How to Make Your Own Detergent

by MultiTaskingMaven

Are you ready to save in the laundry room? Recently, my oldest son participated in his 8th grade science fair. I was excited when he chose his project, because I knew everyone could help and ultimately save me money. He chose to find out which detergent cleans better, Commercial or Homemade?

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This post is a review of his results, recommendations, and recipe for you to make your own. The cleaning results will impress, but the monthly savings will shock you!

Here are a couple of quick tips before you get started:

1. Purchase a grater that you will only use for this or other DIY projects. The residue left on the grater will cause a crazy mess if you put it in the dishwasher to wash.

2. With that said, this formula is low suds and can be used in high efficiency washers.

3. My son added Lavender Purex Crystals. You can choose to use them or not, this is really a personal preference for smell. The detergent itself has a nice, clean smell without adding the Crystals. I am sure that with the popularity of oils that could be an alternative too, but I have not tried it.

Finally, if you use a septic tank, you will not be able to use the powder formula, the detergent can form hard balls and clog your system. There are liquid alternatives.

The big win is the cost savings of making your own detergent. On average, volunteers spent $10 a month for detergent versus $1.66 a month for homemade detergent. The costs to make your own is $20 to fill a 5 gallon bucket which would last a large family like mine (six people with about 15 loads a week) about 6 months with a cost of a little over $3.00 per month! The $1.66 per month cost are based on a family of four.

To get your recipe, go to my post: http://multitaskingmaven.com/how-to-make-homemade-detergent/