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5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Use Homemade Laundry Detergent

Cleaning

Last Updated on November 15, 2023

I recently received an email from a journalist asking if I had a good recipe for homemade laundry detergent.

It makes sense — you’d think DIY laundry detergent would be my jam, considering my other DIY recipes. However, DIY laundry soap has its drawbacks, so I don’t actually use it. Homemade detergent isn’t true detergent and is instead just soap. This post delves into why homemade laundry soap is bad for your clothes and bad for your washing machine, plus why you’re better off purchasing a natural detergent.

laundry basket with overlay text reading "5 reasons you should not use homemade laundry detergent"

i don’t endorse homemade laundry detergent

If you’ve visited GZW before, you know that I have a fairly extensive list of effective and easy homemade cleaning recipes — and even more featured in my book 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste.

However, you might have noticed there’s a giant hole in that content — no DIY laundry detergent… and there’s a reason.

A big reason.

A reason I have yet to share because a lot of my friends use and make homemade laundry detergent.

I didn’t want to be a Negative Nancy or rifle any feathers, so I’ve kept this information to myself…

But, now, it’s time to come out and say it… I do not endorse homemade laundry detergent.

Whew. I said it. It’s out there.

my past experiences with homemade detergent

I started making my own cleaning products for both financial and health reasons before I started going zero waste.

I had a brush with homemade laundry ‘detergent’ for about 8 months. Detergent is in quotations for a reason, and I’ll get to it in a minute.

For the first few months, things seemed to be going fine, but towards the end around month 6, I noticed that my white clothing was yellow and dingy.

Then around month 7, I started noticing my clothing felt oily, but worst of all, the towels and sheets were oily too.

Sleeping on an oily pillowcase did my skin zero favors.

I racked my brain trying to figure out what was going on… when it hit me. It was the homemade laundry ‘detergent’.

Then, I had to start the process of trying to undo what I’d done. I ruined several pieces of clothing and a set of sheets. I’m grateful that was all I ruined because it can also ruin your washing machine. Yikes.

laundry basket filled with clothes to illustrate why you should not wash clothes with DIY laundry detergent

5 reasons why homemade laundry soap is bad

Aside from my own experience, I’m sharing 5 reasons why homemade laundry soap is bad! Between it damaging your clothes and your washing machine, it also isn’t effective because it doesn’t use the right ingredients, and modern technology does not work well with homemade soap.

Here are all the reasons to steer clear of DIY laundry detergent.

1. it’s actually just soap — not detergent

You can’t actually make homemade laundry detergent. What you’re making is homemade laundry SOAP.

Now, both detergent and soap contain surfactants. According to the American Cleaning Institute, surfactants change how water behaves. When a surfactant is added, the surface tension is reduced which makes it easier to get rid of dirt and grime.

The main difference between detergent and soap is the chemical composition.

Soap is made from natural fats and oils as well as a neutralizing alkali most commonly sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or lye.

Detergents DON’T use fats and oils (very important!) — instead, they’re manufactured in chemical plants using long chains of molecules.

These typically include more than one surfactant, making them more water soluble (better) than soap. You can read more about this in an article I found in the Kids Britannica.

A washing machine with an empty laundry basket next to it in a post about why you shouldn't use homemade laundry soap

2. homemade laundry soap doesn’t use the right ingredients

My goal of this heading isn’t to give you an exact recipe but to break down the common ingredients in DIY laundry soaps.

Most homemade laundry ‘detergents’ are made up of water softeners like baking soda and washing soda, plus borax and a cleaning agent, which is typically a grated bar of soap.

The goal of the water softener is to… you guessed it! Soften the water. You might have heard the terms hard water and soft water which has to do with the level of minerals like calcium and magnesium in the water.

The most common water softeners used in DIY laundry soap are borax and washing soda, but they’re marketed as laundry BOOSTERS because they are meant to aid a detergent, not replace one.

If you have really hard water, like I do in California, using a homemade soap is even worse. The high levels of calcium and magnesium make it almost impossible for the soap to wash free from the textiles.

While the laundry boosters help some, it’s not an appropriate replacement for detergent.

