How to Make Homemade 3 Ingredient Laundry Detergent

Sharing is caring!

I’ve been using this DIY 3 Ingredient Laundry Detergent recipe for 15 years now. It works for my family well, which is saying a lot as we are a rather grubby lot!  We all spend a lot of time outdoors in the garden and bush and my husband fixes up old cars and motorbikes as a hobby. We also use cloth nappies.  Needless to say, we can’t mess around with anything that doesn’t work! Making your laundry detergent at home is one of many little ways to save money and a great way to begin living more simply.

DIY 3 Ingredient Laundry Detergent Tips

Ingredients

• Note that washing soda (sodium carbonate) is not the same as baking soda (sodium bicarbonate).  Washing soda is much more alkalising and has stronger cleaning properties.  Baking soda is safe to eat (hence why it’s a common ingredient in baking recipes) and has gentle cleaning properties.  It works best as an abrasive cleaner.
• If you live in an area with hard water, consider adding Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate). These will help to soften your water, help the other ingredients work, and your clothes will come out much softer. Add 1/2 cup of Epsom salts to the powdered recipe or 20g to the liquid recipe.
• Essential oils can add another dimension of cleaning power to your laundry detergent and also adds a lovely scent.  Some of my favourite choices are:
  • Eucalyptus
  • Lavender
  • Lemon Myrtle
  • Lemon
  • Tea tree (also known as Melaleuca)
  • Orange
  • Rose geranium

Using and Storing Your 3 Ingredient Laundry Detergent

• I love my laundry soap tin that came with a matching scoop that hangs on the side.  It keeps the laundry powder fresh, is pretty to look at and gives me a lovely sense of satisfaction every time I do laundry.  It’s the little things!  You could make give a tin filled with a batch of powder and make a little simple recipe card as a thoughtful gift.  When I’ve done this, it’s always been well received.
• You’ll notice that this homemade laundry soap laundry detergent won’t produce lots of suds like many commercial varieties do.  But don’t worry, lots of suds are not required to effectively clean clothes.
• If you have a greywater system, you will want to leave the borax out of this recipe.  While I personally cannot attest to its effectiveness, I’ve heard from neighbours and friends that using just the soap flakes and washing soda does a serviceable job.

3 Ingredient Laundry Detergent FAQ

How do I make my own laundry detergent?

There are two main ways to do it; either making a powder or a liquid.  I like to have both on hand, as I use the liquid when running a cold water cycle and the powder for warm and hot washes.  To make your detergents, you will need to mix the ingredients together in the right proportions following the recipes I’m sharing here.  For powder, you’ll want to store it in an airtight container.  For liquid, either a glass drink dispenser or recycled plastic milk bottles do nicely.

What are the 3 ingredients of homemade laundry detergent?

Both homemade laundry powder and liquid only contain 3 ingredients that you can easily find at the grocery store: washing soda, borax and soap flakes.

Is DIY laundry detergent worth it?

Yes!  After 15 years of using this recipe (or variations of it), I can attest to its effectiveness.  It is significantly cheaper to make than store-bought laundry detergents and doesn’t contain harsh chemicals or artificial fragrances, so you’re not unnecessarily exposing your family to potential toxins.  It certainly is a good idea to try it and see if it works for you. 

Can I use vinegar instead of laundry detergent?

No, this would not be effective on its own.  White vinegar makes for a great fabric softener alternative, but to effectively clean your clothes you need a surfactant (soap) to remove dirt and an alkaline environment to remove stains and odours (which the washing soda and borax provide).

Can you use homemade laundry detergent in a front-loader washing machine?  Or a top loader?

You can use it in both.  Make note of the usage instructions as you will need to use less in a front loader.  Some folks may be concerned about product build-up when using a homemade laundry detergent, but I have found that if I use liquid for cold washed and powder for warm and not washes, I don’t run into any issues.

Is homemade laundry detergent safe for sensitive skin?

Yes, it is.  This non-toxic laundry detergent recipe is free of the most common ingredients that can cause an allergic skin reaction from commercial laundry detergents: synthetic perfumes (if you choose a fragrance-free soap and leave out the essential oils), phosphates, optical whiteners and enzymes.  I myself have sensitive skin, and I’m aware of using gentle cleaning products with babies and toddlers around and I have not run into any issues with this great recipe. 

