DIY Liquid Laundry Detergent

This easy DIY liquid laundry detergent is perfect to make whether you are working to live green or you just want to save some money. We all know how expensive cleaning products can be, and the prices just keep going up. One way to beat the high prices of store-bought cleaning products is to mix your own from easily obtained ingredients.

This easy DIY liquid laundry detergent is perfect to make whether you are working to live green or you just want to save some money. We all know how expensive cleaning products can be, and the prices just keep going up. One way to beat the high prices of store-bought cleaning products is to mix your own from easily obtained ingredients.

Another great advantage of this DIY liquid laundry detergent is that all the ingredients are biodegradable. This is an important consideration for those who are trying to live a more green and eco-friendly lifestyle. When you buy the ingredients to make this super easy laundry detergent you won’t have to worry about running out to the store because you ran out of detergent.

All you need to do is boil 5 cups of water and mix in the ingredients. You will have another batch of laundry detergent in a few minutes, and you will save a trip to the store. This not only saves you the fuel needed to make the trip to the store, but it also saves you money over buying that name-brand detergent.

I estimate that this homemade detergent costs me 1-2 pennies per load in an HE washing machine. When you compare that to anywhere from 17-30 cents per load for the store-bought brands, you can see the significant savings. The savings become even more evident when you realize I used the posted prices online from a well-known online retailer for comparison. When you figure out the costs at your local retailer, the cost per load will be higher.

The recipe uses Super Washing Soda (Sodium Carbonate), Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate), and liquid Castile Soap.

Super washing soda is a detergent booster that softens water by binding to the minerals in the water that make it hard. It also works by suspending the dirt in the wash and allowing the detergent to penetrate the clothes fibers better.

Baking soda in the wash also helps boost detergent, keeps whites white, acts as a natural fabric softener, and gently works to remove tough odors and stains.

Castile soap is a natural soap made from vegetable fats so it is totally biodegradable. It is a natural detergent and is far less likely to cause a reaction for those who have sensitive skin and have reactions to the ingredients in laundry detergent.

Unlike some of the other natural cleaning products I show you how to make, this one doesn’t contain essential oils. They would just get washed out in the rinse so they would be wasted.

A better option, if you like having a scent in your clothes, is to simply get a small spritzer bottle and mix a few drops of your favorite scent (Lavender essential oil is popular) with a teaspoon of witch hazel and fill the bottle with distilled water. Spritz your clothes as you take them out of the dryer. You can also use a washcloth and place a few drops of essential oils on the cloth and toss it in the dryer. The volatile essential oil will evaporate from the washcloth and into the clothing, giving them the scent of your favorite oil.

Be sure and check out our list of articles for more great information on aromatherapy and essential oils.