I love saving money for our family. The more ways I can funnel money away from one thing by making it from scratch the more if frees up money for other things. Like pants. Samuel has grown this last year more than 3 inches and needs pants. This kid is going to be over 6 feet tall before I know it! Elliana was my helper today while we make Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap.
Disclosure
Published February 23, 2021
Updated March 7, 2022
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Why make Homemade Soap?
About 6 years ago I went on my journey baking, cooking and making things from scratch to help save money on our family budget. We only had two kids back then, so the laundry was not piling up like it does now. Three-to-four loads a week seems like a cakewalk compared to now!
How many loads does your family do? With 6 here, plus a dog and cat, I feel like I am doing laundry multiple times a day. Towels, sheets, Tyler’s work clothes, kids’ clothes, our clothes, blankets, pet stuff, someone spilled at dinner… 5,000 towels… It is never ending! The last time I counted, I did 8 to 10 loads weekly, conservatively.
Making liquid laundry soap is, in my opinion, super easy and quick. At literally 4 ingredients and an honest fifteen minutes of work, you can have a serious amount of Laundry Soap at your disposal! The ingredients include Borax powder, Arm & Hammer laundry booster, 5.5 oz Fels-Naptha soap and water: all in a 5-gallon bucket. That’s it! Sometimes I add drops of an essential oil, that is up to you, lavender, rosemary, lemon, orange… there are a lot of options.
Additionally, you can get the three ingredients right at Walmart or Woodmans. I have not looked for them at other stores, so I am not sure if they are sold anywhere else.
Liquid Laundry Soap Directions
Ingredients
5.5 ounces Fels-Naptha bar
1 cup Borax powder
1 cup Arm & Hammer laundry booster powder (NOT regular baking soda)
4 cups HOT water
Cheese shredder
6 Quart pan
Whisk
5-gallon bucket
Directions for Liquid Laundry Soap
1. Shred a bar of Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar into a 6-Quart pan.
2. Measure and add 4 cups hot water to the shreds in the pan, then turn the temperature to medium-high. This is to help the shredded soap to dissolve into the water.
3. Cook on medium-high until the Fels-Naptha soap shreds are completely melted; around 10 minutes stirring often. The soap in the water will froth up, keep watching the pan and remove it from the heat for a few seconds when that happens.
4. Fill the 5-Gallon bucket halfway with HOT water.
It is easiest to fill the bucket in the sink, then remove it to the floor to finish the filling the bucket.
5. Slowly pour the water-soap liquid from pan into bucket, then stir with a whisk to combine.
6. Add 1 cup Borax Detergent Booster powder to the bucket, then stir well to combine.
7. Add 1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda powder to the bucket, then stir well to combine.
8. Fill up the rest of the bucket, with hot water, within 1 inch of the brim. Using the 6-Quart pan is easier and helps remove more soap mixture out and into the bucket. Then, stir carefully with whisk to combine.
9. Cover with the lid and let sit a full 24 hours.
10. After 24 hours of letting the laundry soap rest, use an emersion blender to mix the soap in the bucket as there might be gel-like clumps.
11. Use 1/2 cup of liquid soap with each load.
As I need the soap I fill up old laundry soap containers from my bucket. This makes it way easier to use and measure. Just give the bottle a good shake before pouring as the liquid can separate and clump together.
Cost breakdown
Borax Detergent Booster Powder $4.47
Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar $0.97 each
Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda $4.12
Each of the powder boxes is enough for 7-8 servings. Today I used the last 1 cup in my Borax that I bought way back in 2015. That puts the Borax cost per serving at $0.55 for each 5-gallon and the Arm & Hammer powder at $0.51 for each 5-gallon.
The total cost to make a 5-gallon laundry soap is $2.03. Not too shabby for 20 minutes of work.
These prices above were from February 2021.
Below you can check out the three main ingredients for sale on Amazon.
Enjoy!
Monica
Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap Recipe
Liquid Laundry Soap Recipe
Equipment
- 5 Gallon Bucket
- Measuring Cup
- Whisk
- 6-Quart Pot
- Box Grater
Ingredients
- 5.5 oz Fels-Naptha Laundry Soap
- 1 cup Borax Detergent Booster Powder
- 1 cup Arm & Hammer Laundry Booster Powder
- 4 cups HOT Water
Instructions
- Shred a 5.5-oz Fels-Naptha Laundry bar into a 6-Quart pan.
- Add 4 cups hot water to the shreds in the pan, stir well with a whisk.
- Cook on medium-high until soap shreds are completely melted; around 10 minutes stirring often.
- Fill a 5-Gallon bucket halfway with hot water.
- Slowly pour the water-soap liquid from pan into the 5-Gallon bucket, then stir with a whisk to combine.
- Add 1 cup Borax Detergent Booster powder to the bucket, then stir.
- Add 1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda powder to the bucket, then stir well with a whisk.
- Fill up the rest of the 5-Gallon bucket with hot water, within 1 inch of the brim.
- Cover the 5-Gallon bucket with the lid and let sit a full 24 hours.
- After 24 hours of letting the laundry soap rest, use an immersion blender to process the Laundry Soap into liquid, as there will be clumps.
- Use 1/2 cup of liquid soap with each load.
- Additionally, you can transfer Laundry Soap into a Detergent container you have on-hand for easier use.
2 responses to “How to make Liquid Laundry Soap made from Scratch”
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[…] If you do not wish to add scent crystals, click the link below for my blog post with the recipe for Liquid Laundry Soap made from Scratch. […]
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