When our family was first experimenting with natural cleaners we tried tons of recipes for laundry. After some trial and error, we came up with this Liquid Laundry Detergent recipe that works great. It gets clothes clean, removes odor, and doesn’t leave a yucky residue in our washer!
With 8 people in our home, we do a TON of laundry so it was important to us that the detergent we used met our three criteria for successful laundry detergent:
- It gets clothes clean
- Removes odors
- It doesn’t leave a yucky residue in our washer
- High-efficiency washer safe
Trust me when I say that not all natural recipes live up to those three simple guidelines. Even our regular routine using Castile soap didn’t always work the best on really tough loads. It was good, but not really great!
Then Dr. Bronner’s released Sal Suds and our lives got brighter – along with our laundry! It’s got a strong cleaning function that we feel like does an even better job than the regular Castile soap that we used for a few years.
You might love powder detergents, but they always made me nervous that our high-efficiency washer wasn’t dissolving all of the flakes. That’s the reason we premix our detergent into a liquid. Then I know for certain that there won’t be undissolved clumps of laundry detergent in my loads.
Here’s a secret: this recipe is really a liquid version of our very popular recipe for treating musty laundry. Stinky laundry (whether it’s from body odor or slow laundry routines) is something we all deal with.
That’s why we decided to integrate that natural answer to a universal problem into this new Liquid Laundry Detergent Recipe:
New to essential oils? Learn more about how we use them and why you should use them as well.
Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup Sal Suds
- 2 2/3 cups water
- 2/3 cup baking soda
- 30 drops Purification Essential Oil
- 1 quart-sized mason jar
Directions
- Place water, baking soda, and essential oil in the jar.
- Add soap.
- Replace the lid and swirl to combine.
To use:
- Add 1/4 cup detergent per HE load. Use 1/2 cup for regular washing machine.
- Optional: Add vinegar in rinse as a natural fabric softener and to remove any remaining odors or residue.
- Optional: 1/3 – 1 cup vinegar per load
See more about how our laundry routine has evolved here. Also, if you’re interested in saving energy (and you don’t have a clothesline), check out our experience with wool dryer balls to see if they’re right for you. We love them!
We love this recipe so much that we made it part of our Kitchen and Laundry Cleaning Make and Take Party Printable Pack. Have a party, make some great cleaners, and send them home with friends and family to enjoy! You can find out more about our Make & Take Party Printable Packs here.
Cindy says
I made this and love it! I do have a question. It separates between uses. Is this normal, and is there a way around that happening? It’s not a big deal, but some would say a bit of a hassle. Also, the baking soda wants to gum up in the bottom it seems.
Beth K says
Hey there, Cindy! I’m so glad to hear that this recipe works well for you.
The baking soda doesn’t really dissolve which is completely normal. I guess we just do so much laundry every day that I never had it settle so much that it didn’t just mix back in with a little shake.
You can definitely leave the baking soda out of the recipe and just add it to the washer basin before you start the load. I only added it to the recipe so that everything was in one step.
Let me know if that helps. 🙂
Becky says
What is Sal Suds and is there anything similar that I can buy in a store instead of on amazon (the link)?
Beth K says
Here’s a little snippet from Dr. Bronner’s product page for Sal Suds:
Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds Liquid Cleaner is not a soap but instead is a concentrated hard-surface all-purpose cleaner. It is made with plant-based surfactants and natural fir needle and spruce essential oils (no cheap, harsh pine stump oil), without any synthetic dyes, fragrances or preservatives. Perfect for general household cleaning (dishes, floors, laundry, etc.), it cleans and rinses with exceptional power, yet it is mild and gentle on the skin. Sal Suds Liquid Cleaner is equally effective in hard or soft water, rinsing freely, hot or cold. It is 100% cruelty-free, as certified by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics, and it will biodegrade rapidly after doing its job.
I don’t know of anything similar in my stores. Let us know if you find something that you love!
CJ Hampton says
could lemon juice be used instead of Sal Suds?
Beth K says
Sal Suds is a detergent so I’m not sure that lemon juice would be a suitable replacement. We’d love to hear if the lemon juice works for you. I’m intrigued. 🙂 ~Beth
Susan says
Sal Suds is available wherever you can buy Dr Bronner’s soaps. In Augusta, I find them at Publix. Many main stream stores are now carrying them, but organic markets have carried them for years.
