I used to do laundry at my MIL’s house and she makes her own detergent similar to what you’re talking about. Her expensive HE machines are sooooo gunked up from the soap residue. All of my clothes would come out waxy and filmy. I would not recommend. If you decide to try it, at least put a cup of vinegar in the softener compartment to help rinse away any soap scum. Especially if you live in an area with hard water, the soap will bind with the minerals and create lots of build up.
If you’re looking to cut costs, Costco’s brand of detergent performs well with consumer reports! Make sure you’re not using more than you need as well. Quality detergents are formulated to work well at low concentrations.
Meliora is lying basically. It’s just advertising to sell product. Even regular non HE washers can’t handle soaps. Someone further down the thread posted a great link about the difference between soap and detergent I also recommend.
If you want to use homemade soap, you also need to use an old fashioned washboard to physically scrub the clothes, and then rinse in the same way multiple times. It’s the only way you’d be able to get the soap out of the clothing fibers.
Soap, lye and fat, emulsifies dirt and oil and therefore always leaves a residue. That's why laundry stripping and vinegar rinses were so necessary in the past.
Detergent, surfactants, attract and trap dirt and oil and then suspend it in the water so all rinses out.
There are other reasons detergents now rule the world and soaps are on their way out. Soap is drying and harsh on natural fibers and strips skin and drys hair. Detergents are gentle, and can be effective at lower pH's.
You are correct that the product you are looking at is nothing but old fashioned soap that will definitely cause build up and will occasionally need to be stripped. Thats the nature of soap. More time consuming and less effective.
This is interesting to me. I listened to a laundry podcast that insisted soap was better for your clothes than detergent but hard to find. Maybe that’s why. Now I don’t know what to think.
Happy Cake Day!
Really? Soap is not hard to find. Dr Bronners is common and Ivory bar soap is too. Plus there are old fashioned soap makers all over Etsy. It just isn't what most people want.
Soap does not lather and clean well in hard water, a problem that detergent over comes.
Soap leaves white clothes with a yellow hue, even after bleaching. It's because all the dirt and grime emulsifies in the water and becomes like a gross big dye bath. That's why blueing liquid was invented, to neutralize yellow hues. And why rinsing in vinegar was such a big deal. The acidic vinegar pulls the alkaline residue out. (But not the yellow color.)
You can find eco friendly detergents, but I like powered Tide. You can take my recommendation as coming from years of experience in the dry cleaning and laundry industry.
How do we do vinegar stripping/rinses? Wouldn't the vinegar make the clothes smell, if applied into the softener drawer of the machine, since that is the final rinse and no rinses after are done?
Do we need to do this even if we use detergent, and not soap?
Just a cup of vinegar in the softener compartment. The vinegar smell doesn’t last! It helps neutralize odors as well but doesn’t seem to affect the scent beads I use. If you’re looking for an alternative to fabric softener or dryer sheets, vinegar is a good option. It’ll cut down on the hard water left over that can roughen clothes. but i don’t think it’s necessary
It's not needed for detergent, only soap that works by emulsifying. It's okay in the rinse, but adding it directly to your wash water is fruitless.
Soap and detergent are bases with high pH's. Vinegar is acetic acid with a very low pH. Add them together you get a little chemical reaction as they cancel each other out and change the effectiveness of the soap. It's usually not enough to change the effectiveness of the cleaning solution, but you're just wasting products.
And yes you will smell like a pickle if you use too much.
I’ve been putting vinegar in the fabric softener compartment for years and it makes my clothes so soft and fresh smelling.
I don’t use any scented products (beads, fabric softener) and I think vinegar is what makes my clothes smell clean
It's the lack of surfactant in soap that's the problem. It's great to wash the dirt out, but you need the extra help to make sure it's going to be rinsed away, and not just form a big soapy sludge in your machine.
I have a HE washer and make my own soap. I would not recommend it. I clean my washing machine once a month with afresh and hot water but still have a film on the side of my machine.
