Probably the most common substitute for detergent is baking soda, as it leaves clothing smelling fresh and works hard to break up stains. Add about a half cup of this traditional baking ingredient straight to your washing machine drum or detergent drawer.
Yes, you can use dish washing liquid as a substitute for laundry detergent. I've been experimenting with cost-cutting measures for the last six months, and one of the biggest money savers I've come across is replacing laundry detergent with dish liquid.
Known for its gentle abrasive qualities, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is a good cleaner and helps to control odors. Fill the detergent cup with baking soda, and run the cleaning cycle as usual.
You read that right—you can DIY your own detergent at home. Grab a fragrance-free bar soap and begin grating it into a large bowl. From there, add a cup of borax and a cup of washing soda—fairly similar to baking soda, washing soda is a grainy powder that helps to deeply clean soiled fabrics and laundry.
While it can add an extra fresh feeling to your laundry, fabric softener is not a replacement for detergent. Fabric conditioner can be used on any load of laundry, but it is an extra, not a requirement. It's perfect for when you want that extra touch of softness and a pleasant aroma.
Fabric conditioners and laundry detergents are used for different purposes. While detergent is responsible for thoroughly cleaning your laundry, fabric conditioner enhances the durability of fabrics and reduces friction during the laundering procedure and helps them to feel wonderfully soft and smell beautiful.
Using regular detergent in an HE washer produces too many suds. This could potentially lengthen the wash cycle, affect cleaning action or overflow the machine.
Though you may be able to remove surface-level dirt and debris by washing laundry with water only, it may not be enough to wash away odors and stains. Laundry detergent is formulated to give your clothes a thorough clean and break down soils, so it is typically recommended when washing clothes.
Use Laundry Borax or Baking Soda
Place the dry product directly in the washer drum before adding detergent, soiled clothes, and water. If you have no detergent at all, use 1 cup of borax or baking soda for a normal load. Pretreat stains before washing and use the warmest water temperature recommended for the garments.
Body Wash. Choose a body wash or hand soap that does not have moisturizers. Only use a very small amount due to an excessive amount of sudsing.
Using vinegar in the wash shouldn't be an everyday thing for every load. Using it daily can damage the washing machine, especially the rubber parts, and repeated use could damage delicate fabrics. Limit use to an as-needed basis, after clothes have dulled or as residue begins to build up.
No, it's not a good idea. Dishwashing detergent has enzymes and chemicals to dissolve the 3 components of food: fat, carbohydrates and proteins. They will eat away the fabric, especially natural fibers like cotton. There's a story on Quora of a restaurant worker who lived in his restaurant after his house burned down.
In fact, homemade laundry detergent can ruin clothing, pose environmental and health risks, and even damage your washing machine, among other consequences.
In short: you shouldn't. Below, laundry experts explain why they always recommend using some form of detergent when washing your clothes, and why a cleaning solution is so important for fabrics.
If you're desperate to do laundry and have no detergent, you can use a very small amount of liquid dish soap like Dawn to wash your clothes (just a few drops, and definitely no more than about 3 teaspoons (15 mL). However, you shouldn't make this a regular habit like some viral trends suggest.
When you're out of laundry detergent or traveling, you can still hand wash your clothes using shampoo. Note that shampoo shouldn't be put into a washing machine because there's a chance it will create lots of suds and cause bubbles to pour out of the washer.
Using vinegar or baking soda will only add to the time and cost of doing laundry; they cannot substitute for a high-quality laundry detergent.
After that, you can make a close substitute with a few other household cleaning products, says Leanne Stapf, chief operating officer of The Cleaning Authority. Regular bar soap can be grated and combined with Borax to create a very effective laundry detergent alternative.
METHOD FOR LIQUID VERSION
Grate bar soap and add to medium-large saucepan. Add washing soda and water to grated soap.