To make your own homemade laundry detergent, you’ll need 3 simple ingredients:

1. Washing soda: also known as sodium carbonate, soda ash or soda crystals.  This is a powder that helps to remove stains and clean laundry effectively.  It works like a soap, making oil and grease water soluble.  It also has water-softening properties.
2. Borax: also known as sodium tetraborate, whitens whites, eliminates odours, releases soapy residues, softens hard water, removes stains, and disinfects laundry.
3. Pure soap flakes or laundry bar soap grated: soap works its magic through a chemical process called “saponification”, which helps lift away dirt and grime from fabric fibres so it can be rinsed away with water.
4. Optional: Essential oil (Eucalyptus and Lavender essential oils are favourites)

How I Use My 3 Ingredient Laundry Detergent in My Daily Laundry Routine

Since becoming a homemaker and mother, laundry has become a part of my daily rhythm.  I know this may sound silly, but using a laundry detergent that I have made myself that smells fresh and cozy, really helps make this element of homemaking satisfying.  Snuggling up in clean, lavender-scented sheets is one of my favourite things at the end of a long day.  Here are a couple of other tips I have picked up along the way that I have found so very helpful:

A Load a Day

I have learned the wisdom of how doing a load a day from beginning to end truly keeps overwhelming laundry situations at bay.  It has become an automatic habit to gather a load of laundry together to get going early on in the day, and then all it takes is 5-minute moments throughout the day to set out on the drying rack or transfer to the dyer, fold and put away.

Stain Removers for Heavy Duty Loads

I do keep a jar of powdered oxygen whitener on my laundry shelf – I go between using pure sodium percarbonate, Napisan and Sard Wonder – usually picking what’s on special.  I’ll add 1/4 cup to loads of laundry that contain tough stains, greasy or dirty clothes or cloth nappies.  I then use the “soak” function on my machine to give it all a good soak.

For spot stain treatment, I’ll rinse out with cold water as soon as possible, then use the laundry liquid and apply it directly to the stain and let it sit until it’s time for the next load of laundry.  I’ll then use the oxygen whitener in the load.

Fabric Softening with White Vinegar

Add white vinegar to the fabric softener compartment of your machine so that it’s released into the final rinse cycle.  It works remarkably well.

Wool Dryer Balls

In the winter, we really do need to use our dryer in our climate.  I love using wool dryer balls to shorten drying time, and they also help to soften the fabric too.  For a sensory treat, add a couple of drops of essential oil to the wool dryer ball.  Not only will your clothes smell delightful, your home will be filled with a cosy aroma too.  These make for a much healthier version of dryer sheets.

Fabric Care with Homemade Detergent

Cloth Nappies/Cloth Diapers

I was intimidated by the laundry routine required for cloth nappies at first, but we now have our own streamlined version that works great.

1. Every day or every other day: put cloth nappies through a short, cold wash with 1/4 cup of homemade laundry liquid detergent (we have a top loader, so this is half of what we would usually use).  These are transferred to the designated “prewashed” bucket.
2. Every 3-4 days, we’ll take all the nappies that have accumulated in the prewashed bucket, and put them through a hygiene wash with 20 minutes soak time (which is a hot wash with an extra rinse cycle).  To this, we add 2 tablespoons of homemade laundry powder detergent, 2 tablespoons oxygen whitener and white vinegar to the fabric softener compartment.
3. Hang to dry.

That’s it!  With this routine, we’ve never experienced the issue of ammonia build-up or decreased absorbency. If you do use cloth nappies, I recommend steering clear of adding any citrus essential oils as some companies specifically note that this will void their warranty.

Using Homemade Laundry Detergent for Fluffy Towels and Soft Sheets

My first tip is to transition your linen and towel supply to be all white (or light). This way you don’t need to separate out towels and sheets and toss them all together in a single weekly wash.  You also can add powdered oxygen whitener to keep them fresh and bright.

I typically have one day a week where I’ll wash the towels and sheets (towels with towels, sheets with sheets). Ideally on a sunny day, so you can line dry them.  Only fill your washing machine to ¾ full.  To a warm or hot cycle add homemade powdered laundry detergent, 2 tablespoons of oxygen whitener and ¼ cup white vinegar to the fabric softener compartment.  Set your machine so that it soaks for at least 20 minutes.  if your machine doesn’t automatically do this, pause the cycle after the first agitation and let sit for up to 4 hours.  Line dry in the sun or dry on warm with wool dryer balls with a couple of drops of lavender essential oil.

Kitchen Tea Towels and Cleaning Cloths

Keep a small bucket in your laundry specifically for kitchen tea towels, hand towels and cleaning cloths.  I have learned that changing these daily keeps everything feeling fresh and lovely.  It’s now a part of my evening ritual to take all the day’s cleaning cloths and kitchen towels to the laundry and set out clean ones for the following day.

Once a week I’ll wash them all together.  If they’re especially grimy, give them a soak in hot water with 1 tablespoon of homemade powdered laundry detergent.  Eucalyptus and lemon essential oils are excellent at getting oil out of fabrics, so you may want to add a couple of drops to the soak.  Then transfer to your machine, use a hot wash cycle and add 2 tablespoons of homemade powder laundry detergent, 1 tablespoon of oxygen whitener and ¼ cup white vinegar to the fabric softener compartment.  Make sure they are 100% dry before folding and putting them away.

Shop this Post

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

• Glass drink dispenser to store laundry liquid in
• Laundry tin to store powder
• Wool dryer balls

Pin for Later