Laundry Detergent: Totally Unnecessary

[The_Virginian]

I've stopped using detergent when I do my laundry.

Ewwww....

Rotting oils from your skin embedded in your clothing... forever.

Ewwww.....

When I was a kid in chicago ( 3 terrible years there) I intentionally did not change my chlothes very often...I found them warmer on the second and third days....yes the body oils helped here, and I knew that at 9 YO.

I specifically remember one teacher walking into class, sniffing and telling everyone we needed to take baths...so I was not the only one:lol:

FF @ 30 years later: As for laundry soap, I use it sparingly , but I add AMONIA. :-Cant disinfect coin laundy wahsers enough...whitens and brightens as well for a side benefit.And I use hot water, G-D willing I get a home, I may give up most of the "cleaners." A little oxyclean is also a good thing, costco has em cheap when cupons are available.

[patience]

Anything with sodium lauryl sulfate in it is not allowed in our house. They put the stuff in toothpaste, too, and it really ain't good for you. http://www.natural-health-information-c ... lfate.html

We use homemade laundry soap: borax, washing soda, and soap. We use vinegar in the rinse water to help remove the soap, and the clothes come out clean and soft. But a big part of that success is the fact that we are using rainwater to wash with. Doesn't work at all with our "city water", which was pretty hard and that made soap into scum. First we needed to address the quality of water we use, then, the cleaning agents.

For toothbrushing, we use baking soda and water, with a few drops of hydrogen peroxide. We make simple lye soap for washing ourselves and the dishes. We wash windows with water, rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol, and add a little ammonia if they are really grimy. For my greasy hands after working in the shop, we have a batch of our homemade soap with some pumice powder added. Soapmaking only takes a weekend to make a couple years supply, and it isn't rocket science.

[Heineken]

Patience, you are Procter & Gamble's worst nightmare. Kudos.

[Brodie]

I recently stopped using detergent.I now use 11.5 Alkaline Water for dark clothes and 2.5 PH Acid water for whites,the clothes are incredibly clean and I have also eliminated the need for most cleaning supplies due to the cleansing and disinfecting properties of these waters.
The water is derived from standard tap water at about .02 cents per gallon ,a load of clothes only requires 2 quarts.
The Kangen Machine is available and to learn more go to-www.H2OHealth.info
Brodie/NW Washington

[Heineken]

I recently stopped using detergent.I now use 11.5 Alkaline Water for dark clothes and 2.5 PH Acid water for whites,the clothes are incredibly clean and I have also eliminated the need for most cleaning supplies due to the cleansing and disinfecting properties of these waters.
The water is derived from standard tap water at about .02 cents per gallon ,a load of clothes only requires 2 quarts.
The Kangen Machine is available and to learn more go to-www.H2OHealth.info
Brodie/NW Washington

Aren't you the same spammer who was selling the Leaf on the electric cars thread? Man, you get around.

[Serial_Worrier]

I recently stopped using detergent.I now use 11.5 Alkaline Water for dark clothes and 2.5 PH Acid water for whites,the clothes are incredibly clean and I have also eliminated the need for most cleaning supplies due to the cleansing and disinfecting properties of these waters.
The water is derived from standard tap water at about .02 cents per gallon ,a load of clothes only requires 2 quarts.
The Kangen Machine is available and to learn more go to-www.H2OHealth.info
Brodie/NW Washington

Remind me not to come anywhere you or your kind. But I'm sure your neighbors will know you by the stench.

[papalegba]

About 16 years ago we laid out the dough for high-tech front-loading German Miele washing machine on the theory - since proven - that it was cheaper in the long run because it uses much less hot water and electricity to do its job. It also does its job better, getting clothes cleaner with a LOT less detergent - we use between a teaspoon and a tablespoon per load, depending on dirt, and it works great. As a consequence, we go through about five pounds of detergent per YEAR.

A side benefit is that it spins about 95% of the water of the clothes - it spins up to 1600 rpm, we call it the 'Messerschmidt'! - which means that we don't need a dryer. They come out of the washer almost dry, and after you hang them up for a few hours, they're bone dry, even in the humid Northwest climate that we live in.

[Heineken]

Good recommendation, Papa. That machine sounds like a real winner, for all the reasons you give. Although no doubt very expensive up front.

[Ayoob]

I make my own laundry soap with a bar of Ivory, a cup of washing soda, a cup of OxyClean or a suitable substitute depending on prices, a quarter cup of borax, and a quarter cup of baking soda. Grind the soap in my food processor, dump one bar in one bowl. Keep the rest of the ingredients handy.

