The Recipe
1 cup Super Washing Soda
1 cup Citric Acid
1/2 cup salt
30 drops essential oil (bacteria buster oils)
I have been through many homemade laundry detergents in the last couple years and nothing seemed to clean my laundry the way I wanted. I have tried the liquid detergent, melting soap into the boiling water and adding all the powdered extras. I've tried dry detergent, grating the soap in a food processor, then adding the powdered goodies. I've tried the liquid castille soap version and even done the soap nuts. Nothing seemed to satisfy all my desires for a good detergent: fresh smelling laundry, bright colors (most detergents were making them dingy) and a clean, not oily feeling.
After spending the summer experimenting I finally came up with a laundry detergent that fits the bill. I have been using this for two months now and I'm still a satisfied customer. As you can tell from my cleaning with no chemicals post, I love citric acid as a cleaner, so I decided to ditch the soap and replace it with citric acid. No more oily clothes and my laundry comes out smelling fresh and clean!
The Recipe
Mix all the ingredients together with a wire whisk. I let the bowl sit overnight to dry the essential oil out, if you put it in a sealed container right away it will harden. I went through many versions of this detergent before I figured that one out. If it does harden, just break it apart and throw the chunks of detergent in with the laundry, it will still work great. Once dry and powdery, place in a container (glass works best) and use 1 Tbsp. per load if you have soft water or 2 Tbsp. per load for hard water. I also pour vinegar into the water softener section of my washer (or use an herbal infused vinegar) with a few drops of lemon essential oil and use an herbal laundry sachet in the dryer instead of using dryer sheets.
1 cup Borax
1 cup Super Washing Soda 1 cup Citric Acid 1/2 cup salt 30 drops essential oil (bacteria buster oils) As a Dish Washer Detergent
Through my experimenting I found that this works really well as a natural dishwasher detergent, just fill the detergent compartment and start. I also discovered that when my water softener went out so did the cleansing properties of the detergent, so this will work well IF you have soft water.
Where to get these ingredients
Mountain Rose Herbs will carry all of the ingredients you need to make this detergent, except the Super Washing Soda. Borax and Super Washing Soda are usually sold right next to each other in most stores on the laundry aisle. I have also purchased citric acid from Bulk Apothecary and Amazon.
50 Comments
Dawn
8/28/2013 10:09:53 pm
Would this work in an HE washer? Also, this is the first recipe I've seen with salt. What is the purpose of adding salt? Thanks! :)
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Everything I make and use is through trial and error and since I have a standard laundry machine I couldn't tell you on the HE washer unless you just try it out (if you do, let me know so I can share)
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Carla
8/29/2013 12:08:44 pm
Hi Annie,
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I never did try a liquid version with the citric acid. The powder version dissolved real nicely for me, even the chunks that I had to break apart when the solution hardened on me. I think this would be a great experiment for you :), let me know if you try it and how it works out. Another option could be to use the liquid detergent you are using now and add a teaspoon or so of citric acid to the load, it will fizz and bubble and dissolve quite nicely.
Christina
1/19/2018 08:47:19 am
Did you ever find out if it was HE washer safe? I am planning on making this recipe (I hope today) since it seems like the only allergy friendly recipe out there and every other laundry detergent I'm allergic to. Thanks!
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Judy
11/5/2019 12:09:53 pm
Salt also helps set colors so fading is greatly reduced.
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Carla
8/30/2013 09:55:04 am
Thanks for the quick response, Annie! Since I still have about a7 month supply from my last batch, I'll try just adding a bit to my loads, for a while. Maybe I'll take some out of the bucket, mix it with some of the citric acid & let it sit for a while, before using it, too. That should give me a good test batch to see how well it holds up mixed it versus adding it as I go. I'm sure adding it as I go will work well. Its mainly the long term wet that is questionable. I'll try to get back & let you know how the experiments turn out. :)
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Angie
9/5/2013 12:02:10 am
What type of salt are you using? Can't wait to try this!
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Diane
9/5/2013 04:40:38 am
I'd like to try this, but I don't know what is. Is it baking soda?
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Sorry Diane, I think some of your question may have been cut off. Are you wondering about the all the ingredients in the laundry detergent or just the Super Washing Soda? If it is about the washing soda, Arm and Hammer sells a laundry booster called Super Washing Soda, which is really baking soda that has been heated, giving it a different structure and properties.
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9/7/2013 03:26:21 am
I love homemade laundry detergent! It is so easy and saves so much money! Thanks for sharing in Natural Living Monday! You are one of our featured posts this week! Be sure to come back on Monday and share your latest and greatest posts.
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kerie c
9/9/2013 01:12:41 am
Hi Annie- Where can I get citric acid ? thanks
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I have a local specialty kitchen store that sells it, so you could check one of those. You can also order it off Amazon and I have gotten it from Mountain Rose Herbs also, if you click on the citric acid link in the recipe it will take you to the Mountain Rose Herb product page that has it.
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Lynda
9/9/2013 06:24:05 am
I have tried a recipe identical to this for dishwasher detergent, but am not happy with it, as it makes my utensils dull and dark. I think it is the citric acid that does this. The recipe I tried did not have salt though. In your trial and errors, did this ever happen to you?
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I tried so many natural dish washer detergents and they would put etching on my glass and fog up the silverware. I gave up for awhile until I ran out and had this sitting around. I tried it and haven't had any problems with the etching or silverware muck. I think it is the equivalents that make it work and essential oil is a must have ingredient.
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Josie
9/22/2013 12:51:12 am
I tried this recipe but instead of the essential oil I use the purex crystals BC I have looked and looked all over my town for them and had no luck. I mixed it all up and immediately placed in my lock and lock air tight container and the next t morning was as hard as a rock. Any suggestions?
