Homemade Borax Free Laundry Detergent for Sensitive Skin

Do you have sensitive skin? My kids do. When their Eczema flares up, I go into a battle mode and start taking stock on what could have possibly triggered it ‘this time’. So when their skin became red and inflamed a couple of weeks ago, I wondered if it was my “natural” homemade laundry detergent with Borax. Granted that Borax is safer than toxic chemicals like 1,4-dioxane in Tide’s Free and Gentle®, but if you have sensitive skin even natural substances will irritate your skin, like Borax.

So I tested some recipes for a laundry detergent that don’t include Borax for my front loader, a High Efficiency (HE) washer.

Here is the recipe that worked the best for me.

Borax Free Homemade Laundry Detergent

I wrote the words with a sharpie pen, smeared ketchup, mustard, and strawberry jam on white cotton t-shirt jersey. I let them dry over night and washed them with whites the next day. The formula with Borax has one Tbsp of Borax added to the formula below.

As you can clearly see, both cleaned the stains relatively equally. If anything, the one without Borax washed slightly better on the strawberry jam. So why am I using Borax if it doesn’t really add more cleaning power? I guess I can leave it out! Yay!

My belief is less is better when it comes to ingredients in anything.

Borax Free Homemade Laundry Detergent Formula

1 Tbsp Washing Soda (you can make your own, did you know that?)
1 Tbsp Baking Soda
1 Tbsp Grated Castile Soap (see alternative option below)
1 C Distilled White Vinegar in the Fabric Softener Compartment
1 Tbsp Citrus Enzyme Cleaner or Citric Acid

Again, I scoop the powder separately without mixing them since I want to make sure I am getting the right amount for each.

If you have extra stains, like the ones I tested, I’d spot clean it with peroxide/water mixture or Oxyclean first, before throwing the garment in the washer with the rest of the laundry, like you would with other types of detergent.

Oh and if you don’t want to grate castile soap every time, you can substitute with 1 TBsp of liquid castile soap. And if you want even gentler castile soap, I strongly recommend Earth Mama Angel Baby Shampoo & Body Wash. That’s right. It’s for a baby but works great in laundry too. Read my Earth Mama Angel Baby product review here.

If you are NOT sensitive to Borax, you can check out my homemade laundry recipe that uses Borax here.

Dawnmarie

I'm so glad to have found your recipe. I've been wanting to try a homemade laundry detergent but have been reluctant because I too have eczema and allergy sensitive skin. I'm already on All Free and Clear which keeps the hives at bay but still have the eczema flare ups of course. I'm definitely going to give your recipe a try.

karen

I am not sure if this formula would keep the hives away totally but I am confident that this recipe will help as it has worked on my kids eczema flare ups. At least the areas that touch their clothes haven't gotten worse. Did you know that even some of the "gentle" commercial detergents contain carcinogenic chemicals? Read about the petition here. http://groovygreenlivin.com/2012/02/tell-tide-to-remove-a-cancer-causing-chemical-from-its-detergent/ I hope this formula works for your Eczema. As a mom of two kids with moderate to severe flare ups, it's a very frustrating condition to battle.

Theresa

Eczema is an indicator that the LIVER has issues. Talk to an herbal professional for help, not a doctor they will just want to give you pills that will work for a week or two. It's the liver people and other skin conditions are an indicator of lung issues. Check out the chinese face map. You'll love it and has so much info.

Dawnmarie

That's why I really want to start making my own. I know I'm sensitive to dyes, fragrances and some of the preservatives so making my own should help with controlling that too. And since we're hoping to adopt soon - I really like the idea of limiting exposure for our future baby.

24 comments

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diya07

Hi, i would like to make detergent following this receipe. My washer is very very old and there are no compartments except for liquid bleach. how do i use this receipe. Put everything in the water ?

ecokaren moderator

@diya07 Yes. Put all the ingredients in the bottom of the machine and fill the machine with the water. Use vinegar as a fabric softener when you normally use fabric softener. Good Luck!

Latest blog post: The BEST Vegetable Lasagna Recipe: gluten-free and dairy-free

rusl

Does anyone have experience using this recipe in High Efficiency (HE) washers? Is there anything I need to be aware of or modify? Also, do you have any recipes for fabric softener alternatives? Thanks.

ecokaren

Yes, this is great for front loader. No suds and it works great! I use vinegar as fabric softener and I love it!

