Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Homemade Oxyclean...Just In Time For Summer Vacation

What is it with summer? It seems that the grass stained knees and the dirty stained bottoms double in quantity as kids spend most of their time playing outdoors. Good times, but it kinda stinks for the laundress of the house. That's when we whip out our Oxyclean. But if you're anything like me you'd rather pluck your chin hairs in public than spend the outrageous price to buy this stuff. So here's a homemade recipe that will save you an enormous amount of money.


Homemade OxyClean

1 cup water
1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide
1/2 cup baking soda

Mix together and soak laundry in it for 20 minutes to overnight and then wash as usual. Or you can just skip the water and pour the peroxide and baking soda directly into the wash with your laundry soap and wash as usual.

This idea is participating in WFMW at We are That Family.

49 comments:

Tonya said...

YOU ARE AWESOME!!! I never knew there was a homemade recipe for Oxyclean...and I just bought some Oxyclean today, but I will definately be using this recipe!!!

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much!! I have been wanting to buy some Oxyclean but I didn't want to pay the price for it. I am making this tomorrow!

Vaughn said...

I have just made the fabric softener (I use it in the ball), the laundry detergent, and the 409! All within the last week. I cannot wait to try this! Thanks!

Marci @OvercomingBusy said...

I'm with Christine! Thanks for the recipe!!

Maria D. @ DownrightDomesticity said...

Thank you SOOOOOO much! I have been trying to bring myself to buy Oxyclean for a few weeks now. Thanks for saving me from taking the plunge!

Tannis said...

So if I were to just put in (not let it soak) I'd use a whole 1/2 c. peroxide and 1/2 c. baking soda per load?

Gayle said...

Tannis,

Yes. That's the way I do it.

Tannis said...

Thanks Gayle! I can't wait to try it. :)

April said...

I just bought a new container of it but will definitely try this next time I run out!

Sharon said...

Thanks so much for this recipe! I will use this when I run out of the Oxyclean I paid that outrageous price for! ouch!

Unknown said...

Thanks so much!I proudly admit I had wondered if I could use hydrogen peroxide on my clothes. I figure since I rinse my teeth with it for whiteness, it couldn't hurt my clothes. Is this recipe just for whites or can it be used on colored loads as well?

Precision Quality Laser said...

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I have been wondering if there was a way to make Oxiclean at home! I just bought a tub (with a coupon) but it still cost me $6.23! I am so trying this tomorrow!

The Kelley Family said...

I have two little girls that always seem to get their cute little pink clothes to turn brown! Oxy is the only thing that will get it out!! Thanks for sharing this recipe, can't wait to try it!

Cara said...

Great idea! I knew it had something to do with peroxide, but I was missing the baking soda part. Thank you for sharing :)

Hoosier Homemade said...

This is awesome! I was just looking at the OxyClean last night but couldn't bring myself to buy it. My son plays baseball, and his pants get really dirty. I have been using the peroxide on stains, it works pretty well. But this is better!
Thanks for sharing!
~Liz

Jennifer said...

Thanks for the tip, can't wait to try it.

Amanda said...

I've been using the Oxygen Cleaner from Dollar Tree, but this is even cheaper! I'll have to try it out.

Mel said...

Thank you so much. I already use baking soda, but hadn't thought to use peroxide. What a great idea!

Anonymous said...

hi gayle,
do you mean hydrogen peroxide? Is there any other kind of peroxide?! :) I once made a homemade recipe for face cleanser, and it had peroxide in it, and it bleached my eyebrows white! So...I'm a little leary of peroxide. It isn't going to bleach my clothes, is it?

anne

Anonymous said...

Doesn't peroxide bleach colors? I once used it on my face in a homemade facial cleanser recipe, and it bleached my eyebrows yellow.

suzannah | the smitten word said...

i love household recipes:)

we use Sun brand Oxygen cleaner. it's around $5 for a huge tub, and using it in every load (even cloth diapers), it's lasts a really long time.

Cathy said...

Do you know if you can use this in a front loading machine? I'm not sure where to put it in the dispenser. Does it replace my normal detergent? I've heard great things about OxyClean, but obviously have never used it!

So many questions!

staci @ teaching money to kids said...

I almost bought oxyclean this week, but our other detergent was on sale, so I stocked up on that instead, and ran out of budget for my money.
I am so glad I waited.

Andrea@hopefulhousewife said...

This is a wonderful tip. I cant WAIT to try it! I'm such a sucker for laundry tips, and this one is something I've never heard! Woot! Thanks!!

Gina @ MoneywiseMoms said...

I'm going to give this a try! I've never been willing to spend the money for the "real" stuff, but my toddlers are destroying their clothes, way worse than their older brother did.

Found you through WFMW--thanks for sharing!

karen said...

Do you have any problem with the peroxide fading or bleaching your clothes?

Katy Travis said...

You cannot use Oxyclean on Khaki... is this product okay for Khaki and other colors like the real oxyclean is??

