{"id":17899,"date":"2014-09-03T11:11:34","date_gmt":"2014-09-03T15:11:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=17899"},"modified":"2014-09-03T11:11:34","modified_gmt":"2014-09-03T15:11:34","slug":"diy-laundry-detergent-make-liquid-powder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-laundry-detergent-make-liquid-powder\/","title":{"rendered":"DIY Laundry Detergent: Make Your Own Liquid or Powder"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"diy<\/a>
Image credit: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last week, I dug into various human-powered washing machines<\/a> you could build yourself. While you certainly could use the detergent you buy at the grocery store in these machines, why not stick with the homemade\u00a0ethic and use a DIY laundry detergent? As I’ve discovered with many such projects, there are lots of them out there, but they don’t differ a whole lot from one another.<\/p>\n

The one difference I did find – one of some concern – involves the use of borax. Many DIYers use this common mineral in their washing powder<\/a> or liquid, but others avoid it because of worries about\u00a0toxicity and skin irritation. Numerous bloggers have touched on health issues, ranging from itchiness to problems with reproductive health, so I looked around to see if I could find something definitive. The National Institutes of Health summarizes studies on borax toxicity in its Toxnet database<\/a>. From browsing the entries on this page, I’d avoid the stuff: you don’t need it to make an effective laundry detergent, and why take the risk?<\/p>\n

The other element I considered was biodegradability – I’ll address that one with each recipe below.<\/p>\n

DIY Laundry Detergent Recipe #1: Powdered Detergent<\/h3>\n

If you prefer a dry powder detergent for your clothes, the recipe I liked the most came from My Healthy Green Family<\/a>. Author Free Range Mama not only provided the recipe, but also did price and product comparisons, so you can see how well this one works, and get a good sense of what it will cost you.<\/p>\n

While everything in this recipe is safe for your clothes and your family, I wouldn’t dump the washing water on the ground because of the salt in it: that won’t do anything for nearby plants. The salt is good for taking out certain stains, and even serving as a fabric softener.<\/p>\n

DIY Laundry Detergent Recipe #2: Liquid Soap<\/h3>\n

Once again, lots of options out there for detergent recipes, but I liked the one from The Hippy Home<\/a> because it’s pretty straightforward: no grinding bar soap or cooking anything. Gina’s directions are nice and short because there’s not a whole lot to do here – just take note of the few precautions she does offer.<\/p>\n

I’d probably go with this one myself – I prefer liquid detergents anyway, and you should be able to dump your soapy water just about anywhere: everything in this is biodegradable (and, from what I read, plants love it!). And if you want a fabric softening element, plain white vinegar works<\/a> (the smell will dissipate as your clothes dry).<\/p>\n

Got your own DIY laundry detergent recipe that you swear by? Share it with us…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These recipes for diy laundry detergent won’t irritate anybody’s skin or leave unsafe chemicals in anyone’s clothes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":17901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[473,7175,7172,4,2093,7174,7173],"yoast_head":"\nDIY Laundry Detergent: Safe for the Whole Family<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"These recipes for diy laundry detergent won't irritate anybody's skin or leave unsafe chemicals in anyone's clothes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-laundry-detergent-make-liquid-powder\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DIY Laundry Detergent: Safe for 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