2 gray socks with white hearts on them to illustrate a post about why homemade laundry soap is bad

3. DIY laundry detergent can RUIN your clothing

When you’re using homemade laundry soap, you can ruin your clothing. I know this from personal experience, but let’s take a little bit deeper look into why.

If you use soap on your hands in the kitchen or bathroom sink, you’ve probably had to deal with soap buildup or soap scum.

That’s happening to your clothes, and worse… your washing machine.

Every time you wash your clothing, soap buildup buries itself inside of the textiles. This buildup can create a water-repelling effect, which might be why your reusable towels aren’t super great at absorbing water. It can also leave an oily residue behind.

When soap accumulates in your clothing, it will actually attract and trap dirt in your textiles. It quite literally makes your clothing DIRTY — the exact opposite thing you want from a laundry detergent…

Stacks of clothes being folded in a post about why you should not use homemade detergent.

4. DIY laundry ‘detergent’ can RUIN your washing machine

Most people make homemade laundry ‘detergent’ to save money and/or reduce waste. But in the long run, using a DIY can cost a lot more money and create a lot more waste.

The same soap that builds up in your textiles is also building up in your washing machine. This can cause mold or mildew to grow inside your machine.

And, this is the real problem I have with homemade laundry ‘detergents’ — they will void your machine’s warranty.

Is it worth saving a few dollars or cardboard boxes if it means having to buy new sheets or a new washer in a year?

I had to buy new sheets and several items of clothing, and let me tell you, I wish that I had just bought some eco-friendly and biodegradable detergent.

A white washing machine in a white room with a window.

5. modern technology doesn’t work with homemade laundry soap

Sure, your grandma probably used homemade detergent all the time! And, it probably worked because cleaning isn’t just about the soap.

To get a good clean, you need three types of energy:

  1. chemical energy — soap or detergent
  2. mechanical energy — washing machine agitator or a washboard
  3. thermal energy — heat!

Most modern detergents have been formulated so you don’t need heat, but your grandma was probably using hot water.

On top of that, she also used A LOT more mechanical energy. Washing machine agitators were much tougher on clothing to physically remove the soap from the textiles.

If you’re hand washing your clothes or using an old machine with an intense agitator, live in an area with soft water, and are washing in hot water — using homemade laundry soap might work for you.

But if you’re doing this to save money or the planet, you aren’t going to achieve your goals.

An older model of washing machine with a decent agitator uses about 45 gallons of water per load. The energy cost of running it and heating all that water will eliminate any savings and use far more resources than a cardboard box.

Two laundromat washing machines in black and white

how to fix it

If you’re like me and have been using homemade detergent for a few months, you’re going to need to strip your clothing to fix the filmy, oily residue left on your clothes.

If it hasn’t ruined your clothes completely, it needs to be stripped away before those items are usable again.

I’m going to link to a full blog post on how to strip textiles, but I’m also going to include a few photos here for you to see all the dirt that was hiding in the ‘clean’ clothes.

For the whole gallery, head to ForTheLoveofClean.com where they’ve compiled a much larger gallery, including stats on what was in the DIY laundry soap and how long the person used it.

bathtub full of dirty water from stripping clothes of homemade laundry detergent
Tub full of almost-black water after stripping clothes of the residue from DIY laundry detergent

Pretty crazy right?

If you’re looking for a few eco-friendly cleaning brands that I endorse, I’ve written a whole post called 15 Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products You Need to Know About.

I did not want to include any product recommendations in this post because it’s not about selling something to you. I truly want to prevent anyone from ruining their clothing or washing machine.

Stripping your clothes is NOT a fun process, and you shouldn’t have to go through it if you don’t have to.

faqs

is DIY laundry soap cheaper than traditional detergent?

In theory, yes. The ingredients that go into it are cheap to get your hands on. However, in my opinion, the cost of potential damage to your clothes and your washing machine is not worth the dollars saved. Plus, you can buy other natural, safe detergents relatively inexpensively.

can’t you use vinegar instead of laundry detergent?

Some people choose to. It works well as a deodorizer and mold/mildew eradication. However, I haven’t found that vinegar works very well as a stain remover. For truly clean clothes, you need a detergent to remove those stains.

However, vinegar makes a lovely laundry additive for odor removal, especially if you have pets!

Have you DIYed your laundry detergent before?

