On our plastic free journey, I discovered that this was one area that we were already avoiding plastic consumption. I have been making my own laundry soap since 2009. I’ve never enjoyed the faux fragrance of laundry detergent. Especially now that I realize the fact that most of the synthetic fragrance is derived from fossil fuels. Plus, it makes me feel good to know that I’ve saved who knows how many laundry soap bottles from being produced and discarded.
This is a very easy way to reduce plastic consumption and be frugal at the same time. I once calculated the cost of this laundry soap at less than $0.02 per load. Yes, that’s right $0.02/load! I previously was a loyal Tide consumer. Today at Walmart a bottle of Tide 2x Ultra for HE machines is $17.97 for 96 loads. That’s $0.187/load before any coupons. I used to spend $220.00 per year on laundry soap, conservatively. Now, I spend under $15.00 annually to make all of my laundry soap. I only need to make this laundry soap every 4-5 months.
Ingredients
- Arm & Hammer Washing Soda – 1 cup
- Borax – 1/2 cup
- 1 bar of Dr. Bronners castile bar soap
- Hot Water – 4 cups
To enlarge on step 4, in a container that can hold 5 gallons, fill it with 2 1/2 gallons of water and dissolve all ingredients (borax, washing soda, and dissolved bar soap mixture). Lastly, fill with remaining 2 gallons of water and stir. You will have made 5 gallons of concentrated liquid laundry soap. The batch of soap needs to sit to cure for 24 hours before use. I used a 8 gallon stainless pot to mix and cure my soap. We found it second-hand for brewing homemade libations. It works very well for this purpose. You could also use a 5 gallon bucket with lid.
To use: mix 1:1 concentrate with water and shake. For front loading washing machines, use 1/4 cup diluted soap. For top loading washing machines, use 5/8 cup diluted soap. I have a front loading HE washing machine and have perfect results every time. I have a repurposed container that I premix my diluted soap in to keep by the washing machine (1/2 water, 1/2 soap). I just shake and measure and voila! Each batch of soap makes approximately 640 loads.
You can choose to store your concentrate in your container that you prepared it in or pour it into glass jars for long-term storage. Word to the wise: Don’t use milk jugs. If you poke a pin hole in them you’ll lose your precious soap and have a big mess to clean up. Believe me, I’ve been there. It’s not fun.
I hope you enjoy making your soap as much as I enjoy using it.
This is so cool! I’m impressed by your plastic-free laundry soap journey. Saving those bottles is great. I used to buy expensive detergents too. Now I’m curious, does the homemade soap work as well on really stubborn stains? And how do you store the 5 gallons?