Switch the blade to the cutter/mixer blade, and add one bar of soap plus the other ingredients, spin it on high and let it think about things for a minute, then dump into the laundry soap box. Repeat as necessary.

This year we gave it out as Christmas presents so I wound up making a triple batch. One bowl for each bar of soap, add other ingredients as necessary.

If you use the vinegar trick, you can also take an old rag and put a couple drops of your favorite aromatic oil on there to give your clothes a nice smell. Blood orange is great, lavender for the girls' stuff, etc. I think it does a great job of getting everything clean for day to day use.

Once a month or so we use regular Chlorine bleach and whiten the m_therf_ck out of everything. Bleach breaks down fabric so this spaces out the number of times I use it, and probably lengthens the time I can use the clothing.

I have nothing against bleach, and bleach does a crappy job of cleaning out my pressure canner.... it's just a matter of knowing when to use which. I use bleach all the time to give the kids' bathtub a nice microbial holocaust. I just stagger it with vinegar one time, bleach the next, and hot water/soap the third time. I suppose I could use citric acid to add another step, but I haven't tried that yet.

If I had to calculate the cost per load for laundry detergent, I think it would be about ten cents per load, with at least half of that being the vinegar. Double the price if you use aromatic oils... that sh_t is expensive.

[papalegba]

Good recommendation, Papa. That machine sounds like a real winner, for all the reasons you give. Although no doubt very expensive up front.

Yeah, we thought long and hard about it, but in the end went for it.

A couple of years later our neighbors went for one as well and they're delighted with their's too.

[dinopello]

Detergent being used as a form of currency

Police believe thieves are using the soap on the black market, which retails for $10-$20, to buy drugs. On the black market, Tide is often referred to as "liquid gold" and can go for $5-$10 per bottle.

So why is Tide the only detergent being targeted? Authorities list several reasons: Tide is instantly recognizable because of its Day-Glo orange bottle; it is one of the most expensive brands of laundry detergent; and it does not have serial numbers, so it cannot be tracked.

[Serial_Worrier]

Detergent being used as a form of currency

Police believe thieves are using the soap on the black market, which retails for $10-$20, to buy drugs. On the black market, Tide is often referred to as "liquid gold" and can go for $5-$10 per bottle.

So why is Tide the only detergent being targeted? Authorities list several reasons: Tide is instantly recognizable because of its Day-Glo orange bottle; it is one of the most expensive brands of laundry detergent; and it does not have serial numbers, so it cannot be tracked.

Once we get to "The Road" scenario there won't be more then a few bars of soap. The cannibal gangs will control them all.

[Beery1]

BTW, jocks and socks probably need more than cold water to kill unpleasant bacteria, although if the clothes are dried in the sun the UV will most likely do the job.

Be aware - most bacteria are either beneficial or harmless. Many people go through life with jock itch and other fungal infections that are helped along by our obsession with making everything bacteria-free. The vast majority of people have no idea that the natural bacteria on our bodies exist in a symbiotic relationship with our immune systems, making sure that fungal infections can never thrive.

The medical community has undergone a revolution in the past 50 years, as they have found out about the beneficial activities of bacteria. Medical procedures such as circumcision that were considered beneficial 60 years ago are now being found to be seriously harmful, as they destroy local immune systems that rely on microflora and specialized cells (that are found in the foreskin) to attack and neutralize funguses and even viruses.

[Beery1]

I've stopped using detergent when I do my laundry.

Ewwww....

Rotting oils from your skin embedded in your clothing... forever.

Ewwww.....

Those oils preserve and moisturize clothing. We even buy lanolin-enriched laundry detergent. Guess what lanolin is - the same skin oils that we humans produce, except they are produced by sheep. We wash out our human oils and replace them with sheep oils that do the exact same job, only slightly less effectively.

[Serial_Worrier]

I've stopped using detergent when I do my laundry.

Ewwww....

Rotting oils from your skin embedded in your clothing... forever.

Ewwww.....

Those oils preserve and moisturize clothing. We even buy lanolin-enriched laundry detergent. Guess what lanolin is - the same skin oils that we humans produce, except they are produced by sheep. We wash out our human oils and replace them with sheep oils that do the exact same job, only slightly less effectively.

You're seriously grossing me out. None of my gay friends would be caught dead wearing anything less then super hot washed clothes dried with Snuggle.