While I now know that making DIY washing soda from baking soda is incredibly easy, I didn’t even know what washing soda was before I started making my own homemade laundry detergent. These days, washing soda is a staple in my laundry room, aiding in everything from stain removal to softening hard water!
Since I find it so useful in my own laundry room, I want to make sure that everyone knows how easy it is to make at home! But before we get to that, I want to start with a quick review of some washing soda basics, like what it is and what washing soda can be used for.
A Quick Refresher on Washing Soda
Washing soda, otherwise known as sodium carbonate or soda ash, is just a water-soluble salt with a very basic pH of 11. When dissolved in water, washing soda makes an alkaline solution with powerful cleaning and water softening properties. It makes a great cleaning agent, laundry booster, and more!
As far as safety goes, washing soda gets an A rating from the Environmental Working Group, which means they recognize it as non-toxic and generally safe to use. But similarly to many other cleaning agents, washing soda can be irritating to skin, so it’s best to wear gloves when handling it.
If you’d like to learn more, my in-depth guide to washing soda is a great resource! It covers everything you need to know, including how washing soda differs from baking soda, borax, and other laundry powders.
Is Washing Soda the Same as Baking Soda?
Although baking soda and washing soda are not the same, they are related! Washing soda is sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), while baking soda is sodium bicarbonate (NaCHO3).
In addition to the many ways you can use baking soda around the house, it has another useful property, too — you can turn baking soda into washing soda using just your oven!
How Do You Use Washing Soda?
While washing soda is highly useful for cleaning everything from dirty dishes to toilet bowls, it’s mainly marketed as a laundry booster. In fact, I first learned about washing soda back when I was developing my homemade laundry detergent recipes. After sharing those recipes on my blog, I received a number of emails from international readers asking for advice, because they couldn’t find soda ash anywhere in their country!
That was how I ended up learning you can make your own washing soda at home! If you ever find yourself in a situation where you can’t find washing soda locally, you’ll be glad you learned how it make it yourself.
How to Make Washing Soda From Baking Soda
You’ll need:
- Baking soda
- Cookie sheet
Directions:
Spread baking soda evenly across a cookie sheet, and break up any clumps, if present. (You can use any amount of baking soda, as long as it fits on the cookie sheet in a relatively thin layer.)
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, then bake the baking soda for 1 hour. The heat from your oven will convert baking soda to washing soda by cooking off excess water and carbon dioxide. (Cool, right?)
Allow the washing soda to cool, then transfer it to an airtight container for storage. Use your washing soda as an ingredient in homemade laundry detergent, soften hard water, to scour messes out of a baking dish, and much more!
More Ideas You'll Love
If you compare your DIY washing soda with baking soda side by side, one thing you’ll notice is that washing soda feels a bit grainy compared to the silky smooth baking soda. (Fun fact: The washing soda will also weigh less than the baking soda did originally, due to the loss of water and carbon dioxide.)
Note: You can also make washing soda on your stovetop, in a toaster oven, or even in an air fryer — as long as the baking soda gets hot enough, long enough! (I would avoid trying to make washing soda in your microwave, though, since bicarbonate doesn’t play well with microwaves.)
Where Can I Buy Washing Soda?
If you don’t want to make it yourself, you can usually find Arm & Hammer super washing soda in the laundry aisle at grocery stores and big box chains. If you don’t see it right away, check the top and bottom shelves. That’s where I usually find it!
You can also find washing soda online at Amazon and other online retailers. Some people suggest getting it from pool suppliers, but industrial forms of sodium carbonate (like AquaChem) have a slightly different chemical structure and may not be suitable for household use. Better to stick to the store-bought and homemade varieties!
Have you made DIY washing soda at home?
How To Make Washing Soda From Baking Soda
Video
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- Baking soda
Instructions
- Spread baking soda out on a cookie sheet in an even layer.
- Bake the baking soda at 400°F for 1 hour.
- Allow the washing soda to cool, then transfer it to an airtight container.
I am going to try your fellow bloggers “laundry sauce” recipe http://www.budget101.com/myo-household-items/whipped-cream-super-laundry-soap-3993.html
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I am wondering if your washing soda would work in this recipe. I haven’t looked for the ingredients for the sauce recipe but I am worried, we in Canada may not find the ingredients.
