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When you’re trying to save money and avoid sketchy chemicals, it may seem like a good idea to mix your own laundry detergent. Homemade recipes require only a handful of inexpensive ingredients, and this way you know exactly what’s going in with the wash, right? But the science of cleaning is incredibly complicated, and there are some important reasons why you shouldn’t go DIY when it comes to your detergent.
First of all, homemade laundry detergents aren’t even detergent — they’re soap. According to the American Cleaning Institute, detergent and soap both contain surfactants, a.k.a. “surface active agents” that lower the surface tension of water to help it more easily spread and rid dirty clothes of grime. But differences in their chemical composition makes detergent a much more effective cleaner.
Soap is made from natural fats and oils plus a neutralizing alkali compound, such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Most DIY recipes for laundry soap (or “detergent”) call for a combination of Borax, washing soda and shaved bar soap. Detergents, on the other hand, are made from a carefully crafted mix of synthetic and natural ingredients, often containing more than one surfactant, and are more soluble in water than soap is.
Why does this distinction matter? Here are a couple of big reasons:
Homemade “detergent” can ruin your clothes...
If the water you’re using to do the wash is hard — meaning it’s high in the minerals calcium and magnesium — your soap (homemade “detergent”) will react with the dissolved minerals in the water and leave unwanted residue on your clothes. In the process of creating this residue, soap is used up, so there’s less to do the job of cleaning, says the American Cleaning Institute. This reaction can also stiffen and ruin fabrics. Even if the water in your area is soft, homemade “detergent” can still react with hardness minerals in the soil on your dirty clothing.
...and your washing machine.
The reaction between soap and hardness minerals can also mess with your cleaning equipment. Just as it can lead to deposits on your clothes, it can cause a film to build up in your washing machine. Eventually, this film may cause mold and mildew to grow — and you probably don’t want to be cleaning your clothes in a secretly grimy machine.
Going DIY can be hazardous.
When create-your-own cleaning products lack proper labeling and child-safe packaging, they can be a poison hazard to kids and pets in the home, cautions the American Cleaning Institute. It’s also important to remember that homemade recipes are not tested for safety as consumer products are. In the wrong doses, even the natural ingredients in your DIY recipe can be harmful to you and your clothes.
The good news? Real detergent works!
Detergent is labeled according to safety standards and engineered so it won’t react to the hardness minerals in water and soil, and will actually do its intended cleaning job. And if toxic ingredients are what you’re worried about (as you should be), you can trust in the effective laundry detergent pods from Dropps, which are EPA Safer Choice Approved and free of harsh dyes and chemicals found in many other widely sold detergents. In fact, you can see a list of all the ingredients used in Dropps products — and exactly what purpose each serves — right here.
It’s time to ditch the fake DIY “detergent” and choose an option that not only works, but is also safe for your family and the environment!