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I have had to tweak this recipe many times to prevent the hardening from happening and I think your purex crystals may have had something to do with the rock hard clump. First off I would break that apart and use the clumps as your detergent (I hate to waste). In a past batch I had to use a screwdriver and hammer to break mine apart (still worked great though). For future trials I would mix the borax, soda, citric acid, and salt together and add your purex crystals separately if you want to use those. Essential oils really are great though and are not just added for smell but for their cleaning power.
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Josie
9/23/2013 04:46:30 am
OK thank you, I will try that my next batch. I just chizzle it out when I need it. I love it just so far that has been my only problem. Thank you for taking your time out to reply. :)
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Miranda
10/24/2013 01:27:01 pm
I would like to try this; grating soap is not something I enjoy doing! Does anyone have experience using this for laundry washed in hard, cold water? Thanks!
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JES
10/27/2013 07:54:27 pm
Thanks for sharing this recipe too. I am going to have to try with the citric acid like you mentioned… That is a new concept to me :)
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Fabiola
11/8/2013 08:00:05 pm
Hello, just wondering if all citric acid is the same? I saw that amazon has 5lbs for $20, but since your recipe only calls for 1cup, I'd like to buy a much smaller amount for my first batch. Oh and how many loads does your recipe make? Lastly, have you tried this recipe with cloth diapers by chance? Thanks in advance, I'm thrilled to try a new recipe and hope for more success than my current homemade detergent.
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In my experience citric acid is citric acid. I have used three different resources for my citric acid and they have all been the same. How many loads per batch depends on if you have soft water or hard water. I have hard water and have to use 2 Tbsp. so I get 28 loads per batch. If you have soft water you can get 56 loads per batch. I hadn't come up with this recipe when I was doing cloth diapers so I never had a chance to try it with those. I have been very happy with the results of this detergent, much better than the several others I have tried. Good luck!
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Fabiola
11/9/2013 04:57:47 am
Thanks Annie! I will be sure to report back on how it turns works with cloth diapers. I am excited, I gotta tell you! I almost was going to go get store detergent because my current recipe just isn't what I'd hope.
Donna Beard
12/6/2013 01:12:38 am
I want to try this, but I'm wondering, why doesn't this recipe use any soap? Isn't soap necessary?
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In my experience every recipe I tried to make with soap made my clothing greasy and smell like rancid oil. I was ready to give up on homemade laundry detergent altogether when I came across the cleaning benefits of citric acid and decided to experiment by replacing the citric acid with the soap. Pretty soon the greasy feeling was removed from the clothing and they smelled fresh rather than oily. This was in the summer and I still love the way this cleans my clothing and how easy it is to make and use.
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j
12/30/2013 08:10:00 am
Love it! My dishwasher was sparkling clean after 1 use and no more white spots on bottom of every glass! i fill both detergent dispensers. May need less but I have pretty hard water and no softener (about 25 grains).
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Sharon
1/25/2014 11:56:42 pm
Your recipe sounds super quick and easy. Will be making this today. Love that fact that it is dual use!!!
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Sharon
1/25/2014 11:59:27 pm
Just had a brainstorm. Since it wants to clump and/or harden anyway, why not make tabs out of the powder. Should be able to use it in the washer and dishwasher as tabs, don't you think???
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Funny you would mention that because I thought the same thing. I made it up as usual pressed it into ice cube trays and let it sit for an entire week. It was still a soft powder! I realized then that if you let it sit out overnight and let the essential oil liquid evaporate out it won't clump. If you try the tab thing though, let me know how yours turns out. Thanks for your insight! 6/21/2014 09:34:57 am
I have a child who has a skin rash, doctor said it is probably from a laundry or bath soap we are using. Do you have any experience with anyone developing skin rash because of the use of this Laundry Soap?
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This is a pretty mild laundry detergent compared to the commercial ones so I haven't heard of anyone having a reaction. You could pin point the allergen through muscle testing if you know anyone that does it, most chiropractors do. I use muscle testing for everything these days, you could even google it and learn to do it yourself - just a suggestion.
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Catherine
6/11/2015 12:53:56 am
I'm looking forward to trying this! Has anyone tried baking soda in this recipe for more water softening & stain remover properties, or is that not necessary?
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9/30/2015 06:34:14 am
Very interesting recipe. I have never tried it. I am curious what will be the result. Thank you for sharing it. Greets!
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Callum Wyatt
3/21/2017 09:36:20 pm
(Can You Please Delete My Previous Comment Please)
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I experimented with this recipe and found it worked best with the citric acid, that is the secret ingredient. However, you can try it without and see how you like it. Citric acid helps dissolve certain stains and residue buildup such as hard water and mineral deposits. It kills bacteria and mildew and works great for removing calcium deposits, dirt and rust. Hope this helps!
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Luanne Roeder
10/4/2017 12:14:18 am
Can you add a little sodium percarbonate?
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Beth
1/24/2018 06:44:09 pm
I can't wait to try this! I only found one other recipe using citric acid, and am concerned about removing minerals from the hard water.
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I hope you like this as much as I do. It's all I've used for a couple years now and I still love it. I have only every tried vinegar for the softener but would have the same concern as you using the conditioner with it - I believe it would build up. But you never know until you try it. :)
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![]() Hi, I’m Annie, a child of God, Mother of Influence and Master Herbalist. Welcome to my place where I share what I have learned of natural and frugal living, healthy eating and living, gardening, homeschooling, herbal crafting, preparing temporally and spiritually, and love for God and Country.
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