How to save on laundry cost - help please!

Sootzer

Popperwell wrote: »

There is a liquid non bio and fabric softener in Tesco's(I can't remember what it is called)it cannot be missed as both only cost £1 and they are perfectly as good as the more well known brands...

Agree with this I have tried these and noticed no diference between these and the brand names. And they smell nice. They do have fabric conditioners too...further details...http://www.purityglobal.co.uk/products/laundry.html

Popperwell

I should've had a look when I was downstairs a few minutes ago...I think they have the word enrituals on the bottle...I'm new to using a washer just got in October to help with the care of Mum, now being single I save everything up for one big wash every three or four weeks.

Mainly to try and keep energy costs down...and though I try to dress up a bit when I go out due to trying to keep warm I tend to slop around indoors with easy casual clothes besides no one is visiting. It's not that I am slob just adapting to the situation I find myself.

Both bottles are said to do up to 30 washes. Well done on the post Sootzer which I have just come across.

krlyr

I stopped using the full amount years ago, half does the job just as well. We stock up when the big boxes of powder detergent are half price, they do about 80 washes so with using half, we get 160 washes worth for £8-10ish.
Also OH is good at nagging - sorry, reminding me! - to not automatically chuck stuff in the wash pile after one wear. We go through a cycle, e.g. freshest stuff for work, worn-once t-shirts might get a second use in the evening when we're staying home (I don't like to go more than twice as I wear fitted tees, but OH will wear his baggy ones more than twice unless he's actually got all sweaty in them), most trousers get worn a good few times until they're actually dirty. Even dirty ones may get a last use out of them for grimey jobs, e.g. mowing the lawn or walking the dogs in wet, muddy weather. So not only are washes cheaper, but we're doing less washes too.

Horseunderwater

Another tip - unless the baby has had a leaking no 2 type nappy, then if it is only food stains why keep changing the clothing. That saved me loads of money back in my Day as a Mum. If we were going out for the day, a change of clothing would be included in the changing bag. Bottoms mainly though. Contrary to what people think - it is not necessary to change a childs clothing everytime they spill something down the front!

Sambucus_Nigra

I buy non-bio tabs when they are on offer, and use half of one of the tabs [rather than the 2 recommended] for washes unless the clothes got really muddy in which case, just the one tab. No fabric softener at all, I don't live in a hard water area so none needed.

So the box lasts 3-4 times as long as it is intended to. So for a box that says 20 washes, I'll get about 60-80 which will last me about a year. It will obviously be shorter depending on the amount of kids and people in the household - we do max 2 washes a week.

I also write the date I first used the box on it in marker pen, so that I can see how slow it's going down.

PipneyJane

First thing's first: are you using the correct amount of washing powder for your water/load size/dirtiness-factor and not just bunging in a full scoop? We've got some highly concentrated stuff at the moment which recommends a 0.5cm of the scoop for a regular wash. The scoop is the usual size, so at least 4cm deep!

Second, a lot of people have great success by substituting a couple of tablespoons of vinegar for fabric softener. I don't use fabric softener at all so can't comment. (I stopped when I moved to this house because we don't have a dryer. It made no difference to the clothes as far as I could tell, 9 years ago, so have never bothered to buy it since.)

Finally, if you find a product that you prefer, try to set aside a little cash each month so that when it comes up on special/bogof, you have the money to stock up. (Actually, this reminds me of one more tip: know how long things last. When you open a new box/bottle, write the date on it. When you open the next one, write the date and how long the last one lasted. Try to beat that.)

whiteguineapig

the enrituals (sp) one for me as well, it is £1 in tesco

BitterAndTwisted

ginnyknit wrote: »

I use fast washes when I can to save on leccy, rarely use fabric conditioner and only iron when needed.

There's been a fair bit of discussion on this forum about the folly of using these "fast washes" too often. They have to be quick but the time-saving is in the washing-of-the-clothes-part as the rinses and spinning can only take as long as they take, so the compromise has to be in the wash-length. I'm not consvinced that just wetting clothes and sloshing them round for a minute or two is actually saving any money at all. It's the heating of the water that's the majority of the cost when you use a washing-machine so if you really want to spend less use a normal wash-programme length but don't heat the water at all or just turn the heat right down to the minimum possible

bargainbetty

I'm going to echo the posters who say you can reduce the amount of powder you use. I've dropped to about half of the manufacturers recommendation, if not less. I use vinegar instead of softeners (about a tablespoon) and my clothes, sheets, towels etc are lovely, and seem to last longer. I haven't bought fabric softener in eight years, and use catering bottles of white vinegar, although apparently you can use the malt stuff too.

Good luck