home detergent question...

[EggsForIHOP]

that has probably been asked a million times but still....

is sodium bicarbonate (i.e. PH increaser for pools) the same as washing soda?

I couldn't find washing soda at walmart, and did a quick search on my phone and that was what I came up with...just wanted to see if anyone had actually used the PH Pool stuff instead and if it came out the same?

Thanks in advance! All input is appreciated!

 

[miss_thenorth]

Yes, it's the same stuff, although i have not had a problem buying the washing soda, some ppl here use the ph +.

 

[EggsForIHOP]

Thank you! I think they were out at Wally world today - lots of empty spots in the laundry aisles! I am off to make soap now!

 

[buckeye lady]

Sodium Bicarbonate (NaHCO3)=Baking Soda

Sodium Carbonate (Na2CO3)=Soda Ash/Wash Soda/Pool Ph increaser

I use both in my soap.

1 cup of each plus a cup of borax and 1 grated bar of Ivory.

 

[EggsForIHOP]

So I made the powdered soap recipe AND the oxyclean recipe (that's some crucial stuff around since I work in a restaurant and I come home greasy on the regular)....AND....

DH and I stood there and watched the first load in amazement but IT WORKED! I am so excited - few of my friends get it, some even asked if I was ready for the apocalypse - I think they are jealous because I am so cool if I do say so myself!


Anyways...just had to share with people who get it.

 

[~gd]

Yes, it's the same stuff, although i have not had a problem buying the washing soda, some ppl here use the ph +.

I am a trained chemist and spent 13 years producing dry and liquid laundry products as well as (hand) dishwashing liquids, and automatic dishwasher powders.
Sorry but Sodium Carbonate =Washing Soda. Sodium Bicarbonate=Baking Soda (no idea what they are called as pool chemicals) The Washing Soda is the stronger of the two and acts as a water softener, but the bicarbonate is a good helper and aids in deodorant and in capturing oily soil so it doesnt settle back on the clothes. Frankly if you have really hard water you are wasting your time with Soap because it is just going to form soap scum which will settle back on your clothes during the spin cycle. Huge amounts of Sodium carbonate would be needed to offset the hardness of really hard water. I suggest you experiment with something like Dawn dishwashing detergent instead of soap if you have hard water or a detergent (not soap) bar if you insist on a totally dry blend. Another addition I would suggest to a dry blend is cup of Sodium Tripolyphosphate (STPP) (usually can be found in hardware and paint stores where it is sold as a scrubbing agent for old paint surfaces [dilute) or as a paint stripper [concentrated]. Because it is fairly caustic a lot of substitutes are sold claiming to be as effective as STPP, try them if you want but they wont work as well. DO NOT OVERUSE! The cup I mentioned is for the larger sized recipe seen most on this site (2 cups + 2cups etc). Phosphates were a very common and effective laundry powder ingredient before the government placed strict limits on their use and some areas banned them completely because they were acting as fertilizer for algae on rivers or streams. If you have a septic system they will just fertilize your lawn, if going to a sewer system, how good a citizen do you want to be?

 

[miss_thenorth]

Yes, it's the same stuff, although i have not had a problem buying the washing soda, some ppl here use the ph +.

I am a trained chemist and spent 13 years producing dry and liquid laundry products as well as (hand) dishwashing liquids, and automatic dishwasher powders.
Sorry but Sodium Carbonate =Washing Soda. Sodium Bicarbonate=Baking Soda (no idea what they are called as pool chemicals) The Washing Soda is the stronger of the two and acts as a water softener, but the bicarbonate is a good helper and aids in deodorant and in capturing oily soil so it doesnt settle back on the clothes. Frankly if you have really hard water you are wasting your time with Soap because it is just going to form soap scum which will settle back on your clothes during the spin cycle. Huge amounts of Sodium carbonate would be needed to offset the hardness of really hard water. I suggest you experiment with something like Dawn dishwashing detergent instead of soap if you have hard water or a detergent (not soap) bar if you insist on a totally dry blend. Another addition I would suggest to a dry blend is cup of Sodium Tripolyphosphate (STPP) (usually can be found in hardware and paint stores where it is sold as a scrubbing agent for old paint surfaces [dilute) or as a paint stripper [concentrated]. Because it is fairly caustic a lot of substitutes are sold claiming to be as effective as STPP, try them if you want but they wont work as well. DO NOT OVERUSE! The cup I mentioned is for the larger sized recipe seen most on this site (2 cups + 2cups etc). Phosphates were a very common and effective laundry powder ingredient before the government placed strict limits on their use and some areas banned them completely because they were acting as fertilizer for algae on rivers or streams. If you have a septic system they will just fertilize your lawn, if going to a sewer system, how good a citizen do you want to be?

The stuff needed in the homemade laundry soap is the same stuff as the ph+ sold in the pool section. that is what I was responding to when I said it is the same stuff. Yes. It is sodium carbonate.

I am quite happy with my homemade laundry soap, and have been using it for three years.

 

[EggsForIHOP]

LOL! I just caught my typo, though I did catch it verbally MUCH earlier today! My friend called and I got ALL excited telling him about my soap, well, he cleans pools for a living, and corrected me on what I had been calling it, at which point I ran and checked the bottle, I DO have the right stuff - it lists sodium CARBONATE as the active ingredient - not the bicarbonate! I just can't speak or spell worth a darn when I get excited! The laundry came out clean though, and that's what matters most!

Though I will admit, my husband thought I was making a bomb in the washing machine for a bit...I think he's scared a little when I play with chemicals - ONE TIME, ONE TIME I SAY, I dropped a bottle of the stuff for the dishwasher coming in the house with the groceries (I think it was Cascade)...AND TURNED THE BRAND NEW DARK CARPET WHITE where it fell and busted open - I had no clue it was full of bleaching agents or some such! So he worries a little, which makes me worry a little...but all is well, I did it right! THE LAUNDRY IS DONE MAN!

And...as a post script...might I add I actually hung up quite a bit of it to dry outside while I was at it Haven't done that in YEARS! I am so proud, and really striving to make a change in our life, one day and one small step at a time...sorry, just realized how long this had become...I shall away now...

 

[kcsunshine]

Good for you honey, jump in with both feet!

 

[Farmfresh]

All of that stuff our old detergents and cleaners were full of that we did not know about is one reason I started using the homemade laundry soaps. That AND they were costing me a fortune.

gd it is really nice to have a chemist on board here. You could teach us a lot! I have heard that adding plain salt to the basic laundry recipe will aid the hard water situation. What is your take on that?