One of my favorite switches in our home to help save money was the switch to homemade laundry detergent. There are only 6 ingredients (7 if you add essential oils), and it takes less than 20 minutes to put together. Read on for the cost breakdown, some common questions and answers, and instructions!

Is homemade laundry detergent cheaper than premade laundry detergent?

The short answer is yes! This homemade laundry detergent costs less than 10 cents per load if you’re using more than the recommended one tablespoon for every load. The price breakdown is below.

Is homemade powdered laundry detergent better for you?

This homemade laundry detergent has 6 ingredients, all of which are naturally occurring except for the Clorox 2 powder. One of the main ingredients is baking soda, check out our post on how to clean your sink, which utilizes baking soda differently!

Can you make this laundry detergent without Clorox 2 powder?

While you could probably make this laundry detergent without the Clorox 2 powder, you would be omitting the ingredient that brightens the whites and prevents color fading. I have seen recipes without it but I’ve never tried it.

Have you made laundry detergent without Clorox 2 powder? Or do you have an alternative? I would love to hear, let me know in the comments below!

Can you use powdered laundry detergent in a front-load washer?

Yes! You just add the appropriate amount of powdered detergent to the drum of the washing machine and not the detergent dispenser.

How long does homemade laundry detergent last?

How long this laundry detergent lasts is dependent on how many loads of laundry you do per week. You should use 1 tablespoon of this detergent per average-sized load of laundry, but you can go up to 2 tablespoons for a larger load. This recipe makes the equivalent of about 550 tablespoons of powder.

Do you need to use essential oils in homemade laundry detergent?

You don’t. I love the smell of lavender and have the essential oils in our house. If I didn’t though I wouldn’t mind not using it. It just adds the extra fragrance that people feel is missing from store-bought laundry detergent.

How should I store powdered laundry detergent?

Store your powdered laundry detergent in a cool, dry area. Keep powdered laundry detergent away from moisture to prevent clumping. I keep most of it in a plastic five-gallon bucket in our basement but have a one-gallon jar of it right next to my washing machine.

What ingredients are in homemade powdered laundry detergents? And what does each ingredient in homemade laundry detergent do?

The definition and uses for each ingredient is from some online research I did.

Washing soda is sodium carbonate which is a natural cleaner and a powerful water softener, it has a basic pH of 11.
Baking Soda is sodium bicarbonate (it’s different than sodium carbonate), and is naturally occurring in the ground as a mineral.
Borax is a white mineral found in alkaline salt. It can be found in dry lake beds like Death Valley.
Clorox 2 Powder consists of sodium carbonate, sodium percarbonate, sodium silicate, enzymes, fabric brightening agent, and fragrance. It’s used for brightening the whites and helps keep fabric colors from fading. Clorox 2 powder is chlorine-free
Zote is made from sodium tallowate, which is a combination of tallow and lye, sodium cocoate, which is a mixture of fatty acid salts of coconut, citronella fragrance, and an optical brightener, which are chemical compounds that absorb light in the ultraviolet. From what I’ve gathered, Zote is originally from Mexico and is specifically for washing clothes.
Epsom Salt is hydrated magnesium sulfate which can be used to help eliminate odors. Epsom salts can also act as a fabric softener.

Some of the links in our posts are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, The Homesmiths will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

How much does it cost to make powdered laundry detergent (as of January 2024):

This cost is assuming everything is purchased from Amazon. I know that several of these items are cheaper at Walmart or other stores. Some of these items I got over a year ago and only used some of what I had run out of. These prices are all current as of January 2024.

Washing Soda: $4.74 (for 1 55 oz box)
Baking soda: $15.48 for 12 lbs, only use 4 lbs of it totaling $5.16
Borax: $22.69 for 4 65-ounce boxes, only use 1 box, totaling $5.69
Zote: $16.18 for 4 bars, only used 2, totaling $8.09
Clorox 2 Powder: $34.58 for a case of 4, only used 1 box, totaling $8.64.
Epsom Salt: $4.97 for 4 lbs, only used 3 cups totaling $1.86

The total cost for ingredients used is: $26.0

Now you might be thinking that’s either really cheap or about average cost wise but let me break this down a little bit further.

That $26.09 equals out to 275.22 oz (a little over 17 pounds!). One ounce is equal to about 2 tablespoons. This means that all of this laundry detergent equals 550 tablespoons. Each average-sized load of laundry uses 1 tablespoon of homemade laundry detergent. That’s 550 loads of laundry for 26.09. Even if you did two full tablespoons of laundry detergent per load, you would end up with 275 loads of laundry for that price. I’ll do a little more math here, (don’t check out yet!). The 275 loads of laundry at this cost (if you’re doing double the amount of laundry detergent), will come out to 9 cents a load! If you only use a tablespoon per load, you’re looking at about 5 cents per load.

This is a huge financial savings for our family with how much laundry we do every week.

How to make homemade laundry detergent:

Tools you may need:

Long metal spoon
Bowl or plastic container for mixing/storage (I use a food-grade 5-gallon bucket)
Cheese grater

Ingredients:

55 oz Washing Soda
4lb Baking soda
65 oz Borax
49.02 oz Clorox 2 Powder
2 14.1 oz bars Zote (grated)
3 c Epsom Salt
30-40 drops of essential oil of your choice (optional)
I have a food-grade five-gallon bucket that I use for my laundry detergent. It has a great seal so I don’t worry about moisture getting in.

Frugal Living Tip: The 5-gallon buckets aren’t too expensive, but if you want to save money check your local bakery or grocery store bakery and ask if they have any 5-gallon buckets that they are getting rid of.

This “recipe” is designed to be very simple. I have the weight measurements next to each ingredient but it’s just 1 box of Washing Soda, 4 boxes of Baking Soda, 1 box of Borax, and one box of Clorox 2 Powder. Combine all of these ingredients into the bucket first. Using a metal spoon, stir the powders together.

Next, add 3 cups of Epsom salts. If you would like to add essential oils, I highly recommend incorporating your essential oils into your Epsom salts first. This helps the essential oils to distribute evenly without causing clumping. I used 30 drops of lavender essential oil. I also had leftover lavender Epsom salts that I used so that the scent of lavender was stronger.

Epsom salts pouring into a bucket of powder

Stir the Epsom salts in with the metal spoon.

Next is the most time-intensive step of this process which is grating the two bars of Zote. Even with stopping to take photos, this only took me 15 minutes.

woman grating a bar of zote over a bucket of powder

a box grater in a bucket of shredded white soap and white powder

Once both bars have been grated, stir the mixture until everything has been evenly distributed.

Instructions for use:

Use 1 tablespoon of powdered laundry detergent per average-sized load. Use 2 tablespoons of powdered laundry detergent if the load of laundry is larger.

¼-½ cup of vinegar added during the rinse cycle will act as a fabric softener and reduce static if desired

Let me know in the comments below if you’re planning to try homemade laundry detergent!

a bucket of clothespins next to a glass lid next to a jar of powdered laundry detergent

5 from 1 vote