapthaHeavyDutyLaundryBarSoap
Brandi says
So substitute with a castile bar. Then it will be all natural. There are ways to adjust for your needs.
Linn says
Can I use liquid castile soap instead of the soap bar ?
Lisa says
I think that would work just fine.
Janay says
I have made a powdered laundry soap in the past and our clothes never smelled like they were clean. Does the essential oil in it help with that? Have been wanting to make my own soap again but afraid of our clothes not smelling clean.
Christi says
IM wondering about the dispenser. Apparently, my soap is too thick and i need a different dispenser. Hoping to find out your brand.
Amber says
Where did you purchase your dispenser at? I would love to get one similar
Phoebe says
My little one is very sensitive to borax.. Any suggestions for an alternative in this recipe?? If you mentioned one I totally missed it!
Gina says
hiya,
how much of the detergent would you put in a (3 days worth) cloth diaper load HE? I feel like the ratio of Borax and washing soda is very low, considering you are supposed to put 1/2 cup of each in a regular load.
devan paul says
could i use Zote instead? Also, do you think this would be ok to use on my cotton flat diapers?
Merrylou says
I have made this three times, and all three times I used an immersion blender and all three times the detergent separates after an hour or so. What am I doing wrong?
Sharon says
Hi, with which brand or type of product can i replace the Fels Naphtha? Amazon don’t deliver it to my country. Thank you!
Rose Knight says
ivory bar soap. I use two personal size per 5 gallon bucket. I have alergies so this works for me.
Elizabeth says
Do you think I could use Dove soap??
Lisa says
Maybe. I’ve never tried it. But other people have had success using other types of soap.
Cindy Dauphinet says
Just finished making my first batch. It seems like the top remained waxy. Do I need more hot water? Seems like it’s not mixing very well😢😢💔.
Diane Cournoyer says
I’ve been making this and we love it! Thank you so much for sharing.
ROSE says
I can’t use so I substitute Ivory bar soap. Works well and lasts. I use lemon oil as it is my favourite. More people should do this. It is so easy.
Samantha Becker says
I’m a little iffy on the bar soap, it has some not so good ingredients in it, is there a different kind of bar soap or even liquid soap I could use?
I also worry about thw soap because on the link to buy it it says non-HE washing machine and all I have unfortunately is HE machine
Lindsay Garcia says
I’m going to make this with the Dr. Bronner’s unscented pure Casteel soap because the soap she recommends in the recipe is full of harmful chemicals/ artificial color.
Judith says
Hi Lisa!
I was wondering if I could replace the bar of Fels Naptha Soap by some liquid Castille soap and how much would i need? 1 cup? 2 cups?
Thank you for this recipe 🙂
Anne Marie Gregory says
I have made this exact recipe for a while. But then I converted to using a Dr. Bronner’s bard. But I wonder, have you every tried using Dr. Bronners liquid castile soap?
Rebecca Nixon says
I have a question. Is this soap supposed to be pretty thin? That is how mine turned out, which is fine but I just want to make sure I didn’t make a mistake. Lol
I used zote instead of fels Naptha. Thanks
Lisa says
Yes it can be pretty thin especially compared to store-bought laundry soap.
Signe says
Hi Lisa. Thank you for an amazing blog. I wonder if you have a recipe for wool wash for the machine?
Julie says
I have heard that Fels Naptha soap is not good for septic tanks. Is there something else that could be used as a replacment?
Marie says
Hi Lisa,
Do you know if this diy Laundry detergent is compatible with washing machines that need HE (High – Efficiency) detergent? I have been super excited to get started using your recipe for our washing and then got a new washer and just saw the HE recommendation.
Allison says
I just made this tonight with kirks Castile soap cause that’s what I had, and I used peppermint essential oil.
Only now, I’m wondering if the peppermint oil will be irritating to a baby’s skin- especially when cloth diapering.
Has anyone made this with peppermint oil?
Stacey says
This homemade laundry soap won’t cause laundry buildup will it? Inmate my own a while back and it caused my washer to tear up but it wasn’t a HE one , thus one I bought last year is one. I use Arm @Hammer detergent because it uses very little a liad.
Keira says
always fun to see the differences in peoples recipes.
S says
Mentioning hard water affects the final product, if you add a bit of epsom salts (1/4c for your recipe), it softens the water.
Rose Mary Knight says
I can’t use Fels Naptha so I substitute it with original Ivory bar soap. Works great. My favourite sent is lemon. I have been using it for 7 or 8 years.
Lisa says
Love that you found a substitute that works for you!
Lydia says
Hi! Would 5 ounces of pure soap flakes be a good substitute for the fels naptha?
Lisa says
That should work.
Danielle Grant says
If you didn’t want to use borax? What could you use?