The most frequent question I get about my homemade laundry soap recipe-both here on the blog and over on my YouTube video for making laundry soap is “Can I use homemade laundry soap/ laundry detergent in an HE washing machine?”
Photo by r4n
The next most common question is “Really? Only one TBS for a load?”. . . but I digress.
HE stands for “High Efficiency” -HE washers are typically front loading washers specifically created to use less water than a standard washing machine. Because less water is used, laundry detergent must be low sudsing and disperse quickly. About.com has a great article explaining HE Clothes Washers that you can read for more information.
Unfortunately I do not have an HE washer, and I can not offer solid advice or personal experience on this question. What I can say is this. Homemade laundry soap has almost no suds-that is actually one of the complaints you hear from first time users. “There were no suds and the water looked gray? Is that right?”*
If I were the person with an HE washer, I would personally feel comfortable trying the homemade laundry detergent in the machine. However I am not an expert-each of you faced with this decision will have to make your own choice based on the facts you have available.
I did look around to see what some of my favorite sources had to say about using homemade laundry detergent/soap in an HE machine. The fabulous Tipnut addresses this about 2 pages down in her “Homemade Laundry Detergent FAQ“, and Thrifty Fun had this exact question about HE washers & soap asked-you can go read all the answers from their readers.
Do any of you use homemade detergent in an HE machine? What are your feelings on the matter?
*note: Yes, it is normal for there to be little or no suds. Yes, it is normal for the water to look gray-that’s the dirt coming out of the clothes. You just don’t notice it with your store bought detergent because the suds keep you from seeing the water.
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I use the Duggar family’s recipe for homemade detergent. It calls for 1/4c for HE washers. That’s what I use! It’s been working great for us, for one year now…
That’s 1/4c of a liquid recipe, so it does include some water.
Yes!!!! I’ve used my powder recipe in my HE machine from the get go. I got the machines almost 3 years ago and haven’t had one problem. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it!!!
I have an HE front loader and I use homemade powdered. I use about 1.5 tbsp a load, and it works great! Not a problem here. I’ve never had a problem with it not disolving or clothes not coming out clean. I love it. I also use Vinegar as my fabric softener.
I too use this in my HE front loader after I saw you on YouTube making it. I do 1 Tbsp./load… LOVE IT!!! I was using Kirkland (from Costco) and all of my clothes were smelling musty and it was gunking up my dispenser as well. I will use nothing but this and it is so cheap and easy to make.
Thanks for that tip, I have been wondering if I could use my Kirkland detergent in my HE washer, and now I know. I am going to switch to homemade detergent once my HE detergent is gone.
I have been using your recipe for homemade laundry detergent for several months in my HE frontloader (GE, bought last year). I use anywhere from 1 to 2 tablespoons for load, depending on how many clothes and how dirty they are. Usually just 1 tablespoon, though. I could not be more pleased with the results. The clothes get as clean as with Tide liquid and there is no residue or smell in the clothes. An awful lot of commerical laundry detergents have a smell that gives me allergy problems but now it is such a relief to not have to fight that. Thanks for the recipe!
I bought a HE washer about 5 years ago and have used my homemade laundry soap in it the whole time. No suds was one of the weird things but it always gets my clothing clean and smelling great.
I myself use about 1/3 cup per load.
I always wondered how it worked or even if it did with HE Thanks!
Actually, when you are using home made detergent or regular detergent in your HE washing machine, you can no longer use your warranty claim. Many manufacturing companies do not help their clients who experience washer failures because the clients did not strictly use HE detergent. I suppose you have to wait for the warranty to expire before using any other detergent for your washer.
I have an HE washer and I switched to making my own powdered laundry detergent because I couldn’t find a powdered HE laundry detergent that I liked. I have to use powdered detergent because I like to use powdered oxygen bleach for my whites.
Thanks for sharing! It’s good to hear from folks who are really using the recipe in an HE washer.
I know this is about a year old post but I just came across it and would like to know how everyone is using power in their front loading HE machines?
Are you putting it in with the wash or putting it in the dispenser? I thought the dispenser was for liquid only?