Love love love your daily emails to my inbox, thank you!
LISAMAE, Fels Naptha isn’t sold in Canada. I use Ivory bar soap, and you can also use Sunlight. Those, plus the other ingredients needed, can be found just about anywhere. I usually get all of them at London Drugs or Home Hardware. The liquid detergent recipes are messy and a hassle to make. It’s so easy to make Jillee’s “year’s worth” big batch of powdered detergent and it works well. I’ve been using it for quite a while now and it’s great!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I recently made the “Laundry Sauce” recipe for my first try at making homemade laundry soap, and it’s working out nicely for me so far. Be careful when you open the mason jar after it has been standing upside down for a few hours. At the top will be the thin watery layer, and it could splash when you remove the airtight lid. I also found that if you take a spoon and carefully press down on the solid layer, all of the content should settle down towards the bottom of the jar. This then gave me enough room to insert a stick blender to whip up the mixture instead of having to empty the soap into a bowl to mix. If you use a stick blender, take your time and start by gently pulsing it first before going full speed. Also observe the soap from the outside of the jar as you blend to make sure it is fully mixed. The finished consistency turned out to be more like soft margarine than whipped mayonnaise but it still works. For me it also works best to premix one tablespoon of soap to some warm water before adding it to the wash. There could be some small solid bits that don’t completely dissolve, but that will work itself out in the wash. Hope this helps!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.So what happens to the baking soda in the oven? Couldn’t I just use baking soda “plain?”
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The difference between baking soda and washing soda is water and carbon dioxide. Seriously. Baking soda’s chemical makeup is NaHCO3 (1 sodium, 1 hydrogen, one carbon, and 3 oxygen molecules). Washing soda’s chemical makeup is Na2CO3 (2 sodium, 1 carbon, and 3 oxygen molecules). When baking soda is heated up to high temperatures, it breaks down to become washing soda, water steam, and carbon dioxide.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks, Cristi!
That was a wonderful explanation, and incredibly interesting, too! =D
Her comment is word for word from pennilesparenting’s explanation. Please give credit where credit is due :)
You are correct Megan….quickly copied and pasted and then ran off to do other things….my bad. My apologies to Pennilesparenting.
I really appreciated your graceful response to comment from Megan. A little kindness in word or deed goes a long way. :)
That is for sure, why do people need to be so sarcastic??
Because they are bored…
People who are sarcastic are not happy with their own lives so they try to bring others down to their level.
I think sarcastic people are extremely quick-witted and hilarious!
when people are being sarcastic when they tell a joke, their intended audience will think it is funny, if they agree with the attitude of the joke. however, it wasn’t a joke, and the attitude that went with it was rude and degrading. since when is being rude and degrading anyone funny?
what does baking it do? how does it change the baking soda?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I was wondering the same thing. What does baking it do? Not questioning just curious.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Baking soda’s chemical makeup is NaHCO3 (1 sodium, 1 hydrogen, one carbon, and 3 oxygen molecules). Washing soda’s chemical makeup is Na2CO3 (2 sodium, 1 carbon, and 3 oxygen molecules). When baking soda is heated up to high temperatures, it breaks down to become washing soda, water steam, and carbon dioxide. By cooking your baking soda, you can easily and safely get washing soda without needing to travel to far flung places to buy it, and you can make as much as you need at a time and don’t need to lay out a lot of money on buying washing soda quoted from http://www.localharvest.org/blog/50346/entry/you_can_make_washing_soda
I actually just did this about a week ago. So easy to do nd a goid way to
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Utilize that huge bag of baking soda too.
Actually, if you compare price, by weight, the cost of the baking soda, at or local Sam’s Club is extremely cheaper…Just pop the tray of soda in the oven with anything else you are baking, and it doesn’t even cost for the energy to bake it….Just my thoughts, and as usual, I LOVE YOUR IDEAS, JILL! Thank you.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.So glad you shared this! I’ve seen it in the comments on a few blogs, but never as the focus. In my area, it’s not really any cheaper to make it, so we just buy it, but that may not be true everywhere, and like you said, not everyone can find it!
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