How to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent That’s Actually Non-Toxic (And Works in Florida Heat)

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If you’ve got kids who play outside like it’s their job — and at our house, it genuinely is — then you already know what laundry looks like around here. We’re talking grass-stained knees, sandy cuffs from the creek, and shirts that somehow always find the chicken coop right before dinner. My kids are out there the way we grew up in the ’90s: barefoot, unsupervised-ish, and completely filthy by 4pm. And I love every bit of it.

What I don’t love? Pouring a jug of synthetic, fragrance-loaded, who-knows-what-else detergent onto all those clothes that go right back onto my kids’ skin. We’ve been on a slow, steady journey to detox our home room by room, and laundry was one of the easiest places to make a swap that actually stuck.

This recipe is the one we’ve landed on after trying a few different versions. It works. It’s simple. And you probably have most of the ingredients already.

Why I Stopped Buying Store-Bought Detergent

I’m not here to scare you. But once I started reading labels and realized that most conventional detergents are full of synthetic fragrances, optical brighteners, and surfactants that don’t fully rinse out? I couldn’t un-know it.

Down here in Florida, our kids are sweating through their clothes, swimming, rolling in dirt, and spending long hours outside. Their skin is their largest organ, and it’s in contact with whatever is left in those fibers all day long. That matters to me.

Switching to a homemade version also ended up being way cheaper — we’re talking pennies per load versus dollars. And when you’re washing three or four loads a day because someone thought it was a great idea to let the chickens into the mudroom again… that adds up fast.

What You’ll Need

This recipe is a dry powder detergent, which is what I prefer because it stores well in our Florida humidity (just keep it in an airtight container), mixes easily, and doesn’t have the gloppy, hard-to-measure issues of a liquid version.

Ingredients:

• 1 bar of pure castile soap or Fels-Naptha (grated)
• 1 cup washing soda (sodium carbonate — NOT baking soda)
• 1 cup borax
• Optional: 20-30 drops of essential oil if you want a light scent (we skip it most of the time)

That’s genuinely it. Three ingredients.

Tools:

• Box grater or food processor
• Large mixing bowl
• Airtight container for storage

How to Make It — Step by Step

Step 1: Grate the Soap

This is the most “labor intensive” part, and I use that term loosely. Grab your box grater and grate the bar of soap like you’re grating cheese. If you have older kids (mine are in the K-5 range and my older ones can definitely handle this), let them do it — it’s a great fine motor activity and they think it’s hilarious that soap looks like Parmesan.

If you have a food processor, you can pulse the soap into a fine crumble instead. That actually gives you a finer powder that dissolves better in cold water.

Step 2: Mix Everything Together

Combine the grated soap, washing soda, and borax in your large bowl. Stir it well until it’s evenly mixed. If you’re adding essential oils, drizzle them in now and stir again.

Step 3: Store It Properly

Transfer to an airtight container — this is important in Florida because humidity is not our friend. I use a glass jar with a tight lid and keep a small wooden scoop in it. Label it clearly, especially if you have little ones around.

To use: 1–2 tablespoons per load. Use 2 tablespoons for heavily soiled loads (hi, every load at our house).

Does It Actually Work on Real Kid Messes?

Yes. And I say that as someone whose kids come in smelling like sunscreen, dirt, and chicken on a regular basis. (Sidenote: if you’re dealing with coop smell on clothes or work gear, check out our post on natural chicken coop deodorizer and cleaning routines — same philosophy, different application.)

For tough stains, I’ll spray the spot with a little undiluted white vinegar or dab with a paste of washing soda and water before tossing the item in. Works on grass, dirt, food, and most of what our days involve.

One note: this detergent is NOT sudsy. If you’re used to a big foamy wash, this will feel weird at first. But suds don’t actually clean — that’s mostly a marketing thing. Your clothes are getting clean, I promise.

A Note on Borax

I know some people have concerns about borax, and I want to be honest with you: it is a naturally occurring mineral, and at the levels used in laundry detergent, it has a long safety record. That said, you should store it out of reach of children, avoid inhaling the powder when mixing, and make your own call about whether it fits your family’s standards. If you’d rather skip it, you can double the washing soda and the detergent still works — just slightly less so on hard stains.