16 Comments
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  1. Hi Kathryn! I tried to find your link for the actual stripping guidelines but it only linked to the photo results of the stripping. Are instruction located on your blog somewhere? I am definitely in this situation right now where I need to switch! Thank you!

  2. Hello,
    A question re: 5 reasons you shouldn’t use homemade laundry soap….
    Does this include ‘soap nurse… because when you use soap nuts, it also suggests adding essential oils for fresh smelling laundry?

    Thanks 🙂

  3. I’m not from USA and the most eco friendly laundry soap I found has those ingredients: Coconut oil, alkalizing (sodium hydroxide, responsible for saponification), adjuvant ((anhydrous sodium carbonate) and water. Is it good? because it has coconut oil as the first ingredient I thought maybe it would cause the oily clothes problem.

  4. I have been making my own laundry detergent for many years, so has my mom. It has worked great and we have never had any problems with our clothes or machine. My mom has a water softener because they are on a well but I’m using city water and neither of those have had a negative effect. But my sister-in-law tried it and said it turned her whites a dingy colour (not sure how the clothes felt). Your article was interesting but I think it depends. There are many people who use homemade detergent and have no problems. Also, people use way too much detergent per load. Test that by rewashing the load (right after) with no laundry detergent and see if the water turns soapy.

  5. HI Kathryn, I’m looking for the stripping clothes guidelines but it comes up with the testimonials link. Can you please point me in the direction of where to find it.

  6. I am interested in getting the recipe for stripping soaps out of clothes. You mentioned you would be writing a blog on this, what is the timing on that posting… meanwhile, I have stinky clothes and afraid to make up my own recipe for stripping…

  7. I am so glad I found this article! I have made my own laundry ‘detergent’ in the past, but got lazy, and TBH skeptical. I have certain items of clothing, jeans and yoga pants that will get a whitish haze/coating on them as they sit in my dresser. It looks like mold. I have often wondered if it was from the detergent I used to make. Also, I had a couple washcloths that got stiff. Very odd I thought. I have all the ingredients to make more, obviously I will not. Thank you for the post.

  8. I do not make my own laundry soap but my friend does. I never mentioned it to her but her clothes do not look clean after she washes them and they do not smell clean either. They smell like dirty socks but I think she has been doing that for years and may be nose blind. She needs to read this article. I use Tide without perfumes and dyes and it works amazing. I also want to mention that she has replaced her washing machine 3 times in less than 5 years. Ouch!

  9. I’ve been making my DIY laundry soap for 5 years now (I make the soap bar myself to make the laundry soap) I have never encountered the issues you’ve listed. My washing machine is 5 years old never had any problems and my sheets are 6+years old and they look good and feel soft so do my towels. However I do add vinegar about once a month to my loads to break any build ups. And I use wool ball with essential oil in the dryer instead of dryer sheets. So I don’t think I’ll ever go back to store bought laundry detergent.

  10. Thank you for this complete and well-researched article! I don’t live in a hard water area, but I’m still very grateful for this responsible warning 🙂
    (And I’m happy looking around the kids’ encyclopaedia).

  11. Thanks for the article. Although i never used soap for washing laundry, i’ve come to realise that no eco detergent really washes well. I love using body oils and butters, and was wondering for years why my sheets and some clothes smell like rancid oil even after washing. Bed sheets and towels are also turning yellow 🙁 Don’t know what to do, i can’t stand the smell of any mainstream detergent either..

  12. Hi there, I found your article very interesting. I make my own laundry powder, with washing soda and laundry soap . We have hard water here in Berlin, but I make my own soap and I add citric acid to the soap recipe, which combines with some of the NaOH to make the compound sodium citrate. This acts as a chelator which binds calcium carbonate and other metals, and in turn reduces the soap scum that you usually have with hard water. I also use a 10% citric acid-water solution as my laundry softener for the final rinse, this also combats to the alkaline effect of the soap. I’ve been using this for years, and my washing machine works just fine, although the white textiles do tend to get a little grey tint after a while. other than that I’m quite happy. ☺️

  13. I agree, in part, that you can’t just use baking soda and castile soap. But, there’s a wonderful little additive called citric acid. It not only serves as a natural bleaching agent but you can run it through your washing machine to clean out all of the grime and deposits.