I don’t know if you have a boy like I do, but, when my son was younger (around 6 or so) he was still peeing the bed. I asked my best friend at the time and she said that her son was STILL wetting the bed at 11 years old. That boys take a lot longer sometimes to train through the night.
Feeling so bad for her to have dealt with that so long, I found myself in the VERY SAME SITUATION.
My son is a HEAVY sleeper. If you try to wake him up in the middle of the night, it’s hopeless. He’s a zombie. Won’t move, won’t get up, just stands there. It’s literally impossible for me to get him up in the night to use the bathroom.
Over the years, honestly, dude I’m a single mom here, I stopped trying.
“This is normal for some boys, just ride it out,” I thought, “he’ll eventually stop.”
Problem is, AS he gets older, man, the whole house starts to stink.
It travels through his room, into the hallway, into the living room. It’s a nightmare! And it’s not like it’s his fault or anything.
Of course, there’s all the bedding that has to be washed. The laundry that needs to be done….DAILY!
I tried and tried and tried my guts out to find a product in the stores that would work.
NOTHING! Literally nothing.
So I started making my OWN soap. Something about this combination, gets even his nastiest clothes and bedding smelling normal. I suspect it’s the Borax in there. That REALLY seems to help. Not sure why. Just does. 🙂
Lemme share the best powder laundry detergent recipe IN THE WORLD with you!!! Trust me, you’ll thank me and it’s super easy to make. <3
DIY Best Powder Laundry Detergent Recipe
One other thing to note, if you’re trying to get rid of pee smell in the actual mattress (keep it covered with a waterproof mattress topper obviously), but to keep the actual mattress clean, I use this dry recipe mixture in this post and add a little water (enough to make a paste) and rub it on the soiled spot. Works great.
I’ve also found that spraying it with Out! Oxy-Fast Stain and Odor Remover works great as well.
We used to have a dog and this is what I used on the carpet a couple times, so I figured, what the heck, I’ll try it on my son’s bed and it worked great! I tried using the spray in laundry but it didn’t work, just on the mattress, so don’t waste your money trying that. Use the powder recipe instead.
But for mattresses, I would recommend either one of those two products.
So, I can hear you asking now…what if I don’t HAVE pee smell on my kids clothes/bedding. Oh…I love you! You are SOOO lucky! lol. Like, lemme trade jobs with you! 🙂
If you don’t have pee smell, the homemade laundry detergent recipe will still be great for you!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups washing soda
- 2 cups borax (I get borax cheaper on Grove Collaborative here; it’s a member thing (free; I just set my orders to only come when I need to order- I advance the date) but I LOVE the company!!! They have it for $7.99 for 65 oz)
- 1 bar grated castile soap
- 25 drops favorite essential oil
Some good essential oils to use are: Wild Orange, Lime, or Purify. Even something like Lavender would work great too as a natural scent.
Instructions:
Step 1: Mix washing soda, borax, and grated castile soap together.
Step 2: Add essential oil, mixing to combine.
Step 3: Use ¼ cup per load. Store in an airtight container.
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Powder Laundry Detergent
Conventional laundry detergent is loaded with chemicals like sulfates, fragrances, and phenols. Why not make your own natural laundry detergent? This simple DIY yields a natural and effective detergent.
Ingredients
- 2 cups washing soda
- 2 cups borax
- 1 bar grated castile soap
- 25 drops favorite essential oil single or blend
Instructions
- Mix washing soda, borax, and grated castile soap together.
- Add essential oil, mixing to combine.
- Use ¼ cup per load. Store in an airtight container.
Lisa says
Thank you for sharing this recipe for laundry detergent
Sarah Titus says
Absolutely, Lisa! 🙂
Anesia T says
I use to make my own when all my kids where home – now we are down to 1 but I can still make it to help save money. Thanks for posting this.
Sarah Titus says
Absolutely, Anesia. 🙂
Emmy says
I used to make my own detergent because my oldest son was allergic to everything. After we got his allergies under control I got lazy. This looks like a great recipe.
Kristin says
I think it’s finally time to try this. Thanks for the recipe!
Sarah Titus says
Absolutely. You should, Kristin. 🙂
Bhawna Faujdar says
Thank you for sharing !
Sarah Titus says
Absolutely! 🙂
Tina says
We have made our own laundry soap for 6 years! I love this recipe! Our guests always ask what brand of soap we use and are shocked when I say it is homemade by us with love.