For our family, this sits comfortably within our non-toxic goals. We also pair it with wool dryer balls instead of dryer sheets (which are loaded with fragrance and chemicals) and use beeswax wrap in the kitchen — same idea of swapping synthetic for simple wherever we can.

Making It a Learning Moment

This is one of those kitchen-table activities that fits right into our Charlotte Mason days. We’ve talked about what soap actually does at a molecular level (simplified, obviously), why washing soda is different from baking soda, and how people washed clothes before detergent even existed. My kids were genuinely fascinated.

If you want to extend it further, you could do a simple science experiment: test how different soaps interact with water using a pocket microscope to look at soap bubbles up close, or have them sketch and label the ingredients in their nature journal as a household science entry. Charlotte Mason believed that learning happened in the context of real life — and making the family’s laundry detergent is about as real-life as it gets.

For more ideas on how we weave learning into our everyday rhythms, you might enjoy our post on Morning Basket ideas for Charlotte Mason homeschool.

Keeping the Rest of Your Laundry Routine Clean

Once you’ve made the switch on detergent, here are a few other easy swaps we’ve made:

• Dryer sheets → Wool dryer balls: They reduce static, speed up drying time, and last for years.
• Fabric softener → White vinegar in the rinse cycle: A quarter cup softens clothes naturally and neutralizes any detergent residue.
• Plastic detergent jugs → Glass or stainless storage: Better for the environment, better for your shelves.

We also love ordering some of our non-toxic household supplies through Grove Collaborative — they carry a lot of clean-ingredient brands and make it easy to stay consistent without spending hours reading labels at the store.

The Bottom Line

Making your own laundry detergent isn’t a huge time commitment. Honestly, the whole batch takes maybe fifteen minutes, lasts us a couple of months, and costs somewhere around three to five dollars total. That’s a win for our budget, a win for our kids’ skin, and a win for our overall goal of keeping our home a little cleaner in every sense of the word.

If you’re just starting out on the non-toxic home journey, this is genuinely one of the easiest places to begin. You don’t need a perfectly curated pantry or a big investment. Just a few simple ingredients and a willingness to try something your grandma probably would’ve recognized.

Around here, that’s usually a good sign.

📖 You Might Also Like:

• How to Detox Your Home from Toxins Room by Room (A Real Family’s Guide)
• Natural Chicken Coop Deodorizer and Cleaning Routine That Actually Works
• Morning Basket Ideas for Charlotte Mason Homeschool (What Ours Actually Looks Like)

Frequently Asked Questions

Is homemade laundry detergent actually effective on heavily soiled clothes?

Yes — especially this powder version with washing soda and borax. For really tough stains like grass, mud, or food, pre-treat the spot with a paste of washing soda and water or a spritz of white vinegar before washing. It handles kid messes and farm smells just fine.

Is borax safe to use in homemade laundry detergent for kids’ clothes?

Borax is a naturally occurring mineral with a long history of use in laundry. At the small amounts used per load, it rinses out and is generally considered safe for most families. That said, you should store it away from children and avoid inhaling it when mixing. If you prefer to skip it, double the washing soda instead.

Can I use homemade laundry detergent in a high-efficiency (HE) washing machine?

Yes! This dry powder recipe is low-sudsing, which actually makes it better suited for HE machines than many commercial detergents. Use 1 tablespoon for a regular load and 2 tablespoons for heavily soiled loads. The low-foam formula won’t interfere with your machine’s sensors.

How long does a batch of homemade laundry detergent last?

One batch made with a single bar of soap, 1 cup washing soda, and 1 cup borax typically yields around 30–40 tablespoons of detergent, which translates to roughly 20–40 loads depending on how much you use per load. Most families find one batch lasts 4–8 weeks.

What’s the difference between washing soda and baking soda in laundry recipes?

They’re chemically different — washing soda (sodium carbonate) is much more alkaline than baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), which makes it a stronger cleaner and better at cutting grease and lifting stains. You can find washing soda in the laundry aisle of most grocery stores or order it online. Don’t substitute baking soda — it won’t clean as well.