Eco-Friendly DIY Laundry Detergent

DIY Laundry Detergent is super popular, and why not? It’s a great way to save money on your laundry detergent costing less than 20 cents per load! One of the other reasons people are turning to DIY laundry detergent is because they can make a safer alternative for their families. Unfortunately, there is a BIG problem I see – most DIY recipes are NOT safer for families!

This recipe uses neither Borax, High Concern for Endocrine and Reproductive Toxicity, nor Fels Naptha, which has artificial ingredients (yet some people call it “natural” – it’s NOT AT ALL natural having both artificial colorants and fragrances!) as well as issues with poor disclosure. They at least disclose on the wrapper that it’s an eye and skin irritant…

Is that really what you want on your laundry?? The good news is there are alternative recipes that don’t use these unsafe ingredients. There are a few variants of this recipe, but I’m going to share the recipe I use personally and have added a few of my own tweaks!

Disclosure: Some links are affiliate links, though these are the products I use and recommend regardless.

Ingredients:

1 Bar of Castile Soap
1 Cup of Wash Soda
1/2 Cup of Baking Soda
1/4 Cup of Coarse Salt
Lemon Essential Oil

In addition to your ingredients you will need a large bowl, measuring cups, a cheese grater (or blender or food processor), and an airtight container.

Directions:

1. Finely grate your bar soap using a cheese grater or, preferably, a blender or food processor. I do not have a good blender or food processor, so I get stuck grating it by hand, which is doable, but definitely a little more time consuming! If you’re using a blender or food processor, be sure to cut the bar into slivers before adding it. Then give it a whirl until the soap is finely grated.

2. Measure out the Wash Soda, Baking Soda, and Salt, and add it to the bowl. If you’re like me and use the salt graters be sure to adjust the grater so that it grinds bigger, coarser salt (you do this by adjusting the middle).

3. Mix well.

4. Store in an airtight container.

5. Add 1-2 Tablespoons of the mixture per load as well as 3-4 drops of the Lemon Essential Oil. (I personally choose to add the Lemon Essential Oil directly versus adding it to the powder mixture, which works well for me. I keep a bottle in the laundry room.)

Eco-Friendly DIY Laundry Detergent

So start saving money AND feel good about using ingredients that are safe for the whole family!

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