How to Make Your Own Homemade Laundry Detergent

Nashia Baker is a skilled writer and editor in the journalism industry, known for her work interviewing global thought leaders, creatives, and activists, from Aurora James to Stacey Abrams. She has over five years of professional experience and has been a part of the Martha Stewart and Martha Stewart Weddings teams for the last 3 years.

How to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent That Will Effectively Clean Your Clothes

Use this expert-approved DIY detergent to remove dirt, stains, and odor.

Nashia Baker is a skilled writer and editor in the journalism industry, known for her work interviewing global thought leaders, creatives, and activists, from Aurora James to Stacey Abrams. She has over five years of professional experience and has been a part of the Martha Stewart and Martha Stewart Weddings teams for the last 3 years.

We can all agree that washing our clothes regularly is essential, but what’s less straightforward is choosing the detergent we use to get them clean. Store-bought options are touted for their stain-fighting and color-boosting properties, which keep clothes looking their best. But according to our experts, you can make a homemade laundry detergent that has the exact same cleaning power, sans the synthetic fragrances and chemicals commonly found in commercial products. If you want to use a detergent that is eco-friendly and effective, look to this DIY mixture recommended by laundry and cleaning professionals.

How to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent

To make our homemade laundry detergent recipe, use these essentials: baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, borax, and a gentle dish soap, like Dawn, says Rechelle Balanzat, a laundry and dry cleaning expert and the founder of Juliette. “These ingredients have been proven to be extremely effective in cleaning laundry and removing stains,” she says.

Adding borax to your laundry detergent in particular will help to absorb dirt, and baking soda will extend the life of your garments by brightening white clothes and making colorful fabrics more vibrant. The latter also helps neutralize odors and soften wash water, which will make each cycle more effective, says Balanzat.

Materials You’ll Need

• Baking soda
• 3% Hydrogen peroxide
• Borax
• Gentle dish soap

Here are our experts’ steps for making homemade laundry detergent:

1. Begin by boiling 8 cups of water, says Balanzat.
2. Next, add 2 cups of borax and 2 cups of baking soda.
3. Dilute 1 cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide with 2 cups of water; add to mixture.
4. Add 2 cups of dish soap and another 8 cups of boiling water.
5. Once the mixture is well dissolved, you can choose to add in an essential oil (about 50 drops). This will personalize the scent of your detergent, says Kathy Cohoon, a cleaning expert and the director of franchise operations at Two Maids.
6. Let your homemade laundry detergent cool down to room temperature. It will thicken into a white powder consistency.

DIY vs. Store-Bought Laundry Detergent

While there are plenty of shoppable laundry detergents on the market, using a homemade mixture has its benefits—starting with the fact that it’s effective and cost efficient. Commercial cleaners are expensive, especially if you have to buy extra-large iterations for your family (and you know how fast it goes). Making your own detergent also makes laundry time more eco-friendly, since it reduces the amount of plastic you have in your home and will eventually have to dispose of.

In addition, you have full control over the formula—which is a major plus if you have sensitivities. “Many laundry detergents that can be purchased in the store have synthetic fragrances and chemicals,” says Balanzat. “A huge perk to making your own laundry detergent is that you control what ingredients are being used.”

When to Use Store-Bought

A homemade mixture is effective, but it isn’t necessarily formulated for certain materials, like silk, says Cohoon. “When in doubt or dealing with specific fabrics, store-bought could be the better option,” she says.

How Much Homemade Laundry Detergent to Use Per Load

For standard loads, add 1 tablespoon of homemade laundry detergent. Up that to 2 tablespoons for heavily soiled laundry to remove excess dirt—but don’t overdo it. “Using too much laundry detergent can leave a residue in the fibers of your clothing,” says Balanzat. “It is important to not overuse laundry detergent, as it can create a surplus of suds, leaving your clothing oversaturated.”

And if you also want to soften your fabrics as you wash them? Try our recipe for homemade fabric softener (our formula also whitens, brightens, and reduces odor using all-natural ingredients).

How to Store Homemade Laundry Detergent

Always store DIY laundry detergent in an airtight glass jar away from pets or children.

How Long Homemade Laundry Detergent Lasts

When stored properly, homemade laundry detergent will last for about six months at maximum efficacy, says Cohoon. “DIY laundry detergent contains powders like borax and baking soda which have a longer shelf life,” says Balanzat.

Of course, how long your batch lasts also depends on how regularly you do laundry and the amount of people in your home. Our mixture can last up to one year for a small family or a couple who does one load of laundry a week; larger families will likely use it up within six months.

How to Make Your Own Homemade Laundry Detergent

Mary Marlowe Leverette is one of the industry’s most highly-regarded housekeeping and fabric care experts, sharing her knowledge on efficient housekeeping, laundry, and textile conservation. She is also a Master Gardener with over 40+ years of experience and 20+ years of writing experience. Mary is also a member of The Spruce Gardening and Plant Care Review Board.

