Laundry Detergent: Totally Unnecessary

[Doly]

But I believe that adequate sanitation in the field of laundry is achieved, for most of us, by washing our clothing in plain cold water and hanging it up to dry in the sun and wind.

Sanitation in clothes isn't such a big issue in most cases. The only clothes that can be a sanitation issue are underwear, and that should be changed often and washed separately with a reasonable amount of detergent (which isn't much, given the little material you're washing).

Still, oil and fat stains will never go away in cold water, and apart from looking ugly, reduce the durability of clothes.

[mekrob]

I'm not sure how much this thread as evolved since I read it (only the first page), but I'd like to comment that they have new, more concentrated liquid detergents (which I use). In addition, at my school, we have highly efficient washers which use even less, so when I do my laundry, I use maybe a teaspoon for a very large load. Just saying for those that still wish to use it.

[Heineken]

Less is better, mekrob, but again, I've found it makes no meaningful difference (as far as my own standards are concerned---admittedly not the same as some people's standards on this matter). But hell, why not go all the way. Then you can pass up the detergent aisle altogether at the supermarket. And what a great feeling that is.

Perhaps the key to all this is drying the clothes on a line outdoors. The sun and wind make clothing smell more clean and glorious than anything that comes out of a dryer.

Obviously, that route is not going to work for apartment dwellers or for suburbanites whose neighbors are enraged by the sight of laundry hanging from a line.

[emailking]

I always wash in cold water since warm water is a waste of coal, but I have found that stains generally come out if I apply detergent right to the stain and rub it in before washing. Not directly applying detergent to the stain allows the stain to hang around, possibly permanently. I plan to continue using detergent until the crash.

[Heineken]

Very well, emailking.

I know that some people need to be mindful of stains because of their jobs and certain social factors.

But, living on a farm as I do, I don't give a hoot about stains.

[emailking]

Very well, emailking.

I know that some people need to be mindful of stains because of their jobs and certain social factors.

But, living on a farm as I do, I don't give a hoot about stains.

In that situation, I probably wouldn't care for most of my clothes either.

[frankthetank]

If you have a problem crapping your pants, then you might want to face that issue before worrying about PO.

I have washed boxers (thats what i wear) in cold water and hung (OUTSIDE) to dry and they smell great (i only wear them one day and then clean). Yes...i do confirm that they are clean with the "nose" test and i have offered the wife to also confirm, but she denies my request often.

However, the majority of the time i do use some detergent (very little) because we have hard water here and the soap doesn't come out is good (or so i've read).

I only wear Merino wool socks in the winter, and usually i get by with just sandles in the summer. Cotton socks don't hold up enough for me. I've noticed that even when my shoes stink, the wool socks just smell like wool...they don't get stinky like cotton.

Growing up my mom washed everything in bleach water. Let me tell you, those clothes took a beating and didn't last very long. The colors faded like crazy.

[Heineken]

Very well, emailking.

I know that some people need to be mindful of stains because of their jobs and certain social factors.

But, living on a farm as I do, I don't give a hoot about stains.

In that situation, I probably wouldn't care for most of my clothes either.

Goodness, of course I care for my clothes. I wash 'em when they're dirty, darn 'em when they get holes, sew on buttons when they fall off. When they finally start falling apart, I turn 'em into rags. (I hardly ever buy clothes, and when I do I do so at Goodwill. To me, the idea of spending $70 for a pair of pants or $40 for a shirt is sheerest madness.)

It's just that I don't obsess about stains.

Most people don't really notice them anyway. We have the idea that the whole world is staring at us and studying us, but most people are busy paying attention to themselves, not others.

[Laurasia]

Okay, I washed our laundry tonight in cold water as usual and cut the amount of detergent I used in half. Noticed no difference from last week. Next week I will cut the amount in half again. I've always hung out the washing, and if it's raining (like tonight) I hang the clothes on airers indoors - I don't get the glorious smell of sun-baked cotton that I love, but I go with whatever the weather demands.

Anyway, if I can cut out, or almost cut out, the use of detergent, I would consider that a mark of progress in my efforts to simplify. Thanks, Heineken, for adding another dimension!

Regards,

L.

