We only wash with cold water so I can recommend it will work well for that.
Homemade Laundry Detergent
- Thread starter ChemEng
- Start date
We only wash with cold water so I can recommend it will work well for that.
It might depend on how cold your water is. Florida cold water is like our warm water. Our cold water is painfully cold and never worked well for washing clothes. Our front loader machine has a cold water wash option that will bring the temperature up to a more reasonable temperature.
cute fuzzy bunny
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Washing soda is a much stronger acid offsetter (base) than baking soda. About 2:1. So made with baking soda, homemade detergent would have less cleaning ability, but might be satisfactory if you dont have really dirty clothes. The baking soda would also have less corrosive impact on your clothing, especially delicates.
calmloki
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Welcome to Grandma's Lye Soap
"little herman and his brother vermin - had an aversion - to washing their ears - grandma scrubbed them - with her lye soap - and they haven't heard - a word in years!"
"little herman and his brother vermin - had an aversion - to washing their ears - grandma scrubbed them - with her lye soap - and they haven't heard - a word in years!"
growing_older
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So, I finally used up the last of my super on sale bargain finding laundry detergent stash (which took me a couple years to get through - but it was a deal!) and when I went to the store to get some new, it looks like all the brands and formulas have changed. My super deal was liquid and I've grown very attached to the ease of use of pouring in the right amount for big or little loads. There are many more liquid kinds to choose from, but the most common stuff seemed to be concentrated liquid laundry detergent. It claims to be 2x concentrated and use barely an ounce for a load of wash.
Maybe I too caviler about laundry, but I don't want to have to make a precise measurement of detergent for every load. At this concentration any sloppy overage or underage is going to make a big difference in getting too little detergent (dirty clothes) or too much (wasteful) pretty much all the time. Does anyone using this stuff have this problem?
I'm thinking maybe I'll just buy a jug of this stuff, decant it into two of my old empty detergent bottles, dilute to the old strength I'm used to, and ignore the whole problem until the next time I run out. Maybe they will sell 4x concentrated by then with a little eyedropper for measuring it. Anybody tried "unconcentrating" this stuff back to normal and see if it still works to clean clothes?
Maybe I too caviler about laundry, but I don't want to have to make a precise measurement of detergent for every load. At this concentration any sloppy overage or underage is going to make a big difference in getting too little detergent (dirty clothes) or too much (wasteful) pretty much all the time. Does anyone using this stuff have this problem?
I'm thinking maybe I'll just buy a jug of this stuff, decant it into two of my old empty detergent bottles, dilute to the old strength I'm used to, and ignore the whole problem until the next time I run out. Maybe they will sell 4x concentrated by then with a little eyedropper for measuring it. Anybody tried "unconcentrating" this stuff back to normal and see if it still works to clean clothes?
crazy connie
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Dailly Shower Glass Cleaner 1/2 water and 1/2 Rubbing Alcohol. Spritz on at end of shower and use a squeege or just walk away.
WhoDaresWins
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I enjoyed reading through this thread. Lots of good ideas as I prefer to use less toxic cleaners. Will definitely employ the window washing formula and also the drain cleaner(baking soda and hot vinegar). I think I will use the latter tomorrow as a matter of fact.
Bram
Recycles dryer sheets
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I just finished making up a batch of liquid laundry detergent following a recipe using the same ingredients as the OP. I only spent $8 for the ingredients & will be able to make many more batches with the washing soda & borax, only having to buy more bars of Fels Naptha soap which was $1.19. I plan to give several jugs away.
Here's the recipe I used:
HOMEMADE LIQUID LAUNDRY DETERGENT
4 cups hot water
1 FelsNaptha, Ivory or Sunlight (Canada?) bar soap
1 cup washing soda
½ cup Borax
Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan of hot water. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until soap is all melted.
Fill a large kitty litter bucket or 5-gallon pail ½ full of hot water. Add melted soap, washing soda and borax. Stir well until the powder is dissolved. Fill bucket with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight.
The next morning the pail will be all gelled and very thick. Stir with a stick to break it up. Fill a laundry jug half-full of the detergent, and top with more water. Shake before each use.
Use ½ cup for top-load machines, and ¼ for front-load.
Use the thickened, undiluted soap as a pre-treater.
Here's the recipe I used:
HOMEMADE LIQUID LAUNDRY DETERGENT
4 cups hot water
1 FelsNaptha, Ivory or Sunlight (Canada?) bar soap
1 cup washing soda
½ cup Borax
Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan of hot water. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until soap is all melted.
Fill a large kitty litter bucket or 5-gallon pail ½ full of hot water. Add melted soap, washing soda and borax. Stir well until the powder is dissolved. Fill bucket with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight.
The next morning the pail will be all gelled and very thick. Stir with a stick to break it up. Fill a laundry jug half-full of the detergent, and top with more water. Shake before each use.
Use ½ cup for top-load machines, and ¼ for front-load.
Use the thickened, undiluted soap as a pre-treater.
