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Laundering for less

135

Comments

  • I won't use powder in my new machine as none of them dissolve properly on a low temp whatever they promise! we have sensitive skins so I alternate between cheap gloop(ebay)and soapnuts. I sometimes add a cheap conditioner for some nice smell but again skin wise its asking for trouble.
    Bitterandtwisted-I totally agree with your views and I am going to try your gloop recipe as I am now very low on the gloop from ebay! I will keep my containers and refil them with homemade-it makes perfect sense! Ive done a few washes on the cold cycles which are on my new hotpoint machine-eco cycles-its becoming fashionable you see! You are ahead of everyone else Bitterandtwisted but soon it will be "the done thing"! Even with someone whose immune system is affected(hubby is on chemo)we never get germs from our laundry. Society is totally brainwashed with antibacterial everything and a few seconds after spraying it around the home the bacteria in the air lands on the surfaces and its all back! A complete waste of money. Manufacturers are brainwashing us to buy their products with fear tactics! My neice cleans all of her skirtings and paintwork with antibacterial wipes! Totally mad! I did mine the other day with a wet cloth, warm water and fairy liquid! Ok rant over!
    Annual Grocery budget 2018 is £1500 pa £125 calendar month £28.84 pw for 3 adults
  • K2t wrote: »
    I am quite addicted to fairy non bio... But have just purchased soda crystals. If I do 1tablespoon fairy 1tablespoon soda crystals per wash would this be okay?

    Only you know how dirty the laundry is, so only you will know how much of that combo you will need. To be honest, most of our clothing only really needs to be frshened up, so one tablespoon of each would probably be sufficient for most washes at my house.


    Would I add it to the drawer?

    I would




    Also, I've heard white vinegar is good to soften, anyone know how much to use? Or alternatives? Many thanks x


    I dunno what most people do but I use about an egg-cupful or thereabouts. I can't think of any cheap alternative to fabric conditioner other than good old malt vinegar. It doesn't have to be white, the brown stuff is cheaper and does exactly the same thing. One uses so little of it, it won't colour anything.

  • zippychick
    zippychick Posts: 9,335 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker I've been Money Tipped!
    as this has dropped down the OS board, ive moved it to shopping and groceries

    Zip :)
    A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men :cool:
    Norn Iron club member #380

  • Edwardia
    Edwardia Posts: 9,170 Forumite
    Use Formil powder from Lidl, Vanish (stock up on special offer) and any old fabric conditioner on offer/own brand. Seems to me that the so-called concentrated fabric conditioners have actually gotten thinner recently !! Have a look if you have a stockpile - my mother found some in back of her laundry stuff cupboard that was thicker so she's now switched to own brand hair conditioner - as she points out, it's almost identical chemicals. A ylang ylang never went near the stuff..
  • dasophster
    dasophster Posts: 911 Forumite
    I use whatever is on half price and I have used coupons of some type of on as well, average wash cost would be 6-7p if I used as much as 'they' advise which I don't as I find living in a hard water area it's actually better to use less than recommended on the box and then to top up with soda crystals-about an egg cup full. I have all kinds, liquids, concentrated liquids, gels and powder. The one thing I tend not to buy are powder or liquid tabs even on offer they tend to be the least good value, even if only using one instead of two for most washes. The exception to this would be the 'simply' brand tabs but never seen any coupons for these and they are rarely on offer anymore xx
  • This week I made my own laundry liquid. 10 litres for all of 75p!
    Yes-it does work!
    I got the recipe on an MSE forum-not sure whose but a big thanks to the person who posted this originally!

    One "Laundry Gloop" recipe: Grate one bar of soap. F@iry or Sunl!ght is best and I noticed the Mr M has a pack of two own-brand "household soaps" for fifty-odd pence which smells suspiciously like F@iry.

    Add your grated soap to a pan of 1 1/2 litres of boiling water on the stove. Mix it with a wooden spoon to dissolve it. Add 1/2 cup of washing-soda and 1/2 cup of borax or borax substitute. The borax isn't absolutely necessary but is a very good stain-remover. Give it a good old stir and ensure they are both COMPLETELY dissolved or the mixture will separate when it cools.

    Remove from the heat and pour it into a plastic bucket. Fill the bucket with about another 8 1/2 litres of hand-hot water from the tap. Add some essential oil if you like. Tea-tree oil gives a good, fresh scent. Stir it and leave to cool.

    Decant into containers. Those 4-pint milk containers are handy for this. This makes 10 litres of laundry soap, so that's about 100 washes at the cost of about a quid max plus leccy for the lot.

    Use about 100ml/3 fl oz per washing-load. This mixture won't make suds but will clean very effectively. Cheap as chips! And will only take you half ab hour or so. You may never go back to expensive laundry detergents ever again. I most certainly won't.

    There's a thread entitled "Laundry Gloop" on this forum and there are a number of different variations of this recipe.
    Annual Grocery budget 2018 is £1500 pa £125 calendar month £28.84 pw for 3 adults
  • brizzledfw
    brizzledfw Posts: 7,302 Forumite
    Debt-free and Proud!
    Thanks Angela and bitterandtwisted..just made gloop and trying out it out now....dead simple and hopefully will work even with my kids. DD2 seems to attract stains esp. food wherever she goes....so it will be a test!

    Brizzle
    MFiT-T4 Member No. 96 - 2022 is my MF goal :D
    Winter 17/18 Savings Rate Goal: 25% [October 30%] :T
    Declutter 60 items before 31.03.18 9/60 ** LSDs Target 10 for March 03/10 **AFDs 10/15 ** Sales/TCB Target 2018 £25/£500 NSDs Target 10 for March 02/10 Trying to be a Frugalista:rotfl::T
  • carlyh69
    carlyh69 Posts: 303 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Has anyone tried the "time" detergent thats for sale on approved food and in poundstretcher? Seems very cheap, reviews anyone??
    Wins 2016: Dogfest ticks, B&M dog Hamper, Dog food, Dog blanket, Hair product, meal for 2 and wine at pub, craft bundle, organic surge gift pack, £100 gullivers world voucher, stress out cd, £200 seascape vouchers, popcorn maker, mandarin body butter, Wishing for a holiday win!
  • flipper_72
    flipper_72 Posts: 681 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I like the sound of the laundry gloop - where would you buy Borax or it's substitute? Is it available in supermarkets etc?

    Thanks
  • supers
    supers Posts: 810 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    If anyone is interested i found a spray white vinegar in home bargains 79p today (thought that was cheap), it can be used to spray on stains on clothing on cuffs and necks on shirts etc and as a cleaning product on shower heads etc
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