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I owe you an apology. I’m sorry. Two years ago, I shared a recipe for my favorite homemade laundry detergent including Borax, Washing Soda, and Fels-Naptha Soap. I had used it for several years with my own family, and I thought it was cheap, effective, and safe.
I was wrong.
The trouble is, I didn’t know I was wrong until last week. As I checked out the Environmental Working Group’s rankings for laundry products, I was completely shocked to discover that Borax received an F ranking in safety.
I thought it was safe! After all, it’s taken from the natural ingredient sodium borate. I thought my Laura Ingalls Wilder/Suzy Homemaker detergent making days were grand. I washed all of my babies’ cloth diapers in this detergent.
The trouble is with sodium borate. It IS natural, but there’s a concern that it may damage fertility and cause birth defects. Like many cleaners, it’s also known to irritate upper respiratory tracts. (The good news is it’s not a carcinogen.) You can use sodium borate to kill ants. It also kills mold. Because it’s toxic if ingested, be sure to keep Borax away from children and pets.
All the ingredients
So how do my homemade detergent recipe’s three ingredients fare?
You already know that Borax received an F.
Fels-Naptha received a C, thanks to the soap’s terpene hydrocarbons (they irritate humans, may cause cancer, and harm aquatic life) and tetrasodium etidronate (there’s evidence of biodegradation). Last year I stopped using the recipe when my family moved to a new home with a septic system and I discovered Fels-Naptha isn’t recommended for septic systems. (If you don’t have septic and aren’t put off by the average ranking, enter to win a free bar of Fels-Naptha in Accidentally Green’s latest giveaway.)
And Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda received an A.
Where does that leave me?
I think I’m done making my own laundry detergent. I’ll use a moderately safe store-bought variety and will stock up on the completely natural soap nuts. I’m curious … what safe laundry detergents are you pleased with?
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Latest posts by Hilary Kimes Bernstein (see all)
- Natural Living in a Regular Family - May 17, 2013
- Discovering a Natural and Safe Laundry Detergent - May 17, 2013
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If you're searching for ways to live a healthier life that honors God, yet you're not incredibly environmentally conscious, then you're in the right place. While I try to glorify God and use my ten years of journalistic experience to create a healthy home for my family, most of my choices just tend to be green ... quite accidentally. – Hilary
Interesting. I know people who eat borax as a health aid. They sent me a link to an article on all the various benefits. ?? I was skeptical…
I recently found a “natural” dishwashing detergent” that uses Borax in the mix….????? Wow!!!! So this is not safe?
I would be very hesitant to use Borax to clean dishes … but that’s just my personal preference.
I have been using Tri Nature’s laundry products for years; love them for their efficiency, environmental friendliness and cost effectiveness. Aussie made and owned; http://www.trinature.com
I tried making my own laundry detergent with a similar recipe. It didn’t work for us. Our water is extremely hard and I chalked it up to that. Now I am using soap nuts and love them!
I use ecover zero liquid, ecover zero powder and ecover delicates. They are all natural and received good ratings… only A and B!
Yay! Do you like the way they clean your clothes, Lydia?
Yes. Nothing to complain! The liquid is great for clothes diapers too. That’s why i switched from ‘whatever is on sale’ to ecover….
What is ecover? I have never heard of that before.
It’s a brand of cleaning products. I bought mine through Vitacost.com.
Yikes! That’s the recipe I use(except Kirk’s castile instead of Fels Naptha) ! Maybe this is the kick I need to try to soap nuts.
Are there any safe alternatives to Borax?
Unfortunately I don’t know of any alternatives, Jen.
I was concerned about Borax as well, but have felt comfortable using it after reading this: http://www.crunchybetty.com/getting-to-the-bottom-of-borax-is-it-safe-or-not
I would be interested to hear what you think??
Mary Beth, I totally agree with Crunchy Betty in that there are far worse ingredients out there besides Borax.
But I think most people who make their own laundry detergent assume it’s a safe ingredient. It’s a cleaner, though, and isn’t as safe as something like vinegar or baking soda. It kills ants and cockroaches. And it’s poisonous to children and pets. Those are some warnings that typically aren’t associated with Borax. (Once I had kids, I stopped using it for my cleaning and only used it in laundry detergent. Now I guess I’ll finish my box by using it in homemade ant traps.)
I may be one of the “oddballs”, but I am actually encouraging mine to use the fels mix with borax as a cleaner. Mine are all 11 1/2, 11, and 9, but all with special needs (autism spectrum disorders combined with severe adhd in 2 and MR and Bi Polar in one), and in teaching them to clean they tend to use WAY too much liquid to clean with. I found using the liquid soap mix costs pennies, even if they use way to much, instead of bottles of say Pinesol, Fabuloso, Clorox, etc. I’m ok with them pouring in a half of a 30 ounce bottle of homemade liquid soap mix vs same amount of expensive cleaners into a mop bucket or toilet or whatever thing we’re working on that day. The munchkins also think it’s cool that mom makes the soap and cleaners. Gotta have that coolness factor LOL!
