DIY Laundry Detergent

*I'm not gonna lie, for me part of the fun of making the DIY products is getting to decorate the container and make them all match!

When I made my first batch of Laundry Detergent in April I started with a 1/2 of a batch.  I have learned that it's better to start with a smaller amount of something just to see if in fact you do actually like it.

As I create more DIY cleaning products I learn something new each time.  For example, the first time you use the product it may be great, however, the true test of the product is actually none other than  . . . time.  Also, be sure to keep the products in AIR TIGHT containers!

While it has been difficult, I have been trying to take my time, and use the products for awhile before writing my review on them.

So here you have it the DIY Laundry Detergent Recipe I used:

What you need:

1/2 of a cup of baking soda
(found in the baking aisle)

1 cup of washing soda
(found in the laundry detergent aisle)

1 bar of castile soap
(found at an organic food store)

What to do:

Grate the soap with a cheese grater.  Use the smallest size holes.  Using a large knife cut the grated soap.  I cut it horizontally and then turned the cutting board and cut it the opposite way.  The purpose is to make it into the consistency of powder.  This whole process took about 20 minutes.

Combine and stir all of the ingredients together.  It will look like this.  I shake the container before each use.  I also keep it in an airtight container.  Use 1 tablespoon of the detergent per load of laundry.  I have a front loading HE washing machine.  I put the scoop in the slot labeled detergent.

My opinion:

I wanted to see how well the DIY detergent  cleaned in comparison to store brand detergent.  Before using the DIY detergent the first time I made my own stains on 2 burp rags (1 to wash in store brand detergent and 1 to wash DIY detergent).  I used the following stains: grass, dirt, chocolate syrup, spaghetti sauce, permanent marker, and icing.

I only put detergent in the washing machine the first time I washed each of these.  Typically I add a tablespoon of Oxiclean to each load of laundry.  For normal washing I would have also sprayed these stains with pretreater, but I wanted to see how the detergent alone worked first.  Both detergents removed the same amount of each stain.  Only the permanent marker and icing were removed completely with detergent alone.

When I washed them a second time I used a pretreater.  Again, both detergents removed the same amount of each stain.  I came to the conclusion that the DIY detergent works as well as the store brand detergent.

I have made 2 half batches of this detergent and 1 whole batch.  It has clean our laundry and I am happy with the results!

Price Break Down:

55oz. of washing soda costs $3.29 (at Meijer)

      I used 1 cup of washing soda.  This would equal about .55 of the box was used.

16 oz. of baking soda costs .59 (at Meijer)

     I used 1/2 of a cup of baking soda.  This would equal .15 of the box was used.

1 bar of Dr. Bronners Soap (5 oz) costs $3.98 (at the organic market)

     I used the whole bar of soap.

1 batch of the DIY soap costs me $4.60. 

The entire batch was 17 oz.  If I use 1 tablespoon for each load I am able to wash 34 loads of laundry (1 dry oz is about 2 tablespoons) with 1 batch.  This means I am spending .14 per load.

According to Walmart.com 56 oz. of Tide washes 40 loads of laundry and costs $8.97.  This breaks down to .22 per load.  (I wasn't able to find prices on Meijer's website so I used Walmart's website)

Links to Other DIY prodcts I have tried:

DIY Fabric Softener

DIY Baby Wipes

DIY Fabric Refresher

DIY Counter Top Spray

DIY Soap Scum Remover

DIY Glass Cleaner

DIY Dishwasher Detergent