Looking for a homemade laundry detergent recipe but concerned about borax? One of our readers shared this recipe for Borax-Free Laundry Detergent and I was instantly intrigued! Honestly, I’m not really sure where I stand on the whole is Borax safe or not issue. I used to make a homemade recipe with Borax, then I had read somewhere that it could be harmful and at the time I was pregnant so I immediately stopped, just to be safe. Here’s a link from EWG on borax, if you’re looking to read up on it. Either way why not try a Borax-free laundry detergent recipe, there’s no harm in excluding it just in case.
Thanks Kandice for sharing this recipe with us! You can find her over on From Our Nest Magazine.
Homemade Borax-Free Laundry Detergent:
Ingredients:
- 3 Cups Washing Soda
- 1/4 Cup Baking Soda
- 1.5 Cups Dr. Bronner’s Baby-Mild Castile Liquid Soap
- 1.5 Gallons Hot Water
- Optional: A few drop of Purify (my favorite!) or Lemon Essential Oil
Directions:
- Make sure your water is hot — I used the hottest tap water I could get and called it good.
- Stir in the washing soda and baking soda and mix until dissolved.
- Last, mix in the liquid soap and then cover and let sit over night. In the morning it should be a jelly-like consistency.
- When it was ready, we used a quarter cup per load.
I ended up having to make a half recipe so it would fit in my gallon-sized glass bowl, Kandice mentioned she makes her’s in an old protein powder container that fits the full recipe.
After trying the recipe and here’s my feedback:
- Our clothes came out smelling like… nothing. No stinky smell but also no delightfully fresh smell either — but since the fresh smell usually comes from chemicals I was ok “missing out” on it.
- It didn’t work for our cloth diapers. Sad, I know but I didn’t feel like they came out clean. Since then I have heard that no homemade recipes is really recommended for cloth diapers so that could have be why. {For my cloth diapers I now use store bought Tide.}
You may have different success. It really depends on your water, how hard/soft, your washer, etc. My machine is a top loader and is not HE.
Do you make your own detergent? Have a favorite recipe? If you try this one, come report back and let us know how it goes for you. 
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If it isn’t cleaning diapers is it really cleaning the clothes?
Hey Terry! That’s a great question. I felt like our clothes came out clean so I’m not sure what the difference between the two was. It wasn’t so much that the diapers came out dirty as they just weren’t as fresh seeming and that could have been because the soap wasn’t rinsing well from the diapers? I’ve since heard that the soap not rinsing from the diapers is a common issue with homemade laundry recipes and can cause absorbency issues as well. So it’s a cloth diaper specific problem because of the nature of cloth diapers.
have you tried using some white vinegar in the rinse cycle? i use it to get the residue out from all sorts of detergents
I’m many years away from diaper washing, but when I did my daughters diapers I always rinsed them twice. It my seem like extra work, but she Never had diaper rash. Good luck!
my mom used the diapers along time ago. when we were done with them she used them for dusting she said they were great for that. and told aunts about that. and she rinsed them two times too.
Thank you for the ewg link, I’ve been on the fence, mostly because I keep forgetting to research. Seems like every time I turn around something else that I viewed as already approved and safe isn’t! I finally found a dish washer and laundry soaps that I like, but now I’ll try this one.
I can’t wait to try this. I’m always looking for new and improved laundry recipes. I wonder if you, or anyone else, has tried adding “softener crystals” to the mix? I think when I try this, I will separate a small amount out and try melting some Purex laundry freshener crystals in with it. Any thoughts?
I’ve never used softener crystals so I’m not sure. Maybe another reader knows and will chime in?
I use a tablespoon of epson salt in place of the crystals. It works very well to soften clothes and I haven’t noticed any static.
Also, on the cloth diapers maybe try using peroxide as well. It’s gotta be better than tide. With hm laundry soap, and peroxide I was able to get a set in grease stain out of a favorite workout jacket of mine. Shout wouldn’t touch it, but I used this hm soap with fels nafta instead of Bonners. Peroxide is the key ingredient in oxy clean.
I am just now trying centric acid. It’s great for hard water and cleaning plus laundry. I wonder if you added it to this laundry soap what results you would find, I have a small HE machine. Has anyone tried this?
inuse this recipe and use it our clothe diapers! I use vinegar and a little baking soda also! They come out clean and smell great!
I use this recipe and love it! Even on our clothe diapers!!!!
So glad to here it works on your diapers! It may have just been my washer then.
I use this recipe as well! I thought my clothes were coming out cleaner then my store bought Echos detergent! I add a lot of essential oils to make it smell good!!
I use oxiclean and has been working for me, I’m glad to find this recipe as others include borax. I also use a vinegar fabric softener recipe.
From the pictures it looks like this ends up being kind of solid? I borrowed an old laundry detergent container from a friend thinking this would stay liquid and I could just dump it from that but now I’m thinking that won’t work?
It ends up being a jelly like consistency. I find scooping it works best but I have used an old laundry container before too. Each time you make it, I’ve noticed it sets a little differently and is a little less (or a little more) thick. I hope that makes sense.
The recipe I use calls for one cup of each but it’s more liquid but it worked great but it does work on a team machines
Can this be used in HE washers? I know I read that your washer isn’t HE but I don’t exactly know what the difference is between HE soap and non-HE soap (I’m currently not an owner of an HE washers but when we close on our house in a couple weeks we will be purchasing a HE washer). Thanks for all of your help!
I’ve never owned an HE washer so I don’t actually know. Maybe someone who has one can chime in?
I am also curious if I can use this recipe in my HE washer. .