McKenna

Just a brief query: where do you put the citrus enzyme? In the washer itself? or in the dispenser? Also, in the Whirlpool front loader, the castille soap hardens and plugs the dispenser. So I've had to put the washing/baking sodas in the dispenser, the vinegar in the dispenser (where the fabric softener would normally go), and the castille soap in the washer itself. But where do I add the citrus enzyme, which is fermenting nicely on my counter. Thank you for all of these hints and recipes!

Hi McKenna, Dishwasher - I pour the citrus enzyme directly into the dishwasher along with the washing soda and dishwashing liquid. For the washing machine, I put all the powder in the "powder" compartment and I never had a problem with clumping. And I put "liquids" (vinegar and citrus enzyme) in the "Fabric Softener" compartment. Make sure that your powder compartment is for "powder". I had to take out the little basket for detergent in order to use the compartment for powder. The basket is for liquid detergent. Hope that helps.

That did it! You know, when in doubt, read the directions. The Whirlpool doesn't have a basket, but a slide that you place in two different positions: one for liquid, one for powder. Thank you!

Awesome! Great that you noticed the different positions for powder and liquid. And yeah, I know what you mean by 'reading' the directions. Those things are pesky secrets sometimes.

Sarah

Can you clarify - did you mean WHEREVER you input "1TBSP" you intended "1CUP"?

This recipe is for one load. But the ratio is the same. In other words, if you want to make a batch with 1CUP of each ingredients and use 4 TBSP of the mixture for one load, that will work too. Still use 1 CUP of vinegar per load. Hope that helps.

Bonnie White

Hi Karen, I noticed a difference between your original recipe and the non-Borax one. You put 1 Tablespoon of the ingredients in the non-Borax and 1/2 T in the original. Is that correct? Also, you added citric acid in the non-Borax recipe - how come? Thanks for your help - I'm excited to give this a try, Bonnie

Hi Bonnie, Sorry I missed your comment. Yes, I am using 1 TBSP of each ingredient and citric acid for this formula to add a little more cleaning power and to eliminate any hard water build up. But if your water is ok, you don't need citric acid. Hope that makes sense.

Cindy

Did you add vinegar to your washes in the past? Because that is probably what is helping to keep your front loader mold & mildew free. It is why vinegar makes such a great household cleaner & cleaner ingredient! It will kill over 80% of mold & mildew species. Also hydrogen peroxide will kill almost 100% of mold & mildew. So while I add white vinegar to most of my loads of laundry, helping to clean & detoxify the washer, I will run an empty-load with a cup of hydrogen peroxide for extra mildew killing power at least once a month!

Hi Cindy, I always used vinegar with my wash but when I used liquid detergent, it created that funky smell. But after 'washing' my washer as per my post, it eliminated it somewhat but it wasn't until I switched to my homemade powder detergent that the smell went away completely. I use HP for other disinfecting but not in my wash. But I am planning to use it for brightening my wash. So when I consistently use it, it will kill whatever is lurking in the machine. Thanks for the tips!

Jen

Would this work in an HE front loader too?

Hi Jen, YES! Washing Soda doesn't create suds so it's perfect for HE. I have HE and tried different portions and this formula works great!

Lisa

I use 1/4-1/2 cup of vinegar in my rinse cycle. I started doing this when my kids were babies and it stopped skin break out bumps on on of their faces. Also great for static cling. I am happy to know about this sans borax - thanks for the tip!

Hi Lisa, Thanks for your comment. I just noticed an error in my recipe. I meant to say 1 CUP and not Tbsp. Typing to fast....Yes, vinegar works magic in laundry. And so happy not to have to use Borax.

Jenn Flynn-Shon

I haven't had a chance to try either yet but I like to eliminate steps wherver possible so I'll be giving the sans Borax version a try. Now that we're in our house & have a little extra storage space for stuff I fully intend to start whipping up a whole slew of your recipes! Thanks for sharing this!

*wherever

Non-Toxic and Cheap Homemade Laundry Detergent says:

June 18, 2012 at 6:49 AM

[...] If you are sensitive to Borax, you can check out my “Borax Free Laundry Detergent Formula” here. [...]

Citrus Enzyme Cleaner Recipe says:

August 10, 2012 at 7:56 AM

[...] is how to use this enzyme in laundry detergent WITHOUT Borax and dishwasher detergent WITHOUT [...]

Earth Mama and Angel Baby products are for babies of all ages — ecokaren says:

October 5, 2012 at 10:23 AM

[...] in my laundry, instead of Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap in my Borax Free Homemade Laundry Formula! In fact, I loved it so much, I included a link on the recipe for people to try. I used it for [...]

Make Your Own Homemade Washing Soda — ecokaren says:

April 5, 2013 at 12:29 AM

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