Easy Homemade Natural Laundry Detergent
Are you looking for a simple DIY natural laundry detergent recipe made without using grated or powdered soap? It’s ridiculously simple, free of toxic chemicals, and only requires three ingredients!
What are the Ingredients in This Laundry Detergent?
Washing Soda
Washing soda (Sodium Carbonate) is used in this laundry detergent as it is a super water softener and raises the pH of the cleaning water providing a more effective clean. Washing soda is also effective at cutting through grease and oil and removing stubborn stains from laundry.
Sodium Bicarbonate
Sodium Bicarbonate is used to help remove odours from the laundry, boost cleaning performance, as a fabric softener, and help brighten colours and whites.
Castile Soap
We chose to use a liquid castile soap in our laundry detergent recipe because it won’t leave any residue on your clothing yet still thoroughly removes dirt and grease. One of the largest concerns with homemade washing powders seems to be the residue left behind from the bar or ground soap used in many DIY recipes. The concern is the soap residue can clog and cause damage to your washing machine over time as well as build up on your fabrics – definitely not ideal. Using a liquid castile soap reduces soap residues and best of all does not need grating or milling like a bar of soap does, so it makes this recipe super quick and easy.
If you love this recipe be sure to check out some of our other Natural DIY Cleaning Recipes to help you kick toxins to the curb and save money!
We Also Have A collection of DIY Personal Care and Beauty Recipes To Nourish Your Body Naturally…
Washing Powder
A simple Natural Laundry Detergent using on 3 ingredients
Ingredients
- 600g Washing Soda
- 300g Sodium Bicarbonate
- 100g Liquid Castile Soap
- 40-80 drops Essential Oils (Optional)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients together, with either a whisk or in a mixing appliance.
- Use 1-2 tbsp per load, depending on how dirty the items are and how big the load is
Notes
- We recommend mixing in a well-ventilated area or wearing a mask as the dust will get into the air and you dont want to breathe it in.
- This mix will have an exothermic reaction when the washing soda and Castile combine. Basically this means it will warm up slightly upon first mixing together. dont be alarmed its totally fine and isnt going to burst into flames 🙂
- For an extra washing boost you can add 1-2 tbsp of Sodium Percarbonate/Oxygen Bleach, as long as your temperature setting is over 40 degrees C. If you are using a cold wash please don't waste your Oxygen Bleach as it only activates once it hits water over the 40-degree mark. For this reason, we decided not to include it in the recipe itself but just as a side note 😉
- We generally don't bother with essential oils in our washing powder unless the load is particularly smelly and we are hoping to neutralise the odour. In this instance, we just add the oils to the power once in the detergent compartment of the washing machine.
Hi there
Great website and very informative information. I am loving going through all the recipes and trying them out. 🙂
I was just wondering if you have a recipe for a DIY toxfree laundry liquid as my front loader takes liquid only?
Thank you and kind regards
Janet
Hi Janet,
We are so glad you find our website helpful! Sorry unfortunately we don’t have a liquid laundry detergent, however we are always working on new recipes so you never know when one might turn up.