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I use Gain.
While having clean clothes is obviously both hygienic and neighborly, how they get that way may be more open to imagination and experimentation than you may have considered. And consider you should, because as it turns out, the companies supplying the soaps you use to make your attire springtime fresh may be doing little more than taking you to the cleaners.
According to soap super-seller Proctor and Gamble (their Tide label alone accounts more than 40% of all laundry detergent used in the U.S.) Americans are doing 1,100 loads of laundry every minute of every day. And it's certainly possible that, thanks to new concentrates, many of those loads feature too much detergent.
As you've probably noticed, the latest twist in detergent is to sell us less product at a higher price with "ultra-new-and-improved" concentrates. "Use less soap, save the planet" is the basic idea. But smaller quan ies mean more precise measuring is needed: fail to pay attention and you'll pour too much, which doesn't help the earth or your budget ... but does benefit Proctor and other purveyors of these products.
Then consider this dirty little secret the suds salesmen don't want you to know: Some people get by with no detergent at all. Many others save 90% of the cost of store-bought by making it themselves.
I recently did a TV news story showing people how to make their own laundry detergent for a fraction of the cost of store bought. (It's right here on Yahoo!: check it out.)
Is Detergent Even Necessary?
As I said in my story, while it may sound impossible, laundry detergent may not even be necessary at all. The blog Funny about Money decided to forgo it completely as part of an experiment. Here's a quote:
"By and large, all of the freshly washed clothing came out with an odor: It smelled of clean water!"
You might be surprised to learn that, while clothing has been around since the fig leaf, laundry detergent is relatively new. And yet, ancient people were presumably able to make their clothing at least somewhat clean. How?
As it turns out, something that may be even more effective than soap is agitation. Ancient people used rocks and rivers, but your modern washing machine can clean lightly soiled clothes by just pushing them around in water.
In other words, people actually do get away without using detergent at all. But if the idea of using nothing more than water to wash your gym socks sounds a little scuzzy, not to worry. You can still wring significant savings from your laundry money by making your own detergent. It's not hard.
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home...ndry-detergent
I use Gain.
All Fresh Rain for my clothes and Gain Lavendar for my linens.
yeah, me too.I use Gain.
I guess I'll be using less of it now.
Method Free & Clear.
And the concentrated formulas in the smaller bottles didn't take off until Walmart forced the industry to change.
God I love the internet for little gems like this.
Thanks!
I don't use nearly as much as it says to.
So you're saying their loss is your Gain?
- Lefty
Yeah, I read that article, too, but I'm not buying it. I made the mistake once of saving money and buying some cheap-ass laundry soap and it made my clothes crispy and dingy looking. Tide FTW. And Shout Gel for the stains.
i use very little.
Kirkland rocks.
Check it out. Just as good as Tide for at least half the price.
Anytime I've tried to deviate from Tide, my kids both break out in hives.
So I'm a detergent snob out of necessity?
Last edited by SpursWoman; 04-21-2010 at 10:03 PM.
I've used Arm & Hammer for years, but I need to try something new. They changed their formula about three years ago and I've just kept using it despite the fact I don't like it anymore. I don't use the suggested amount per load, though. It's way too much.
here's to saving 10$ a month.
now your clothes won't smell like flowers and grandma
Hmmm, interesting. I would never think to wash clothes w/o detergent. Just seems crazy. But I may try it out of curiosity. I use unscented detergent because I spend a lot of money on my perfume and I don't want my damned shirt to compete/clash with it. But even the unscented products still seem to leave a little bit of a smell on the clothes.
ooops, I thought Strike was a guy.
We used to use Gain Tropical but we switched to HEB Bravo since TheTruth got his discount card (10% off all HEB products! woo!) I can't notice a difference except maybe the "fresh laundry" smell not lasting as long as Gain does.
I don't even notice any difference between any of the detergents. But then I don't really wash clothes that I would consider essential to take care of. And the clothes I do consider worthy, I just take it to the dry cleaners.
its all about the dreft
Dreft is some of the worst for perfumes and dyes. Which makes it so funny that it's marketed towards use for babies - it can be bad for their skin.
Tide here, thanks. But I will try using less of it.
Yep, my pediatrician told me NOT to use Dreft, it's a gimmick.
Kirkland has great stuff up and down the line.
Best tortilla chips.
You can get those at Costco, right? I bought some that I'm pretty sure were Kirkland and they were exceptional.
yup, it's Costco's brand.You can get those at Costco, right? I bought some that I'm pretty sure were Kirkland and they were exceptional.
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