no laundry detergent. no $$$. Help me get my clothes clean till Friday

[fairfarmhand]

I have shampoo.

 

borax.

 

Lots of bath soap.

 

Dishwasher detergent.

 

Any ideas?

 

We *could* manage with the clothes that we have till Friday. But, I am dreading the backlog that I will need to wash come Saturday morning.

[k2bdeutmeyer]

What kind of washer? Is it HE?

[NASDAQ]

Do you have a bar of bath soap? Washing soda? Baking soda?

 

First, make half a cup of washing soda: http://naturesnurtureblog.com/2012/05/08/ttt-turn-baking-soda-into-washing-soda/

 

Grind up a bar of soap. Cook it in a pot full of water for fifteen minutes.

 

Fill a bucket half-full of cold water. Add soap mixture. Add 1/4 cup borax and 1/2 cup washing soda. Fill the rest of the bucket. Stir.

 

Voila! Detergent.

[fairfarmhand]

no HE. No washing soda.

 

A little baking soda.

[NASDAQ]

Use the instructions at that link to turn the baking soda you have into washing soda, and use whatever you get out of it.

[saraha]

I have used a small amount of shampoo in warm or hot water depending on what you are washing of course. The only thing is, the shampoo bubbles up, so use sparingly. The shampoo works well I think because it is designed to remove oils. Worked on moderately dirty clothes, if you have stains or need to pretreat, you can do that with the shampoo ahead of time.

[tex-mex]

I have used a small amount of shampoo in warm or hot water depending on what you are washing of course. The only thing is, the shampoo bubbles up, so use sparingly. The shampoo works well I think because it is designed to remove oils. Worked on moderately dirty clothes, if you have stains or need to pretreat, you can do that with the shampoo ahead of time.

:iagree:

[DawnM]

I have heard people do this with Dawn dishwashing soap as well.

 

Dawn

 

I have used a small amount of shampoo in warm or hot water depending on what you are washing of course. The only thing is, the shampoo bubbles up, so use sparingly. The shampoo works well I think because it is designed to remove oils. Worked on moderately dirty clothes, if you have stains or need to pretreat, you can do that with the shampoo ahead of time.

[MamaBearTeacher]

I used shampoo in a washing machine before. I used about a tablespoon. It came out fine.

[Reeciecup]

Mix dawn with water 7 parts water to 1 part dawn. Use about a half cup per load. When I do it I mix it in an old laundry detergent bottle and put a cap full in.

[Wabi Sabi]

I've used Dawn. I imagine a small amount of any dishsoap would do- a tablespoon or two?

[mrseshaw]

hold out til friday and then start making your own...you will never run out again! I made my first batch yesterday. Dirt cheap to do! Clothes came out just as clean as with the $12 Tide dye free I was purchasing.

 

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/01/complete-photo-guide-to-making-your-own.html

[TGHEALTHYMOM]

We make ours

 

I have used any bar soap we have on hand if we are out of :Felths Naptha (in the washing aisle at our Krogers)

 

I use a grater on the bar of soap and boil it until it is well mixed.

 

Add 1/2 cup borax

1/2 cup Washing Soda ( I guess you could use Baking Soda)

 

and fill up a 5 gallon bucket with hot water. mix. it gels overnight.

 

I use an empty laundry detergent bottle and cut the gel with hot water about 1/2 and just add more if it is a heavy load.

 

Using hot water helps it to mix up better.

 

Sometimes we run out and find a sale for $2 detergent at a local DG

 

I really like the homeade better though, and it lasts a long time if used properly. :confused: My children have over used it so much I just don't let them do much laundry right now.

[redsquirrel]

I have been there many times before. Sometimes I used a bit of dish soap (I think it is pretty much the same thing) and sometimes I used nothing. Just washing them in water seemed pretty much the same as washing them in detergent. I couldn't tell the difference.

[Amber in AUS]

I've used a small amount of dish washing detergent in the past and you can use white vinegar in the rinse cycle if you like.

[mamajag]

Use the dishwashing liquid, but sparingly as it will bubble to kingdom come. Do an extra rinse cycle.

 

I used to do this with the cloth diapers when they'd get detergent buildup. Your washer will be extra sparkly when you are done.

[texasmama]

Most of the cleaning of the clothing is done by the action of the washer and the water. Unless your clothing is soiled with grease or excessively dirty, just washing it with no detergent should do a reasonable job.

[caroljenn]

I would put a drop or two of dish detergent in a sink full of warm water and swish the clothes around a bit, or let them soak for a half hour or so if they are really dirty. Then wring them out, put them in the washer and turn it on and run a normal load. That way you know there won't be too much detergent in your machine.

[AEC]

IME, liquid dish soap is (intentionally) too foamy....even with a non-HE. Consider what happens when you put it in an auto dishwasher....You can get around this by using a VERY small amount, but there are other options.

 

We make ours, too, and have for years.

The 'recipe' is similar to what others have posted, and is approximate. I use a cuisinart to pulverize some home-made soap (I make that, too) and then mix it w/ an ~ equal amount of borax and washing soda.

 

If you've got borax, that's helpful...if you don't, skip it and you'll be fine.

As some have previously posted, you can bake baking soda into washing soda...but you could also just use it as is. It's a less useful hard-water buffer than washing soda (also, a more neutral ph) but if you don't have really hard water it'll be just fine.

 

If those two are all you've got I'd go 50:50 and call it good. As I mentioned, I use the cuisinart to grind it up nice and fluffy and mix it...and then we use it dry. I've tried the liquid mixes and find the dry version much easier to store. It dissolves just fine. It doesn't take much....I think we run about 1 tsp.

[Amy in KS]

Made me curious, so I've been researching. Apparently you can grate a tablespoon of ivory bar soap in a load and it works great. They used to sell grated ivory soap as a laundry detergent. I've used baking soda in the dishwasher before. It does o.k. In a pinch.

[Oakblossoms]

A squirt of dish soap works fine!

[fairfarmhand]

thanks folks. I used shampoo last night. It seems like that is a good way to get rid of the bottle of AVON shampoo that my MIL gave me for Christmas a year or two back.

[Jenny in Florida]

Honestly, in a pinch I've used pretty much anything that suds to wash clothes.

 

Although it's not an ideal long-term solution, the shampoo or bath soap or dishwashing liquid will do fine for a few loads of laundry.

 

I generally prefer to dish stuff, personally. As others have said, use just a little bit, since it does foam up more than stuff designed for laundry use. I've never made a scientific study of the amount. I just put in maybe a teaspoon at a time, with the washer running, until it looks right to me.

 

If you've got it, I'd add a couple of tablespoons of baking soda to each load, too, since it makes things smell fresher.

[Beth S]

Use a lot of "Shout" or "Spray and Wash"?

I agree with all the advice about not using much liquid dishwashing soap.

I've had great success just rinsing the clothes.

I'd also consider just borrowing from a neighbor!

[elfgivas]

i'm glad you have clean clothes now :001_smile:.

 

another time, borax on its own will work pretty well. (about 0.5 of a cup)

 

here's a link

http://www.ehow.com/about_5498702_borax-vs-washing-soda.html

 

the info on using borax by itself is part way down.

 

happy hallowe'en!

ann