Powdered Laundry Detergent Recipe
I love to make my own laundry detergent, because not only is it more cost effective compared to purchasing traditional laundry detergent. This way you know exactly what is in it, when you follow this easy powdered detergent recipe.
Making your own homemade laundry detergent is surprisingly easy to do too, which is really nice. At first, it took me a while to make my own diy laundry detergent, because I thought it would be complicated to do, as so many diy recipes seem to be involved. But once I actually did it, I realized just how simple it is. Not only is it great to make your own powdered laundry soap, because you know what is in it, but also because it goes a lot farther and saves you so much money when compared to using liquid detergent.
Homemade Laundry Soap
Making your own laundry soap is very easy to do. I am excited to share the simple ingredients that you will need in order to make your powdered laundry soap. These ingredients can be found at most grocery stores, and keep in mind, there is room to switch things up for your personal preference as well.
Let’s look at the ingredients I recommend that you include in your powdered laundry detergent, before we get into the step-by-step recipe.
Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda Powder
This comes in a 55 ounce box that is bright yellow with the arm and hammer logo front and center of the box. This washing soda is specifically for your laundry. You can find this in the laundry aisle of your local grocery store. Please be sure to shop around and find the best deal for you, but I will tell you, the best deal I found for this product was at my local Walmart store.
Borax Powder
This powder comes in a white 65 ounce box. This box is located right next to the Arm and Hammer washing soda powder in the laundry aisle of my grocery store. Like the washing soda, you will want to shop around and find what the best deal is for you, but for me, this is also the best price at my local Walmart.
Baking Soda
The next ingredient you will need is a 1 pound (16 ounce) box of baking soda. This can be any brand that you prefer. The store brand is often the better price, but any brand will work great.
Fells-Naptha Laundry Bar Soap
This bar soap comes in a package that is white and green. This laundry soap is a 5 ounce bar. You will need two of these bars of soap for one recipe. The Fells-Naphtha bar soap is also located in the laundry aisle of my local grocery store, right next to the Borax and washing soda.
I will point out that the price of this bar soap will range widely depending on where you shop for it. I looked to purchase it online, simply for the convenience, but it was way expensive. The best price that I have found it for was once again at my local Walmart. Be sure to shop around before you buy it, to make sure you are not spending way too much money on it.
OxiClean Powder
I chose to include this OxiClean powder as an optional ingredient to help remove stains and odors that otherwise are very difficult to remove from the clothes. The specific OxiClean Powder I used was the 3 pound box of OxiClean Odor Blasters and Stain Remover Powder.
This ingredient is by far the most expensive part of the powdered laundry soap recipe, but I have found it to be very worth it for me. You can also purchase this powder and use it for a long time to come, as I only include a couple of scoops in the powder for it to work its magic.
The main reason I included this in the powdered laundry detergent I make for my family is because I would wash our clothes and for whatever reason, they would still come out smelling bad when I used liquid laundry detergent. If I’m going to bother doing laundry, I want them to smell like clean clothes when I’m finished!
I did include the OxiClean Powder to remove orders from my family’s clothes and it works really well. I have had no issues once I started making my own powdered laundry soap, and including this powder. Please note though, you will want to use the powder, not the pods.
Because there is so much of this OxiClean Powder, and you only need a couple of scoops in each recipe, I purchased it once, and then just store it in my laundry room for the next time I need to make more laundry soap powder, or if I have an especially stinky load, I’ll add a little extra to my load of laundry.
Now that you know all of my tips and tricks for what to look for and purchase the ingredients, let’s get started walking through how to make the powdered laundry soap.
Simple Powdered Laundry Detergent Recipe
Kitchen Tools
A large container and lid
A cheese grater
A whisk
Ingredients
55 oz box of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda Powder
65 oz box of Borax Powder
10 oz baking soda
2 – 5 oz bars of Fels Naptha soap
3 pound box of powdered Oxi Clean odor blaster and stain remover powder (you will only need a couple of scoops for each recipe)
How To Make Powdered Laundry Detergent
Step 1: Gather Supplies
First thing, you will want to gather all of your supplies to be sure you have everything. In addition to the powdered soap ingredients you will also want to be sure that you have a very large container, preferably with a lid to mix and then store the laundry powder in. You will also need a cheese grater, and a whisk would be handy.
Step 2: Grate Bar Soap
To start off making the powdered laundry soap, you will first want to unwrap the bars of soap, and carefully grate soap bars using a cheese grater. You could also use a food processor with a grater attachment if you would rather.
Make sure that the grated soap is nice and fine when you are finished. Then set it aside for a minute.
Step 3: Mix
Now, into your very large mixing container, add the washing soda powder, Borax powder, baking soda, grated Fells-Naptha soap, and 2 scoops of OxiClean powder if desired.
At this point, you can use the whisk to stir all of the ingredients up really well, or you can put the lid on, and shake the mixture thoroughly. However, you choose to do it, make sure that the powders are mixed really well.
Tip: you can also use a food processor and make the powder in ¼ batches if it is easier for you to manage.
Step 4: How to Store Powdered Laundry Soap
Once all of the powders are combined really well to make your laundry soap, it’s time to store it. You will want to make sure it is stored in an airtight container, so that it doesn’t turn into a hard clump. You can use a plastic container, like an emptied and cleaned gallon of ice cream container with a lid, or divided amongst a few large mason jars with lids. Just make sure that the powder is sealed very well before storing.
Step 5: How to use this Powdered Laundry Detergent
To use the laundry powder, you can start your load of laundry by adding 1-2 Tbsp of your powdered laundry detergent and washing your load of laundry with cold water.
I typically use 1 Tbsp of laundry powder for a regular sized load of laundry in cold water. If you are washing a particularly dirty or larger load of laundry then, I’d use 2 Tbsp of your powdered laundry detergent. A little bit goes a long ways with this powder, which is really nice.
Powdered Laundry Detergent Tips and Tricks
Make Half A Batch
If you have a smaller sized family, are lacking a large container for the laundry powder or just prefer, remember you can always make half a batch at a time, simply by combining half of each of the ingredients listed above.
Including Essential Oils
If you want, you can include essential oils, however, I would recommend putting them directly into your load of laundry rather than the powder. I’d suggest this because you would be adding liquid to an otherwise dry mixture which could cause problems with clumping.
Substituting Other Bar Soap
If you need to, you can substitute the Fels Naptha bar soap with another type of laundry bar soap. This is entirely up to your preference.
Powdered Laundry Detergent
Making your own laundry powder detergent is very easy to do, and it is a great way to save money, while still enjoying clean clothes. Homemade detergent only requires a few ingredients and it will last for many loads of laundry.
I have been following these steps to make my own powdered laundry soap for many years, using these ingredients, and I love the results that I get with every load of clean clothes. I hope you will give it a try, and I hope you will enjoy making and using your own powdered laundry detergent.
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