[Loki]

OK Heineken, you've convinced me to try washing all my clothes in cold water, even my stinky underwear and socks (and yes, they are very stinky), and to cut my detergent in half. I only use hot water to wash my underwear and socks, but I'll try cold water. I already use half what the detergent box says to use, but I will cut that half in half. If the results are satisfactory, I will cut that quarter even further.

I'm not terribly fastidious about the cleanliness of my clothing. I wear my pants and shirts until they have a noticeable smell, and my underwear two or three times. Socks I wash after one wearing, though. My feet stink bad enough as it is.

Someone else (I think PrairieMule) mentioned this product before, but does anyone have direct experience with the Wonder Clean Washing Machine? I'm seriously considering buying one. I figure it would pay for itself within a year, plus I wouldn't have to wait for my neighbors to finish their laundry, I can do small loads, and it would make washing clothes sans electricity much easier.

[ironborne]

I was hooking up my Mothers washing machine yesterday and she said not to turn on the hot water because she doesn't use it. I thought that was strange so later I questioned the wife and she said she doesn't wash in anything but cold either. My laundry is always fresh so cold must be the way to go.
On the subject of tough stains such as grease and oil, the laundromats in my area offer potash. It's abrasive but it works.

[gg3]

Loki, that's the same thing I described as the "WonderWash" on the previous page in this topic.

Capacity about 2 - 3 lbs. (e.g. one pair of jeans and a T-shirt, or a few shirts, etc.) You can also use cold or warm water (as well as the hot water procedure they describe in their product info). Turn the crank slowly for 30 - 50 revolutions, 10 in one direction, 10 in the other, etc. until done. You also have to do a couple of rinses.

The same company makes a little counter-top spin dryer for $69.95 which has the same capacity as the WonderWash (a couple of pounds) and is a whole lot better than trying to squeeze out water by hand.

And even folks with conventional washers could find this combination useful for dealing with difficult cases such as a pair of poopy pants or small batches of stuff you want to wash at high temp.

On the other hand go search for "Danby DTT-420," which is what I use. Does a load of 6-1/2 lbs. for 0.07 KWH, which is the same amount of power you'd use leaving a 60-watt bulb on for an hour and 10 minutes; uses half the water of a conventional top-loader. I can explain this one in more detail later if anyone's interested (I have to scoot now, be back tomorrow night).

[Mudpuppy]

Loki,

Well, when I was a student we didn't have a washing machine so my student shared house (three people), used the Wonda wash for about three years (exact same device as pictured, I am from new zelaand so it probably had a different marketing name). The infomercial that convinced me to phone up and get it (yes, yes, .. I know... the innocence of youth) said in just ten turns, a quick rinse and you're done, and your clothes come out better than a washing machine (it had fancy diagrams showing how the spinning motion was physically this and that, and that it was the mechanical motion of it that did wonders).

Well, it was more like 200 turns, two rinses, and I was done. But I have to say it never matched a normal washing machine. So it depends what you are after. If you are living in a rural community and just want relatively clean clothes, and have the time to bother with it, then it is fine (being a male university student from a rural sheep farming valley, time and worrying about clean laundry factored very low on my priority list... unless I thought it would be noticed by a female student).

So, it depends on your lifestyle. If you need white white shirts for work, it is probably not a good idea. And as far as just soaking with detergent in water goes, when I lived in Nepal, water was at a premium in summer, so for laundry I would leave clothes to soak with detergent in the hot summer heat for a day before hand washing. But they still never came out as clean as a machine. The locals (as is common in India as well) would just wash their clothes by beating them over and over again (basically scrunching up the clothes, one piece at a time, with water and a little detergent, and kneeding it like bread dough, and then after that they would swat them like they were a wet towel against the same boulder or rock). They would do that for ages, so I just paid local woman to do that for my clothes and THAT did wash my clothes every bit as good as a washing machine.

But it was bleeding murder on my clothes I can tell you. Any plastic buttons usually came back split. The detergent unfortunately was a huge problem there as the best place to do laundry was in a lake and the detergent from hundreds of women washing all day long caused algae blooms in the lake.

[EndOfGrowth]

An old washing machine engineer once told me that washing powder is mostly bleached sand, which actually causes clothes to fade and wear out prematurely due to all the friction.