I don’t have personal experience with an HE, so I’m not sure. I’m hoping someone chimes in who has an HE washer and has tried this recipe.
Vinegar in the rinse will remove soap residue. This also softens your clothes. You can put the vinegar in a downy ball
so you don’t have to wait on the rinse cycle. Also I have found oxy clean is great for freshness issues.
What is really helpful is if your washer has a special spot, like a detergent drawer with a softener cup to put the vinegar in. It works wonderfully for me, and my clothes always came out nice and fresh!
ok, so after reading this and the comments, I’m going to try the recipe and add a Tablespoon of Epsom salt and a 1/4 of vinegar and see what happens.
Let us know how it goes for you!
Would this work with one of the scented organics from Dr. Bronner?
I can’t see why not, it would just add a nice scent to your detergent.
When I did my own laundry soap, I used the citrus scented Dr. Bronner’s, and it was really nice. I also added a few drops each of lemongrass and sweet orange oils. It smelled great!
so… Does this recipe make 2 gallons? And also, if the water is increased, would it come out more liquid so to be pourable?
Thanks for the recipe. I’ve been looking for something like this!
Yep! The recipe makes almost 2 gallons, I usually half the recipe to fit in the glass container I have.
I haven’t personally tried adding more water, it might work but you would want to use more detergent per load if you up the water in the recipe.
Does this recipe stay liquid or gel? How do you store it so it doesn’t dry out? How long does it last?
Thank you!
Mine was pretty jelly-like. We have a lid on our container so it doesn’t dry out but we use it fast enough that it doesn’t go bad.
As soon as I added the castile soap, it turned into a big, chunky mess. Did I not use hot enough water? Do you think I could try reheating it and dissolving the soap better?
Hmmm… I haven’t had that problem. Did you use Liquid Castile Soap or grated bar soap?
Thanks so much for this as I live in a country where I can’t get borax n I too was a bit wary
Mine didn’t gel. I let it sit overnight and it’s still in liquid form. Any idea what I did wrong? I used Acure castile soap if that helps.
I used Dr.Bronner’s Castile Soap so that could have an effect, also making sure you stir the detergent really well to make sure everything combines before letting it sit would make a difference too. Hope that helps!
Thanks! I agree, it could be an ingredient difference. Right now it looks like it’s half-gelled. I shook it up and used it yesterday. It seems to get them pretty clean but the lack of scent threw me off. I put in a few drops of essential oil but I guess it wasn’t enough.
Do you know if this is safe to use in front load washers?
I don’t have experience with a front load so I’m not sure, I wish I had an answer for you! I keep hoping someone else will chime in who knows more about the washer variations.
I think your gel consistency is because you have the most washing soda, by far, of any home-brew recipe I’ve seen. Most call for about 1/4 to 1/3 of washing & baking sodas; they are what cause it to gel, suds, and make it less HE friendly. My (newer) experience so far is that the lower amounts clean just as well, adding more water for better pourability. For dirtier loads, I use about 1/8c DoTerra cleaner or Thieves. DoTerra is MUCH less $$, and works just as well. That might help your diapers, along with the vinegar rinse. Good luck!
I tried the half recipe and it did not turn to a gel over night… Still very watery.
Well it was watery but there were some contents on the bottom- stirred a second time this mornin walked away not expecting. Anything to change but it’s now a gel!!! Yay!
So glad it worked! Stirring well and the letting it sit for a long enough time will make a difference! Enjoy your detergent!
I use a homemade detergent in my front-loader and it works great! It is a borax recipe. though that shouldn’t matter. HE stands for “high efficiency”, I believe. The detergents that are formulated for HE have low-sudsing properties, which is what these ingredients are.
Thank you! I’ve been waiting for someone to mention an HE safe comment.
How long does your full batch last you? Thanks for this recipe!
Hi, just want to ask if how long can i store it? how long does it lasts:)
Please reply thanks:)
Can you use it in he washing machine
I made your recipe and cut it in half. I didn’t have a large enough container for a full batch. It didn’t gel at all. I stirred it this morning and there were no solids at the bottom any suggestions? I used Dr. Bonners soap and stirred well, before I added it. I guess if it doesn’t set up I’ll just use it as is and see what happens.
Also, I’ve noticed a lot of requests for info on use in HD washers. I’ve been using a borax hm soap for a month or so with no problems at all. These are low sudsing soaps so it is not a problem.
Oh no! Sorry to hear that, did you use HOT water? I would still try to use it too, you may just have to stir between uses to make sure you’re getting a little of everything in your scoop.
I have a HE washer . And dose separate from the water. I do have to stir it, and it’s foamy. I use a 1/3cup and put it in the washer before the clothes, instead of putting it in the drawer up top. Because it’s too thick to run out of the cup. It seems to work just fine.
Thanks for sharing Vickie!
Is the homemade laundry soap and fabric softener made with Epsom salt ok for a front load washer?
Yes! I have had friends use it with their front load washer and not have any troubles. I think they always add it to the washing detergent dispenser, but I would imagine you could just put it directly in the washing machine basin as well.
I have been using a homemade powder detergent in my HE frontload washer and I’ve never had any problems. HE washers are just made to use less water, so as long as all your soap is getting rinsed out… you should be good to go! The only difference for me is that I have to put my soap in the main compartment instead of the soap compartment, which is no big deal.
Awesome! Thank you for your advice!
Can you mix Castile soap and dr bronners sals suds? I’m short on enough to get to 1.5 cups.
Personally I have never mixed the two, but I think that should be just fine. Has anyone ever tried mixing those two?