DIY Laundry Soap Pods

Make laundry easier and more sustainable! These homemade laundry soap pods reduce waste and are so easy to pop in the washer. No measuring required. 

Laundry day doesn’t get easier than with homemade laundry soap pods. No more measuring, pouring, or inevitable spilling – these tablets keep the process simple and quick. 

Why We Love DIY Laundry Pods

Eco-Friendly: I love the idea of laundry pods, but they often come in a lot of packaging with a heavy carbon footprint. This homemade version is an eco-friendly option with very minimal waste.

Save Money: Making homemade laundry detergent saves so much money compared to purchasing commercial detergents. This is especially true for laundry soap pods, which carry a hefty price tag.

Simplify Laundry: Skip the messy powder detergents and liquid soaps! These pods eliminate the need to measure out your laundry detergent, making laundry a breeze. 

Natural: DIY laundry pods are made with simple, natural ingredients that offer amazing cleaning power. This is great for anyone with sensitive skin or those trying to live more naturally!

Avoid Soap Overuse: Laundry detergent tabs ensure that you use a consistent, properly portioned amount of laundry soap in each load. Laundry detergent overuse is a common problem that can cause undue wear on your clothes and washer. 

Homemade Laundry Soap Without Borax

I get a lot of requests for borax-free laundry soap. While I feel comfortable using borax in my laundry soap, some people would rather avoid it or they have a difficult time finding it. 

These DIY laundry detergent pods work extremely well at cleaning clothes without the use of borax! If regular laundry soap powder is more your style, I also have a powdered laundry soap made without borax and a great soap nut laundry powder.

How to Make Laundry Soap Pods

This recipe is quite easy, but it’s important to follow the instructions closely to ensure they turn out well. 

If you’ve ever made homemade dishwasher soap tabs or bath bombs, you’ll notice this is a similar process. 

Be sure to read the entire recipe, and if you have any issues, check out the troubleshooting section towards the bottom. 

Ingredients

• 1 (5-ounce) bar castile soap, grated (or make your own laundry soap bar)
• 4.8 oz (½ cup) washing soda
• 2.5 oz (¼ cup) baking soda
• 1.3 oz (2 tbsp) salt
• 3.2 oz (¼ cup + 2 tablespoons) white vinegar (adjust as needed)
• 5-10 drops essential oils (optional)

Equipment

• Box grater
• Silicone molds

How to Make the Laundry Pods

Step 1. Using the box grater, grate the soap bar into a large bowl. 

Step 2. Add the washing soda, baking soda, and salt to the bowl with the grated soap. Mix well with a spoon.

Step 3. Begin adding the white vinegar to the dry ingredients a little bit at a time, stirring constantly. You’ll notice some fizzing as the vinegar reacts to the baking soda, but adding a small amount at a time will help keep this minimal. 

Step 4. Continue adding vinegar until the mixture is clumpy and holds its shape when pressed together. It should feel slightly damp and just hold together when pressed between your hands. 

Step 5. Add a few drops of your favorite essential oils if you want scented pods. I like to use lemon or lavender. 

Step 6. Firmly press the mixture into the silicone molds. You want to pack them tightly to ensure they hold their shape. 

Step 7. Set the pods in a cool, dry place and leave them to dry completely. This usually takes about 24 hours.

Step 8. Once they are completely dry, pop the tablets out of the molds. Store them in an airtight container out of direct sunlight. 

Important Notes

• Keep these out of reach of children and label them well!
• Be patient with drying time. If the tablets are not completely dry, they will crumble when you try to remove them from the silicone mold. 
• Silicone molds work best for this recipe, but you can use ice cube trays (silicone is best). The pods are much more difficult to get out of plastic ice cube trays compared to silicone ice cube trays and molds, which allow you to press your finger on the bottom to pop it out. 
• Don’t eyeball it; measure out your liquid! If you don’t use enough vinegar, the laundry pods will crumble.

How to Use DIY Laundry Soap Pods

I love these laundry pods because they are so easy to use! It’s a simple pleasure to not have to measure anything when starting a load of laundry. 

To use a pod, simply toss it into the washer drum before loading the washer. Adding the tablet before the clothes ensures that it dissolves well into the water. 

These laundry pods are portioned for an average-sized laundry load. For particularly large loads, you may want to use two. The pods are suitable for any standard or HE washing machines.

Troubleshooting

DIY laundry pods can be very finicky if they are not made right. Don’t worry though; you’ll get the hang of it in no time! Here are a few problems you may run into and how to solve them.

Dry, Crumbly Pods

If your laundry pods are crumbling after they’ve completely dried, you likely didn’t use enough liquid. When in doubt, I recommend erring on the side of more vinegar. Not enough liquid will cause dry, crumbly pods that won’t hold their shape. Additionally, be sure you press the mixture firmly into the molds when filling them. 

Damp, Crumbly Pods

If you pop your tablets out of the molds and they are damp and crumbly, you need to leave them to dry longer. Depending on your climate and how much vinegar you added, these homemade laundry pods may take longer to dry, up to 3 days. Make sure they are completely dry before removing them from the molds. 

Pods Didn’t Dissolve

If you washed a load of laundry and found that the tablet didn’t completely dissolve, there are a few things to note. Be sure to add the tablet to the washer drum before adding any clothes, so it is exposed to the water as much as possible. You may also try using warmer water if that doesn’t fix the problem. 

Soap Mixture is Too Fizzy

While you’re stirring the vinegar into the dry ingredients, you may have problems with it fizzing too much. A little fizzing is natural as the baking soda reacts with the vinegar, but too much foam can make it hard to work with the mixture. Be sure to add the vinegar slowly to avoid this problem.

More DIY Laundry Recipes

• DIY Liquid Laundry Soap
• How to Scent Wool Dryer Balls with Herbs
• Natural Reusable Dryer Sheets
• DIY Laundry Scent Booster
• My Favorite Laundry DIYs

If you made these Laundry Soap Pods or any other tutorial on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!