The ‘Make Your Own Laundry Detergent’ Debate
For some reason, making your own laundry detergent seems to be a popular thing to search for and it’s a topic that people have lots of questions about. Let me tell you about both sides of this coin and you can make your own decision.
There are three main points to take into consideration when trying to decide if making your own laundry detergent is the right decision for you – cost, how well it works, and ease of making it.
Cost
As I’m sure anyone who does laundry knows, the price of good laundry detergents can be pretty outrageous. So, I guess this logically becomes one of the areas where people want to save money. According to Trent at The Simple Dollar, his recipe had a cost of about three cents per load opposed to the economy size of leading detergents costing about 30 cents per load. On the other hand, the startup cost can turn some people away. Be prepared to spend between $10 and $20 to get started. Remember, you save money because the price per use is lower and your ingredients will make several batches.
Jill Cooper writes a great article (Demystifying the Great Laundry Detergent Dilemma) which really makes us stop and analyze WHY people want to save money on something like laundry detergent. Is it really the cost of laundry detergent that we’re trying to cut back on – or have we overspent in so many other areas of our life that this is one of the only places where we still have control? Perhaps making your own detergent is not the answer to saving money, but rather cutting back on the amount of laundry that you do.
How Well Does it Work?
Here is a question that will definitely give you a variety of opinions. Some say it works wonderfully and easily replaces their more expensive brand. Some say that it doesn’t take out tough stains, especially those that children are prone to get on their clothing. And yet others say that it works well for awhile, but then later clothes start to look dingy and dirty. I think a lot of the responses are going to depend on the ingredients that were used to create the detergent and the laundry habits of the person using them.
Ease of Making It
All in all, the process of making laundry detergent is fairly simple whether you are making powder or liquid. Shave some Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar Soap, mix some water, measure some washing soda
In Conclusion
The initial cost of buying supplies may be a little more than you are used to paying for your laundry detergent, but the cost per use is definitely lower. If you decide this is right for you, make sure you are buying quality ingredients so that you will not have any issues with your clothing not getting clean (and staying clean!). And lastly, and probably most importantly, do you have the time necessary to create the detergent?
For me personally, I choose to buy commercial detergent and would rather save money by doing less laundry.
Give It a Try!
Here are links to recipes for liquid detergent:
The Simple Dollar – How to Make Your Own Laundry Detergent
Inexpensive Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe
Brown-bag Blog: Make your own Laundry Detergent
[...] tackles The Make Your Own Laundry Detergent Debate. I’ve tried homemade and buying the cheap stuff. I prefer buying the cheap stuff. I know a [...]
[...] tackles The Make Your Own Laundry Detergent Debate. I’ve tried homemade and buying the cheap stuff. I prefer buying the cheap stuff. I know a lot of [...]
[...] No Dough: The Make Your Own Laundry Detergent Debate. I may need to start making my own I think….. we like the pricey kinds. [...]
I’m with you – I’m not going to waste time, energy and laundry frustrations for a few cents saved making homemade laundry soap when I can save more money by cutting back on the amount of laundry, and in many other areas.
[...] Make Your Own Laundry Detergent Debate @ Got No Dough – This makes me wonder. Maybe we should focus on trying to cut spending somewhere else if we are trying to save money by making homemade laundry detergent. Surely there are other places to cut before it comes to this. [...]
I made my own and it was a huge saver for us. The initial cost was minimal, maybe $10 tops, and the time spent wasn’t drastic at all. But I’m frugal in all areas so this is just another thing I’d rather do than buy it at the store.
[...] useful was another debate about whether to make your own laundry detergent. No way in hell I’m making my own laundry detergent. If I want to save twenty eight cents per [...]
[...] Laundry Detergent – I find that the generic detergents don’t clean as well and don’t smell as well. In order to get comparable results, I have to use more of the generic detergent which absolutely kills the savings. [...]
[...] laundry detergent and cut back on the amount of laundry I do instead of using cheaper detergents or making my own detergent. Sounds great in theory, but just exactly how does a family reduce their dirty [...]
[...] no mistake, I am very frugal. In fact, I fall into the “make your own laundry detergent” category of frugality. How on earth could $75 tickets fit into such a person’s budget? I do [...]
[...] and far, the most frequent term to get to my site has to do with making your own laundry detergent. I think people are more interested in more recipes to make the detergent. Since I made that post, [...]
Heck, having kids doesn’t add to the time … I had my 9 year old stirring that stuff for a good 10 minutes, he thought it was a hoot to make gloop and the toddler just stared at the little whirlpool the whole time. He didn’t get to stir until I did all of the soap melting but that only took about 15 minutes of my time.
I just sat back and watched.
Andreas last blog post..The Sharks Are Circling
Thanks for the article. But I believe, investing in growing market is much safe bet, what say?
i make my own detergent and it works great!! i like the idea of not having the chemicals on my kids clothes. i feel that it is good for the environmemt as well. it saves me about $20 to $30 a month. and that adds up when you have 4 kids and a husband that likes to work outdoors!
…not to mention the benefit of not exposing our kids to the nasty chemicals in the store bought laundry detergents! Great site!
I never heard of anyone making their own laundry detergent. There are some really cheap ones but I would rather rely on the store bought as opposed to making my own.
Making one’s own detergent is a nifty idea, particularly if it’s not a time consuming, overly complicated matter. Also, if people are overspending in other portions of their lives then they should be analysing that as well as their laundry spending.
I just tried by making my own detergent and really it’s not only cost effective but also beats in quality to many popular detergents in the market. Thanks for the nice post which made me think in this way.
.-= Brian@wireless laser printers´s last blog ..The proper way to connect a Wireless Printer =-.
Trying to make own detergent is cost effective but it requires a good deal of sense to use the ingredients in proper proportion. Any how the post is superb and supports the idea of self reliance too.
Thanks a lot for making me busy in such a cool hobby. My wife is very happy after using detergent made by me and I got a great appreciation. Yes, it’s cost effective and helps me in saving some dollars. Great idea.
.-= abbasi@goatraveltips.com´s last undefined ..Response cached until Sat 17 @ 9:45 GMT (Refreshes in 23.45 Hours) =-.
This is a great article. I tried to make my own and I found that it just didn’t work as well, so I ended up doing some laundry twice, which defeated the object a bit. I just buy my detergent now but I don’t throw things in the laundry so easily now.
.-= stacie@Music Festivals´s last blog ..Sub Focus Records New Track =-.
That is a great idea! I would have never thought of making my own detergent although i make my own home cleaning products. What can be used as a fragrance?
.-= Steam Showers´s last blog ..Why Oasis Steam Showers Are the Best on the Market =-.
this is a great article, it’s cost effective and helps me in saving some dollars.
This gives me insight. of all the materials we have at home, making my own detergent never crossed my mind. Like you I consider making my own laundry.
That is a great idea. I would have never thought of making my own detergent although i make my own home cleaning products.Useful was another debate about whether to make your own laundry detergent. No way in hell I’m making my own laundry detergent.
[...] not having tried it myself, I can’t say for sure. So, for further reading: * Got No Dough on The ‘Make Your Own Laundry Detergent’ Debate. It talks about the pros and cons of making your own laundry [...]
This is a great idea, but I’m not quite sure that it would be as good as the detergent you buy at the store.
David@Healthcare Equipment´s last [type] ..Healthcare Equipment Helps Man Cope with Broken Leg
I usually run the water and then add 2tbsp for a full load of laundry, so it dissolves completely, then I add my clothes.