There’s lots of good reasons to make your own laundry detergent. It’s less expensive, it has less irritants for the skin, it’s better for the environment, it has more natural ingredients, you name it.
When I started looking at homemade laundry detergent recipes, I noticed that they pretty much all use Fels Naptha laundry soap. Well, I went to read the ingredients in it and I wasn’t a huge fan. It contains titanium dioxide, which is harmful to the environment, and also has artificial colors and fragrances, two of my big no-nos.
Not only do I want to avoid artificial colors and fragrances for the reasons listed in my 13 ingredients to avoid, but for laundry-related reasons I have very sensitive skin and wouldn’t want to get irritation or a rash from the artificial fragrance. So I looked into recipes that had no Fels Naptha in it. I found this recipe from Measuring Flower that had no Borax or Fels Naptha. It mentions that it sometimes clumps, so I thought it was the perfect candidate to make into a tab!
And it only costs $3.23 to make 28 tabs. You can adjust the size to make them larger or smaller. I made mine on the larger side. So they’re definitely a good value.
I like to explain why I use each of my ingredients. Do you ever look at a label and wonder, what the heck is that and why do they need it in there? Well you won’t need that with my products.
- Baking Soda: Removes odor from clothes, removes a variety of stains
- Washing Soda: Alkaline compound that complements baking soda to remove stains. Also reduces the effects of hard water. (You can make it yourself from baking soda- see the tutorial here!)
- Castile Soap Bar: Removes dirt and stains from clothes. Made from vegetable fats and will not damage your washing machine or septic system
- Salt: Helps soften hard water and reduces mineral build up, and also helps clean dirt off clothes
- White Vinegar: Fabric softner and binds the tabs together
- Essential Oils: For scent, depending on the oils you choose may also have other beneficial properties like anti-bacterial or anti-fungal
I decided to grate my soap bar because I wanted to use my food processor to make the crust for my gluten free strawberry pie on the same day and I was feeling lazy and didn’t want to wash it. Well, let me tell you, it would have been a lot less work to wash the food processor than it was to grate the entire bar of soap. My arms got a little work out! So I recommend using the food processor unless you really like grating.
Here you can see what the tabs looked like before they were mixed and then after the vinegar was added. You can see it starting to clump up as the vinegar was added.
Be careful when you mix this, as washing soda can be an irritant if you breathe it in. I made the mistake of leaning over the bowl as I was mixing it and it was a little unpleasant.
Unfortunately, the heart-shaped tabs didn’t turn out. I think the silicon mold just wasn’t hard enough and I wasn’t able to press the tabs well enough so they didn’t take shape.
I filled the ice cube tray tabs about half way full, and the tabs were still pretty big. So you could do even less than that. Just make sure to really compact them down, or you will end up with powder instead of tabs!
Homemade Laundry Detergent Tabs
Ingredients:
- 1 4-ounce bar of castile soap
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup washing soda
- 1/4 cup salt
- 1/4-1/2 cup white vinegar
- 5-10 drops essential oils (I used about 6 drops of lavender and 2 drops of tangerine)
Directions:
- In a food processor with a grating attachment, shred the bar of soap (or grate it manually with the finest cheese grater you have)
- Mix the grated soap, baking soda, washing soda, and salt in a large bowl
- Slowly add the vinegar a little at a time, mixing until it starts to clump and is easy to manipulate
- Press into ice cube trays (really press hard- don’t skimp on this step)
- Set the trays out to dry in a sunny spot for at least 24 hours
- When you use the tabs, add them in with the load and not in the separate area for detergent (if your machine has one). They won’t dissolve properly without enough water.
I think my first attempt at making my own laundry detergent was successful. And I’m a fan of anything that saves time and doesn’t require me to measure out amounts. Just grab a tab and that’s it. Fast and easy. Oh, and the vinegar is a natural fabric softener, and it’s built into this recipe. Pretty awesome.
I am so excited to be rid of the chemicals in my laundry. You wear clothes and uses linens every day. And now I can rest assured knowing exactly what ingredients mine were cleaned in. That’s my favorite part of making my own cleaning products.
The tabs did a good job cleaning and didn’t leave any residue or odor. Exactly what I was looking for. And all natural and inexpensive to boot! Successful new creation.
Try making your own laundry detergent tabs and let me know how it goes for you!
supplies used in this post
Like this tutorial? You should check out my homemade dishwasher detergent tabs!
Selene Galindo says
Great idea! Pinned!
Kaelyn says
Great article! I have been thinking lately of all the chemicals that exist in laundry detergent and I think this sounds like a great alternative to using detergent! I will have to try this out very soon :D
TJ says
Glad you like my recipe, Susie! One note however–mixing vinegar with the sodas (baking soda or washing soda) causes a chemical reaction which turns the sodas into nothing more than water–so they lose their effectiveness. I’d recommend using just plain water for the binder (probably filtered). :-)
Thanks again! Have a blessed day!
Susie says
Thanks TJ. The ratio of vinegar is low enough that it will not neutralize the sodas- but the laundry tabs will have a higher salt ratio than the plain detergent because of the sodium acetate from the reaction. But if you are worried about this happening you can try using water or increasing the ratio of washing and baking soda to salts in the dry mixture.