Gayle said...

It's supposed to be usuable just like OxyClean but I would experiment with it and do a color fast test to make sure.

Happy said...

I was just dreading the thought of buying another bucket of Oxy Clean at the grocery store. DREADING it.

I had no idea you weren't supposed to use Oxy Clean on khaki's...I usually dump some in every load. I've never noticed a problem.

I'm going to give this homemade version a whirl! I'll gladly replace the expensive stuff!

I'm a new follower...I'm trying to train myself in the ways of being frugal so I'll be perusing your archives a bit!

Anonymous said...

I suspect that you should use the hydrogen peroxide that is sold for cuts, etc... (3 volume) not the type sold for mixing with hair color that is 10 to 40 volume depending on the type you use. That would definitely bleach out colors.

Michelle @ Give a Girl a Fig said...

Thank you for posting this! I was just considering buying some...literally considering it TODAY. I've been making my own detergent for about 6 months now and LOVE it...now I can make my own OxiClean as well. Because you're right...I WOULD rather pluck my chin hairs than spend the money! That made me laugh SO HARD!

Gayle said...

That's right. I use the hydrogen peroxide in the first aid section of the grocery store ($.88 for a giant bottle) not the kind used for bleaching hair.

Heather said...

Sounds great! I assemble my own laundry detergent already, using generic oxyclean. Now I can do it even cheaper. Thanks!

Kitchen Stewardship said...

Have you actually priced this out? It seems like 1/2 cup of baking soda must cost 25-50 cents, and the hydrogen peroxide I buy is abou5 40 cents for a 16 oz bottle, so that's still 10 cents per recipe for what you posted here. My Oxyclean has lasted a LONG time, because I can get away with using less than their scoop size for a tub of soaked dirty kid clothes. I LOVE the results...and I wonder if this homemade version is really more frugal? I don't want to be rude, but for all our sakes we have to price out these homemade things and check it out with the storebought... Thanks!!

Jen said...

Well what I like about this recipe is that I always have those two items on hand....FWI you can get LRG bags of baking soda from your local feed supply store or a pool supply store on the cheap.

* elizabeth * said...

Eeee! My DORA ( of course...) sized yogurt cup is the perfect size to keep on the dryer top with the ingredients! Thanks for this!

Susan said...

For the sake of price comparison: Walmart in my area (Oklahoma) sells a 4lb box of baking soda for $2.12. (Find it in the laundry section.) This makes the homemade stuff cheap! I just used it to take stains out of whites. It works great! Thanks, Gayle!

Michael said...

Is that baking soda or washing soda? ... We've been making our own laundry soap with Washing Soda (found in the laundry section) ... and not baking soda (found in the baking section).
You wouldn't want to ingest the washing soda.

Gayle said...

Baking soday for this recipe, washing soda for the homemade laundry soap.

Heather Brandt said...

How do you soak clothes in this? I usually run the soak setting on my washer and let the water stand in the washer (several hours) with oxyclean in it. Can I do the same thing with this mixture-just put it in and then run the soak cycle with clothes????

heatherlbrandt (at) verizon (dot) net

cribs said...

I want to thank you for sharing this very useful post. It is just an awesome idea. You are so amazing to think something like this.

Lila said...

This is great to save on this how would you go about making it to a liquid for spray bottles?

Amy said...

Just found your oxyclean recipe via pinterest. Thanks for the great DIY!

sapphireblu76 said...

Peroxide, by itself, is great for getting blood out of fabrics. I learned this during my internship. It never bleached my clothes. Also, for the duration that the peroxide/baking soda(or washing soda) mixture is on the clothes, it has never bleached anything I've used it on. My sister once soaked a tank top in a small container of oxygen cleaner for a week. It took out HAIR DYE and left the tank top looking brand new!

Kellie said...

WOW.. That will save me $$$. Thanks so much! :)

Anonymous said...

For years, I've used straight medicinal hydrogen peroxide on blood stains, with great success. Just put the stained garment or cloth over a basin, bowl... whatever... and slowly pour peroxide over it. Watch it bubble! then repeat a few times, then rinse, then wash with soap in the washer.

Jaime Alvaro Burbano Cuellar said...

Is there a powdered OXYCLEAN that I can mix into the POWDERED laundry soap that I make?

Thanks,

Jaime in Medellin, Colombia

Unknown said...

I love this homemade oxy.. I use it for my white and towel.. i just let sit for 3 minutes and it works wonders.. even my Husband loves it.. Thank you for posting.. i don't add the water.. i put the ingredients straight in as the hot or warm water fills but to bout 1/2 way then add the clothes or towels.. to activate it a bit i add 1/2 cup of vinegar. Works great.. SO thank you Bunches.

Anonymous said...

Exactly what I was thinking... Even though I get the smaller bottles for free I'd still use 1 bottle for every 2 loads. I have 4 kids so I don't think this if very cost effective. Great idea though! I just wish it were more cost effective.