DIY Homemade Laundry Soap


If you’ve made a mason jar soap pump for your bathroom, perhaps you’re looking for something interesting to put in it? I’ve spent a lot of time ridding my house of as many harsh chemical cleaners as I can and one of my favorite DIY cleaning items is homemade laundry soap, just the thing for a pump jar!

Things you’ll need:
1-cup borax
1-cup washing soda (not baking soda)
Bar of soap
2-cups Water
Food Processor or grater
Pot or pan
Mason dispenser jar or dispenser pump kit and mason jar
Immersion blender

Things to do:
1. Grate the bar of soap finely in the food processor or with the grater. Melt the soap gently in the pot of water.

2. Remove the pot from heat and add in the borax and washing soda. Stir until dissolved.
3. Pour enough of the soap mixture into each of your jars until they are 1/4 full. Add enough water to fill each jar to be about 3/4 full.

4. Allow the mixture to sit up for a few hours. It will separate as it hardens, but that’s ok.
5. Use your emersion blender to emulsify the mixture. Once it’s blended, it will stay slightly fluffy and gel like. If it’s too thick, add a little more water to thin it, blending to evenly disperse the liquid.
6. Add your pump top and a label to your jar. Use two to three pumps of soap per load.

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16 Comments

    1. Great question Lisa! We used ‘Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda’ and it can usually be found at your local drug store chain or grocery store. I believe hardware stores, such as Ace, should carry it as well. If you are having trouble finding it in your area, you could also try searching for it on Amazon and should be able to have it shipped to you with no problem.

  1. Hi, In step 3 after you add water to 3/4 full, do you stir it to mix the water and soap together or do you just ad water and leave it not stired up.Thanks

    1. Hello Kim. After step 3 you allow the mixture to sit up for a few hours (no stirring). It will separate as it hardens, but that’s okay then continue to step 5.

    1. Great question Carol! Since HE washing machines use much less water they are unable to remove all the foamy suds that a standard laundry detergent produces. This homemade laundry detergent recipe does not contain a foaming agent so it will produce less suds than a regular soap. So you should be able to use it in your HE washing machine. As always though, I suggest using with precaution and doing a test run before making a bunch of the soap. Best of luck and please let me know if you have any other questions!

  2. Can we use this in front load washers–normally we have to use a high efficiency type detergent for it

    1. Since HE washing machines use much less water they are unable to remove all the foamy suds that a standard laundry detergent produces. This homemade laundry detergent recipe does not contain a foaming agent so it will produce less suds than a regular soap. So you should be able to use it in your front load HE washing machine. As always though, I suggest using with precaution and doing a test run before making a bunch of the soap. Best of luck and please let me know if you have any other questions!

  3. All the ingredients to make homemade laundry soap can be found at any Walmart. This is such a cute idea, I think I will make these up and give as gifts! I make my own as well, I was making the powder form, because it took up less room, however, the liquid makes more soap with the same amount of ingredients…. well, I make the liquid all the time now, it last for a very long time and it really cleans well. Thanks for the post. I just love these little jars with the pumps, so cool.

  4. What are you referring to bar of soap. Any kind, or the kind you buy in the laundry section? What is the name brand that you use?

    1. We used “Fels Naptha” soap but you can also try using Ivory, Mrs. Meyers, Dr. Bronner’s or Zote.

  5. What kind soap bar do you use. I cant find the Mrs. Meyers so any other suggestions. thanks

    1. We used “Fels Naptha” soap but you can also try using Ivory, Dr. Bronner’s or Zote.

    1. That is a great question Jackie! Yes, you can add a few drops of essential oils to your homemade mixture directly. Essential oils are a great way of adding scent without the skin sensitivities 🙂 They can also be added directly to your wash during the rinse cycle.

  6. This is the homemade soap they use on (19 kids and counting), I have used this for over 4 years. The show had the receipt for the laundry soap, forget which episode it was. But, you can use it in the new washers HE styles and you can add the oils for smell.Fabric softener is made with Vineager and baking soda – receipt is on the shows web page too.