I use a brand called Melapower. It’s manufactured m Melaleuca and I really like it. Clean clothes, light fresh scent (I’m allergic to most scents) and not to expensive. Been thinking about the soap nuts though.
Thanks for sharing, Kendra! I’ll have to check out Melapower.
Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater!!
While you may not wish to use borax in laundry soap, it has it’s uses. It cleans, it kills bugs (I’d rather use borax than Raid personally, as 3 of our family members have asthma and one of them has COPD-non smoking variety), it’ll help clean out a drain. Fels naptha has the oil cutter that is excellent when you run into poison ivy/oak/sumac and are allergic. Use Fels immediately to cut through the oils on your skin and you shouldn’t have an allergic reaction. My husband takes this to the camp he volunteers for as their RN, and has found it very useful.
I continue to use the laundry soap mix, as it is the only combination I’ve found that will not break out my sensitive skinned stepdaughter. And with it, I’ve not used bleach in almost 2 years in whites. It’s also my household cleaner as I try to get rid of things like Pinesol. Sure, it’s not totally “green”…but my method of washing clothes is–washboard and line drying.
I require no electric for a washer or dryer, I rely on the sun to dry everything, and in the summer it warms up the water naturally when I work outside washing.
It’s a matter of preference…which way do you want to go “green”?
You can choose ingredients or methods or both. 
What an excellent perspective, Mrs. Abella. It’s one I really need to keep in mind. I would much rather use Borax than Raid. And I’ve saved my bars of Fels-Naptha in case anyone in my family comes in contact with poison ivy. I used to think both were completely safe, though – but that was my own naivete.
How very cool that you use a washboard and line drying to clean your clothes!
Thank you
No, Borax isn’t 100% safe. Neither is walking across the street. You take the risks that you’re comfortable in taking, right?
I ten dto be more old fashioned in a lot of things. I lean toward the days of my mother and grandmother, who stayed at home, washed by hand, cooked from scratch, stitched their own clothing, managed a house and kids, etc. In our world at times that is an oddity in itself. Going “green” is much more than just buying the right product…it is in using less, making do with what you have, use/reuse, using your feet more than the car, etc. There’s tons of ideas of doing things “green”….
I have been using Soap nuts from Naturoli, I also love their 18 extreme. I use tropical traditions as well. All are great products and totally natural and safe.
I use the homemade laundry detergent “recipe” I found on Pinterest which does contain Borax and I will continue using it. Because it uses so much less product, I think it is greener than most of the other commercial products. My children have something called SoftFall on their playground for safety–it is basically chopped up tires–and it is so hard on their clothes. The homemade detergent does great on cleaning everything from my son’s grimy jeans to my girly-girl daughter’s pretty tights and skirts.
That’s the recipe I use! Bummer. But are there really commercial “green” products out there, including soap nuts, that your kids could eat? That’s what I’m wondering. Maybe I’ll check out that link you gave for the EWG’s laundry product rankings. Thanks for the post!
You’re totally right, Tauna. I wouldn’t want my kids to eat soap nuts, for sure.
I keep my soap nuts in a mason jar on a shelf above my washer so they are difficult for the kids to reach.
Some of those studies are confusing. It seems the fertility issues (seen in mice) are from ingested Borax. I would be concerned therefore to use it in my dishwasher but not my washing machine.
I use a grated bar of Dr. Bronners Castille Soap and 1 cup washing soda. It’s all I’ve needed. I use Soap Nuts for my cloth diapers.
I swear by soap nuts. I can get them at the local Indian market and pay less than $3 for a three month supply and I know they work. For heavier duty cleaning I use Arm and Hammer Washing Soda and add a few squirts of Simple Green … Not a perfect solution, so I don’t do it often, but it works!
I’ve been searching for a laundry detergent without Borax because we couldn’t buy it here. (My husband and I are missionaries.) I just found this recipe a couple days ago and am thinking of trying it. Even if we don’t know each other, thought it might be something you would be interested in.
http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2012/09/homemade-laundry-detergent-new-tutorial.html
This sounds like a great recipe, Jessica. Thank you so much for sharing!
This info is incorrect… There are a lot of rumors going around about the safety concerns of Borax. I don’t ever trust sites that aren’t at least a (dot)org to get info, but prefer (dot)edu or (dot)gov.