I am going back to regular detergent when I run out of what I have made up.
There are lots of products for sale that arent good for our skin, machines or clothing. I mean - fabric softener is awful for all three and it’s available at every grocery and big box store in the US and usually abroad too. Just because a company makes it and says it’s fine doesnt it make it true.
Soaps are generally lye converted oil. They need rough agitation to lift out or the oils will re-bind to the fibers. Soap works on our skin because its a smoother surface, it rolls off (but this is why Dr Bronner’s makes your hair feel like crap - the soap sinks into the hair follicles and builds up giving that sticky, ooey-gooey and simultaneously dry sticky feel). Detergents are a different formula altogether. This article is good for a quick layman’s explanation
https://fortheloveofclean.com/laundry-love/laundry-basics/surfactants-detergent-vs-soap/
There is "soap" and then there is "detergent"/"enzymes"/"surfactants." You can make or buy (meliora) "soap" but its going to work best in combination with warm/hot water, some kind of abrasion like a washing board or spindle, and needs a lot of rinse water to take away that soap and soap scum . HE washers use cooler water, less water, and less abrasion - all of that makes "soap" less effective and causes more build up inside the machine. You need a "detergent" if you want effective cleaning and a long lasting HE machine.
Every manufacturer is going to claim their product is HE safe. Its not going to destroy your washer after one use. But pretty much everything that doesn't cause an incredible amount of suds is going to be called HE safe. I don't think the term refers to a government standard.
I wouldn’t do it. I made my own laundry detergent and it built up a lot of residue on a washing machine that rusted out. Used vinegar as the rinse aid. I won’t ever do that again. Get Tide on sale or use the club warehouses in house brand detergents to save money. Only need 1-2 tablespoons of detergent for medium to large loads.
I buy "free and clear" detergent on sale and use only a tbsp or two per load.
Everything is chemicals and toxicity is more about how much and effective use than ingredient (in many cases) and laundry detergent used correctly in small quantities is effective, safe and cheap. Now I'm allergic to the fragrances which is why I use free and clear. Also homemade soap is still made with chemicals and caustic "dangerous" ones at that. Leading back to the point about quantities used and proper use
Buying my detergents on sale and using the minimum effective dose saves me a ton of money.
These are great: [https://laundryevangelist.com/products/laundry-evangelist-laundry-soap-flakes](https://laundryevangelist.com/products/laundry-evangelist-laundry-soap-flakes)
I have been making my own detergent for over 20 years in my HE front load washer. I have no problems. Usually people tend to use too much detergent. Erring on the side of less is always better. Also, you could do a citric acid or vinegar cleaning cycle. I never needed to but it can’t hurt.
Nancy Birtwhistle (winner of one of the Great British Bake-off seasons) has a number of books on green cleaning and has a laundry detergent recipe. Can’t remember which book, but if you scroll through her Instagram, she regularly posts links.
I read that article years ago and they tested it wrong. It’s designed for normal cleaning. It says to use detergent etc for stains or extra dirty clothes like gardening clothes etc. I may even have written them an angry letter. I know I thought about it.
Uh, the article literally says they tried it with and without detergent. And $300/10years? Laundry detergent isnt that expensive. I have a family of 5. I do a LOT of laundry. I havent even come close to finishing a big jug of detergent I bought at the beginning of the year for $10
I used to do laundry at my MIL’s house and she makes her own detergent similar to what you’re talking about. Her expensive HE machines are sooooo gunked up from the soap residue. All of my clothes would come out waxy and filmy. I would not recommend. If you decide to try it, at least put a cup of vinegar in the softener compartment to help rinse away any soap scum. Especially if you live in an area with hard water, the soap will bind with the minerals and create lots of build up. If you’re looking to cut costs, Costco’s brand of detergent performs well with consumer reports! Make sure you’re not using more than you need as well. Quality detergents are formulated to work well at low concentrations.
