Value laundry powder. 13 January at 8:33AM in Food shopping & groceries 29 replies 5.5K views

Katiehound

^^^^^
I would suggest you are using far too much detergent. The only time that happens to me is when I am in a soft water area- and it needs barely any! then I end up doing a couple more rinses.
The lid on the bottle is meant as a measuring device & it gives you an indication of soiling & water hardness (well it does on their super concentrated)
So you need to establish the hardness of your water: it makes a very big difference.
I would possibly halve the amount you are using & see how clean the things are.

I rarely use fabric conditioner- it's not necessary IMHO- than might contribute to the suds, especially if you are using a lot.

Novice_investor101

Katiehound said:

^^^^^
I would suggest you are using far too much detergent. The only time that happens to me is when I am in a soft water area- and it needs barely any! then I end up doing a couple more rinses.
The lid on the bottle is meant as a measuring device & it gives you an indication of soiling & water hardness (well it does on their super concentrated)
So you need to establish the hardness of your water: it makes a very big difference.
I would possibly halve the amount you are using & see how clean the things are.

I rarely use fabric conditioner- it's not necessary IMHO- than might contribute to the suds, especially if you are using a lot.

It is the super concentrated one, I struggle to see the markings on it, hence moving to the old Ariel dosing cup. It’ll be easy to measure out 30ml in that, which is the recommended dose for soft/medium water & light soiling. 

Katiehound

remember the dosage is only recommended... you might well need a lot less! manufacturers want to sell their stuff after all.
 I've no idea what quantity I put in mine- it's very hard water- but I always add a generous slug of Tesco limescale gel.

30 ml is approx x 6 teaspoons-well to be accurate 5 ml medicine spoons

Alising

Just to add in case anyone else comes across this.

I have switched to aldi powder recently as I've seen a lot of good reviews but....it does not cope with our toddler stained clothing. At all. They come out looking the same as they did when they went in. Usual soiling is pretty well dealt with, but even using the cheaper rip offs of vanish or laundry bleach they come out looking not much better than when they went in. I have seen suggestions online that they may have recently changed the formula but im unsure if its true, or even if so whether the old one would have coped with toddler clothing! 

I may invest in a stain bar for future experimentation after other commentS

Katiehound

I tend to use the laundry spray on any stain that i think might be persistent (prewash.)Got rid of a dollop of dark chocolate sauce that way.

personally don't like powder- too many garments with white powdery patches.

When I was away & didn't have the advantage of solar I put the underwear to soak in 1/2 bucket of boiling water with Napisan or similar & then the whole lot had 30 degree wash after an hour or so..

dealyboy

YoungBlueEyes said:

I bet somebody on the Energy board will have. They’re all kinds of clever over there 🙂

Yes that's true. I used to be on that board a lot ... that's why I moved to here 

PLRFD

If you know the yellow Elbow Grease spray from Home Bargains etc it makes a really good pre treatment spray for laundry it even gets my home made curry stains out which is pretty amazing.

YoungBlueEyes

dealyboy said:

YoungBlueEyes said:

I bet somebody on the Energy board will have. They’re all kinds of clever over there 🙂

Yes that's true. I used to be on that board a lot ... that's why I moved to here 

Yep I used to be on that one too. While there's undoubtedly a lot of knowledge, they can be very harsh about it.

madaboutspots

Make your own!!!! 😁👍

I’ve made my own washing powder for a couple of years now. Ditched the conditioner and I can’t say anyone’s noticed or commented in all that time! 

Took me about 10 mins to make a huge box of powder that lasts months. 

Completely natural - no environmental nasties getting drained away at the end of each wash. Get ingredients delivered in bulk (cheaper and most have loads of uses!), less plastic (evil) bottles and so much more satisfying! 

The wash results are grand, the pennies are in my pocket not those of the corporates, the eco credentials are fuel for happiness, satisfaction is through the roof. Not to mention time saved thinking about which “brand” to buy or going and getting it regularly. Never panic if we run out, just make more and move on. 

Also I’ve found our skin is less irritated and the dogs sneeze less now that I make my own home cleaning products without scent. Honestly - try it! 

3 cups sodium carbonate
1 1/2 cups sodium per carbonate 
1 1/2 cups baking soda
1 1/2 cups citric acid
3/4 cup salt (any will do) 
3 bars of soap - grated(most suggest Castile but I use bulk box of standard melt and pour soap base) 

Look ‘em up - all ingredients provided by nature itself.

Bung everything in a blender, churn it up and put in a washing powder box by your machine. Wash up the blender and sit down with a cuppa or go out to play in the sunshine 😎

Make your own dishwasher powder or tablets, your own body wash/shampoo/deodorant/lip balm/bubble bath ….. it’s endless. So eco, so much cheaper and actually fun. It’s no different than mixing a cake recipe or making dinner.