Homemade Laundry Detergent

As a psoriasis sufferer, I very often hear how careful you have to be with detergents soaps etc. All the heavy scented laundry detergents can really irritate my skin so I decided to give making homemade laundry detergent a try. I wanted to make sure that it was safe for me and the kids.

First lets take a look at the ingredients so you will know why this is a clothes cleaning powerhouse and a less abrasive recipe. It is safe for all washers even newer HE washing machines.

Zote Soap Flakes

Zote Laundry Flakes are made with coconut oil and tallow, containing optical brighteners. The natural ingredients used in ZOTE are the same used in making bath soaps; therefore, they are non-abrasive making ZOTE gental on your skin and even safe for baby clothes.

Borax

Borax is a naturally occurring substance produced by the repeated evaporation of seasonal lakes. Absolutely nothing is added. No phosphates, peroxide, chlorine, or other additive chemicals. 20 Mule Team® Borax increases your detergent’s power and controls odors to give you fresh, clean laundry. The natural boron and salt in Borax make a natural disinfectant that gets rid of smells in your clothes.

Oxiclean Free

Make your own safe for sensitive skin laundry detergent

Oxiclean Free is a Versatile Stain Remover in a powder form that is activated when added to water (warm or hot water work best). Oxygen is released and targets the stains, rather than the fabric, removing many tough stains on water-washable clothing, carpet, and hard surfaces both inside and outside the home. More than 95% of the ingredients are minerals, or break down into minerals and components that are readily found in our natural environment. Oxiclean Free has no dyes or perfumes

Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda

if you have sensitive skin this recipe for homemade laundry detergent is for you

Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda is an all natural product that boost’s your laundry cleaning power and softens your hard water. It is 100% fragrance and phosphate free. It will help to remove stains and by making your detergent foam and it helps keep your colors from fading.

Arm and Hammer Baking Soda

Adding Arm & Hammer Baking Soda to the laundry dissolves grease. It is a natural fabric softener. Again it’s all natural and gentle on your skin.

I saved the scoop from the Oxiclean container and it takes only 1/2 a scoop per wash load. I had a 1 Gallon Anchor Hocking Heritage Hill Glass Jar at home so I made some letters with my Cricut for it. This one recipe lasted for about 4 months.

Homemade laundry detergent for sensitive skin

If you are are wanting a little more scent you can put in a few drops of doTerra Oil, it is all natural and will not irritate your skin.

Use this all natural oil to freshen up the smell of your laundry

Print It Now!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

An easy recipe for homemade laundry detergent that is safe for sensitive skin

Course: Household Cleaner

Author: Kelley @ Miss Information Blog

Ingredient List

1 17.6 oz box Zote Laundry Flakes for Washing Machines
1/2 76 oz box Borax Laundry Booster
1 3 lb container Oxiclean Free
1 55 oz box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 4 lb box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda

Directions

In my post there are affiliate links to buy all these products on Amazon with free shipping for prime members or orders over .00. You can find the Zote Flakes at Walmart or grate 2 bars. All the other ingredients can be found in most grocery stores.

Please be aware this recipe has been updated from the original on April 11th, 2014 so comments from readers before this date may not apply.

