Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent

I posted a recipe several years ago for a liquid homemade laundry detergent. I used it for several years because I generally prefer liquid detergent, but I find the powdered version is SO much easier to make and to store.

You will need:

1 bar of Zote soap

3 cups of washing soda

3 cups of borax

 

All you have to do to make the detergent is grate the soap. You can use a cheese grater but I prefer to use the grate blade in my food processor. Once the soap is grated I switch to the all purpose blade to mix the washing soda and borax in with the soap. I find this better than hand mixing because the blade removes all the clumps and make the powder finer, so it dissolves faster in my washing machine.

This is what it should look like after mixing:

 

Keep it in an air tight container. Otherwise moisture in the air may make it clump. A label is always a good idea as well. :)

Add 1 tablespoon for normal loads and 2 tablespoons for large or really dirty loads. I always start my water first, then add the powder, and then add the laundry.

 

This recipe works fine in HE washers as well as my old fashioned top loader.

 

Enjoy!