How to Make Homemade Laundry Soap (Liquid or Powder)

The Best Homemade Laundry Soap Recipes

Do you want to know how to save BIG money on laundry soap? Well, it’s quite easy really, all you need to do is learn how to make your own!

I originally learned how to make this liquid DIY laundry detergent from a friend, but it’s originally based on the Duggar laundry soap recipe, which is one of the most popular homemade laundry soap recipes around.

And if you prefer powder, it is even easier to make and one of my other friends uses it all the time! She got her recipe from The Paleo Mama.

Homemade laundry soap is super easy to make, will make your clothes smell great, and will save you lots of money!

DIY Laundry Detergent Recipe (Powder Version)

Homemade Laundry Soap Ingredients (Powder)

• 3 cups borax
• 3 cups washing soda (NOT baking soda)
• 3 cups baking soda
• 2 bars castile soap
• doTERRA essential oil

How to Make Powder Laundry Detergent

Step 1:

Start by using a cheese grater to grate or shred the bar soap. Then, in a large bowl, mix together the borax, washing soda, and baking soda.

Step 2:

Add the grated soap and 1 cup or the borax powder mixture to a food processor or high power blender. Adding the powder mixture helps keep the soap from sticking to the blades. Blend it together until powder consistency.

Step 3:

While the blender or food processor is running, add the essential oil drops and allow it to blend into the mixture.

Add the soap mixture to the large bowl with the powder mixture and stir or whisk until combined.

• Yield: Powder soap recipe makes about 10 1/4 cups (about 164 tablespoons).
• Top Load Machine: 1-2 tablespoons per load (Approx. 82-164 loads)
• Front Load Machines: 1-2 tablespoons per load (Approx. 82-164 loads)

Step 4 (Optional): Adding Essential Oils to Your Homemade Laundry Soap

15 drops Lemon and 15 drops Wild Orange is a great combo. Other great options are 30 drops Purify or 30 drops OnGuard. When you use high-quality oils, like doTERRA, you are only improving the laundry soap – with scent and cleansing power. Citrus oils are known to be cleansing!

PS – Want to save 25% on doTERRA essential oils AND get free products? Grab this starter kit that includes my Top 10 Favorite Essential oils (including Lemon, On Guard!). Learn more HERE.

DIY Liquid Laundry Soap Recipe

Homemade Laundry Soap Ingredients (Liquid)

• 1 bar Fels-Naptha Soap (or Ivory for sensitive skin, Pink Zote, or castile soap)
• 1/2 cup borax
• 1 cup washing soda (NOT baking soda)
• 5-gallon bucket and lid

How to Make DIY Liquid Laundry Detergent

Start again by grating your bar of soap. Then, add your grated soap to a saucepan with 4 cups of water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

Next, fill a 5-gallon bucket half full of hot tap water and add your melted soap, washing soda, and borax. Stir well until all the powder is dissolved. Then fill the bucket to the top with more hot water, stir, cover, and let sit overnight to thicken.

After it has thickened overnight you can put it in the dispenser of your choice. It is very thick and gel-like, so use a big spoon to stir it. I use a measuring cup and funnel to put equal parts of soap and hot water into the old detergent bottle, and then just shake it up and you’re are ready to go!

You can also try adding doTERRA essential oils to the soap after it is cooled.

• Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 5 gallons.
• Top Load Machine: 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
• Front Load Machines: ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

One batch of this liquid laundry soap lasts me a whole year which adds up to almost $200 in savings for my family (we go through a lot of laundry detergent).

Where to Buy Homemade Laundry Soap Ingredients

I can usually find all of the ingredients needed for either of these DIY laundry soap recipes at my local Kroger Store or Walmart, in the laundry aisle.

All in all, these ingredients should cost you less than $10, and a lot of them will make you multiple batches of laundry soap. For convenience sake, you can find all these ingredients on Amazon, but they are cheaper at your local store.

Not all essential oils are created equally. I trust doTERRA quality and sourcing and know I’m getting natural, safe products. Want to save 25% on doTERRA essential oils AND get free products? This is how I get my essential oils. Grab this starter kit that includes my Top 10 Favorite Essential oils (including Lemon, On Guard!). Learn more HERE.

Try making your own laundry soap and you’ll love it! It smells really good but doesn’t leave a harsh scent on your clothes. I hope you enjoy saving money with this homemade laundry soap!

No time or desire to make homemade laundry detergent?

I love this awesome non-toxic laundry detergent. Smells amazing, works well, and made from sustainable natural-based sources. Color safe, free of synthetic fragrance, dyes, and toxins. I even use it as a stain remover by applying it directly onto the stain before washing. Learn more about it here. Or you can go HERE to this shopping cart and purchase it, and if you want to get lots of safe and natural products at wholesale pricing, select “become a wholesale member” and pay just $35 to get that discounted pricing AND  you’ll be able to get FREE products AND a bunch of great education and support from my team!

More DIY Laundry Projects:

Now that you have your own DIY laundry detergent, you can try out these other DIY ideas:

• 5 Cool DIY Laundry Hamper Ideas
• How to Clean Your Front Load Washer
• Homemade Stain Remover Using Strong and Gentle Dawn Dish Soap
• Homemade Fabric Softener {Picture Tutorial}