Also what type of bleach do you use for whites?
Thanks,
Phil
I was wondering the same thing. My machine is a top load but I still have to have liquid HE. Maybe someone will answer soon.
Tammy
I was wondering the same thing, so I mixed up a powdered batch with one bar of Ivory soap, grated; 1 cup borax, and 1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda..mixed very well until soap flakes are blended well…a recipe I found several days ago. I used 1 Tablespoon of it in a load of white towels and washcloths. I put it in the detergent dispenser (wondering if I would find a gooey mess at the end of the cycle), put regular fabric softner in it’s dispenser and washed with hot water. I was pretty impressed. My son uses a dark blue body wash that stains the washcloths. I could NOT tell which ones he had used! They were that clean! And the Ivory soap just smells clean, not overpowering. This was just my first load, but I’m pleased enough to continue it.
Deanie-thanks so much for sharing your real world experience! Glad that the laundry soap worked well for you.
Just as an update… I just finished using up my first batch. It lasted about a month and I got about 42 loads out of it. I figured it cost about $1.97 per batch, making it less than .05 per load! No problems in the machine! Clothes came out as clean, if not better, than purchased detergent. I just did this on a whim, because a friend of mine told me about it. But now I’m hooked!!
Awesome! Thanks for coming back to let us know
I’ll probably pull your comment out and put it as a reader’s letter so other folks can hear about your great experience.
I’m going to make my first batch of laundry detergent in the next few days. Has anyone experimented with using a pleasantly scented soap like Coast or Irish Spring as the bar soap? I was thinking of grating that instead of the unscented stuff – It seems like a good idea to me, but I’ve never done this before. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks, Dave
Dave-I have heard about folks doing that-but if you use scented soap just remember you will be adding whatever is in it-detergents, moisturizers/lotions, color etc into your wash water. Whether that matters or not is up to you
How much home made liquid detergent should I use per load in HE washing machine?
Jenny-I’m sorry, I don’t know! I have never made the liquid version.
Jenny,
That is what I was out to find as well. When I bought my front load washer and dryer the Sales Lady went on and on about “only uses one tablespoon per load!” but one tablespoon doesn’t fill to the MIN line, so I always have had to add more to make sure that the MIN line is reached. I am wanting to switch to homemade but am kind of lost as to what the amount needed will be? Any suggestions, anyone?
Hello to all!
After finding a recipe online, I have been making powdered laundry soap for a little over a year now. I have to say that I absolutely love it! The “no suds” at first almost threw me off but when I realized my clothes came out clean, I was hooked. I also use 1/2 c vinegar in my towels and blankets and could not be happier. I am getting ready to buy my first HE washer and have been researching whether or not I can still use the homemade laundry soap and it looks like a resounding YES! I will try the 1 TBSP per load and bump it up if I need to. I am excited about this and will let everyone know how it turns out. I am currently using 2 TBSP of detergent per load with my regular washer and that seems to do the trick.
I am going to make my first batch of homemade detergent tomorrow and have been searching online for the best recipe. I have been reading thru the comments, and on every site I went to, the no suds thing was pretty unanimous. If detergent is anything like shampoo, which I’m pretty sure it is, the soaps used are lacking sulfate (usually sodium laurel or sodium laureth sulfate). * With shampoo, the sulfate free has very little to no lather. It is really wierd at first, and almost makes you want to use more because of the lack of lather. Once you realize that adding more isn’t going to make it lather, and just use it anyway, you notice that it cleans just as good as the other stuff…and its actually better for your hair especially if you have any chemical treatments because it is much gentler on the hair.* The sulfate is what makes the lather or suds, so as long as the detergent has a base surfactant (aka cleansing agent) it is going to clean.
WILL THIS HOMEMADE WASHER DETERGENT WORKS WELL IN COLD WATER WASH? PLEASE LET ME KNOW BEFORE I MAKE THIS DETERGENT. THANKS, LEXI
Lexi-I always use my powdered laundry soap in cold water-however I use a regular top load not an HE. . . but from the comments folks have made I would guess that it would work fine in an HE as well.
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