Make Your Own Laundry Detergent Using Zote…

Looking for a way to save money on the high cost of laundry detergent?  Then MAKE YOUR OWN!  Sorry I didn’t mean to yell…but this is a no-brainer and really easy!  Does it work as well as the name brands?  Heck yeah it does!

Read here, here and here about this wonderful recipe.  There are recipes out there for homemade laundry powder as well.  This is for the liquid version.

Here’s what you’ll need-

1 cup Arm & Hammer washing soda
1/2 cup Borax
1 bar soap – I used 1/2 bar of Zote, you can use any soap you prefer {I use a whole bar of Fels Naptha when I can’t find Zote}
3 gallons water plus 4 cups

***This detergent doesn’t leave a noticeable scent on your clothes.  You can add essential oils to the finished product if you want more of a scent left on your clothes.  Tea Tree oil and Lavender Oil are great choices.  I personally use 20 drops of the Tea Tree Oil and 10 drops of the Lavender Oil.  Of course the amount and which scents to use are completely up to you***

Here’s the breakdown for the cost of making your own-

Borax- $3.85   Wal-mart (enough for 12 batches)

Arm & Hammer Washing Soda- $2.85 Harris Teeter (enough for 6 batches)

Zote- $1.85 Wal-Mart (enough for 2 batches)

This will make enough for approximately 52 loads.  Use 1 cup per load when doing laundry.

Start by grating your soap.  Zote is a large bar so I only used half.

Boil 4 cups of water and gradually add in the soap shavings.

Add 1/2 cup of Arm and Hammer Laundry Soap to a large bucket….NOT BAKING SODA.

Add 1 cup Borax Laundry Booster also to the bucket.

Add 3 gals. of water to the bucket that contains the Arm and Hammer and Borax.

Once your soap shavings have dissolved in the boiling water add it to your bucket.

You will notice once you add the melted soap it will thicken the ingredients you already have in the bucket.

Allow it to sit overnight.  It should thicken to the consistency of Jell-O.

This is supposed to happen…don’t be alarmed.

A word of caution about Borax- it is very fine and goes everywhere once poured.

As you can see on my table below…

I prefer to store the rest of my ingredients in containers along with the recipe for easy access later.

Do you have a favorite laundry detergent recipe?  Let me know. And if you use this recipe, leave me your comments on how you like it!