One of the best decisions I’ve made for my family was recently saving money by making our own laundry detergent. It’s seriously so quick and easy and another way to rid my family of potential toxic chemicals that can be found in everyday laundry detergent.
Do you know what’s in your current laundry detergent? Below i’ve included a chart from motherearthliving.com on what harmful ingredients to avoid along with my quick and easy recipe for DIY Laundry Detergent.
Ingredients:
+ 1 Cup Baking Soda
+ 1 Cup Citric Acid
+ 1 Cup Castile Soap Bar
+ 1 Cup Arm+Hammer Washing Soda
Directions:
+ Shred entire bar of castile soap into jar.
+ Add all ingredients and mix.
+ Optional but you can 1 cup of distilled vinegar to fabric softener tray; this helps to brighten clothes.
+ Optional you can add a few drops of an essential oil to the load to add additional natural scents.
And thanks all, super easy and takes less than 15 minutes!!! Let me know how you like it or if you have any suggestions or other recipes for DIY laundry detergent.
| Ingredient to Avoid | Found In | Potential Health Risks |
| Benzaldehyde | Laundry bleach, perfumes | Irritation to mouth, throat, eyes and skin |
| Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid | Fabric softener | Reproductive and developmental effects in animal studies |
| Artificial fragrances | Laundry detergent, dryer sheets, fabric softener | Irritation to skin and eyes; many are toxic and are suspected carcinogens |
| Diethanolamine | Detergent | Irritation to skin and eyes; linked to liver and kidney tumors and developmental and reproductive toxicity in animal studies |
| Quaternium-15 | Detergent | Releases formaldehyde, a known carcinogen that causes rashes and skin inflammation |
| 2-Butoxyethanol | Dry cleaning chemical, stain removers | Birth defects and reproductive and developmental effects in animal studies; carcinogen |
| Chlorine | Laundry bleach | Potent irritant to eyes, upper respiratory tract and lungs |
| Perchlorethylene (Perc) | Dry cleaning chemical | Liver and kidney damage; irritant; possible carcinogen |
| Ethyl acetate | Fabric softener | Neurotoxin; irritant |
| Nonylphenol ethoxylate | Laundry detergent, dry cleaning aids | Hormone disruptor |
| ER, KSN, OB, OB-1 | Common trade names for optical brighteners | Possible developmental and reproductive effects |
| Linear alkyl sodium sulfonates (LAS) |
Detergent | Skin and eye irritant; can be toxic to aquatic life; can produce toxic fumes during production |
| Petroleum distillates (also called naphthas) |
Detergent | Chemicals linked to cancer and lung damage |
