Trial Size Homemade Laundry Soap
Maybe you’ve been curious about making your laundry cleaners but didn’t want to commit to making a batch to find out more about it. If that’s the case, here are a couple smaller sized versions of my two favorite homemade laundry soaps (a powder and a liquid) that you can make in smaller trial sizes so they’re a bit easier to test it out.
Trial Size Smaller Batch Laundry Powder
If you’d like to try a homemade laundry powder, this is a good one to get started with. You can find the full size here: The Homemade Laundry Powder I Use in my HE Machine
But if you’d like to make a trial size batch of this powder, you can use these measurements:
- 1 cup washing soda
- 1 cup baking soda
- 1/3 cup epsom salt
- 1/3 cup Oxi-Clean
- A few drops of essential oil (optional)
All you need to do is mix these ingredients together and then use about 2 tablespoons per load (which is 1/8 cup). The measurements above make a batch that’s one third the size of my original, and even though it’s smaller, you’ll still be able to do about 22 loads of laundry with this size batch.
Trial Size Smaller Batch Laundry Liquid
If you would prefer a homemade laundry soap liquid, you can try this recipe that I make that uses Dawn soap. The original recipes makes a gallon and you can find that recipe here:
Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap made with Dawn
But if you would like something smaller, you can try these measurements that make a half size of the original recipe which results in a batch that fits in any ordinary 2 quart pitcher.
- 3 tablespoons Washing Soda
- 2 tablespoons Borax
- 1 tablespoons Dawn Dish Soap
- 2 quarts Hot Water
Fill a 2 quart beverage container about a third of the way with very hot water. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir to dissolve. Fill the beverage container the rest of the way with water. Add the tablespoon of dish soap and stir it around a bit to get it into the mixture. Use about 1/4 cup per load. This recipe will make enough to do about 32 loads of laundry.
So those are a couple of ways you can make your own laundry cleaners in batches that are just a bit smaller. But I think once you get started, you’ll find yourself wanting to make the full size batches too!
Trial Size Laundry Powder and Laundry Liquid
Materials:
Laundry Powder
- 1 cup washing soda
- 1 cup baking soda
- 1/3 cup epsom salt
- 1/3 cup Oxi-clean
- A few drops of essential oil (optional)
Laundry Liquid
- 3 tablespoons washing soda
- 2 tablespoons borax
- 1 tablespoon Dawn dish soap
- 2 quarts water (8 cups)
Instructions:
For the Laundry Powder:
- Combine all the ingredients (the washing soda, baking soda, epsom salt, and Oxi-Clean). You can also add a few drops of essential oil if you wish.
- Use about 2 tablespoons per load (1/8 cup). This batch will make enough for about 22 loads of laundry.
For the Laundry Liquid:
- Fill a 2 quart beverage container about a third of the way with very hot water.
- Add the washing soda and borax to the hot water and stir to dissolve.
- Fill the container the rest of the way with water.
- Add the dish soap and stir to combine.
- Use about 1/4 cup per load. This batch will make enough for about 32 loads of laundry.
Is any of those ok for dark color
Sometimes it’s the borax that fade dark colors a bit. So I would opt for the liquid Dawn mixture that has a little less borax in the ratio of ingredients if you are concerned about darker colors.
I made the homemade liquid recipe with borax, washing soda, and dawn. I used very hot water to desolve everything. After a few days I had chunks of something in my liquid detergent. I made a gallon. What did I do wrong? Are any of these items something my husband could be allergic to?
Can you use it in He washers? The Liquid Dawn version?
The Dawn mixture is very low sudsing so yes, I believe it is safe to use in HE washers.
I like these ideas a lot. I have never seen the dawn one before. How easy is that?
Yes, the Dawn laundry soap is super easy to make!
Can one use a bar of grated Ivory soap instead of Fels Naptha? Would this be less likely to cause dingy clothes?
I used to make some of my mixtures with Ivory soap. It did seem after a while that Ivory soap could build up tii (just like Fels Naptha) and make whites dingy.
Good day Bev,
I just wanted to let you know how much I really enjoy your blog. I get all happy every time I see I have an E-mail from you! You are doing a great job and you are appreciated☺
Blessings to you!
Minnie
Aww, thanks for your kind words Minnie! I’m glad you enjoy things around here and I hope you’ve found some useful info too!