DIY
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE LAUNDRY PRODUCTS
WHY MAKE HOMEMADE LAUNDRY PRODUCTS?
Whenever I tell people that I make my own laundry detergent, they usually look at me a little funny. As if to say, why on earth would you spend your time doing that when you can just buy it?
Homemade laundry products are incredibly simple to make. The three laundry DIYs that I am sharing in today’s post take almost no time at all to make, and they are very effective.
Laundry detergent is the very first “homemade” product I ever made. Our family has very sensitive skin, and I had many reactions to different detergents and needed a better solution.
Many store-bought laundry products are made with a fair share of chemicals and artificial fragrances. These chemicals range from formaldehyde, phosphates, dyes and of course fragrances.
SAVING MONEY (AND THE PLANET)
Another reason to make homemade laundry products is to save money! Think of how full our shelves are in our laundry rooms, most households have laundry detergent, stain remover, fabric softener, dryer sheets …
As with most homemade creations, we are reducing the amount of packaging by making it ourselves. Things like dryer sheets are single use items and boy do I dislike single use items!
DO HOMEMADE LAUNDRY PRODUCTS REALLY WORK?
Before I started making my own laundry products, I was skeptical too. The truth is, you will be surprised as to how well DIY laundry products work without all of those hard to pronounce chemicals.
Our laundry recipes are really put to the test with our big dog and two toddlers. Below I will explain our top three favorite homemade laundry products and how to use them.
RECIPE 1: HOMEMADE STAIN REMOVER
Stain remover is the newest member of our homemade laundry product family, and we welcomed it with open arms. While our DIY laundry detergent works great, sometimes laundry needs a little extra support.
We put this stain remover to the test against some of my husband’s dress shirts. The collars and wrists were slightly discolored from wear, and this recipe worked wonders. As we were doing this experiment, I looked down at my two year old and realized he had some red sauce on his shirt. So we were able to test that as well!
Homemade stain remover should be sprayed onto the affected area(s) of the clothing and then set aside. For stubborn stains, re-apply the spray every 30 minutes or so and then throw the items into the wash. We have found it is better to wash the clothing in cold water as opposed to hot in order to lift the stains out of clothing.
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE STAIN REMOVER
Homemade stain remover is made with two parts hydrogen peroxide and one part dish soap. Yes, that’s it.
Pour the mixture into a small spray bottle and apply liberally to the stain. As mentioned before, allow it to sit for about 30 minutes or so and reapply as necessary.
Peroxide has the potential to discolor some clothing, but so far we have not had this happen when using it in our homemade stain remover.
HOMEMADE STAIN REMOVER
INGREDIENTS
- 2 TBSP Hydrogen Peroxide
- 1 TBSP Dish Soap
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour the mixture into a small spray bottle and apply liberally to the stain. As mentioned before, allow it to sit for about 30 minutes or so and reapply as necessary.
Peroxide has the potential to discolor some clothing, but so far we have not had this happen when using it in our homemade stain remover.
RECIPE 2: HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT
A throwback to my very first homemade recipe, this laundry detergent recipe has treated us very well over the years.
This is the laundry detergent we used with both of our babies (from birth), and on our dog’s blankets and any other laundry we have. It’s pretty crazy what our bodies get used to. After making my own laundry detergent for years, I remember smelling store-bought “baby laundry detergent” and thinking I could never use it on my baby because it was so heavily fragranced that it gave me a headache.
Speaking of fragrances, that brings us to our last homemade laundry product…
RECIPE 3: MAKING LAUNDRY SMELL FRESH
Somewhere once I read that humans have gotten so used to “clean” having a scent, when in actuality, “clean” should smell like nothing.
Perhaps I am anti-scent, as it gives me a headache and a great bout of hives – but hey, that’s artificial fragrance for you.
There are safer alternatives to getting laundry to smell fresh, while also avoiding single use dryer sheets. This is achieved through the use of dryer balls.
We use wool dryer balls to help dry our clothing faster (which in turn helps to save electricity). Dryer balls can also help to reduce static electricity AND they can make your laundry smell amazing.
Simply put a few drops of your favorite essential oils onto the dryer balls and toss them in with your next load of laundry. We love to add lavender to bedding or towels, or sometimes we switch it up and use different scents for different loads of laundry.
NATURAL TIP TO CLEAN YOUR WASHING MACHINE
Sometimes we all forget about our clothes in the washing machine, and then are left with that funky smell. This smell can be very difficult to get out of clothing, and we often use extra essential oils on our dryer balls to get rid of it!
Ditch the smell by cleaning your washing machine naturally! Add 4 cups of white vinegar (or cleaning vinegar) to your washing machine, and then let the machine fill up with hot water. Allow the vinegar and hot water mixture to sit for at least an hour, then go ahead and allow the machine to complete it’s cycle.
Bad smells gone, and you’re on your way to a more frugal, eco-friendly, natural laundry routine in no time!
SIMPLE WASHING MACHINE CLEANER
Learn how to clean your washing machine with this simple recipe.
INGREDIENTS
- 4 C White Vinegar
INSTRUCTIONS
Ditch the smell by cleaning your washing machine naturally! Add 4 cups of white vinegar (or cleaning vinegar) to your washing machine, and then let the machine fill up with hot water. Allow the vinegar and hot water mixture to sit for at least an hour, then go ahead and allow the machine to complete it’s cycle.
Bad smells gone, and you’re on your way to a more frugal, eco-friendly, natural laundry routine in no time!
PIN IT FOR LATER
SHOP THIS POST
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
- Amber Spray Bottles: these are the bottles we store our homemade stain remover spray in. The amber color helps to preserve the hydrogen peroxide.
- Wool Dryer Balls: We use four dryer balls in each load of laundry. It’s not necessary to have different “sets” of dryer balls, we’ve found that after a couple of loads of laundry the balls will need to have more oils applied therefore it is possible to use the same set for different fragrances.
- Essential Oils
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE…