Material Safety Data Sheets are used to identify all chemical information. They are also called MSDS. You will find them in EVERY building that has any chemical whatsoever. Here is the MSDS on Borax:
http://www.omsi.edu/sites/all/FTP/files/kids/Borax-msds.pdf
When it says, “The above mentioned animal studies were conducted under exposure conditions leading to doses many times in
excess of those that could occur through product use or i
nhalation of dust in occupational settings. Moreover, a
human study of occupational exposure to sodium borat
e and boric acid dusts showed no adverse effect on
fertility,” I had to learn more about just how many times in excess that would be…
So we get to this site that lists it as “not acutely toxic”, which is described as unlikely to be hazardous. http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chemical.jsp?Rec_Id=PC34355#Toxicity
I haven’t looked up anything posted by the government but the Material Safety Data Sheets are as accurate as they get and this info posted about the break down of the info is an true explanation of the meanings…
Some more interesting information that isn’t from an educational site is: http://www.health-science-spirit.com/borax.htm
I haven’t been able to research all that yet, though. I am definitely going to look into all the health benefits listed on that last site.
This is quoted from the last link I posted. I think this government entity who composed this study was in Australia, but it’s definitely very interesting because it compares table salt to borax and how large of a dose one would have to consume to have problems.
“Government health agencies are concerned about boron toxicity. You might be concerned as well if you read the following, pertaining to sodium chloride or table salt (17): ‘Acute oral toxicity (LD50 – the dose at which half of the tested animals die): 3,000 mg/kg [Rat]. Chronic Effects on Humans: Mutagenic for mammalian somatic cells. Slightly hazardous in case of skin contact, ingestion or inhalation. Lowest Published Lethal Oral Dose in Man: 1000 mg/kg. Causes adverse reproductive effects in humans (fetotoxicity, abortion) by intraplacental route, may increase risk of Toxemia of Pregnancy in susceptible women. May cause adverse reproductive effects and birth defects in animals, particularly rats and mice – fetotoxicity, abortion, musculoskeletal abnormalities, and maternal effects (on ovaries, fallopian tubes). May affect genetic material (mutagenic). Ingestion of large quantities can irritate the stomach with nausea and vomiting. May affect behavior (muscle spasicity/contraction, somnolence), sense organs, metabolism, and cardiovascular system. Continued exposure may produce dehydration, internal organ congestion, and coma.’
“Now compare the sodium chloride toxicity with the Material Safety Data Sheet or MSDS for borax (18): ‘Low acute oral toxicity; LD50 in rats 4,500 to 6,000 mg/kg of body weight. Reproductive/developmental toxicity: Animal feeding studies in rat, mouse and dog, at high doses, have demonstrated effects on fertility and testes. Studies with boric acid in the rat, mouse and rabbit, at high doses, demonstrate developmental effects on the fetus, including fetal weight loss and minor skeletal variations. The doses administered were many times in excess of those to which humans would normally be exposed. No evidence of carcinogenicity in mice. No mutagenic activity was observed in a battery of short-term mutagenicity assays. Human epidemiological studies show no increase in pulmonary disease in occupational populations with chronic exposures to borate dust and no effect on fertility.’ “
I just use the Kirkland brand from Costco (or whatever brand it is). I have no idea what is in it either! O.o
When I was a kid Borax was used as a hand cleaner, but I have had concerns about it too, after reading some articles. It’s just so hard to know what to believe, but I’d rather err on the side of caution.
I would love it if you’d consider sharing this Monday on my “Making Your Home Sing Monday” linky party!
I use equal amounts of grated bar soap and washing soda + an oxy clean powder (which isn’t non-toxic, but with two toddlers, I need the extra umph). I blogged about it here:http://www.littlerandr.org/2013/03/homemade-laundry-soap.html
I included a link to a site I visited with non-borax recipes, because I can’t get borax here. So that might interest you. This lady did a lot of research.
I am so discouraged…I have use Borax for years…I now am using a liquid laundry soap called ECO I buy at sam’s. It is made in Illinois. All natural. I cloth diaper, so I add a 1/2 cup of Borax to that with the diapers. Now I am concerned….Are my children at risk? What is your opinion on Shaklee? Are they truly all natural and or Organic? I want purity in all my cleaners. I was advised to not use soap nuts in my washing of diapers…I have read many of the posts here that use them to was cloth diapers….Does anyone have a “safe” natural bleach recipe for wash/dish rags and very soiled diapers….Whitening…
Debbie, you can check http://www.ewg.org/guides/categories/9-Laundry for the safety of ECO. Also, a lot of the OxiClean products are safe, and you could use those for heavily soiled laundry. (Forgive me, I forget if OxiClean is safe for cloth diapers or not.) I use Shaklee products and love them. I know they’re not analyzed on the Environmental Working Group site, but their products smell so different than other commercial cleaning products. That lack of an odor and the fact that they say they’re all natural, makes me trust them for now. (If I find out in the future that it’s been false advertising, I won’t be completely surprised, because nothing much surprises me anymore. But they definitely don’t have harsh chemical scents.)