As a mother, I do an enormous amount of laundry.
I am all for taking care of the earth, that is why I started buying 2x concentrated laundry detergent.You know the promises. The bottles are recyclable and the detergent is concentrated therefore requiring a lesser amount to clean your clothes.
But now I am wondering if I am actually using less or more detergent when I do my laundry.
The detergent is advertised as being concentrated so it takes less, but I am not convinced. When I use the suggested amount, I do not see any suds.
I gotta see suds, no suds and I have to use more washing powder. Maybe it is a psychological thing, but I think that powder laundry detergent is better. It definitely produces more soap suds.
What type of laundry detergent do you use? Do you believe that 2x concentrate requires less to clean your laundry?image source
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Comments (26)
I use the concentrated Purex Free and Clear, it works fabulously. Having boys you can really see the difference between dirty and clean clothes and that's enough for me. Ha!
suds doesn't determine the kind of cleaning power a detergent has. Just having hard water in your house will reduce the amount of bubbles you see. If your clothes look, feel, and smell clean they are clean.
I've been using homemade detergent. We switched over a year ago. Not only is it cheaper, but my clothes are much cleaner and they don't fade. Also, it's safe for babies. I've used only this on all of my 5-month-old son's clothes and cloth diapers. No problems with irritation or reaction or anything, and never a diaper rash of any sort. It costs me maybe $5 a year to make. Takes a little bit of work, but it's worth it.
yuck I hate powered laundry soap. I cannot stand the residue that is left behind on the clothes, especially the darks. .
I also use Purex. But I wash in only cold and only measure halfway to the "1" line.
To whiten clothes (or if I have a lot of dirty receiving blankets) I add half a cup of baking soda. Works great to get the smell out of my hubby's work socks too!
@DirtyAndShaken@xanga - Ooooh what's your recipe?! I would love to try and make homemade detergent!
Soap suds have nothing to do with cleanliness really. They're just more junk that gets left behind on the clothes in a lot of situations. Look it up.
"As with dishwashing liquid, the suds are totally cosmetic and add no cleaning value, but are created by an additive surfactant."
Via Wikipedia.
We use whatever's on sale and unscented. Just about everything I've seen in stores is "2x concentrated". *shrug* Our clothes get clean, so I'm good.
@catastrophicpixi@xanga - I've known it for a while...but...there's still something satisfying about suds when I'm doing dishes! LOL (I could careless about suds in the washer, though...hmm...)
I don't use powders, only liquid, and if it needs major disinfecting I use hot water and part bleach.
@DirtyAndShaken@xanga - I've been making my own laundry soap for quite a while also. I absolutely love the results. However, there are no suds - in fact, that's a good thing because it means it can be used in front loading washing machines. And it's so cheap and easy, I just love it.
Post your recipes!! For $5 a year to make?? Sure I'll try it!
I use some kind of 2x's concentrated. The only time I didn't feel like my clothes got clean was when I used a store brand. I have used store brand before but this particular one was not great. Do you have a high efficiency washer? I know you don't see very many suds with those. I have one and don't really see suds but my clothes come out clean.
Well, I live in Alaska so mine cost a bit more than $5 a year, but it does come out to be about 2 cents a load (compared to 64 cents a load on some of the store bought ones I've priced. Here's my basic recipe. I do mine in a 5 gallon bucket and always make a double batch at a time - just takes seconds more to do double and that way I'm not making it as often.
This is the single batch
Recipe #3
Hot water
1/2 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
1/3 bar Soap (grated)
<li>In a large pot, heat 3 pints of water. Add the grated bar soap and stir until melted. Then add the washing soda and borax. Stir until powder is dissolved, then remove from heat.
<li>In a 2 gallon clean pail, pour 1 quart of hot water and add the heated soap mixture. Top pail with cold water and stir well.
<li>Use 1/2 cup per load, stirring soap before each use (will gel).
(from tipnut.com)
Also, I mark a line on my bucket as to where to fill the water up to the last time so I'm not taking so much time measuring out the water at the end. This will gel up, but I don't stir before each use like it says to. I do add grapefruit essential oil sometimes if I want a bit of a scent.
@alaskamommy@xanga - thank you so much for posting!!!!!! I am sure my SIL will pick this up as well if I know her LOL. It took me a moment to google what washing soda is, but I am super excited to try this!
@alaskamommy@xanga - Thanks for sharing this! What type of bar soap do you use? BTW, I was born in Alaska.
Still love the state and hope to someday go back again for a visit.
I'd love to make my own detergent...
I've been wanting to make my own detergent but just don't have a place to keep it in large quantities.
So we buy whatever is on sale at the store. As long as my clothes look and smell clean, I'm satisfied with the concentrated detergent.
@happymom4@xanga - I use Fels Naptha - I find it at Fred Meyer's...not sure where to find it in the states.
@alaskamommy@xanga - This is great! Do you know if it's okay to use this in a high-efficiency washer?
@DirtyAndShaken@xanga - What do you make it out of ?  I cloth diaper too, and I am always looking for the perfect detergent!
@DirtyAndShaken@xanga - how do you make home made detergent?
for the 2x concentrated detergent, they just took some of the water out of their recipe. same cleaning ingredients, same ratios, just less water (for about the same price).
personally i just use the store brand/el-cheapo detergent. to get anything that the hubby has worn (especially work clothes) i usually have to do a pre-soak with a loads worth of detergent, and then wash with more soap. i'm not made of money, so i dont want to pay $10 bucks a month for detergent when i can pay half that (or less).
we're moving in a few months, so i think that i'm going to look into making my own in the new place (i dont have the storage space where we are now).
@eugenia@xanga - @isumath07@xanga - @happymom4@xanga - @firebreatherr@xanga - @youarelovely@xanga - @supsoo@xanga -
Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value4 Cups hot tap water1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)
Note: If you have one of those economy size laundry detergent containers, those are the best bet since they have a handle and it's easier to shake up before using. The detergent does have a tendency to gel up. This soap won't suds up when washing.
@DirtyAndShaken@xanga - Thanks, I know you said it will gel-up but does it separate? How long does it stay fresh? Does it gel enough that it would be difficult to put it into a used laundry detergent container after a couple of months? (When refilling)
@isumath07@xanga - The first bucket I made (I make it in one of those big buckets) lasted me over 6 months because I didn't have as much laundry to do back then and it doesn't take much. I have stored it out in the garage in both heat and winter months and it's never been a problem to remix it and it still seems "fresh" to me. There are no suds or scents to this laundry soap (neither are necessary for clean clothes), so I don't know if it was really "fresh" to begin with : ) You can mix it with a large, wooden spoon, but my husband usually takes his drill with the paint mixer attachment (I think it cost like $5) and mixes it. It's not a hard gel, just kind of goopy. Separation is minimal - the stirring or mixing will take care of it. I kept one of the economy size All containers with the spout on it, which I fill up from the big bucket when needed and keep in my wash room. I give it a good shake before each use and it comes out of the spout just fine. It's kind of hard to explain. Also, I don't use fabric softener or dryer sheets anymore. I put 1/2 cup of white vinegar in the fabric softener tray thing (whatever it is in the middle of the washer) and fill the rest of the way with water. Makes your clothes a lot softer and keeps them from fading. It won't make your clothes smell like vinegar either, just clean. In the dryer, we just use those plastic dryer balls. The ONLY time I've had static at all was once when I washed a huge (and I mean gigantic) fleece blanket.
@firebreatherr@xanga - Yes, my sister and a good friend of mine use it in their HE washers. The reason it works so well in these is that it suds a lot less than store-bought laundr soap.