{"id":21032,"date":"2012-03-26T08:00:08","date_gmt":"2012-03-26T12:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/?p=21032"},"modified":"2019-07-02T13:05:45","modified_gmt":"2019-07-02T17:05:45","slug":"homemade-he-laundry-detergent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/homemade-he-laundry-detergent\/","title":{"rendered":"Homemade HE Laundry Detergent"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Homemade HE laundry detergent was my first do-it-yourself cleaning product experiment. HE detergent is expensive, and making it myself saves money each month with the amount of laundry we do in our house.<\/p>\n<p>Previously, I used a 5-gallon bucket to store each batch of HE laundry detergent. However I realize this is not possible for many people, from those like my youngest daughter living in small quarters to my elderly mother who can no longer lift heavy objects.<\/p>\n<p>I decided to use a little old fashioned mathematics to figure out how to accomplish my favorite, economical, earth-friendly homemade HE laundry detergent in normal, grocery store size bottles.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m so excited about figuring this out, how to gain warehouse-store savings without buying hernia-size containers, that I plan on giving these as Laundry Gift Sets at baby and wedding showers.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-31869\" src=\"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/03\/Laundry-Detergent-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"757\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/03\/Laundry-Detergent-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/03\/Laundry-Detergent-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/03\/Laundry-Detergent-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/03\/Laundry-Detergent.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 757px) 100vw, 757px\" \/><\/p>\n<h1>Homemade HE Laundry Detergent<\/h1>\n<h3><strong>Ingredients\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul id=\"zlrecipe-ingredients-list\">\n<li id=\"zlrecipe-ingredient-0\" class=\"ingredient\"><a target = \"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2ATmnke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fels Naptha Soap<\/a> (~5.5 ounces)<\/li>\n<li id=\"zlrecipe-ingredient-1\" class=\"ingredient\">1 \u00bd cups of <a target = \"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2RLXQn3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Borax<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"zlrecipe-ingredient-2\" class=\"ingredient\">1 \u00bd cups of <a target = \"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2DcgmB4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Washing Soda<\/a> (NOT baking soda)<\/li>\n<li id=\"zlrecipe-ingredient-3\" class=\"ingredient\">Stainless steel grater<\/li>\n<li id=\"zlrecipe-ingredient-4\" class=\"ingredient\">Water<\/li>\n<li id=\"zlrecipe-ingredient-5\" class=\"ingredient\">Large empty container (1 gallon)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Directions<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ol id=\"zlrecipe-instructions-list\" class=\"instructions\">\n<li id=\"zlrecipe-instruction-0\" class=\"instruction\">Use a medium saucepan to heat 2 cups of tap water. Adding a little extra won\u2019t hurt.<\/li>\n<li id=\"zlrecipe-instruction-1\" class=\"instruction\">Grate the bar of <a target = \"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2ATmnke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fels Naptha Soap<\/a> and divide it into 5 equal groups. A <a target = \"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2PJIjGY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">digital food scale<\/a> is very helpful on this step.<\/li>\n<li id=\"zlrecipe-instruction-2\" class=\"instruction\">Add 1 portion (~1.1 oz.) of the grated soap into the boiling water on the stove. Stir occasionally until it is completely dissolved. It\u2019ll only take a minute or so.<\/li>\n<li id=\"zlrecipe-instruction-3\" class=\"instruction\">Measure 1 1\/2 cups each of the Borax and the Washing Soda into a large bowl; stir until well mixed.<\/li>\n<li id=\"zlrecipe-instruction-4\" class=\"instruction\">Measure the powdered mixture into 5 equal portions and store each in snack size plastic bags. Add one portion of this powder mixture into the pot of now soapy hot water; stir well for about a minute.<\/li>\n<li id=\"zlrecipe-instruction-5\" class=\"instruction\">Let this detergent concentrate cool just enough to not melt your plastic jug. Pour it into a one-gallon container. If you\u2019re worried it\u2019s too hot, add a touch of tepid water.<\/li>\n<li id=\"zlrecipe-instruction-6\" class=\"instruction\">Add enough hot water from the tap to reach half-way.<\/li>\n<li id=\"zlrecipe-instruction-7\" class=\"instruction\">Make sure your container has a well fitting screw-on lid and shake the jug like your ridding your body of pent up aggression. The HE laundry detergent solution needs to be 100% mixed. It won\u2019t take more than a couple of minutes.<\/li>\n<li id=\"zlrecipe-instruction-8\" class=\"instruction\">Let this jug sit all day, or overnight. It will be extremely thick and look like a blob; that\u2019s good in this case.<\/li>\n<li id=\"zlrecipe-instruction-9\" class=\"instruction\">Once the processing time is over, shake the jug for another couple of minutes.<\/li>\n<li id=\"zlrecipe-instruction-10\" class=\"instruction\">Fill the remainder of the jug with hot tap water. Shake for another minute and you\u2019re done.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/03\/Step-A.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21037\" title=\"Step-A\" src=\"\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/03\/Step-A.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"334\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/03\/Step-A.jpg 334w, https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/03\/Step-A-223x300.jpg 223w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 334px) 100vw, 334px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/03\/Step-B.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21038\" title=\"Step-B\" src=\"\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/03\/Step-B.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"336\" height=\"447\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/03\/Step-B.jpg 336w, https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/03\/Step-B-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 336px) 100vw, 336px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>How to Use<\/h3>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t hurt to give the jug a little shake before each use. It takes about \u00bc cup to do a very large load of really dirty laundry; there is no need to add any more water to the mixture.<\/p>\n<p>Remember this is high efficiency (HE) laundry detergent so don\u2019t worry that you don\u2019t see suds filling the window of your machine.<\/p>\n<p>Congrats, You\u2019ve just made a gallon of laundry detergent that cost around 4 cents per load.<\/p>\n<p>You might also enjoy:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/frugal-living\/homemade-fabric-softener\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">3 Ways to Make Homemade Fabric Softener<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/how-to-make-reusable-swiffer-cloths\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Make Reusable Swiffer Cloths<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/7-ways-to-save-on-laundry\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">7 Ways to Save on Laundry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/september-organized-in-365-organizing-laundry-clothes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Organizing Laundry &amp; Clothes<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/diy-projects-and-tutorials\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Almost 100 tutorials for more DIY projects<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Homemade HE laundry detergent was my first do-it-yourself cleaning product experiment. HE detergent is expensive, and making it myself saves money each month with the amount of laundry we do in our house. Previously, I used a 5-gallon bucket to store each batch of HE laundry detergent. However I realize this is not possible for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2546],"class_list":{"0":"post-21032","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-diy","8":"tag-diy-home","9":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v15.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Homemade HE Laundry Detergent - The Happy Housewife\u2122 :: Home Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Homemade HE laundry detergent was my first do-it-yourself cleaning product experiment. 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