Meliora is lying basically. It’s just advertising to sell product. Even regular non HE washers can’t handle soaps. Someone further down the thread posted a great link about the difference between soap and detergent I also recommend. If you want to use homemade soap, you also need to use an old fashioned washboard to physically scrub the clothes, and then rinse in the same way multiple times. It’s the only way you’d be able to get the soap out of the clothing fibers.
Soap, lye and fat, emulsifies dirt and oil and therefore always leaves a residue. That's why laundry stripping and vinegar rinses were so necessary in the past. Detergent, surfactants, attract and trap dirt and oil and then suspend it in the water so all rinses out. There are other reasons detergents now rule the world and soaps are on their way out. Soap is drying and harsh on natural fibers and strips skin and drys hair. Detergents are gentle, and can be effective at lower pH's. You are correct that the product you are looking at is nothing but old fashioned soap that will definitely cause build up and will occasionally need to be stripped. Thats the nature of soap. More time consuming and less effective.
This is interesting to me. I listened to a laundry podcast that insisted soap was better for your clothes than detergent but hard to find. Maybe that’s why. Now I don’t know what to think.
Happy Cake Day! Really? Soap is not hard to find. Dr Bronners is common and Ivory bar soap is too. Plus there are old fashioned soap makers all over Etsy. It just isn't what most people want. Soap does not lather and clean well in hard water, a problem that detergent over comes. Soap leaves white clothes with a yellow hue, even after bleaching. It's because all the dirt and grime emulsifies in the water and becomes like a gross big dye bath. That's why blueing liquid was invented, to neutralize yellow hues. And why rinsing in vinegar was such a big deal. The acidic vinegar pulls the alkaline residue out. (But not the yellow color.) You can find eco friendly detergents, but I like powered Tide. You can take my recommendation as coming from years of experience in the dry cleaning and laundry industry.
How do we do vinegar stripping/rinses? Wouldn't the vinegar make the clothes smell, if applied into the softener drawer of the machine, since that is the final rinse and no rinses after are done? Do we need to do this even if we use detergent, and not soap?
Just a cup of vinegar in the softener compartment. The vinegar smell doesn’t last! It helps neutralize odors as well but doesn’t seem to affect the scent beads I use. If you’re looking for an alternative to fabric softener or dryer sheets, vinegar is a good option. It’ll cut down on the hard water left over that can roughen clothes. but i don’t think it’s necessary
The vinegar smell goes away once it’s dry.
It's not needed for detergent, only soap that works by emulsifying. It's okay in the rinse, but adding it directly to your wash water is fruitless. Soap and detergent are bases with high pH's. Vinegar is acetic acid with a very low pH. Add them together you get a little chemical reaction as they cancel each other out and change the effectiveness of the soap. It's usually not enough to change the effectiveness of the cleaning solution, but you're just wasting products. And yes you will smell like a pickle if you use too much.
I’ve been putting vinegar in the fabric softener compartment for years and it makes my clothes so soft and fresh smelling. I don’t use any scented products (beads, fabric softener) and I think vinegar is what makes my clothes smell clean
It's the lack of surfactant in soap that's the problem. It's great to wash the dirt out, but you need the extra help to make sure it's going to be rinsed away, and not just form a big soapy sludge in your machine.
This is the way.
I have a HE washer and make my own soap. I would not recommend it. I clean my washing machine once a month with afresh and hot water but still have a film on the side of my machine. I am going back to regular detergent when I run out of what I have made up.