Cheryl says
I found Dr Bonners at Target!
lisa o. says
what do you use to clean your HE washer on a monthly basis?
Beth K says
We use maintain our machine according to the manufacturer’s direction. We have not found a natural alternative to this yet, unfortunately. ~Beth
Virve says
Hi. Could I use Thieves household cleaner instead of Sal Suds?
Beth K says
Sounds like a great idea! Let us know how that works for you.
Julia Morrell says
would washing soda increase effectiveness and help with the dissolving part?
Heather says
I was wondering the same thing. Did you try it?
Cathy says
Just FYI, you can save $ by making your own washing soda, you will need baking soda, a pan with a lip around it ( about a 13 X 9 baking dish) and a spatula. Preheat your oven to 450 Degrees Fahrenheit. Pour your baking soda into your baking dish. You can make as little or as much as you like at a time. Place your baking dish in the oven and let it “bake” for an hour, stirring the baking soda a few times during baking time to make sure all of the baking soda is being broken down. Remove from oven and let cool. The baking soda should be a different consistency once it’s turned into washing soda. It will look a little more dull and grainy, instead of being light and fluffy.
Christine says
Would Castile Soap work instead of the Sal Suds?
Beth K says
You could try Castile soap and see how you like it. It is definitely milder than the recipe we’ve come up with.
Also, please note that you will want to avoid mixing Castile soap with vinegar in the wash since this will leave an awful residue because of the way that the Castile soap separates when contacted by such a strong acid as vinegar.
Kendall says
Could you use another essential oil if you don’t have purification ? Like tea tree or lavender?
Beth K says
That sounds great! Let us know if you find another combination you love.
Jenny says
Since Young Living’s Purification essential oil blend doesn’t contain citrus oils, do you think it would be fine to make and store a larger batch in a plastic bucket with a lid in these tripled amounts?
8 cups Water
1 cup Baking Soda
1 cup Sal Suds
1 5ml Purification bottle
P.S. I don’t have Sal Suds yet, so I’m going to try the same amount of Castile Soap with a capful of YL’s Thieves Household Cleaner instead.
Patti hawkins says
Jenny how did your laundry detergent turn out?
Jenny says
I ended up finding some Sal Suds and figured out my calculations were wrong before getting started. LOL It should be 4 cups of water (not 8) per 1 cup of baking soda and 1 cup of Sal Suds. I find my laundry is beautifully scented just by using Lavender essential oil on wool dryer balls when it comes time to dry the clothes so I didn’t put any EO in the laundry detergent. I’m not in love with the fact that the baking soda settles and has to be shaken every time but it did a good job of cleaning my clothes. If I end up making my own laundry detergent again rather than just using Young Living’s awesome product, I’d use this recipe but add Thieves Household Cleaner instead of the baking soda. I think the fir/spruce scent of the Sal Suds would pair amazingly with the Thieves blend and they’re both incredible cleaners!
JoAnn Adams says
Does adding vinegar get rid of the purification scent?
Dody says
I was wondering if you could use washing soda instead of baking soda?
Recipes With Essential Oils says
Hello! We have not tried it, but you could substitute washing soda in this recipe. Both substances are effective natural cleaners that are perfect for laundry. I have just found baking soda to be more versatile than washing soda. Let us know how it turns out 🙂
kala says
Hi Beth & Jenn,
I tried this recipe! I love it my clothes are fresh and clean and I’m excited to ditch the chemicals! Thank you so much
All the best,
Kala
R says
ok, just wondering if Sal Suds makes too much suds in the laundry tub?
Diana M says
We tested this recipe in both a front loader and a top loader. It has just the right amount of bubbles, without being too sudsy. The yield is about 4 cups, or 16 loads of laundry. You could always cut back on the Sal Suds in this recipe.
Kathryn Parker says
Has this been used on cloth diapers?? Would love to find an alternative for them!
Diana M says
My cloth diapering days were over by the time I found this recipe, so I have not tried it myself. We do have some readers who use this on their cloth diapers with success. There are no fillers or additives so it should be safe. I would strip your diapers before starting a new detergent and see how it goes.
Donna says
Do you use white or brown vinegar?
Diana M says
White vinegar.