Easy 5 Ingredient Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent Recipe
Written by Lauren Arent (Lo Clark)
Owner of Bewitched Esthetics & Licensed Esthetician since 2013
July 19th, 2024
Hello my darlings,
Let’s make a quick and easy non-toxic laundry detergent recipe together! Laundry soaps you buy at the store these days are full of chemicals, hormone disruptors and agents that irritate the skin. These are TERRIBLE for your beautiful skin and also for your whole body! In my article a few weeks back, 5 Secrets on How to Get Glowing Skin, I discussed the importance of having clean fabrics. This includes using clean products to clean your fabrics. If you want to read more about the significance of this for your skin please click this link to read that article. Now, let’s get to brewing!
This recipe we are making today is my non-toxic laundry detergent recipe I’ve been using for the past couple years. I’ve tried others in the past and this is the one that I tweaked until I got it right for me. I keep mine in a smaller bottle than I’ve seen others use so maybe that’s why I had trouble getting the measurements right.
What I’ve learned from making skin care at home is that recipe’s are not very consistent because weight is more important than using cups or tablespoons as measurements. Skin care recipes are more like skin care formulas. The same applies to this ‘recipe’. I’m going to give you the measurements I use but if you are going to make a bigger batch, you might have to tweak it a little. I prefer small batches because it does separate, so you need to shake it. If you have a giant container, it’s a lot harder to shake properly…
This non-toxic laundry detergent recipe is so convenient and easy to make, it takes me less than 15 minutes. I can make a recipe and have a load in the laundry before the baby wakes up from her nap!
What You Need for this Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent Recipe
To make this non-toxic laundry detergent recipe you will need:
Baking Soda (I love to get mine in bulk at Winco)
Washing Soda (You can make washing soda, here’s a link to a recipe OR buy some online here)
Salt (I love to use sea salt, for softer fabrics)
Castile Soap (I get mine on Amazon, here is the link)
Water
Optional: Essential oils (Tea tree is best because it is antimicrobial and will actually get rid of skin mites in your fabrics! I am currently using eucalyptus because the smell is fresh but fairly neutral, especially on baby clothes. I’ve tried fruity/warm essential oils before and found I wasn’t a fan. Essential oils with any color should be used with caution to wash clothes.)
Medium size saucepan
I use a ⅕ gallon bottle for my non-toxic laundry detergent recipe (yes, from discarded liquor!) which is equal to 750mL (I highly recommend you recycle a bottle for this purpose, no need to spend extra $$ on a container, your standard wine bottle is also 750mL just FYI)
Steps for Making Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent Recipe
#1. Bring water to a boil in your medium size pot
#2. Once water is boiling, mix in baking soda, washing soda, and salt.
#3. Turn off heat, stir until dissolved.
#4. Let the pot cool.
#5. Pour the castile soap into the bottle and add your essential oils. 10 to 15 drops works for this size of a bottle.
#6. Once the liquid has cooled, you can pour into the bottle with the castile soap and essential oil.
#7. Seal the lid and shake well. Your non-toxic laundry detergent is ready to use!
Final Tips for Using Your Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent Recipe
When using this non-toxic laundry detergent recipe in your washing machine, please remember you don’t need much. I would estimate about ⅛ cup per average load. Seriously, you don’t need to use much! This small bottle of homemade laundry soap should last you for more than 20 loads!
Remember too that if you want to make more than this at a time, you can double or triple the recipe but you may have a little extra or a little less.
Add your essential oils in at the very end, you don’t want to add too much, the smell should be mild to medium, not overpowering! I would recommend you not use more than 30 drops per gallon as essential oils can sometimes cause irritations if used in large volumes and can be dangerous for small children in excess. Essential oils are amazing but they are concentrated so use wisely.
Shake well before each use, this recipe tends to separate over time but a few hard shakes brings it all back together!
A side tip here: if you’re looking for a little clean boost (my husband is a plumber and is ROUGH on his clothes) or even something to get those whites a little whiter without bleach, try adding blue dawn dish soap into your bleach reservoir in your washing machine, or even spot treat before washing with blue dawn dish soap. This is a trick that has been SAVING me lately.
Easy 5 Ingredient Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent
Equipment
- 1 medium sauce pan
- 1 measuring cup
- 1 measuring spoons
- 1/5 gallon bottle
Materials
- 2 Tbsp Castile soap
- 1 Tbsp baking soda
- 1 Tbsp washing soda
- 1 Tbsp sea salt
- 3 cups water
- 15 drops essential oil of choice *optional
Instructions
- 1. Bring water to boil in medium saucepan.
- 2. Add baking soda, washing soda, and salt. Turn off heat.
- 3. Stir until dissolved. Water will most likely be a bit cloudy. Let cool.
- 4. Add Castile soap and essential oils to bottle
- 5. Pour in the contents of the medium saucepan.
- 6. Shake well! Your laundry detergent is ready! Be sure to shake well before each use.
I Love Non-Toxic Sh*t
It’s about time we take back control from big corporations that don’t care about our skin or our hormones (or anything but our $$ right?). Stop buying toxic laundry detergents and make this homemade non-toxic laundry detergent recipe instead! Easy, clean, smells nice, soft on fabrics, and cheap to make! The Castile soap I linked in the list of items should last you for I imagine 0ver 200 loads! (plus you can use it for washing your dogs and so many other things).
I love sharing my DIY recipes for healthier skin. If you love this recipe and want to see more, please let me know in the comments below or tag me on Instagram @bewitchedskinandsoul with your thoughts on this article!
Wishing you a life full of beauty and blessings!
