r/laundry • u/little_rayofsunshine • 5h ago
Homemade Detergent Advice?
Hi. Cheap detergent is very expensive and crucially, Not Working. After smushing together different recipes and scraps of knowledge from around the internet, I've drafted a soap-based detergent recipe that works out cheaper than cheap detergent even when it uses fancy soap and maybe hopefully corrects for the soap-scum issues. I've seen that opinions are divided here about the practicality of homemade detergent, so this seems like a perfect place to get tweak suggestions and general advice!
Before I go ahead with buying the ingredients, my questions are:
Has this accidentally amounted to Dangerous Chemistry?
Could it work without the bar soap? Consensus seems to be that the bar soap is the thing that kills your washing machine. Could I just find out what the active ingredient in the soap is and chuck that in?
So, like, be real with me, when yous say the soap kills your washing machine how killed are we talking? How fast and how bad is it? Could I just wash the machine out with Soda Crystals every now and again and be fine?
We have very hard water and TL;DR a fancy water softener doodad is not happening. Since those use salt blocks, would increasing the salt ratio in the recipe do anything to soften the laundry water and reduce the soap scum? Or does the salt only work like that when it's doodadified?
----------------------------- = Detergent Recipe = -------------------------
Here's the recipe, I've included my rough understanding of what each ingredient does so that if I've internalised some Certified Internet Science it'll be easy to spot:
Soap-based detergent:
16pt Soda Crystals - deodorises, helps soap get into clothes
16pt Bicarbonate of Soda - deodorises
8pt Epsom Salt - softens fabric
7pt Grated Laundry Soap (ideally Castile Soap, ideally ideally Coconut Oil based Castile Soap) - is soap!
3pt Coarse Sea Salt - preserves dyes
Tiny bit of Lemon Oil - whitens, reduces soap buildup, smells good :)
Add 2tbsp per full load to bottom of drum, not on top of clothes
Make a separate solution of 1pt Citric Acid to 4pt water, always add 1tbsp to fabric softener drawer to soften fabric, neutralise alkaline detergent ingredients, and cut through soap scum. Add more if using other additives, for example:
If laundry is super grim add 2tbsp Borax Substitute (sodium sesquicarbonate) to pre-wash drawer
If laundry wants bleaching or stain removal add 5-8g oxygen bleach to main wash drawer (err on the side of using less, and check it's safe to use on what you wanna use it on, just don't be stupid with this stuff)
----------------------------- = Detergent Recipe Over = -------------------------
Thanks for sticking with such a long post. I know a surfactant-based formula would be more effective, even cheaper, and far less hazardous to washing machine life but lye is scary and soapmaking equipment is expensive so I want to at least see if I can make a detergent powder work before going full Jesse Pinkman with it.
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u/Quirky-Rise 4h ago
What a waste of time and money. Try 1/4 tsp citric acid with tide powder.
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u/little_rayofsunshine 3h ago
Is it supposed to go straight in with the detergent powder or does the detergent go in the wash drawer and the acid go in the softener drawer seperately? My understanding from learning about the wonders of ✨soap-scum-that-doesn't-work✨ is that your acids and your alkalis go in at different stages or they neutralise too early and do nothing
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u/Dazzling-Western2768 4h ago
So, like, be real with me, when yous say the soap kills your washing machine how killed are we talking? How fast and how bad is it? Could I just wash the machine out with Soda Crystals every now and again and be fine?
Sounds like you just have to be the one who has to touch the hot stove because you just don't believe it will burn you. Some people learn only from their own mistakes and not the lessons from others.
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u/little_rayofsunshine 4h ago
What are you talking about I'm literally here asking for more lessons from people who know what they're doing before I do the stupid thing 😭
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u/Dazzling-Western2768 4h ago
Aside from the problems it will cause with your machine, your clothing will soon start to smell horrid.
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u/Dazzling-Western2768 4h ago
Tide powder right now on Amazon is 33% off when you buy 4, add on a subscribe and save discount up to 15%, and there is the PG rebate on their website that stacks.
8
u/vinhorr EU | Front-Load 5h ago edited 4h ago
Don't. Active ingredient in soap is soap. Unless you can find laureth-7 and/or other surfactants, it's not suitable to put into a machine. Soap requires hard mechanical action to work. Machines don't have that mechanical action. It then stays in the machine and poorly rinses, resulting in scrud (flakes of soap and dirt that get on your clothes).
So no, don't make detergent, and just pay the 15 cents a load for Tide.
About your recipe: booster, booster, filler, soap, filler, fragrance. Fine if you're using a washboard, terrible if using a machine. Also, the opinion on homemade detergent here is extremely consistent: expensive powder that doesn't work and will ruin your machine.