For those obsessed with eliminating bacteria..

http://ww2.samsung.co.za/silvernano/sil ... chine.html

[Heineken]

Kudos to all who have stepped forward and decided they will at least reduce the amount of laundry detergent they use.

If you feel you simply must use anoint your clothing with detergent, probably you could get by with a squirt of dishwashing liquid. Soap is basically soap, no matter how it is packaged (and priced).

As others have noted, bleach wears out clothing fast. An even worse effect, for people with a septic system, is that bleach kills the bacteria that help the system work.

[nwildmand]

i also use very little detergent. i guess i always considered the recomended amount wasteful. my bottle of detergent is well over a year old and still 2/3 full.

the only thing im anal about keeping clean is socks and underwear. ill change my socks at lunchtime if i have the chance.

work shirts go for a couple of days before they hit the bin. the same jeans (this may gross some out) will be worn to work for weeks at a time.

as for my good clothes... i figure if i take a shower and put them on for a night on the town how can they get dirty? needless to say they dont get washed much either.


so tell me people in the know... why do some people stink so bad? they wear doederant and shower everyday and have all kinds of soaps and if they dont keep up with it they just reek to high heaven. i myself shower every 3-4 days never use soap (i figure the shampoo running off my head is good enough - ive got a lot of hair) and have never bought doederant in my life. i dont stink. and i know its not me not being able to smell myself. one time this summer i was on the road working and sleeping in my van. i had not showered for 12 days. i got home that night looking like i had been drug through a knothole and went straight to the bar. i asked a couple of my friends who are known for their brutal honesty if i stank. they said they could not smell anything.

so why do some people reek so bad when their hygine is so much better than mine.

i think that all that crap they put on their body is throwing there personal bacteria off balance leaving only super bacteria behind.

any thought on this?

[Heineken]

Off the top of my head . . . the answer lies, wild man, in factors like skin pH and the unique species mix and population of bacteria that one's skin supports. These vary from person to person. Things like diet and exercise also have an impact, I believe. Humans have natural odors that, at least to dogs, are as unique as signatures.

I'm a lot like you. I use shampoo and deodorant rather rarely and take a shower only every third day or so, at least in winter. These habits have cured me of a dry-skin-in-winter problem I used to have.

After a period of labor or exercise, I often just wipe the sweaty areas off with a wet washcloth, then dry thoroughly. Works fine.

No need to absorb any more nasty chemicals than necessary. (This also applies to laundry detergent, which imparts chemicals to our clothes that may be absorbed through the skin.)

Your Darwinian theory about "super bacteria" on the skin of people who constantly wash and constantly apply deodorant and antibacterial soap makes sense.

[Laurasia]

Well, my washing done on "half-rations" has turned out just fine, so it's quarter-rations next washday. Interestingly on the lovely subject of poopy pants, Heineken mentioned boiling or throwing them away. When I was a little girl, baby diapers/nappies were always boiled in a special big pan (used for nothing else) with borax, I think. They were boiled on the stove, and turned with big wooden tongs, lifted out, rinsed and hung out to dry. Any staining still left was usually taken care of by the Sun.

I've also decided to cut down on the amount of dishwashing liquid I use when I wash the dishes - "just enough soap to break the surface tension on the water" as my Dad used to say.

Regards,

L.

[Heineken]

Congrats, Laurasia.

Anyone trying what Laurasia is doing will discover exactly the same thing---less detergent equals the same results.

[Loki]

I've also decided to cut down on the amount of dishwashing liquid I use when I wash the dishes - "just enough soap to break the surface tension on the water" as my Dad used to say.

That's another good subject. I tend to be kind of stingy with laundry soap and body soap, but I do lather on the dishwashing soap. I hand wash all my dishes with a sponge that I keep very soapy. Anyone have a more efficient method? I don't have an automatic dishwasher, so that's not an option. A bottle of dishwashing liquid will last me for quite a few months, but I do often think that I'm using too much.

And thanks to gg3 and Mudpuppy for relaying their experiences with that wonder washer gizmo. So who's right? Should I get it or not? Funds are rather tight with me at the moment, so I don't want to drop $40-$50 on something that won't work very well. Is it durable? Will it last for years or is it typical plastic junk that falls apart with regular use?