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This is a great basic laundry soap that gets my clothes as clean as the storebought variety. I also made an unscented batch for my mom, so she can wash our dad’s shirts for the office.

The washing soda is, chemically, sodium carbonate (versus baking soda, which is sodium bicarbonate). It is included in homemade laundry soap because it softens the water and can get rid of grease and wine stains. Borax, or sodium borate, eliminates odours and increases the pH (and thus decreases the acidity) of wash water to a level that is optimal for detergents. Also, once combined with hot water, it converts some water molecules to hydrogen peroxide, which then whitens whites and removes stains (even blood).

Considering how little you need per load, this is quite a cost-saver as well! I think this makes enough for at least 100 loads; I am not even half-way through my batch after the better part of a year (and I do one to two loads each week)! The box of washing soda was about $5.00, the box of Borax was about $5.00, and the soap was maybe $1.00 per bar – so I’m just estimating that it all cost about $15.00 for the ‘ingredients’ for over a year’s worth of laundry detergent.

Powdered Laundry Soap

Makes about 10 cups

Ingredients

4 bars hard soap, grated

4 cups Borax

4 cups washing soda

20-30 drops of essential oils (lavender, lemon, mint, vanilla, or a combination are nice)

 

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in an airtight container.

2. Use just 1 Tbsp per regular load! Since the soap needs to dissolve in the washing, I’ve found that I need to use warm water. I tried using cold water, but there was a soapy residue left on my clothes.