Alternative to Soap Powder?

StressedSteph

Hi all,

Things are very tight this month and I am trying very hard not to spend any money.......But....I have run out of soap powder and with a mucky husband and two young children it is abit disasterous. .

Has anyone ever used something alternative, like Fairy liquid or shampoo to put in the washing machine?

I could go out and buy some but that might mean a bill not getting paid. I have budgeted for £50 per week shopping expense but soap powder will knock a big chunk into that.

Am I taking it a step too far or has anyone out there tried alternatives that are around the house.?

Thanks

Mojisola

StressedSteph wrote: »

Has anyone ever used something alternative, like Fairy liquid or shampoo to put in the washing machine?

Don't use anything like this in a washing machine unless you want to be mopping up suds from everywhere! Auto machine powder is designed to produce few suds.

You could hand wash in Fairy.

karren

stardrops? i ran out of w powder before and used a small amount, ive found lately that the clothes come out just as well with egg cup of powder not the loads i used to use too btw x

System

I wouldn't recommend using fairy liquid or shampoo in the machine, either. It might worth checking if any of the supermarkets have washing powder on offer at the moment?

Long term there are things like soap nuts you can use (I've not tried them myself) which would save you having to buy washing powder. There's also simple living recipes for home-made washing powder, using lux flakes, soda crystals and borax but I think by the time you've bought those ingredients it might be as expensive as buying washing powder :undecided

building_with_lego

You'll probably get at least one wash done without using anything- there's bound to be detergent left in the machine (scary when you do it how many bubbles there are). After that you can use shampoo or washing up liquid but NOT VERY MUCH!!- maybe a teaspoonful. You don't need softener but can use vinegar if you like.

Depending on what you need to wash you can get away with using a higher temperature and forget about the detergent- towels, tea towels, sheets will all go in at 60 and not need anything but the hot water to clean. Once you're back on track financially you can use cheap cheap detergent in small doses, with soda crystals to soften the water and make the bubbles go further. Good luck

pinkieminkie

I usually finely grate up some soap and then melt it in boiling water before adding to the machine - you don't need a lot of soap, just a teaspoon or two depending on how dirty the clothes are. I did try adding the soap without melting it but found that could leave some streaky marks on the clothes where it hadn't dissolved fully before the rinse cycle.

It doesn't perfume the clothes so they won't smell like the branded stuff, but, for me, the smell of most washing powders is overpowering and I prefer them fragrance - free!

StressedSteph

Wow fantastic Thanks so much for your help. Got lots of ideas to work on. :T

Yes will buy cheap and use less next time, but at the moment and for the next few weeks I would rather not buy any as money is best used elsewhere. and I have completely run out.

Done two loads today which were darks and one had abit of powder the other had none and seemed to come out ok.

Thanks for all your help xxxx

Ben84

Unfortunately, washing with too little powder can cause lime scale to build up in the machine. Also the clothes seem fine at first, but they tend to get stale smelling over time I discovered. So, I tend to stick with the recommended amount. However, poundland or the 99p shop sell decent size packets of detergent, so it shouldn't take up much of your planned budget. Unless you do vast amounts of washing?

whiteguineapig

if you shop at aldi i have read good reports of their washing powder, i am not sure where you go for your shopping but we find aldi cheapest for most stuff

siws1

If you have a Home Bargains or a cheapy shop near you they sell a bottle of bio liquid called Easy - it is a yellow bottle - I find this is good and only costs a £1.00. When money is tight here I use that although I did buy Daisy biological powder from Tesco today which was £2.99 - I find that this lasts quite well too.

gibson123

Tesco has bottles of liquid for 99p, they do 24 washes, hidden away on the very bottom shelf and lovely exotic smells. I have been using for weeks now.