Are you a bit domestically challenged? Try our Super Laundry Sauce for Dummies! This 7-minute, no-mess, no-cook laundry detergent recipe makes enough heavy-duty laundry detergent to wash 128 loads of laundry, but it takes up very little room and costs about $3.30 to make.
After reading 900+ comments from our readers we realized that not everyone is used to making their own detergents, cleaners, and soaps- so I set out to figure out a way to make the recipe foolproof for those that may be… domestically challenged (or just plain too busy to spend time cooking their own detergent!)
Thus, my Super Laundry Sauce for Dummies recipe was born! This has all the amazing washing capabilities of our Original Laundry Sauce Recipe– but with very minimal effort. If you can boil water in a microwave, you can make your own no-fail laundry soap. The ingredients are linked below so you can see what they should look like as well as where you can purchase them if they are not available to you locally.
Super Laundry Sauce for Dummies How-To Video
Below you’ll see that I’ve broken down this 1 recipe into 2 different methods. The recipe is the same, the preparation is slightly different, and the end result is the same. I guess what I’m trying to tell you is that this is not Brain Surgery- it’s like any other recipe: it can be made a thousand different ways and still come out great, that’s the beauty of it! Find a method that works best for you and go with it.
Super Laundry Sauce for Dummies Recipe
You’ll Need:1 entire 5.05 oz bar of Fels Naptha Soap (Some of our Aussie friends have used SARD Wonder Soap in place of the Fels Naptha)
3 c. water
1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax powder
1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (not baking soda)
2 (1 qt) Mason jars
Optional:
30 drops essential oil of your choice, such as lavender, jasmine, etc.
How to Make Super Laundry Sauce for Dummies Detergent: Method #1
Unwrap the Fels Naptha Soap and cut the bar in half. Take (1) half of the bar and slice it, cutting it into pea-sized chunks. Place all of those chunks into a 1 qt Mason jar. Cut up the other half and place those pieces in the second mason jar.
Add 1 1/2 cups of boiling hot water to each jar, cover, and leave it alone overnight. I literally just run a pot of water through my coffee pot and use that. This is what it will look like in the morning if you cut the pieces up first:
The next day (or several days down the road, depending on your schedule!), open the jar, use a butter knife to make a “criss-cross” pattern to loosen the gelled Fels Naptha off the bottom when you whip it. Add 1/2 cup borax and 1/2 cup washing soda to each jar.
At this point, if you’d like to add a scent to the sauce, directly add your essential oil(s). We’ve found lavender or jasmine to work quite well.
Add enough hot water to bring the level up to the “shoulder” of the jar (again, I actually just ran a pot of water through my coffee pot, because boiling water is a pain in the butt!) like so:
Note the Purple line to indicate the level your water should be at before you continue to the next step…
Carefully seat the gasket and blender blade onto the bottom of the jar. If the rubber gasket is wet or has any contents of the jar on it, it will get chewed up into your laundry soap.
Place the jar on the blender base and whip until it is light and fluffy with the consistency of creamy mayonnaise.
How to Make Super Laundry Sauce for Dummies Detergent: Method #2
This was my “speed” method the first time around…
Unwrap the bar of Fels Naptha soap and cut it into chunks. Place those chunks in a Ziploc baggie and add 2 cups of water. It doesn’t have to be hot or cold, just your basic plain old tap water will do fine. Remove as much of the air as possible from the bag and seal it shut. (This takes all of 30 seconds).
Set it aside for 48 hours.
Once the Fels Naptha has set for 48 hours (or more – it’s fine if you forget it for a few days), gently palpate the bag, squeezing any lumps to squish them. You want the contents of the baggie to be uniform without big chunks. (This takes about 20 seconds)
In a medium-size bowl, combine the borax and washing soda powder. Add 2 cups of boiling water and stir well to combine. We simply heated the water in the microwave in a Pyrex measuring cup for 2 minutes.
Snip the corner of the baggie off and squeeze the Fels Naptha into the mixing bowl containing the dissolved borax/washing soda. Mix well with a spoon, spatula, or whisk – whatever you happen to have on hand will work just fine. (This takes about a minute.)
Pour the mixture evenly into 2 (one quart) Mason jars. Add enough water to bring the contents of each jar up to the “shoulder” of the jar, so that it looks like this:
Unscrew the blade and bottom from your blender and carefully seat the gasket and blade on the jar, then screw on the bottom piece.
If you neglect to make sure your gasket is lined up properly, it will get chewed up by the blade when you whip the contents of the jar, consider yourself forewarned.
Put the jar onto the blender and whip until smooth and creamy throughout. Ours took about 25 seconds per jar.
The detergent is smooth and creamy with the same look and consistency of mayonnaise. This is what it looks like after it’s whipped:
Unscrew the blender blade, attach a canning jar lid and cover, and that’s all there is to it! You’ve just made enough heavy-duty laundry detergent to wash 128 loads of laundry for about $3.30 and in less than 10 minutes flat.
By the way, it is smooth and creamy like mayonnaise after it is freshly whipped, but will thicken as it sets and must be stored with a cover on. A repurposed parmesan cheese lid works perfectly. (Thank you to Southern Belle for this great tip!)
How to Use the Homemade Super Laundry Sauce for Dummies (View FAQ here)
To use, add 1 tablespoon to a load of laundry in any type of machine, conventional, Front Loader, High Capacity & High Efficiency (HE), etc. Do not add the detergent to the “detergent compartment” but instead directly with the dirty clothes. (It WILL get stuck in the compartment, I can assure you!)
Be sure to label the jar to prevent accidental ingestion!! We have created these cute labels here if you’d like to Print them out to attach to your own Jars.
