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
- Charlies Soap
- Allen’s Naturally
- Biokleen
- Ecos
- Soap Nuts read our full review HERE
- Sun and Earth
- Seventh Generation
- Babyganics
- Rockin’ Green
- By popular reader demand – Method
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):
- One five-gallon bucket with a lid (you can usually find them at hardware stores)
- One bar of soap (any kind is fine, but preferably one that’s free of all the ickies!
- One box of washing soda (NOT baking soda). You can find this in the laundry aisle of your grocery store or big box department store.
- One box of box of borax (optional)(Looking into the safety of Borax use – recipe still works without it)
- three gallons of tap water
- a measuring cup
- a knife or cheese grater, whichever you prefer (you’ll need it for the soap)
- your favorite essential oil (also optional)
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.
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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.
- One bar of soap (any kind is fine, but preferably one that’s free of all the ickies!
- One box of washing soda (NOT baking soda). You can find this in the laundry aisle of your grocery store or big box department store.
- One box of box of borax (Looking into the safety of Borax use – recipe still works without it)
- a food processor
- essential oil (again, optional)
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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