We love using our Original Super Laundry Sauce detergent recipe, it is by far the most frugal option out there, but there are occasions when we need a dry soap that is easy to store or pack away, such as when we’re camping, or traveling and can’t bring glass, etc. Here is a Very simple, do it yourself recipe to make your own Easy Dissolve cold water laundry tablets.
First, a note about Fels Naptha… if you open a bar FRESH fels naptha has the consistency and texture of sharp cheddar cheese. It’s smooth and not grainy. If you happen to have a bar that has been sitting on the shelf for a while, when you cut it you will notice that it fractures easily, breaks apart with minimal effort and is not “smooth” when it’s cut, but jagged.
Older bars are GREAT for this recipe because it requires very little effort to powder them. If it’s fresh fels, you can use this method to powder it quickly.
If it’s an older bar, you can follow those instructions for making powder, but skip the microwave altogether and just cut the bar into small chunks and then pulse. Here is an example of the texture you can expect from an older bar of Fels:
How to Make Your Own Easy Dissolve Cold Water Laundry Tablets
You’ll Need:
1 Bar of Fels Naptha, Powdered
1 1/4 cups Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (not homemade)
1 1/4 c. Borax
Combine the ingredients until they are well blended into a fine powder in a medium size bowl.
Add 1/2- 3/4 cup HOT Water to the bowl of ingredients:
Then immediately mix well until the mixture resembles dampened corn meal.
Next, Using a Tablespoon, scoop the mixture into the rounded measuring spoon, packing it in tightly as though you were measuring brown sugar.
Turn it onto a hard surface and lightly tap once to get the mixture to drop out of the spoon onto a piece of wax paper or parchment paper. Repeat until all the mixture is gone, about 40 Laundry Tablets.
If you’d prefer, you can pack them into (small cube) ice cube trays instead (like these star shaped ice cube trays I got at the Dollar store).
Leave them overnight to dry completely.
Store the laundry detergent pods in a covered container. To use, add 1 tablet per load of laundry. For Front Loaders or HE Machines, add the tablet directly with the clothing.
The Budget101 Breakdown:
If you’re trying to figure out whether homemade versus storebought is a good deal or not for your family, here’s the entire budget breakdown cost per pod.
| Ingredient | Product Yield | Price Per Use | Total Cost for Recipe |
| 1 Bar Fels | Entire Bar | .99 | .99 |
| Borax 76 oz box | 9.5 cups $3.29 box | .34 c per cup | 1 1/4 cups = .42¢ |
| Washing Soda | 55 oz box =6.875 cups | $2.97 box = .43 per cup | 1 1/4 cups = .54¢ |
| Total Cost | $1.95 or .05¢ per load |
MYO Easy Dissolve Cold Water Laundry Tablets Print Recipe
MYO Easy Dissolve Cold Water Laundry Tablets
Equipment
- 1 Blender
- Ice Cube Trays optional
Materials
- 1 bar Fels Naptha Powdered
- 1 ¼ cups Arm & Hammer Washing Soda not homemade
- 1 ¼ cups Borax
- ½-¾ cup HOT Water
Instructions
- Combine the ingredients until they are well blended into a fine powder in a medium size bowl.1 bar Fels Naptha1 ¼ cups Arm & Hammer Washing Soda1 ¼ cups Borax
- Add 1/2- 3/4 cup HOT Water to the bowl of ingredients:½-¾ cup HOT Water
- Then immediately mix well until the mixture resembles dampened corn meal.
- Next, Using a Tablespoon, scoop the mixture into the rounded measuring spoon, packing it in tightly as though you were measuring brown sugar.
- Turn it onto a hard surface and lightly tap once to get the mixture to drop out of the spoon onto a piece of wax paper or parchment paper. Repeat until all ingredients are used.
- Leave them overnight to dry completely.
- Store the laundry detergent pods in a covered container.
How to Use Laundry Tablets
- To use, add 1 tablet per load of laundry. For Front Loaders or HE Machines, add the tablet directly with the clothing.
Equipment & Materials
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