Laundry Detergent

[joannqn]

I have VERY sensitive skin. I had to stop using All Free and Clear Liquid because it started to bother me. It makes me itch horribly.

 

I've been using Method lately. It works for my skin but does not clean our clothes. Sometimes they come out with stuff still caked on them (ie. food on baby's clothes). Most of our clothes are stained now, and it seems I have another article or two stained with every load.

 

Is there anything that actually cleans but won't make me claw my skin off?

[Ellie]

:grouphug:

 

Mr. Ellie has very sensitive skin 'cuz he's that kind of guy :D but I can only use Amway laundry products; otherwise his skin is a terrible mess.

 

You can probably find an Amway IBO in your community.

[Mrs Mungo]

I have had a terrible time finding laundry detergents that will work and that don't give me an itchy rash. I like the Seventh Generation liquid detergent, I can even use their scented detergent!

[MyLittleWonders]

Country Save powder might work too. It doesn't have any extra stuff in it (fragrances, brighteners, enzymes), and rinses very clean. It also cleans well.

[joannqn]

Can't use Amway's stuff. It was their SA8 products that caused DS8 to have eczema from head to toe (almost literally) when he was a baby.

 

I'll try 7th Generation.

 

Anything else I should try?

[justasque]

When ds broke out in hives, I washed everything in Sun and Earth, and it worked well. Our homeschool group toured the small, clean factory; I got a very good impression of the company's values, and they couldn't have been more welcoming to our group. They get a lot of customers who have sensitive skin.

[Sahamamama]

Joann,

 

I don't know if this will work for you (no sensitive skin here), but I've been making our detergent like this:

 

1 large bar Ivory soap (grate on a metal grater)

1 cup washing soda (not baking soda)

1 cup borax

 

Shake together (dry) in a covered container or large zipper bag. Use 2 T. (a small scoop) per load (it will not lather).

 

This has been the BEST detergent we've ever used, believe it or not. It costs about $10 to make enough for 2 months (for five people). It leaves our clothes smelling fresh (no more sour towels), clean, and bright. We have hard water, but the borax and soda soften the water. I also dry on the line when the sun is shining. The sun is great for killing germs.

 

I thought the Ivory soap would be gentle on your skin, and the borax and soda would clean and freshen the laundry. My sister and her son have sensitive skin. I'll ask her what she uses. I don't know if you can use the borax and soda, though. Hope you find something.

 

Here's a link:

 

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf78057805.tip.html

 

Does it help to put the clothes through a second rinse cycle?

Edited October 15, 2010 by Sahamamama

[joannqn]

You know, I make my own household cleaner, make bread, make most of our meals from scratch, etc., it's about time I get around to trying homemade laundry soap. I don't know if the soap will cause a problem or not, but I always use a double rinse for every load so maybe that will be enough.

 

BTW, I've been having a huge problem with sour towels and jeans lately, too.

[Mabeline]

Also, using vinegar instead of fabric softener helps dissolve any leftover soap. HTH

[AngieW in Texas]

Everybody in my house is allergic to at least one brand of laundry detergent. We use 7th Generation. I used to use Shaklee Basic L, but it was a pain to work with a dealer, so I switched to 7th Generation about 12 years ago.

[Sahamamama]

You know, I make my own household cleaner, make bread, make most of our meals from scratch, etc., it's about time I get around to trying homemade laundry soap. I don't know if the soap will cause a problem or not, but I always use a double rinse for every load so maybe that will be enough.

 

BTW, I've been having a huge problem with sour towels and jeans lately, too.

 

Are you my long-lost identical twin? :lol:

 

No, seriously, it's easy to do the dry homemade (not the slimy cooked stuff). My five year old grates the soap. I mix in the borax and washing soda. Even my husband understands the system. ;) It's that easy! :D LOL!

[justasque]

BTW, I've been having a huge problem with sour towels and jeans lately, too.

 

Try watching your washer run through a cycle, as much as you can. It might be the washer causing all these problems.

 

We found our washer just wasn't agitating correctly; the symptoms were clothes that weren't washed well, and a few cases of hives/rash from not-rinsed-well clothes. The solution was a $10 part called the "agitator dogs"; now everything is good as new.

[joannqn]

Try watching your washer run through a cycle, as much as you can. It might be the washer causing all these problems.

 

We found our washer just wasn't agitating correctly; the symptoms were clothes that weren't washed well, and a few cases of hives/rash from not-rinsed-well clothes. The solution was a $10 part called the "agitator dogs"; now everything is good as new.

