Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent

My HE machine (which is a total piece of moldy crap, don't buy one) handles powdered better than liquid. So, I made Powdered Laundry Detergent. You can, too!

This is what the finished product looks like. Beautiful and Cheap! It made more than this. I had been using it for over a month before I decided to take a a picture. A Tablespoon at a time. It will last.

Ingredients (In the laundry section at Walmart):

• 1 grated bar of Fels Naptha Laundry Soap (grated with cheese grater), some may say 1/2 bar
• 1 cup baking soda (this is probably optional but I think it is good)
• 1 cup washing soda 
• 1 cup Borax
• Optional Essential Oils. I put in after it was mixed up. I used some Peppermint, Bergamot, and Tangerine. I am still working on what would be a great scent. The Fels Naptha bar also has a bit of a smell.

How? Pulse grated soap and dry ingredients in a blender or food processor. I did it in a Ninja! I put a combination of about 45 drops of essential oil in mine. Keep in mind that the Fels Naptha laundry soap bar has its own smell so make sure your smell and its smell will blend. You can also use Ivory if you want. Stir. It is done.

How much to use? I use a small wooden scoop for my HE machine. That is 1 Tablespoon. Supposedly, you just use half of what you normally use for a HE Machine. I think that 1 Tablespoon works good for my loads. Homemade Laundry Detergent is low suds anyway. I would suggest to use at least 1 Tablespoon for no matter what kind of washer you have.

Why these ingredients? Fels Naptha laundry soap is good at fighting stains. Baking soda is good for fighting smells and removing stains. Washing soda is also good for removing odors and removing dirt. Borax cleans, disinfects, softens water, and deodorizes. There you go.

Lesson Along the Way. One thing you will notice when making your own laundry detergent is smell. We think store bought laundry detergent is good when it leaves your clothes smelling a certain fragrance. That is not true. By putting 45 drops of essential oil in my detergent, it has a fragrance. Once the clothes are clean and dried, it does not still smell very strong of that fragrance. That lets you know just how much fragrance is in store bought detergent. That can't be that good for you.