DIY Stain Remover Stick
If you’ve ever dealt with mysterious food spots, grass smudges, or the dreaded toddler-art-on-the-shirt incident, you need this recipe in your natural cleaning toolkit!
This DIY stain remover stick is simple to make, free of harsh chemicals, and surprisingly powerful, even on set-in stains. I was quite pleased with how incredible this turned out to work!
It’s one of those little home switches that feels good every time you use it. You’re ditching plastic spray bottles and synthetic ingredients, and replacing them with a stick that smells amazing, works beautifully, and lasts a long time, plus it seemed a lot more cost effective for me too!
Why It Works So Well
Here is why this recipe works so well for removing stains:
- Castile Bar Soap: A gentle but powerful cleaner that lifts dirt and grease from fabric.
- Washing Soda: Adds extra stain-fighting power, especially for greasy or oily spots.
- Borax: Helps soften water and boost cleaning efficiency.
- Liquid Castile Soap: Helps everything blend and emulsify, while giving another gentle boost of cleansing power.
- Essential Oils: Optional, but lemon, orange, and eucalyptus work especially well for freshening up laundry.
This formula is perfect for pre-treating clothes before washing. I keep one near the laundry machine and use it on tough stains before going in the wash.
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DIY Stain Remover Stick Recipe
This makes around 2-3 tubes if using same container as I did!
Ingredients
- ½ 5 oz bar castile soap
- 2 tablespoons washing soda
- 2 tablespoons borax
- 1tablespoon liquid castile soap
- 3 tablespoons water
- 15 drops essential oils (optional, I used lemon and eucalyptus)
- Container
How To Make Stain Remover Stick
Grate up the castile bar soap. Then slowly melt in a double broiler. It will not melt all the way, but it will melt down some.
Once melted down, add in the washing soda, borax, liquid castile soap, and water.
Stir quickly right away to incorporate it all together. Then add in your drops of essential oils.
Put into your containers and pat down to get it all inside. Let cool for a few hours.
How To Use
Wet the top of the stick and rub it directly onto your stain. Let sit for at least an hour, then toss into the wash like normal. For tougher stains, give it a little scrub with a toothbrush or washcloth.
Notes
- Clumpy Soap? If your bar soap over-melts or looks chunky, no worries. Just chop it into finer bits and stir, it’ll still blend well and work fine. That’s what happened to my bar as you can see in some of the pictures!
- Essential Oils: Optional! Citrus oils like lemon or sweet orange are stain-fighting and smell like fresh laundry.
- Storage: These hold up well at room temp. If it’s hot in your house, store in a cool place to keep the stick firm.
- If you liked this recipe, be sure to check out my DIY Cleaners Recipe Book for more!
Stain Remover Stick
A powerful solid stain remover made with castile soap, washing soda, and borax for tackling tough laundry stains.
Materials
- ½ 5 oz bar castile soap
- 2 tablespoons washing soda
- 2 tablespoons borax
- 1tablespoon liquid castile soap
- 3 tablespoons water
- 15 drops essential oils (optional, I used lemon and eucalyptus)
Tools
- Grater
- Double boiler
- Heat-safe bowl or jar
- Spoon or spatula
- Measuring spoons
- Stick containers
Instructions
- Grate up the castile bar soap. Then slowly melt in a double broiler. It will not melt all the way, but it will melt down some.
- Once melted down, add in the washing soda, borax, liquid castile soap, and water.
- Stir quickly right away to incorporate it all together. Then add in your drops of essential oils.
- Put into your containers and pat down to get it all inside. Let cool for a few hours.
Notes
- Clumpy Soap? If your bar soap over-melts or looks chunky, no worries. Just chop it into finer bits and stir, it’ll still blend well and work fine. That's what happened to my bar as you can see in some of the pictures!
- Essential Oils: Optional! Citrus oils like lemon or sweet orange are stain-fighting and smell like fresh laundry.
- Storage: These hold up well at room temp. If it’s hot in your house, store in a cool place to keep the stick firm.
- If you liked this recipe, be sure to check out my DIY Cleaners Recipe Book for more!
Final Thoughts
Making your own stain remover might sound tricky, but once you try it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start sooner! It’s effective, made with ingredients you can trust, and so easy to make.
No more mystery ingredients, no more wasteful plastic bottles. Just something you made yourself, with ingredients you trust!
Try it out and let me know how it works on your laundry pile!
Want more DIY cleaners? Check out these:
