Is a Hidden Problem Lurking in Your Homemade Laundry Detergent?
Homemade laundry detergent seems like the perfect way to do laundry inexpensively and without harmful chemicals. But homemade laundry detergent has a big problem. It just doesn’t work long-term.
Aside from the fact that laundry never ends, keeping up at the washing machine can give you some unique challenges when you care about naturally healthy living.
Your typical bottle of floral-scented blue liquid contains a number of potentially hazardous chemicals, many of which aren’t disclosed. But safer, natural brands usually cost substantially more money.
You might feel like you have to choose between your budget and your health. So many of us turn to what seems like the perfect solution: homemade laundry detergent.
It seems to have everything going for it. But in reality, it doesn’t. If you’re using it now or are thinking of switching, it’s worth knowing about homemade laundry detergent problems
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What’s In Homemade Laundry Detergent?
You can find different variations of homemade laundry detergent online. Frugal homemakers, natural health enthusiasts, and off-grid homesteaders all love it. After all, it’s simple, economical, and easy to make.
Most recipes follow this basic formula. You simply combine equal-ish parts of
- Borax
- Shaved Fels-Naptha soap
- Washing soda
Sometimes people also add baking soda and/or powdered oxygen bleach to their formulas, too. Others might add some must-have essential oils for scent, though you won’t be able to smell the essential oils after the washing and drying process.
The easiest version of this homemade laundry detergent just mixes the ingredients together as a dry powder. Other people will liquify the soap first so they have a homemade liquid laundry detergent that dissolves better.
But whether you make it dry or liquid, you’re left with a soap-based homemade laundry detergent. Except it isn’t actually detergent. More on that in a moment.
When Microfiber and Homemade Laundry Detergent Meet
Years ago I started a collection of microfiber cleaning cloths. I loved them! Our windows and mirrors had never been cleaner, dusting was a breeze, and water had never worked so well as a cleaning solution.
I knew that you weren’t supposed to use fabric softener with them when washing because it could clog up the microfiber and cause the cloths to repel water. No big deal; I didn’t use fabric softener.
I knew that you weren’t supposed to wash them with regular cotton towels or anything else that produced a lot of lint, because the lint could do the same. Easy enough. I followed that advice.
My only instructions were to wash them with something free of fillers and something that didn’t leave residue on the laundry. Awesome! Homemade laundry detergent clearly fit the bill.
Except it didn’t.
Things went well for a few months. The microfiber cloths were all-stars and I even got rid of my big stash of classy cleaning rags (you know the ones… the single socks, worn-out t-shirts, ratty towels).
But then my beloved cloths started repelling water. They didn’t soak up spills like they used to and I could watch the water run right off of them when I put them under the faucet. And instead of being super soft, they became stiff and hard.
I started asking questions and began hearing from friend after friend who experienced the same thing or knew someone else who did. Those pricy microfiber cleaning cloths? Ruined.
And homemade laundry detergent was the culprit.
Laundry Detergent vs. Laundry Soap
The reason that homemade laundry detergent doesn’t work is that it isn’t detergent at all. It’s a soap, and the difference between soap and detergent really matters.
Soaps and detergents are both surfactants, which means that they reduce water’s surface tension so it cleans more thoroughly. In a sense, they make water “wetter” by preventing water molecules from sticking together.
For many of us, soaps seem more appealing because they can be made with natural ingredients and even produced at home. They are milder surfactants, too. Detergents are much stronger, and often made with synthetic ingredients that may not be biodegradable. This could potentially harm our families and the environment.
But here’s the problem: soaps leave a film, especially in hard water. You know the old ring-around-the-bathtub that needs scrubbed off when you clean the bathroom? You can thank soap and washed-off grime for that.
Detergents, on the other hand, rinse out completely. They’re designed to not leave a residue, even in hard water.
I thought my microfiber cleaning cloths would be safe because we have a whole-house water filtration system. Our water is about as pure as can be, but over time the laundry soap still built up a residue that left most of my microfiber cleaning cloths useless.
What Was Lurking on My Laundry?
Even after my cleaning cloths were ruined, I wanted to believe there was a way to keep using homemade laundry detergent (which is actually laundry soap).
Part of me wondered if I could somehow have done something else wrong. I loathed the thought of giving up an all-natural, ultra-frugal, easy DIY project and returning to the laundry aisle.
White flags of defeat can be traumatic, you know?
