Front loaders and homemade detergent ?

[mrsjtc]

My wonderful friend is giving me a set of front loaders. Here's the scoop:

She and her hubby bought a new house that comes with a front-loading washer and dryer . She and her hubby bought brand new front loaders for their rental that they want to keep so they are giving me the older front loaders from their new house! WooHoo!

They are a few years old (3-5 yrs. old is the estimate) but this is them. They're not the fanciest or the most efficient I'm sure but for $0 I'm thrilled. (We're using a stackable laundry center from the mid-90's right now).

My questions are:
-Can I use my homemade detergent in this washer and how? I make liquid detergent now but was hoping to switch to powdered.

- How do I wash diapers? We do not have hard water and hopefully my daughter will be out of dipes soon but still.

- Can you really put a lot in them? 3.1 cu. ft. sounds small but I guess since I'm not filling around the center agitator, there is more room?

Any other advice would be lovely. Hopefully I'll have them sometime this week.

[mrsjtc]

Anyone?

[Malva]

Yes you can use homemade detergent!

My recipe is:

1 bar soap grated using the small side of a cheese grater (I use Sunlight but Ivory or Fels Naphta works too, any plain soap will do)
1 cup borax
1cup Washing Soda

Mix in a jar and use 1-2 tbsp per load.

I use 1 capful of white vinegar during the rinse cycle.

For diapers, I do a short cold wash with 1/2 tbsp of the laundry powder followed by a longer hot wash with 1/2 to 1 tbsp of powder. If I have other things that can be washed in hot, I'll add them to the hot wash.

As for tips: leave the door open and the dispensing drawer open when you're not using the washer.

[Carson]

As far as filling, put clothes in the washer up to the level where you can stick your arm straight in the machine without smooshing the clothes. The clothes should flop around freely when the machine is rotating. I know that's a really un-technical explanation, but hopefully that makes sense.

And yes, leave the door/dispenser open after you're done. Otherwise, you risk the seal getting moldy.