 

 

We have a front loader. Though I haven't watched it run through a whole cycle, I'm pretty sure it is working properly. I know it isn't leaving residue in the clothes because I'd be able to feel and smell it. I couple of times, my children have used the wrong detergent (leftovers of a brand I was trying), and I can tell the second it comes out of the dryer. My clothes smell different. I've seen it go through the beginning of the wash and the end of the spin cycles at least. It's down in our dirt cellar so sitting down there for an hour to watch it is kind of problematic. I can try going down there every now and then to look at it.

[Pippen]

1 large bar Ivory soap (grate on a metal grater)

1 cup washing soda (not baking soda)

1 cup borax

 

Shake together (dry) in a covered container or large zipper bag. Use 2 T. (a small scoop) per load (it will not lather).

 

 

I do this, only I use the bar soap I normally use, which is Dove for Sensitive Skin. I keep it in large size plastic peanut butter jars and typically just use 1 T per load.

[Sahamamama]

I do this, only I use the bar soap I normally use, which is Dove for Sensitive Skin. I keep it in large size plastic peanut butter jars and typically just use 1 T per load.

 

Thanks for posting this idea, I might try the Dove for Sensitive Skin. We don't have skin problems here, but if the soap works well for clothes, I'll teach my sister how to make a batch. They have super-sensitive skin over there.

 

1 Tablespoon? Wow, that is so efficient. I'll try to cut back to 1 instead of 2 and see how it goes. Thanks!

 

I also made up a batch with a big bar of IRISH SPRING -- what my husband uses in the shower. I call it Man Detergent, LOL. I use it for my husband's stinky socks and sweaty clothes, especially after he mows the lawn..... :tongue_smilie:It has (and needs) a little extra borax.... :ack2:

 

But everything comes up smelling like the sweet green grass of Ireland. :D

[Carrie12345]

Method didn't work with my hard water.

7th Generation was just okay.

The Duggar recipe has been perfect, even for dh's highly sensitive skin. (And I'm barely 1/3 of the way through a 5 gallon bucket after 4 months, with a family of 6 ;))

[Bambam]

I agree with the poster who suggested using white distilled vinegar as your fabric softener. It will help with leftover soap residue. It also helps with the moldy and musty smells of towels. Your clothes will not end up smelling like vinegar either.

[Guest]

Have you ever tried Arm & Hammer Free of Dyes and Perfumes? Two of my kids have sensitive skin and can use that. Before that, we had to stick with Dreft. It might be worth a shot, if you haven't tried it already.

[joannqn]

Arm and hammer is awful...one of the worst I have tried. I think we'll try the homemade stuff.

[Medieval Mom]

I both make my own (with a recipe very similar to the one already posted), and use Seventh Generation (when our co-op has a sale). Both work very well!

 

When making large batches of laundry soap, I grate the soap using the grater attachment on my stand-mixer. If you have one, it can greatly reduce the amount of labor. I also found that I can add more soap to the mix than stated. I, too, use Ivory. (They used to make pure Ivory soap flakes, making this step unnecessary, but now their flakes are detergent...) Castile soap works well, too.

 

Whenever I have just an odd shard of soap, I place it in an empty plastic laundry soap container, add hot water, and let it sit. It makes a "soap jelly" that is mild and perfect for baby clothes, sheets, etc., anything that is not terribly SOILED but needs to be washed in HOT water and freshened. To this, I do not add any borax, washing soda, etc. I keep adding extra remnants of soap and hot water, including little hotel soaps, and always have a steady supply of this soap jelly. Use about a half cup per large laundry load.

 

For scents, I add a drop or two of essential oils to a flannel square, and pop it with the clothes in the dryer. My favorites are rose geranium and lavender, though the boys love mint. :) I only do this when I'm feeling like a domestic goddess, and have no toddler clinging to my legs... So, it's been awhile! :D

 

For tough stains, I've found Fels-Naptha soap, moistened and rubbed right onto the stain, works best. It takes out almost anything.

 

Have fun!

[Mallorie]

I also make the Duggar recipe liquid, and have been for a few months now. I really, really love it. I'm sensitive to smells, and this makes our clothes scent-free, which is a huge bonus.

 

I also use vinegar in the rinse cycle, I fill a downy ball 1/2 full with it. :)

[Ellie]

Can't use Amway's stuff. It was their SA8 products that caused DS8 to have eczema from head to toe (almost literally) when he was a baby.