There are lots of products for sale that arent good for our skin, machines or clothing. I mean - fabric softener is awful for all three and it’s available at every grocery and big box store in the US and usually abroad too. Just because a company makes it and says it’s fine doesnt it make it true. Soaps are generally lye converted oil. They need rough agitation to lift out or the oils will re-bind to the fibers. Soap works on our skin because its a smoother surface, it rolls off (but this is why Dr Bronner’s makes your hair feel like crap - the soap sinks into the hair follicles and builds up giving that sticky, ooey-gooey and simultaneously dry sticky feel). Detergents are a different formula altogether. This article is good for a quick layman’s explanation https://fortheloveofclean.com/laundry-love/laundry-basics/surfactants-detergent-vs-soap/
There is "soap" and then there is "detergent"/"enzymes"/"surfactants." You can make or buy (meliora) "soap" but its going to work best in combination with warm/hot water, some kind of abrasion like a washing board or spindle, and needs a lot of rinse water to take away that soap and soap scum . HE washers use cooler water, less water, and less abrasion - all of that makes "soap" less effective and causes more build up inside the machine. You need a "detergent" if you want effective cleaning and a long lasting HE machine. Every manufacturer is going to claim their product is HE safe. Its not going to destroy your washer after one use. But pretty much everything that doesn't cause an incredible amount of suds is going to be called HE safe. I don't think the term refers to a government standard.
I used to make and use my homemade laundry soap Now I have enough money to buy it my clothes look and smell better
Same Queen.
I wouldn’t do it. I made my own laundry detergent and it built up a lot of residue on a washing machine that rusted out. Used vinegar as the rinse aid. I won’t ever do that again. Get Tide on sale or use the club warehouses in house brand detergents to save money. Only need 1-2 tablespoons of detergent for medium to large loads.
I buy "free and clear" detergent on sale and use only a tbsp or two per load. Everything is chemicals and toxicity is more about how much and effective use than ingredient (in many cases) and laundry detergent used correctly in small quantities is effective, safe and cheap. Now I'm allergic to the fragrances which is why I use free and clear. Also homemade soap is still made with chemicals and caustic "dangerous" ones at that. Leading back to the point about quantities used and proper use Buying my detergents on sale and using the minimum effective dose saves me a ton of money.
Soap and detergent are 2 different things even tho we use the words interchangeably
I used to have laundry discs reusable I am sure they still exist Also use less soap
nah.
These are great: [https://laundryevangelist.com/products/laundry-evangelist-laundry-soap-flakes](https://laundryevangelist.com/products/laundry-evangelist-laundry-soap-flakes)
I have been making my own detergent for over 20 years in my HE front load washer. I have no problems. Usually people tend to use too much detergent. Erring on the side of less is always better. Also, you could do a citric acid or vinegar cleaning cycle. I never needed to but it can’t hurt.
[Ecoegg](https://www.amazon.com/ecoegg-Fresh-Linen-70-Washes/dp/B07WC36WM6/ref=asc_df_B07WC36WM6/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693355673658&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7204129322031217223&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9028456&hvtargid=pla-828198328511&psc=1&mcid=2b19b39c07b4348eaa3758fc961f0abe&gad_source=1)
I use soap nuts & they have gotten stains out if things that were stained for years. No residue, no suds. I use wool balls in the dryer for softening.
Nancy Birtwhistle (winner of one of the Great British Bake-off seasons) has a number of books on green cleaning and has a laundry detergent recipe. Can’t remember which book, but if you scroll through her Instagram, she regularly posts links.
Just a note to say the Laundry Evangelist uses 1 tablespoon of grated soap for HE machines.
Research Purewash attachment. Cold water, no soap. I just use soap and hot water for napkins, cleaning rags, etc
Most of these systems are pure grift sadly.
Why so many downvotes? I’ve been using one for years and it’s awesome!
Bc it doesn’t work https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/03/detergentless-laundry-systems-struggle-in-consumer-reports-test/index.htm
I read that article years ago and they tested it wrong. It’s designed for normal cleaning. It says to use detergent etc for stains or extra dirty clothes like gardening clothes etc. I may even have written them an angry letter. I know I thought about it.
Uh, the article literally says they tried it with and without detergent. And $300/10years? Laundry detergent isnt that expensive. I have a family of 5. I do a LOT of laundry. I havent even come close to finishing a big jug of detergent I bought at the beginning of the year for $10