So I decided on a compromise. I’d wash cloth diapers and microfiber cloths in laundry detergent, but wash our other clothes in homemade laundry soap.
Now I had the perfect solution. A brilliant compromise that would still save us money but wouldn’t cause my cloth diaper and microfiber stash to repel water.
Because I also learned the hard way that homemade laundry soap is as bad for cloth diapers as it is for microfiber.
But then I saw some pictures, and all I could think was “EWWW!!!”
Like me, my friend Sarah from Nature’s Nurture was all about the nontoxic, frugal way to do laundry. She didn’t want to believe it could go wrong, either. But once she noticed that their laundry didn’t look, feel, or smell right, she started digging. The culprit was, of course, her homemade laundry soap.
She stripped her family’s laundry to get rid of the residue, and the results are jaw-droppingly gross. Grime, dirt, oils, and soap buildup were coating their “clean” laundry.
It sounded so familiar. And I learned too big of a lesson with my no ‘poo fiasco to be stubborn and not heed a warning.
Sarah’s pictures were the last straw. I was done with homemade laundry soap.
Modern Washing Machines or a Kettle Over a Fire?
I think if we all still washed our laundry in a massive kettle over a fire, boiling the thick, heavy clothes, stirring them down with a giant stick, then rinsing and scrubbing on a washboard, homemade laundry soap might work just fine.
But our modern washing machines can’t possibly heat, scrub, and agitate our laundry enough to make homemade laundry detergent rinse out thoroughly. And I’m not hanging up a washing kettle anytime soon.
There will always be a film, even if it takes many months to build up enough to notice.
I had to resign myself to the fact that if I wanted to use a modern appliance to wash our modern fabrics, I also had to use a modern cleaning solution in it. And so my white flag went all the way up.
Options Instead of Using Homemade Laundry Soap
Some people have read all this and told me, “Kristen, I don’t care. I’m going to keep using my homemade laundry soap. By the time the film builds up on my laundry, it’s probably time to replace it anyway.” Fair point. If that’s you, carry on!
But if you don’t want to deal with soap scum build-up on your laundry, you don’t necessarily have to shell out big bucks every month on laundry detergent.
You have a few options. You could:
- Buy budget brand detergents to save money, and just ignore the artificial fragrances and questionable ingredients because you can only do so much;
- Or, spend a little extra on free & clear versions from brands like All or Tide that may not be totally natural, but at least lack the questionable fragrances and dyes;
- Or, opt for eco-friendly brands that are free of artificial dyes and fragrances, have better, plant-derived ingredients, and cost a bit more than the other two options. Seventh Generation, Biokleen, and Ecos are popular options.
I’ve recently switched to a gentle, eco-friendly laundry detergent alternative called the Laundry Egg from ecoegg. It’s a durable, plastic egg-shaped container filled with mineral pellets and a detergent pellet. These pellets activate in the washer to clean your clothes, then rinse clean. When the pellets run low, I refill them with these little refill pouches.
The fragrance-free version I use has done a great job cleaning our laundry. I spend less on this option than I did on other eco-friendly laundry detergent brands. I also love that I’m not tossing bit plastic bottles into the trash or recycling bin every month.
Out of all the different options I’ve tried since ditching homemade laundry soap, this has been my favorite.
Do Your Best, Learn, Wash, Rinse, Repeat.
I’ve been surprised by the emotional responses I’ve gotten to this article over the years. Some have suggested I just didn’t use homemade laundry soap correctly and would have had great results if I followed their method.
Others have stomped their foot down, stared me right in the computer screen, and boldly asserted that I’m exaggerating. And they’ll never-ever give up their homemade laundry soap!
My favorite is when people have accused me of being an undercover shill for laundry detergent brands, secretly sabotaging the homemade laundry detergent movement to get people back into the deathly grasp of the Big Laundry Cabal. How sneaky!
Listen, we’re all out here trying to do our best.
If you still love homemade laundry soap, I’m not here to tell you to stop using it. Just watch for build-up and adjust course as needed.
But here’s my take.
There’s always going to be laundry. And probably lots of it.
Using something that doesn’t clean well and causes buildup on your clothes over time won’t help you, no matter how easy, nontoxic, and cheap it seems at first. I learned the hard way, but you don’t have to.
Homemade laundry detergent isn’t worth the trouble.
Your Turn:
What do you think about homemade laundry soap now?