Rachel says
My hubby’s (the nerdy chemist who’s reading over my shoulder lol) says that mixing vinegar and baking soda turns it to slightly salty water (unless you use enough vinegar, then it might be a little vinegary yet). I’ve also read (I think on the Dr. Bronner’s website?) that you’re not supposed to mix vinegar and castille soap either cause they cancel each other out too. Neat recipe though. I’ll follow my hubby’s lead and make some with water.
Rachel says
Oops, I just see my SIL already posted about the vinegar/soda thingy based off our convo, sorry to repeat!
Susie says
Well after both these comments I’m gonna have to try binding them with water, and then I will update the post. Thanks!
TC says
Hi,
Can the salt in this recipe be replaced with citric acid?
Thanks for the recipe!
Susie says
Thanks! I haven’t tried it myself, but in theory that should work. Citric acid should also counteract the effects of hard water and it is supposed to be a good fabric softener. I don’t have personal experience using it for clothes, so you might want to do a small test load first with something you don’t care so much about to make sure it will be fine!
Bridget says
Hi! Do your tabs work for HE washers? And are you still pleased with their effectiveness at getting clothes clean? Thanks!
Susie says
Hi Bridget,
I’m happy with them! They should work with HE washers. The castile soap is low sudsing. If the tab doesn’t dissolve, then you probably just need to make them smaller. Hope this helps!
Bea says
Hi there! I am new to the make your own laundry soap thing. I am very intrigued to try when I run out of my current laundry detergent. I see this was posted a few months ago…so, has it worked well in washing whites and colored clothes? Any residue? Did it take out stains? Looking for something in a powder that does the job, friendly. Checking results before I buy up the ingredients. Thanks :)
Susie says
It works for me still!
Dee Dee says
I’m about to make up my second batch because I liked it so much. The laundry is clean and SOFT! Thanks so much.
Sharon Lee Lockhart says
OK, I really like the whole concept and have been making my own Laundry detergent for quite some time now.
I was wondering if this will all dissolve in cold water? I only wash with cold water as I am also frugal in my life too.
I do like the recipe tho and am going to try it as soon as I have used my detergent that I have mixed up already.
Thanks for the recipe and I have saved it and am going to try it soon.
Susie says
I don’t have any reason to believe that it wouldn’t dissolve in cold water, but I haven’t tried it in cold myself. It works fine in a warm cycle (as opposed to hot). So sorry I don’t have a better answer- but if you test it out I’d love to hear!
Vivian says
I do not have arm our soda can I still make laundry detergent with fels naphtha and borax vinegar and water.
Susie says
I haven’t tried it myself because I’m not a fan of feels naphtha but I know a lot of people do
Carolina says
is the soap supposed to be 14 ounces or 1/4 ounce?
Susie says
It is one four ounce bar of soap. In other words, 4 ounces of soap.
Laurilee says
Would I be able to use liquid Castile soap instead of the bar?
Susie says
It would completely change the texture. I don’t think tabs would work if you used liquid soap- you would end up with something kind of gloppy. You would end up with a messy product, but it would probably still work as laundry detergent. Probably not worth the difficulty the mess makes.
Amanda says
I’m getting ready to try your recipe, but don’t want to make it into tabs. Will the detergent be ok if I keep it in an airtight container?
Susie says
Yes! Just don’t add any liquid to it or it will get clumpy.
Brittany Buchmann says
Love this recipe!!! Made my laundry smell amazing and feel soft. I think I will do this in tab and loose form(tabs for my son for easy use) and loose for me as I have a double loader. And I love how it doesn’t have Borax.
Lauren says
Hi I’m so excited to try this! Would epsom salt work out ok or does it have to be a certain kind of salt? Thanks!
Susie says
It should be regular table salt. Good luck!
robin says
Thanks for this recipe, so far my clothes are softer and we haven’t noticed these tabs are inferior to store bought ones in any way. Just wanted to let you know that I ommited the vinegar and used liquid Castile soap apposed to a bar and have had several successful batches. I also have found 1/4 cup citric acid helps soften clothes, and causes the mixture to expand. So you have to wait until it’s done reacting then pack it into the ice cure trays.
Susie says
Great additions! Thanks for letting me know those sound like great variations.
Sherrie Kahn says
How much liquid Castile soap did you use? I’m using Dr. Bronners which is concentrated.. I’m just concerned about using too much!
Jessica says
I made this tonight but was only able to fill 19 cubes in a standard size ice cube tray. Not 28. Do you pack the mixture to the top of the mold or just half way?
Susie says
I filled the cube tray about 1/2 to 3/4 full
El says
How big should the tabs be? Something like 1 tablespoon, bigger/smaller? Thank you in advance!
Susie says
I just used an ice cube mold, but you can size them whatever you think will work best.
Steph says
After reading the comments over the last few years I was wondering if you kept this original formula or have you tried omitting vinegar and using water to bind? If so, did you notice any difference with changing ingredients?
Susie says
I still use vinegar. I understand that vinegar + baking soda = salt water. That is in equal ratios. Using a tiny amount of vinegar will convert some of the baking soda to salt water, most of it will remain the same. The small amount of heat from the chemical reaction helps bind the tabs.
T. Stanley says
I’m going to try this. Seems like it works & everyone is pleased with the outcome. My question is, do you only use 1 tablet per load or what? Thanks.
Susie says
1 tablet should be fine for a normal load. I suppose you could use 2 for a very heavy load but it probably isn’t necessary. Of course this depends on the size of tabs you make so if your ice cube tray is particularly small you might want 2.