How to make your own DIY laundry detergent with essential oils

Learn how to make your own eco-friendly, non-toxic, disinfectant DIY laundry detergent with essential oils: a valid alternative to store-bought products

Hello my beautiful friends!
After sharing my natural DIY hand sanitizer recipe, I’ve been asked to share more DIYs for home cleaning and hygiene. Both because many of us have more free time and are rediscovering the pleasure of making things, from baking cakes to painting– and partly because with the current restrictions, going to the supermarket for that one item we ran out off is becoming more complicated (not to mention sometimes we get to the store and the shelves are empty).

Either way, there’s no better time than this to start making your own antibacterial, ecological, non-toxic DIY laundry detergent!

Have you ever taken the time to check the composition of your favorite detergent? Most ingredients are unpronounceable and sound frankly scary. No wonder that with all these impossible-to-pronounce chemical ingredients, more and more people develop allergies, especially children! So, in order to save a little money, do yourself good and no longer spill potentially dangerous substances on our laundry or in the environment, make your eco-friendly laundry detergent along with me!

After making this easy recipe once, I’m sure it will be hard to go back to store-bought detergents.

What do you need to make your own DIY laundry detergent?

You will need:

• ✼ Recycled / glass bottle
• ✼ 50 grams of Marseille’s soap flakes – find it here
  ✼ 1 tbsp Washing soda – find it here
  ✼ 1 tbsp Baking soda – find it here
  ✼ 10 drops of your favorite essential oil (see below for a complete list of which ones to use)
  ✼ 1,5 of liters of water
  

What you need first is a “washing base” and I chose Marseille’s soap. Not only because I’m France-based and here this type of soap has been produced and used for hundreds of years, but also because Savon de Marseille is an all-natural, highly concentrated, handcrafted French soap known for its purity (it even has its own museum!). It can be used to clean everything, from your skin to fabrics (but I personally find it too harsh as a body or hand soap). The soap is made with a delicate blend of olive oil, alkaline ash from sea plants and sea salt, then heated for 10 days in an antique copper cauldron. It has a soft and gentle action to help maintain and preserve the fibers of the fabric, yet it’s effective enough to remove stains.

Then you need “boosters” to make sure you get rid of all the dirt and grease. But still 100% natural and eco-friendly products:
washing soda increases your DIY laundry detergent’s cleaning power to get out ground-in dirt and stains;
baking soda, the versatile powder, a natural deodorizer and cleanser, helps with eliminating odors, and keeping your bright colors and whites;
essential oils have many benefits, and in this case we want our DIY laundry detergent to be disinfectant and anti-bacterial (they also impart a subtle lovely smell to your laundry).

How to make your own non-toxic DIY laundry detergent with essential oils?

• ✩  In a pot, heat 1,5 liters of water, bring to a simmer.
• ✩  In the meantime, in a big pyrex bowl like this one, add the flakes of Savon de Marseille, washing soda and baking soda. Mix all the ingredients.
• ✩ Pour the warm water over the soap mixture and mix well – pay attention, it foams!
• ✩ Let sit for at least 30 minutes for the mixture to cool down a bit.
• ✩ Once the mixture has cooled down, add the essential oils of your choice from the list below, to disinfect and impart a lovely clean scent to the laundry.
• ✩ Pour your laundry detergent into an empty bottle or nice container.

Remember to clearly label the bottle, just like any other DIY. Whether you share your living space with other people, especially children, or you live by yourself, prevent any accidental ingestion or misuse by always labeling your DIY concotions ♥ (I often get asked what tool I use to make these vintage-looking labels, and it’s the most basic “DYMO Embossing Label Maker” which I love and use everywhere around the house!)

Essential oils can be added to your homemade laundry detergent to make it even more effective: some have antiviral properties which are perfect in a moment like this, with a viral outbreak taking the world by storm.
Here is a list my favorite essential oils to add to your DIY laundry detergent and their benefits:

Thyme essential oil (Thymus vulgaris): powerful antiseptic, antiviral and antibacterial properties – find it here

Fir essential oil (Abies balsamea): antispetic property accompanied by a pleasant smell – find it here

Peppermint essential oil (Mentha Piperita): antiseptic property accompanied by a pleasant smell – find it here

Pine essential oil (Pinus sylvestris): Antiseptic properties accompanied by a pleasant smell – find it here

Eucalyptus essential oil (Eucalyptus radiata, Eucalyptus globulus): Antiseptic, antiviral, antibacterial properties accompanied by a pleasant smell – find it here

Lavender aspic essential oil (Lavandula spica or Latifolia cineolifera): antiseptic, bactericidal, antiviral, mothproofing property, with a lovely smell – find it here

Tea tree essential oil (Melaleuca alternifolia): Powerful antibacterial property with broad spectrum of action, Fungicide, Parasiticide, Antiviral – find it here

How to use your homemade DIY laundry detergent?

❥ Remember to shake well before each use – since there’s no weird chemicals, the water & soap elements may tend to separate but there’s nothing wrong, and nothing that a good shake can’t fix.

❥ Pour 1/2  a cup or 100ml in your washing machine, I put it directly with the laundry. This laundry detergent works even in cold temperatures, so no need to go high.

❥ Also remember to hang your clothes to dry outside as often as possible. Last summer our dryer broke down and we decided not to get a new one. Like this, we’re saving electricity and going more towards a simpler way of life. Dryers are a very recent commodity, how did people do until recently?
Well, we survived a whole fall & winter in the French mountains without a dryer. I personally check the weather and do a load of laundry only when I know it will be sunny and/or windy, even with very low temperatures. After a few hours hanging outside, the laundry always smells SO good, like the wind ♥

And there you go, now you know how to make your own DIY laundry detergent and you’ll never need to buy it again from the store, if you wish to be more self-sufficient and eco-friendly at the same time.
Did you enjoy this post? Let me know in the comments down below which are some of your favorite DIY for the house.
Also don’t forget to pin this post to share the love ♥

I wish you a love-filled day xoxo