A few months ago, my husband and I decided to take a journey to learn how to make DIY laundry soap. We were raised on several major brands of synthetic detergent and recently learned what types of ingredients these commercial laundry detergents contained, how they were made, and their affects on human health and the environment.
If you have been following me, you’ll know how we’ve made the switch to using liquid castile soap for just about everything now. I have since included bathing our dog and cat with it, and they love it! So the upfront and long-term costs have been far less than the cost of all the other products we were using in smaller amounts.
So, naturally, we were curious to make a large batch of laundry soap with the liquid castile soap, especially since we were less than impressed with the common “Zote” formula found online.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a formula that used liquid castile soap. All we found were grated blocks of castile soap, which is not what we wanted or what we use. So, the hunt was on to create a new homemade DIY liquid laundry soap.
DISCLAIMER:
Create and use at your own risk! It is your responsibility to verify these ingredients, mixing these ingredients and the personal use of this formula. It is your responsibility to know and understand your and your family’s allergies and sensitivities. What may work for me and my family may not work for you or your family. This is not a heavily diluted recipe. Proceed at your own risk.
Let’s Get Started!
(Makes 1 gallon or 16 cups)
The base of this laundry soap is a concentrate and is derived from the full strength amounts recommended by the manufacturer recommendations for this type of use for each specific ingredient, excluding water, for 1 normal-heavy load of laundry. The end product dilution rate for 1 cup total mixture (with water) is 1/2 of the manufacturers’ recommendation.
The castile soap manufacturer states there is enough soap in the wash load when a thin layer of suds forms on the water surface at the beginning of the wash cycle.
What you need:
- Metal 3-quart pot
- Silicone/plastic utensil for mixing
- 1 gallon or larger container for storage and curing
- Containers for use, if needed
- 96 ounces (oz) of water
- 8 additional oz of water set aside
- 8 oz liquid castile soap
- 8 oz washing soda
- 8 oz baking soda
1) Pour 96 oz of cool water into the 1 gallon container.
2) Heat water in pot on high until just before boiling.
3) Add Vermont Soap Company Unscented Liquid Castile Soap to the heated water.
4) Reduce heat to low.
5) Add Arm & Hammer Washing Soda to soap mixture in small amounts while continuously stirring until dissolved.
6) Add Arm & Hammer Baking Soda to soap mixture in small amounts while continuously stirring until dissolved.
7) Pour soap mixture into the container of water and stir until well mixed.
8) Allow mixture to cure at least 24 hours before use or transferring to other containers.
To make a 5 gallon batch (80 cups): multiply the above recipe by 5. Follow the same process as the 1 gallon formula.
Use Measurements:
XSmall/Light Load: 1 cup (8 oz) = ½ manufacturer recommendation
Medium (Normal)/Regular Soiled Load: 1 ½ cups = lowest manufacturer recommendation
Large/Heavy Soiled Load: 2 cups = full strength manufacturer recommendation
XLarge/Blanket/Heavy Duty Load: 2 ½ to 3 cups
Cost Per Unit (the math):
These figures are what it personally cost me at the time of purchase, which includes our state’s sales tax amount. These numbers may vary depending on inflation and your state’s sale tax rate.
- Vermont Liquid Unscented Castile Soap (1 gallon bottle) – $0.48/oz
- A&H Washing Soda – $0.09/oz
- A&H Baking Soda – $0.05/oz
- Does not factor in water rate
(1 gallon liquid recipe)
- $0.48 x 8 oz = $3.84
- $0.09 x 8 oz = $0.72
- $0.05 x 8 oz = $0.40
Total = $4.96 worth of ingredients (excluding water) for a 1 gallon batch of liquid laundry soap.
$4.96 ÷ 128 oz = $0.03875/oz (approx. $0.04)
XSmall/Light Load: 1 cup (8 oz) = $0.31/load
Medium (Normal)/Regular Soiled Load: 1 ½ cups (12 oz) = $0.465/load
Large/Heavy Soiled Load: 2 cups (16 oz) = $0.62/load
(To find the costs of other amounts of soap used per load, just multiply the cost per ounce by the number of ounces used.)
Cost Comparison:
The cost of this formula is in between the costs of the popular “Zote” formula we used and the 146 oz bottle of Tide F&G. Take a look at that cost comparison.
Overall, we believe this formula should work better and are optimistic because of the way the liquid castile soap responds with other applications. Our 5 gallon solution is currently curing. I’ll be back to leave a review after we have used the laundry soap for a few wash cycles.
Living Clean Naturally 