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SafeMama Laundry Detergent Cheat Sheet

By Kristie Turck •  Published 06/08/10 •  4 min read

Last updated on August 20th, 2022 at 12:06 am

For years and years, I was a Tide girl.  I loved my Tide in all its stain-fighting glory and optical brightening power.   Then I read about phthalates and other chemicals which could possibly be slowly poisoning my son, and the rest, as they say, is history.    So of course, all of our research has led you here, to another production of the SafeMama cheat sheet. Safe Laundry Detergents also non as Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent Cheat Sheet. 🙂

List of Safe Laundry Detergents

Make Your Own Natural Liquid Laundry Detergent

You can easily make your own detergent with just a few simple ingredients.  I actually have a friend who made her own and liked it.  However, I can’t really attest to how well it gets out grime and dirt, just because she said that they don’t get really dirty (empty nesters, such is the life).  But if you want to try it for yourself, you’re more than welcome to give it a whirl and see how you like it.

What you’ll need (the liquid version, i.e. maybe a little more time-consuming, and a little more mess to prepare):

First, put about four cups of water into a pot and turn the heat on high.  You want to heat it up, but not boil it   Then, begin grating or shaving strips of soap into the water.   Once you’ve put all of the soap into the water,  stir until soap particles have dissolved, but your water is soapy.

Next, add three gallons of hot water to your bucket, along with the soap mixture from the stove.  If you want to use essential oil, go ahead and add that too.   Add one cup of washing soda to the mixture and stir.  Once you’re done, let it sit overnight, and let cool.  The next day, you should have a slime-like consistency.  For each load, you’ll want to use about a cup to your washing machine.

Make Your Own Natural Powder Laundry Detergent

What you’ll need:

This is pretty similar to the liquid kind, except you just keep it in powder form.

First, you’ll want to cut up your soap into manageable chunks for the food processor.  Chop up the soap until fine.   In a large ziploc bag or container, add one cup of washing soda, along with your soap flakes.  If you’re using essential oil, you can add 5-10 drops to the mixture.   seal the container or bag and shake until well mixed.  Voilà!  You can use this in high-efficiency washing machines as well.  Just use less.  One to two tablespoons will do the trick.

Got any other green laundry tips?  Share them with the class!

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