Washing soda

[Cassandra]

Gah-lee, y'all!

I've been looking all over for a place to buy washing soda, but haven't found any locally. And I have looked... like EVERY where. John went shopping tonight and I told him to check the garden section to see if there was any sodium carbonate (a.k.a. washing soda) in the pool chemicals section. He said there's not, since that's all seasonal and pool season is over.

I got online looking for a source of this stuff to buy in bulk if possible.

MIStake!

If I buy three boxes of washing soda at soapsgonebuy.com, WITH shipping costs, it ends up to be about $2.40 a lb. Without shipping it is less than a dollar. Sodium carbonate for pool and other uses is CRAZY expensive. $7.95 for a pound was the cheapest I found it, and this doesn't include shipping because I didn't try to order any.

Buying it in huge bulk (like a 70lb buckets) probably would have been cheaper (without shipping) but I'm not buying $150 worth of the stuff at a time........ geeze. :/

Cassandra

 

[Beekissed]

Krogers has it. When I don't have it, I just use twice the amount of Borax and it does just fine.

 

[1acrefarm]

I subbed sun oxygen cleaner for washing soda. It is not a perfect match it has sodium percarbonate along with the sodium carbonate but so far so good. I have only washed two loads with the homemade stuff but I am already sold on it.

 

[miss_thenorth]

I gave my gf the recipe for homemade soap, and she had a hard time finding the washing soda too. Problem was, it says SO CLEAN in very big letters, and Arm & Hammer washing soda in very small letters. She was missing it. It should be in the laundry isle--right around your laundry bar of soap, and borax.

My suggestion is to get out the phone book and call lotsa places before you drive all over, and also before you order online. Stores have electronic inventory, so all the have to do is look it up on their computers.

 

[punkin]

I finally found Washing Soda at my local Ingles Grocery Store.

 

[patandchickens]

and also to take what people say about what chains do/don't have it in their areas with a BIG grain of salt, because stores' inventories vary and whether my X-brand store carries a particular item is not a particularly good predictor of whether yours does. Phone around.

Also it is worth phoning around if you find yourself taking a longer trip -- if you are going a coupla hrs away for something else ANYhow, and there's an item you're chronically searching for, use an online phone directory to find store #s along your route and call. Just in case.

P.S. store inventory is a weird thing. I was CONVINCED that "Quisp" cereal, which I grew up with and have strong nostalgic feelings for even though it is basically just sugar and chemicals , had been discontinued decades and decades ago. In fact over the years I only ever found 1 other person who had even heard of it. Then in 2001 I was in Madison WI for meetings and stopped at a supermarket for, like, juice and cookies, and LO AND BEHOLD there was Quisp! Which it turns out *is* still made, but is distributed in only small number of very localized pockets. (Or anyhow was at the time). I mailed my laundry home and took 5 boxes of Quisp back in my carryon

Point being, good luck and keep looking

Pat

 

[PotterWatch]

Guess I'm lucky to live in So. California in some ways. It's always pool season here. I was able to buy a big jug of it for about $5. Enough to keep me in laundry soap for about 2 years, lol.

 

[Cassandra]

Noted, everybody! Thanks for the tips and substitutions.

(haha sugar & chemicals, one of my favorite meals. )

Cassandra

 

[FarmerChick]

Cassandra
Ask the grocery store you visit the most to ORDER it in for you....they will....if you have a nice manager he will easily order in a few cases for the store to sell.

no harm in asking...but like a few said, it is located at the bottom of the laundry aisle, hidden, obscure little box that you might be walking by over and over again...LOL-LOL---I missed it a million times..HA HA

 

[Wildsky]

I bought a couple of boxes on line - along with that fels-naptha soap to make laundry detergent. Perhaps I'll look around and see if they have the other items in my store.