32 Responses

ann kolb says:
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if you use zote flakes to make homemade laundry detergent do you still need to put it in a food processor and grind it up finer
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1. Kelley Wilson says:
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  Nope, I love the Zote flakes!
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Brandy says:
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:( did you recently change this? I have had this pinned and used it like 4 times I am back to use it again and now the recipe is different :(
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1. Kelley Wilson says:
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  Nope the only change is that I now use Zote flakes instead of the bars shredded. I just updated the post to include more info for the reader.
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Nena says:
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I am going to try making this soon. But some people would mention about grinding some soap to add in to make it smell goo??/
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1. msinfoblog says:
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  Hi Nena, sorry it took me so long to respond, I had a bunch of comments to into my trash folder and did not realize it. There is shredded soap in the recipe. I hope you enjoy it and thanks for commenting!
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Anonymous says:
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I have been using this for two years now in my HE washer. I just use one tbsp. I like to use downy unstoppables in my loads too because I like the smell. my clothes are bright and soft, my wallet is happy because I'm spending less, my washer is happy because I'm not using commercial laundry detergents with all their damaging fillers.
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Anonymous says:
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Thanks so much for posting! If I figured right I should save at least $200 a year using this. I'm still a little skeptical using it in my HE washer. One of the posts suggested using less w the HE. Does anyone know the exact amount to use?
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1. Kelley Wilson says:
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  I used it in my HE with no issues at all. I used 1 tablespoons
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Anonymous says:
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Is this safe for high efficiency washers????
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1. Kelley Wilson says:
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  Yes I used it in my old one with no issues
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Anonymous says:
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do you use 2 or 3 bars of zote soap... and is the white or pink the best?
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1. Kelley Wilson says:
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  2 bars
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2. Kelley Wilson says:
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  Oh and color does not matter
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Anonymous says:
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how many bars of the zote soap do you use since they are bigger then the fels napha soap
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1. Kelley Wilson says:
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  You still use 2
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2. Anonymous says:
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  ok thanks.. i just added one caise it looked lke alot mlre then fels napha.... so ill add my second tonight :) .... this is my first time using pink zote....
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Anonymous says:
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my cousin posted this on facebook and as i had been struggling w/ my daughter having an eczema reaction to my previous (unscented, all natural) detergents, determined to try this. after about 2 weeks of using this exclusively, my husband noted her skin behind her knees and on her bottom which had been rashy for about 6 months was totally clear! we'll be making this for the foreseeable future! thanks for making this information available! i used the fels naptha soap even though it was scented (and we've only used unscented in the past) and has coloring agents, and my skepticism has been for nothing.we'll see how long it lasts for a family of 7, but we're excited to have a simple and effective option for our laundry care. it worked great on new baby clean-up too. homebirth and new little guy and our laundry is still fresh, clean, and so far unstained!
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afnavymom says:
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I just made this and am washing my first load. I was surprised by no suds.
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1. Kelley Wilson says:
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  Let me know what you think!
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afnavymom says:
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This comment has been removed by the author.
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Lori M says:
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Do you just grate the soap and then mix everything together? What kind of soap is Fels Naptha? I've never seen or heard of it and thinking there may be another brand name in my area. Thanks, this is a great idea.
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1. Kelley Wilson says:
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  Yes you grate the soap and mix it all together, Fels Naptha is a laundry soap and it is usually on the top shelf in the laundry section it is great for getting stains out. You can use any kind of bar laundry soap you find at your store
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Kelley Wilson says:
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Didn't realize that was not in there thanks you Grate it with a cheese grater
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1. Judy Godfrey says:
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  I grated mine with a cheese grater to start but it was such a messy pain in the neck that I now do it in the food processor like it was a cube of cheddar cheese. Works like a charm and takes two seconds, and the soap washes right off of the grater attachment, too. I think I will buy a box of Zote soap flakes and try that next, though, as the bars of castille soap are costly ($4 for 3 bars). I had been using 1 c. Arm & Hammer, 1 C. 20 Mule Team Borax, and 1 bar of soap shredded all put together in the food processor until you could hardly see any soap shreds... I say the same as a few other people, brighter and softer for sure. And cheaper!
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Anonymous says:
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What do you with the bar of soap, exactly? thanks. so going to do this today.
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Kelley Wilson says:
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I have used it with no problems with an HE washer. just use a small amount though most people tend to over do it with detergent
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Anonymous says:
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I am excited to try this! Question, I just purchased a (HE)washer, will this hurt the new machine? It tells you to only use soap that is (HE). Would love to start saving on laundry detergent. Thank you.
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Kelley Wilson says:
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Between the Borax, felsnaptha and oxy clean really good, of course stubborn stains will need a little extra care.Let me know what you think!
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Mira says:
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I am using this as of today. So far so good. I have a huge washer so I use more of the detergent. I did put Purex in it as I found another person suggesting it and it makes clothes smell really good! My towels came out nice and soft, too. How well does it work on stain removal, though?
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2yellowbirdsdecor says:
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What a great idea!!! I am going to have to try this out! Thanks so much for entering this as well into the Project Pinterest Challenge! Good Luck!Jilltwoyellowbirdsdecor.blogspot.com
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Deana@ says:
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Thanks for linking up @CountryMommaCooks Link & Greet....I'm going to try this out:)...hope to see you next Saturday!
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