Tag: cleaning

Homemade Laundry Detergent

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I found this recipe on pinterest a few weeks ago for homemade laundry detergent.  I pinned it to my cleaning board and decided last weekend I would give it a try.  I have made my own household cleaners for over 10 years and decided this looked like a laundry detergent that was worth trying.  The recipe is from the blog howdoesshe and if you click on that highlighted name it will take you to the post about how to make the detergent and a printable recipe, as well.

homemade laundry detergent stored in large baking soda bag after all mixed together in large bucket
homemade laundry detergent stored in large baking soda bag after all mixed together in large bucket

First off I decided to cut the recipe down and only make a 1/4 of it to see if I liked it.  I hated to make this huge batch and not like it or have it not get our clothes clean and be stuck with a huge amount.  Also, my first batch I did not use the Zote soap I bought some Dr. Bronners soap at my local health food store, in the rose scent, and grated it up.

Well, let me tell you the detergent is awesome.  It got our clothes (I have 3 sons) clean and made everything smell wonderful.  Even my laundry room smells great.

I have now made a larger batch of the detergent using the Zote soap and all the other ingredients listed.  This detergent recipe is the best and only takes a few minutes to make up.  I set outside on our patio while my boys went swimming and grated the soap.  The soap grating seems to be the most time consuming part although it is not that hard to grate and the blog gives you some tips on how to make it easier.

grated zote soap for homemade laundry detergent
grated zote soap for homemade laundry detergent

If you do not want the detergent to be scented or you are allergic or sensitive to certain things I would omit adding the Purex crystals.  I had never used these before and they are kind of strong but they smell good.

Another thing I noticed is that if you have kind of hard water, like I do, then you may need at least 4 or 5 tablespoons of this for a large load of laundry.

I liked this detergent so well and was so pleased with the results I actually was looking for more things to wash the first day I used it – which is crazy!  Usually I do not have to look too hard to find dirty laundry around here with 5 people in our household.

homemade laundry detergent mixed in big bucket
homemade laundry detergent mixed in big bucket

Well, I hope you enjoyed this post.  Off I go to do more laundry with my awesome new homemade laundry detergent.  Have a great day!