Bummer. It's the only product that doesn't cause Mr. Ellie to break out. :-/

[twoxcell]

I make liquid laundry soap:

1 bar grated fels naptha

1 cup borax

1 cup washing soda

 

Boil a large pan of water add all ingredients, stir until dissolved. Pour liquid into 5 gallon bucket, fill to the top with cold water, and let sit over night. In the morning I take a whisk to it. 5 gallons last me for about 3 months, and there are 6 of us. It works great in my HE machine, and does not bother mine or dd's sensative skin.

[Guest Katia]

Definitely forget the laundry detergent and go with laundry soap instead.

 

I used to make my own, but although the clothes smelled clean, they got dingy very quickly and didn't have a 'nice' smell, even when I added essential oils to my soap.

 

My two favorite non-chemical, natural, laundry soaps are:

 

Biokleen All Temperature Laundry Liquid with Grapefruit Seed and Orange Peel Extract

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CBD0VS/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=A92C6K2Y6F903

 

Zum Clean Aromatherapy Laundry Soap Liquid; Frankincense and Myrrh scent

 

http://www.amazon.com/Zum-Clean-Aromatherapy-Laundry-Frankincense/dp/B001CSO9XS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1287291393&sr=8-1

 

The Zum is a LOT more expensive, but right now I'm just doing laundry for dh and me......and the scent is so heavenly that the price is totally worth it.

 

But for a cheap, great cleaning product that has a light citrus scent, you can't beat the Biokleen. I use this when the kids come home from college.

 

I am sensitive to detergents and the chemicals in softener and have found that when I use these laundry soaps, I have NO break-outs whatsoever. And, I do use white vinegar as a rinse to cut any remaining soap. It works great and my clothes still have the wonderful scent of the laundry soap.

 

Both of these laundry soaps also soften the clothes as you wash, so they will come out of the dryer very, very soft. No need for the chemical softeners.

[nova mama]

We have eczema in the family and use Arm and Hammer Free

[Dolphin]

I played around with laundry soap for awhile. I wanted scent free, and enviromentally friendly, but that would also get our clothes clean and soft. What works here and no one has reactions too is. Charlies powder ( I buy it from Little jumping beans) It only takes a tablespoon and lasts forever. So the price is okay. I combine with the shake lee scent free dryer sheets (the recyclable ones)

[catalinakel]

Check out soapnuts. They are like seed pods. Completely natural, if not a big funky. I got a bag of them on clearance from Whole Foods awhile back and the seem to work just fine in terms of cleaning and are very gentle on my sensitive skin.

[Oakblossoms]

I like Biokleen and Fred Meyer often has it on sale.

 

It could be enzymes. All does have enzymes. I hate the stuff I think it works horribly.

 

I find detergent builds up on clothes. So, I try to rotate.

 

I have to do the same with shampoo or I get horrible welts on my scalp.

 

I would try rotating something like Biokleen, 7th generation and homemade. I would change once a month. Front loaders in the US seem to have build up issues.

[DawnM]

What about Melaluca laundry soap? I have heard it is good for sensitive skin.

 

Dawn

[Punchie]

We use Country Save for everything - clothes, military uniforms, cloth diapers, newborn baby things. I love it! I will never use anything else.

[UmMusa]

I make liquid laundry soap:

1 bar grated fels naptha

1 cup borax

1 cup washing soda

 

Boil a large pan of water add all ingredients, stir until dissolved. Pour liquid into 5 gallon bucket, fill to the top with cold water, and let sit over night. In the morning I take a whisk to it. 5 gallons last me for about 3 months, and there are 6 of us. It works great in my HE machine, and does not bother mine or dd's sensative skin.

 

Exactly what we do here. We are a family of 6 and I have a HE front loader. It works great. THis one is slightly different proportions than the Duggar recipe, and I've made both. They both work fine :)

[newbie]

method

[AHASRADA]

http://www.charliesoap.com/

 

From their website:

 

"Hypoallergenic - leaves no residue - perfect for babies and those who have sensitive skin Dissolves completely / biodegradable / Front-loader / HE compatible.

 

Our Laundry Powder is a revolutionary approach to laundry care. It does not cover up stains and odors with scents and brighteners - it really cleans. It is made with a unique blend of biodegradable coconut-based detergents and high-grade, completely soluble, Green River washing soda."

 

Charlie's is very highly recommended by cloth diaper companies, and is supposed to clean clothes down to the fibers, leaving no residues. It has no scent or enzymes. You can only buy in bulk directly from the company, but Amazon has one tub of the powder for $12 with supersaver shipping, so that might be a good way to give it a try.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Charlies-Soap-Powder-2-64-Loads/dp/B0018B15FE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289050610&sr=8-1

 

HTH,