Homemade Detergent

The advantage of homemade products is that the ingredients are completely natural and you can use the fragrance you want.

If you’ve followed our various posts, you already know how to make shampoos, masks, and other natural remedies easily at home. We try to recall old home remedies used by our grandmothers. Like the following  detergent.

These work excellently, in some cases even better, than the current, commercially available means and are also inexpensive and environmentally friendly.

In this article we will explain how you  can make a washing machine detergent yourself . 

We also give you various tips for creating a  homemade fabric softener with your preferred fragrances  and for a homemade  stain remover. 

Advantages of a homemade detergent

A homemade detergent offers several advantages:

• Inexpensive:  Store-bought laundry detergents are not cheap, but this product is made with very inexpensive ingredients.
• Simple:  You don’t need any special knowledge, because the recipe is very simple and the ingredients are readily available.
• Environmentally friendly :  It is important not to use too many environmentally harmful products, only if there is really no other way.
• Antiallergic:  This detergent does not contain any aggressive substances, so it is beneficial for people with sensitive skin and babies.

Natural ingredients for the detergent

Only natural ingredients are required for this detergent, which are then available in most households. Even with the first wash you will see the excellent washing power of the product.

Soda is a natural product that has a  disinfectant and odor neutralizing effect, neutralizes the pH value  if it is too acidic or too alkaline and  makes the textiles soft.

Normal soap, which was previously used for hand washing, is used as the base  . You can use natural soap, coconut soap, glycerine soap, or Marseille soap, etc.

ingredients

• 1 – 2 bars of soaps
• 2 cups of borax (sodium borate)
• 2 cups of baking soda
• Optional: lemon or lavender essential oil
• water

Utils

• Bucket or larger vessel
• medium-sized pot
• Wooden spoon

preparation

1. Rub the soaps, you will need about 2 cups.
2. Bring a quart of water to a boil in the saucepan, then add the 2 cups of grated soap. Then bring the mixture to a boil on a low heat, stirring constantly.
3. In another container, mix borax and baking soda. Add the water with the already melted soap and stir everything well with the wooden spoon.
4. Then add 7.5 liters of water and stir everything well.
5. Now you can add an essential oil to your taste so that the detergent smells nice. Use 15 ml and stir the mixture again.
6. Then cover the jar.
7. You can fill the detergent in water bottles or empty detergent containers and write accordingly for safety reasons. Shake well before use to mix the ingredients.

softener

The simplest, cheapest and most effective option is to replace the standard fabric softener with vinegar. This helps  to clean the laundry, keep it soft and also prevent lint and static electricity. 

In addition, vinegar softens hard water. Another benefit is that vinegar also helps with cleaning the drain pipes of residue, limescale, and debris. To make the laundry smell better, you can also add an essential oil here.

• Citrus fruits  (lemon, orange, tangerine) help with thorough cleaning and removal of fat. They also give the laundry an excellent fragrance.
• Lavender is used for many cleaning agents, it has a disinfectant, relaxing and also makes the laundry soft.

• Tea tree oil is  excellent against fungi.
• Eucalyptus:  This oil has a refreshing effect and then helps to eliminate germs.

If you don’t have essential oils available, you can also use  the juice of half a lemon with the vinegar.

Stain remover

Before you wash the laundry, we recommend that you apply a little baking  soda and vinegar and rub the stain with a brush.