DIY Laundry Detergent – Why trash your wallet OR your septic tank?

This DIY Laundry Detergent can even handle MY family’s messes! It is easy to make, saves you money, doesn’t have any harsh chemicals, and works well. What more can you really ask for? Oh yeah, you also want the good bacteria in your septic tank to keep doing their job… No problem.

There are only 3 ingredients to this super-easy detergent, and you can find each of them in the laundry detergent aisle of most major grocery stores, OR, easily enough on Amazon if you’re like me and want stuff delivered straight to your door. (Please note, some of the links in this post are affiliate links and we are given a small commission for sales through those links, at no extra cost to you. We only link products we love.)

Why bother making DIY Laundry Detergent?

Making this soap can save you money. Depending on where you shop, it only costs about $10 to make a batch. One batch yields about 320 regular sized loads. That ends up being about 3 cents per load! I compared costs for some other powder laundry detergents, and their cost per load is as follows:

• Gain Power Laundry Detergent: 13 cents
• Tide HE Turbo Powder: 17 cents
• Sun Triple Clean: 6 cents

Compared to this DIY Laundry Detergent, even the cheapest brand is twice the price, and like the most expensive brand, this detergent is low sudsing, so it is safe for use even in HE washers.

What was that about my septic tank?

As mentioned, no problem. Whether or not the chemicals I use are safe to use with our families septic tank is something I’m always worried about. This recipe is non-toxic, so it won’t kill off the good bacteria that is needed for your septic tank to function efficiently.

Print Recipe

DIY Laundry Detergent

Half the price of the cheapest laundry detergent, easy to make, harsh-chemical free, and capable of taking care of laundry in a house-full of rambunctious kidlets? What's not to love!?

Course

Do It Yourself

Prep Time

5-10 minutes

Servings

Standard Loads

Ingredients

• 1 box Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda 3lbs 7 oz
• 1 box Borax Detergent Booster 4lbs 1 oz
• 2 bars Zote Soap 14.1 oz each

Course Do It Yourself Prep Time 5-10 minutes Servings Standard Loads Ingredients 1 box Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda 3lbs 7 oz 1 box Borax Detergent Booster 4lbs 1 oz 2 bars Zote Soap 14.1 oz each

Instructions

To Make

1. Grate the 2 bars of Zote Soap into a large bowl or bucket.

   
2. Add entire box of Super Washing Soda

   
3. And Borax

   
4. Mix well and store!

   

To Use

1. Add 1 tablespoon to a regular sized load, or 2 tablespoons for an extra large load.

Share this Recipe

I can’t remember where I found the original recipe for this DIY Laundry Detergent, unfortunately. If any of you stumble across it, let me know so I can give them credit! I know in the original recipe, it called for equal amounts of borax and washing soda. But the boxes just don’t come in the same size! I got sick of having a little extra borax left over. So, I decided to try one full box of each and it still works great.

You can use Ivory soap or Fels-Naptha in place of the Zote Soap if you like, but Zote Soap has worked the best on my family’s clothes (and I have three little ones!)