Sarah Titus says
That’s really cool. So glad you have one that works well for you! 🙂
Tessa W says
I used to make a similar recipe when I made my own detergent. I stopped for almost a year when I got pregnant because who needs more stuff to do during morning sickness? Now that baby girl is here (after 4 boys, who weirdly were all potty trained by 2.5!!!) I am going to use this recipe and begin making my own laundry detergent again. We dont have the pee problem but hopefully it works on my husband’s stinky farm clothes (does cow pee & manure count?) I feel like his clothes havent smelled normal since the first time her has worn them!
And FTR: my one boy wore diapers at night until 5 (he would wake up but the bathroom is all the way downstairs and on the other side of the house so he never made it) and a friend had a boy who wet the bed (no diaper could hold the flow) until about 9 and her husband and his bro wet the bed until about then as well. So maybe it is a bit genetic?
Sarah Titus says
I think it would help. If you still smell it a bit, add more Borax to the mix. 🙂
Monica Wiggins says
Thanks for sharing your recipe for laundry detergent.
Sarah Titus says
Absolutely, Monica. 🙂
ALYSSA Colvin says
I love that you use essential oils to scent your soap. My husband and I moved to making our own soap simply because he seems to be allergic to EVERYTHING else even the All Clear soap. We use the bounty scent crystals instead and the fells NAFTA bar soup but overall love it.
Sarah Titus says
Sorry to hear he’s allergic to so many things. Glad you found something that works for you guys! 🙂 <3
Becki Jo C says
Great! I am excited to try this. Amazing how natural products many times out perform synthetic/chemical products, and of course, are not harmful!! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
You truly are spectacular!
Sarah Titus says
So glad you like it. I know, isn’t that true! When I first started eating organic foods, I thought they would taste gross. Honestly, they taste SOOOO much better! Healthy stuff is often times, just so much better.
Kari Ann says
I just started to dive into making my own clenaing products but have not tried laundry detergent yet. I am going to try this easy recipe, thank you!
Sarah Titus says
Absolutely! You’ll love it! 🙂
Jaime Wiebel says
Wow! This looks super doable. I don’t usually make my own things because they seem so complex. Thanks for the tips and all the work you do to share great products.
Sarah Titus says
Yeah, making your own things is super, SUPER simple. 🙂 It really applies to everything we do. I was getting high blood pressure (I eat a lot of salt). So I replaced table salt with pink himalayan salt and started making my OWN stuff a few weeks ago (eating as much organic and real foods as I can). Next, I want to create spice blends (so I can add my own healthy salt, instead of using their junk salt). Learning to start making my own stuff is definitely a journey, but I feel SO much better health-wise. Things aren’t as complex as we think they are. 🙂
Karen Rowell says
Thanks for the recipe! I’ll give it a try, but I have a front load machine and I’m not certain how it’ll work for me. If nothing else, I’ll use it as a presoak. We have a disabled family member with incontinence, so this might be a real godsend!
Sarah Titus says
I have a front loading washer as well. For me, I just put it in the actual tub instead of the liquid cup. I think you could put it in the liquid cup? Not sure, but I just put it in the tub. 🙂
Mischa B. says
Sarah,
Thanks for sharing this recipe. This would have come in so handy while I was raising my three boys (also as a single mom).
I’ll suggest that this would probably be incredibly helpful to people caring for aging parents/ other relatives, for spouses in a caregiver role, and on…
The essential oils could be customized to provide comfort and familiarity to those with memory issues, insomnia, and a whole host of other concerns. I wish I’d had this recipe when I was caring for my late father. (I’ve found out the hard way that Q, K waterproof mattress pads are only waterproof for an amount of time. Even the best ones Amazon sells will eventually let the liquids through.)
Speaking as someone with a chronic, (now) progressive, illness, this is the type of thing that allows people to remain independent. Thank you for that.
Sarah Titus says
Absolutely, so glad you like it. I definitely could see it helping a lot of people for sure. I didn’t think of the elderly, but definitely can see that. 🙂
Annette Carico says
I totally love this and appreciate the recipe. I’ve been following you for about a year now, and I appreciate your testimony for Christ and also the inspiration. You’ve really help inspire me to get my own online shop off the ground.
Thanks again for all you do 🙂
Sarah Titus says
Glad you love the recipe! How exciting that you want to own your own online shop! Yay! <3 Do it!!!