Rhea Mehta, PhD, is an award-winning toxicologist who has worked to empower people to lead healthier lives, starting in their homes, for over a decade. Rhea holds a PhD in Toxicology, with over 15 scientific publications, and a certificate in integrative health coaching.

Emily Estep is a plant biologist and journalist who has worked for a variety of online news and media outlets, writing about and editing topics including environmental science and houseplants.

• Working Time: 20 – 45 mins
• Total Time: 20 – 45 mins

• Skill Level: Beginner
• Estimated Cost: $15

Laundry is a never-ending chore. Whether you are using a washing machine at home, the laundromat, or hand-washing clothes, one product is essential: laundry detergent. Visit any grocery store or mass-market store, and the shelves are lined with colorful bottles and boxes. Many of the detergents work well to remove stains and clean away body soil and dirt, but you can save some money by mixing a homemade laundry detergent with just a few basic products.

The ingredients you use—borax, washing soda, soap flakes—are commonly found in commercial laundry detergents. One of the benefits of homemade laundry detergent is that you can control the amount of fragrance you add and there are no dyes that can often irritate sensitive skin. Homemade laundry detergent can be used safely in both standard and high-efficiency washing machines because of its low-sudsing formula.

Follow these simple steps to make your own powdered laundry detergent.

How Often to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent

While the average American family does about 300 loads of laundry each year, your homemade detergent production will depend on how often you do laundry. Each batch will produce about five cups of detergent or 80 loads in a high-efficiency washer or 27 loads in a standard washer.

Commercial detergents contain anti-caking ingredients to keep ingredients from hardening or clumping. Homemade laundry detergent does not. It is best to make small batches to prevent clumping and keep it in an airtight container.

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Before You Begin

While homemade laundry detergent is effective in removing everyday soil from a load of laundry, it is not always the best stain remover because there are no active enzymes to break apart specific types of stains so they can be flushed from the fabric fibers. It’s a good idea to keep an all-purpose stain remover handy and pretreat stains before tossing the item in the washer.

What You’ll Need

Equipment / Tools

• 1 Box grater
• 1 Measuring cup
• 1 Rubber gloves
• 1 Sealable container (glass or plastic)
• 1 Wooden spoon
• 1 Measuring spoons

Materials

• 1 Borax
• 1 Washing soda (sodium carbonate)
• 1 Pure bar soap/castile soap or soap flakes
• 1 Label

Instructions

How to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent

These instructions are for making powdered laundry detergent. If you prefer liquid detergent or single-use pods, you can find the instructions here.

Grate the Bar Soap

If you are using pure bar soap like Zote or Castile soap, grate the bar into flakes with a box grater. You need one cup of flakes. You can also use soap flakes like Zote Flakes or Ivory Snow.

Tip

If you like scented laundry detergent, use one like Humble that uses botanically-sourced fragrances to make soap flakes.

Measure and Mix the Ingredients

You must use a container with a tightly fitting lid. It can be glass or plastic and should be slightly larger than five cups so there is room for mixing. Combine two cups of borax, two cups of washing soda, and one cup of soap flakes. Stir well with a wooden spoon to mix and promptly seal the container. Be sure to add a label and directions on how to use the detergent.

Warning

Washing soda can cause skin irritation, so wear rubber gloves when mixing your laundry detergent ingredients.

Measure Carefully When Adding to Washer

For a standard washer, use three level tablespoons of this homemade laundry detergent per wash load. Use less for small loads and one-fourth cup for extra large loads. For both front load and top load high-efficiency washers, use one tablespoon per load. Increase to two tablespoons for large loads.

Tip

Add the detergent directly to the washer drum before loading the dirty laundry. Do not use it in an automatic dispenser because the soap flakes may cause clumping that clogs the dispenser.

Store Properly

Keep the laundry detergent in an airtight container out of the reach of children and pets.

Tips for Making Homemade Laundry Detergent

• Be sure to label your laundry detergent container so others will know what’s inside. Add usage directions and a list of the ingredients as an added safety measure.
• The powdered laundry detergent generally will not expire or lose its effectiveness unless it is exposed to excess moisture.
• If the detergent becomes hard or develops clumps due to moisture, discard it. It will not dissolve well in the washer and can leave soap residue on your clothes.
• Borax (sodium tetraborate), washing soda, soap flakes, or laundry soap bars can be found in the laundry aisle of most grocery and mass market stores.
• To increase the cleaning power of your homemade laundry detergent, you can add one cup of baking soda to the recipe.
• To create a homemade laundry detergent with fragrance, select a soap bar with essential oils.