Can home made laundry soap be used in a front loader?

[Quiver0f10]

I have always used regular liquid laundry soap in my front loader but just used a lot less than what is recommended for a top loader. I tried home made powdered for a while and did like how it cleaned but it clumped in the dispenser so I stopped using it. I recently bought HE detergent but that is so pricey I'd like to try making liquid but I am worried about it causing trouble with the machine.

 

So do you use liquid and have you had any trouble? Thanks!

[Firefly]

I use homemade in my front loader (for about a year now), and no problems. :)

[junepep]

you can use it, but it might be a good idea to run a quick load of dish detergent through the empty machine once a month just to clear the gook out.

 

I haven't had mildew problems that way, which is nice.

 

As for cleanliness, well, the HE is just so expensive, but I really don't feel like my clothes are as clean with the homemade soap :/ but, a lot of that might be mental (or because I'm in such a rush that I've overloaded the machine -- it's only supposed to ever be 2/3 full-- eeeepp!).

[bookfiend]

My understanding is that HE/front-loading machines need a low sudsing soap. Homemade laundry soap is very low sudsing. If you are concerned, I would make the soap with fels naptha rather than bar soap (like Dove).

[ZooRho]

I have used it in mine for about 4 years now

[cjzimmer1]

I used powdered homemade (because I find the liquid to be messier) for about a year. It was okay although I found I was having to treat more spots to get them clean. Since I didn't want to bother with checking each thing, I switched to powdered Tide. Yes the box is expensive but I only use 1 TBSP per load. It gets the clothes clean, I'm not having spots and since I'm only using a small fraction of the recommended amount the box is lasting forever. Long term I think the cost will actually come close to homemade because I needed 2 TBSP with homemade and I had to buy a spot treater.

[Frontier Mom]

I use one bar Ivory soap, one cup Borax and one cup washing soda. Grate the soap and add the others. With this one, one, one combo you can make as much as you want. I put it in my powdered detergent designated slot and it doesn't clog. Gets our clothes clean and that says tons for my boys!! They actually comment on how good it smells. Now that is unusual. One ds has sensitive skin and this has made a huge difference for him. No complaints about the cleanliness of the clothes.

 

The only thing I have to add extra cleaner for is baseball pants but I had to do that with Tide as well. I use Purple Power from the automotive department at Walmart for those and it cleans without eating them away like bleach. Pretty cheap too.