My First Attempt at Homemade Laundry Detergent

We are a family of 5 and saving money is a priority. So when I read online that it was possible to make my own laundry detergent, I was excited. Well, that isn't true, I was ecstatic. I couldn't believe that I could actually make my own laundry soap. I sat at my laptop for hours checking articles and posts until I realized that I was too afraid to even attempt it.

The recipes all called for a 5-gallon bucket and several ingredients that I had never heard of. My first problem was, what if I made the laundry soap and it didn't work very well or not at all. What was I going to do with 5 gallons of goop? Second, I didn't want to waste the money on something that I would never use.

I know, I know. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'm just not the venturing type. Trying new things actually intimidates me, but I really wanted to try this. I finally found a recipe that I was willing to try. I went out and bought all the ingredients and got started.



I followed the recipe from Budget101 called Mom's Super Laundry Sauce. When it came time to use the mason jar on the blender, I couldn't do that part. So I just cut up the solid part at the bottom of the jar and dumped it into a big pot. Then I used my immersion blender to whip it up. Here is my review of the "sauce"

The results were pretty thick, but I scooped out a spoonful of the "sauce" and added it to my load of laundry. When the load was done, I added them to the dryer. At this point, I was skeptical because I couldn't really smell anything on the clothes.

I went on with my cleaning while listening for the dryer to buzz ( It seemed like it took forever). When it finally buzzed, I ran excitedly to check it. My clothes actually smelled clean. I couldn't believe it. I was jumping for joy. Everything seemed to be as clean as it would be if I had used my usual brand.

The only difference with this laundry soap was that it didn't have a strong scent like my other detergent has. I was a little disappointed about that, but how can I complain when it works and I can save my family money.

Well, it turned out, I could complain about it.

I loved how the homemade laundry detergent made my clothes smell clean, but I didn't like what it was doing to my washing machine. I have one of those efficient machines that only use has much water as it thinks I need for that particular load. (it drives me crazy, but that is another story). Anyway, clumps of it were starting to stick to the sides of the tub of the washing machine. I would have to clean the clumps off after every load. I don't know about you, but I don't like extra work

Adding extra water to the recipe might have fixed this, but I was afraid of messing it up. I continued to use this recipe with nice results. The extra work of cleaning the tub was the price I was willing to pay to save money. I even gave some away to family and friends and they loved it.

So in conclusion, I love this Super Laundry Sauce, but I kept my eye out for more traditional looking laundry detergent (liquid) and finally found one. I will post my results soon.