Last month, I tried my hand at making homemade laundry soap for the first time. It was straightforward to do and worked out well, so when I received a Fels-Naptha bar in the mail, I knew immediately that I’d be putting it to use in my next batch. The recipe from DIY Natural that I go by advises either using a bar of Fels-Naptha or Ivory soap; I’d only tried the Ivory soap thus far, so I was eager to see how this would compare.
To prepare my soap, I added Borax and washing soda to a washed out coffee can that I’ve been using to store my homemade detergent in. Normally the recipe calls for 1 cup of each ingredient, but I only had about 3/4 cup of washing soda left and I didn’t feel like making another batch, so I just scaled the other ingredients down accordingly. If you don’t know how to make washing soda, click here!
Once those ingredients had been added, I shaved 3/4 of the Fels-Naptha bar into the canister using a cheese grater. This laundry bar is yellow, so it almost looks like cheese while you’re doing it. 😉
Then, I took a large spoon and mixed the ingredients together for 5 minutes. Done! DIY Natural recommends using 1-2 tablespoons per load, depending on how soiled your laundry is. I’ve run several loads of laundry with my new Fels-Naptha laundry soap concoction, and I’m pleased; it’s not really scented, but the laundry comes out with a fresh, “Clean” smell. And I still have a quarter of the bar left, so the next time I have an item with a stain on it, I’m going to try using this to treat it – it’s meant to be a good pre-treatment for stains as well, so I’ll be curious to see how it works in that regards.
Beeb Ashcroft
Latest posts by Beeb Ashcroft (see all)
- Starting Your Own Restaurant: Avoid a Catastrophe - May 14, 2019
- How to Become a More Productive Food Blogger – By Doing Less - April 2, 2019
- 5 Easy Keto Recipes - February 27, 2019
I am glad to hear how well this works because I spend a lot of money–even though I use coupons–on laundry detergent. And, to show how I think, I thought the grated soap looked like white chocolate shavings. lol
Pam, this is a really nice frugal alternative – there don’t tend to be a lot of laundry soap deals in my area outside the dollar store, either. The Fels-Naptha bar retails for under $2 and a box of Borax retails for under $4 and lasts for many batches of detergent; you can making washing soda yourself from a box of baking soda. The laundry comes out smelling “Clean” but it doesn’t have the same kind of scent that you would get with a regular detergent – which is fine with me. I haven’t tried it with, say, muddy clothes, but all the laundry I’ve done with it has turned out nice and clean.
Wow! I’ve always wanted to try making my own.
I’m looking forward to trying this. It sounds like a good way to save money.
I’ve seen similar recipes, and I’ve been wanting to make my own detergent, thanks for sharing – I pinned this 🙂
I’ve considered making my own laundry detergent before but have been hesitant to try it. I think I’ll try it sometime soon just to see how I like it. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I’ve heard about doing this and that it’s super cost effective. One of these days, I’m gonna follow your lead.
I love your simple tips and this one just made me blow away how simple it was and cheap… I soooo need to try it and maybe be able to save some money in the laundry department… loved your pictures…
this is a great idea! i have never thought about making my own laundry soap before but i just might have to try it out now!
i’ve used fels naptha for years!! love it.
I have yet to try anything like this, but it would definitely be a saver! Doesn’t look too hard, so I will have to give it a whirl!