Here is EXACTLY how I use our detergent:
- Fill the machine with dirty clothes
- Start the water (hot, cold, or warm – doesn’t matter)
- Measure out 1 tablespoon (literally) of super laundry sauce
- Stick the measuring spoon of detergent under the running water and let it fall off the spoon.
- Close the washer lid, go away, and do something else while the machine runs.
Free Printable Laundry Sauce Labels
Tips and Tricks, Troubleshooting & Other Thoughts and experiences
- Do NOT Use Baking Soda or Oxyclean in this recipe hoping it will be an added “boost”. Your jars will likely explode within 7-10 days in storage
- This can be stored indefinitely. It does become slightly firmer but still melts fine in the washing machine water, whether hot or cold. Be sure to store it with a lid on though, once it dries out, its effectiveness is greatly reduced. Again, repurpose the lid from a container of parmesan cheese and you’ll be good to go!
- Fels Naptha can usually be found in the laundry detergent aisle of the grocery store for about $2 a bar, or it can be found online here.
💸 Budget101® Price Breakdown: Super Laundry Sauce for Dummies
Ingredient | Walmart Item | Pkg Price | Amount Used | Cost Used |
Fels Naptha Soap | $1.78 | 1 whole bar | $1.78 | |
Borax | $5.97 | 1 cup | $0.74 | |
Washing Soda | $5.38 | 1 cup | $0.78 | |
Water | Tap | $0.00 | 3 cups plus fill | $0.00 |
💸 | Cost |
🧾 Total Batch Cost (128 loads) | $3.30 |
👨👩👧👦 Cost Per Load | $0.03 |
🏪 Store-Bought (Tide Pods, 128 loads at $4.97 per 16 ct) | $39.76 |
💰 You Save | $36.46 |
📅 Walmart prices last verified July 14, 2026. Prices may vary by location and are subject to change.
We’re really hoping that you find these 2 different “speed” methods to be easier and less time-consuming for you!
Frequently Asked Questions
Add 1 level tablespoon per load of laundry. That is not a typo. One tablespoon washes an entire load, which is how 2 quart jars stretch to 128 loads.
Yes. It works in any type of machine, conventional, front loader, high capacity, and high efficiency (HE). It is low sudsing, which is exactly what HE machines require.
It WILL get stuck in the compartment. Add the sauce directly with the dirty clothes instead, holding the measuring spoon under the running water so it falls right off the spoon.
No. Do not add baking soda or OxiClean to this recipe. Your jars will likely explode within 7 to 10 days in storage. If you want extra whitening power, add boosters directly to the wash water instead, never to the jars.
Indefinitely, as long as it is stored with a lid on. It becomes slightly firmer over time but still melts fine in hot or cold wash water. Once it dries out, its effectiveness drops significantly, so keep it covered. A repurposed parmesan cheese lid fits a mason jar perfectly.
Some of our Aussie readers have used SARD Wonder Soap in place of Fels Naptha with great results. Whatever you substitute, use a true laundry bar soap, not a body or beauty bar.
Yes. Add about 30 drops of the essential oil of your choice when you add the borax and washing soda. Lavender and jasmine both work quite well.
Yes. It melts fine in hot, warm, or cold water, so wash your laundry at whatever temperature you normally would.
Because freshly whipped Laundry Sauce looks exactly like creamy mayonnaise or frosting. Label every jar to prevent accidental ingestion, and keep them out of reach of kids. We offer free printable labels in this post.
The full batch costs about $3.30 in ingredients and washes 128 loads, which works out to roughly 3 cents per load. Compare that to name brand detergent pods at 30 cents or more per load and the math speaks for itself.
🖨️ Print-Friendly Super Laundry Sauce for Dummies Recipe
Super Laundry Sauce for Dummies
Equipment
Materials
- 1 bar (5 oz) Fels Naptha laundry soap
- 3 cups water plus more to fill jars
- 1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
- 1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (not baking soda)
- 30 drops essential oil such as lavender or jasmine (optional)
Instructions
- Unwrap the Fels Naptha soap and cut it into chunks. Place the chunks in a Ziploc bag with 2 cups of plain tap water, press out as much air as possible, and seal.
- Set the bag aside for 48 hours. Longer is fine if you forget about it.
- Gently squeeze the bag to squish any lumps until the softened soap is uniform with no big chunks.
- In a medium bowl, combine the borax and washing soda. Add 2 cups of boiling water and stir well until dissolved.
- Snip a corner off the baggie and squeeze the softened Fels Naptha into the bowl. Mix well with a spoon, spatula, or whisk. Add the essential oil now if using.
- Pour the mixture evenly into 2 one-quart Mason jars. Add enough water to bring each jar up to the shoulder.
- Seat the blender gasket and blade onto each jar, making sure the gasket is dry and properly aligned, then screw on the blender base. Whip about 25 seconds per jar, until smooth and creamy like mayonnaise.
- Cover each jar with a lid and label it. To use, add 1 tablespoon per load directly with the dirty clothes, never in the detergent compartment.
Made This Project?
Tell us how it turned out, and share any tips or clever changes you made!The Bottom Line
Two Mason jars, three ingredients, and less than 10 minutes of actual effort gets you 128 loads of heavy-duty laundry detergent for about $3.30. That works out to roughly 3 cents a load, while the name brands are happy to charge you 30 cents or more for the same clean clothes. Pick whichever method fits your schedule, whip it up, label your jars, and cross laundry detergent off your shopping list for the next few months. Your washer will not know the difference, but your wallet certainly will.
Did you make this Laundry Sauce? Drop a comment below and let us know how it turned out, which method you used, or what scent you added. Your feedback helps other readers dig themselves out of debt, one load of laundry at a time.
