liquid laundry soap

[~gd]

Just a suggestion to those having issues with whites being dingy -- one word -- bluing. Aunt Lydia's Liquid Bluing is what I use I get it at the grocery store in the laundry section. Add a bit to the load when doing whites, follow the instructions on the bottle. Bluing is one of the ingredients in commerical soaps and is what gives them the ability to make whites look so good. Our 19th Century predecessors (and my grandma whom I learned this trick from) rountinly used bluing in laundry back in the day. The soaps and such used for ingredients in the homemade detergents are what cause the fabric to get dingy and yellowed to begin with (the fats used in the soap production specifically), the bluing provides an optical illusion that the human eye translates as whiteness. Hope this helps.

Wrong about the oils used to make soap causing dingyness the pure oils tend to wash right out. Dingyness is caused by soap scum, The complex made up of soap and the Hardness minerals in the water. Right on the bluing but mostly they have been replaced with optical brighteners which absorb light at one wavelength [color] and emit it at otherr wavelengths. These are not optical illustions as they can be seen using a spectrophotometer.~gd

 

[~gd]

There are two different separations. One you just shake the jug, the soap is still dispersed in the liquid, but it's not "perfect". The other separation is when the soap all floats to the top and it is nothing like laundry detergent. It's the latter that needs to be cooked. The former is just normal and just needs a quick shake of the container.


ETA: I know I've mentioned it before, but I noticed that Walmart has unscented fabric softener. I'm going to look for some nice manly scents for George. I've been looking for his old spice scent for soaps, but figured what the hey, if I buy the fabric softener in unscented, I can put some of that fragrance into a small batch for his clothes yet too. I'll obviously be using a different scent for my own clothes, and I'll have to get a unisex scent for when I've got clothes that are a mixed bag of both of our clothes. But, I'm excited. When you just take a square of cloth and dip it into the fabric softener, then wring it out and toss it into the dryer with your clothes, you use FAR less softener than using it in the wash cycle. You can also let your cloth dry and then it can be used for several cycles before needing to be infused again. I personally prefer the wet method though, as it's quicker, less messy and provides more softness for your clothes, but that's just personal preference. Using them dry gives more boost than the store-bought disposable dryer sheets, wet method provides a lot more.

I'm also looking into the dryer balls... Those balls of wool that you toss in with the clothes. It's said that you can infuse these with scents or fabric softener as well.

Carefull though too much fabric softener can build up on your clothing and make it look dingy. And there are two different types of fabric softener one is better for synethic fabricks while the other one works betral on natural fibers both can interfer with putting a sharp creas on cloths and tend to reduce wringles. Laundry making class ia over for this week....~gd

 

[hqueen13]

Alright... I noticed my socks are not getting clean, and are staying stinky, which is just not cool....

My current recipe is:
4 Cups Washing Soda
3 Cups Baking Soda
1 bar fels naptha, grated, tossed in the blender

It seems to dissolve well. I am using a very small amount, maybe 1 1/2 TBSP, not sure exactly. Much more than that will create white streaks in the clothes.
I am not using borax due to a reference to how it affects the environment that someone posted here, that I can't find anymore. We're on a septic tank, so our waste is much closer to the environment, and we technically live in a park, and I just don't like doing things like that to the environment. Anyway....

Any suggestions for getting the socks cleaner? The other half said he also noticed that his jeans didn't seem to be as clean either.

I add the detergent powder to the water, let it dissolve then start adding clothes. I also fill the fabric softener thing with white vinegar instead of fabric softener, but that is all that is done.

Thanks yall! (I'll try not to stay under my rock for quite so long this time!)

 

[moolie]

I think that leaving out the borax may be your problem I use the standard recipe and it works great.

I did a quick google search for "borax bad for septic?" and didn't find anything that suggested it is bad...

http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/water/az1160/
http://www.inspectapedia.com/septic/Septic_Tank_Washing_Machines.htm
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/ge...ions/352373-h-m-laundry-detergent-septic.html
http://www.20muleteamlaundry.com/about/what-is-borax/

Hope that helps with your socks!

 

[hqueen13]

I tried searching to see if I could find the post, and couldn't find it :-/ Very annoying!
At any rate, I googled, and found that it is reported to be a hormone disrupt-er and an irritant to skin and eyes (duh!?)

From what I remember of the post, it wasn't that it created a problem within the septic system, it was that it leaching directly into the environment over time caused a problem. Wish I could find that post now...

 

[moxies_chickennuggets]

I used the dry mix for a year...and was not impressed with it's ability to clean. Right now, I am back to using the store stuff, and the dry mix as a booster. My clothes were just coming out dingy and ugly with the dry home made recipe. I didn't think they smelled clean either. Maybe it's the water(?) We have hard water, with clay sediments. Well and septic.

it is;

Fels/Zote shredded
Borax
washing soda

I don't remember the amounts right off.

 

[Denim Deb]

I used the dry mix for a year...and was not impressed with it's ability to clean. Right now, I am back to using the store stuff, and the dry mix as a booster. My clothes were just coming out dingy and ugly with the dry home made recipe. I didn't think they smelled clean either. Maybe it's the water(?) We have hard water, with clay sediments. Well and septic.

Same here. I stock up on it when it's on sale (Arm and Hammer). It's not much more expensive than making my own, and much easier to use.

 

[Wannabefree]

Mix some regular table salt in that detergent to help it clean better. The salt softens your water. I'd mix in about a cup per batch of salt and see how that does for you.

 

[Emerald]

Mix some regular table salt in that detergent to help it clean better. The salt softens your water. I'd mix in about a cup per batch of salt and see how that does for you.

That is what I do but I melt about 1 cup of water softener salt with the soap bits when I make the liquid stuff. it has made a world of difference. my water is rock hard. I use a lot of white cheap vinegar for cleaning and put a bit of a glug in the softener spot with the fabric softener. it really made a difference in the dinge factor. you never smell the vinegar once the clothing is dried.
I do have bluing tho.. I may start using it for something other than growing salt crystals with the grandbabies..

 

[Wannabefree]

Yeah, we have very hard water as well. I forget where I read that, btu it does work quite well