Homemade Washing Powder & Softener

Another thing I wanted to change at our place was the use of harsh cleaning chemicals. Most products contain chemicals that cause a heap of problems for the environment and for people with allergies or chemical sensitivity. Even the majority of homemade laundry detergent recipes contained Borax (sodium borate) which is a natural element, but has been banned in the US as a food additive and can be especially harmful to infants respiratory and reproductive systems.

So, after a bit of trial and error, this is the final recipe that works the best for our laundry. It is basically equal parts soap and washing soda. You can either grate pure soap, handmade is best, otherwise a pure laundry soap, with no fragrance will be fine. Sunlight soap is the most common brand.



Homemade Laundry Powder
6 bars Sunlight Soap
1kg Lectric washing soda
2 bars Sard wonder soap

Grate up or chop in a processor all the soap and mix it up in a large container with the washing soda. That's it! It's easy, quick, cheap and works really well. Use about one quarter of a scoop, or around 2-3 tablespoons depending on how dirty the clothes are.

The Sard helps to get stains out, and the washing soda is a water softener and helps to break down grease. The washing soda can be bought in crystal or powdered form. You'll need the powdered one. The is the one I have:


Homemade Fabric Softener
1/8 cup white vinegar
2 drops lavender essential oil

Add to the softener dispenser in your washing machine, or pour in just before the rinse cycle. The vinegar helps to remove any remaining soap, eliminates odours and makes towels super fluffy. The lavender is obviously for fragrance, and you could try other oils like Eucalyptus, Lemon Myrtle, Tea Tree etc etc.

Aside from the environmental benefits, the financial savings are huge. At current prices, using Omo works out at about 38c per wash. Using the homemade powder its down to 6c per wash. The softener is around 6c as well.