Detergents, Free&Clears, and Purex - Page 4

[mom2alicia]

i went to two stores and neither has the arm and hammer washing soda! thanks for the previous posts though. i will call the 800 # or maybe just order off soaps gone buy. i do have simple green though! i'm glad i checked this thread again. i was thinking borax, then i was thinking baking soda (LOL). now i think i understand!

[mollyeilis]

For future info...I just put 1/4 cup WS into a cup measure, put in approx 2 tablespoons of SG in there, and it made...not even a paste. Toook 3 more tablespoons of cold water and a lot of mixing to get a liquid. I imagine it would be far easier using HOT water, but I didn't feel like it.


Brenda mentioned something about the spray pump, and using 4 pumps? It took 8 pumps of my spray thing to get even one tablespoon...so now I'm curious about that. I'd just been pouring it into a tblsp measure.

[amberthesugarcat]

I just figured out a cute trick to measure out the Simple Green. If you have ever used Calgon liquid, the top at the line is 4 tbsps. I just diluted 1 cup SG with 1 cup water and if I put a full cap in with my wash it is 2 tbsps equivalent of SG. So you won't be adding the full strength to your laundry. I am thinking of adding 2 more cups of water and just adding 2 capfuls.

Just a quick thought. Plus it is easy to mix by shaking.

[crazydiamond]

I just read an article, dated January 2006, on Consumer Reports's website (requires subscription) about Cheer Dark Fomula detergent. The article said that while it did not really clean any better than Cheer ColorGuard and Seventh Generation, it does lack optical brighteners. It said that optical brighteners can made black look "rusty" so you don't find it in detergents made for dark colors. Can anyone verify this? If it's true, then it sound like it'll be easier to identify which detergents don't have an optical brighteners, which is a huge bonus!

[daisymommy]

Tide is listed as a "trouble maker". Can you tell me which kind of Tide? Or is it all Tide in general ?

Thank you SO MUCH Brenda! This is an awesome thread thanks to you!

[mollyeilis]

Followup to my make-a-liquid experiment.

My son was taking a nap so I didn't want to start any laundry when I mixed up the SG/WS/water. I let it sit, figuring it would be there when I needed it.

Oh gracious, it's now a ROCK HARD lump of white, with a slurry of green, yet see-through, stuff on top.

I'm sure it will go back to liquid if I put hot water into it, but MAN did it harden!

[mom2alicia]

i called the 800 # and found the arm and hammer super washing soda at raley's grocery store. so i got it finally! i'm going to try the SG/SWS combo. while i was there i also got some Soapworks laundry powder. i think i will use it for our clothes, maybe dipes too? what do you think....it says hypoallergenic non toxic, biodegradable, color safe, all temperature safe, no chlorine, no ammonia, no dyes, no EDTA, no NTA, No phosphates, no animal testing, baby safe. it lists it for washing diapers. it also says ingredients: fresh natural fragrance, blend of carefully chosen surfactants to optimize cleaning, anti-redeposition agent. what do you guys think about Soapworks?

[vintagegreen]

Thanks for the 800#...I went to 5 stores around me and nobody had washing soda.

[mags]

Brenda,

Thanks for checking back. I will let you know how the SG & WS combo does with my front loader & soft water combo.

For those of you having difficulty finding the washing soda, I found it at meijer last night, so if you live in the midwest, it would be worth checking out.

[searchdogk98]

Simple Green CouponI

I don't post here often, but was pointed to this thread by another board. I didn't see anyone else mention this and sorry if I just missed it, but if you go to the simple green website you can print out a $2 off coupon for simple green which would help cut down the cost.

NOTE: You have to have your printed set to not keep printed documents or you won't be able to print the coupon and it will only let you print it 1 or 2 times so make sure you are set up right before you try to print or you won't be able to get it because it will tell you that you have already printed the coupon.

Hope that helps someone.

[KBinSATX]

Oh that's perfect. I found the Washing Soda at my rinky-dink little grocery store but they didn't have Simple Green so I was going to pick some up today while I am in town.

[mom2alicia]

i emailed soapworks and asked directly if their product has optical brighteners in it and it does! i read the entire box and nowhere on the box does it say anything about brighteners, optical or otherwise, and it doesn't have any comments about brightening at all. oh and it has an antiredepositing ingredient. so i guess i'll just use it on our clothes and not dipes. i used the simple green and washing soda last night and it worked great. just wondering both products indicate they "boost" cleaning. to me that sort of implies it should be used in addition to a detergent. what do you think of "boosting" issue. ugh!

[dharmama]

That 800# is great! It tells you 5 stores where washing soda has been purchased in the last 90 days near your zip code.

I just picked some up at my grocery store (Stop and Shop) and found Simple Green at BJ's Warehouse. The Simple Green had a free refill pack attached to the sprayer bottle! Can't wait to try it!

[ChinaMomKaren]

Which version of Bi-O-Kleen is ok and which are not?
I use Bi-O-Kleen Premium Plus Powder and it seems to work well for me.

I totally agree about the problems with laundry detergents these days. This was much easier 8 years ago.

[ChinaMomKaren]

One other thing about Washing Soda. It works in the wash because it has a very high pH. A pH of 11y. It's caustic (as oppposed to acidic). Too much will wear out your diapers and turn hemp hard (at least in my experience it did).

High pH is great in the hot wash, but you must rinse it completely. You might even want to use some vinegar (which has a low pH) in you first rinse, to get the pH of diapers at about 7 to 7.4. Urine is acidic, so starting a little high in pH is ok.

Too high a pH diaper will cause rash, just like acid diapers will cause a burn-looking rash. So don't overdo vinegar either. Town water is already pH adjusted, but well water users can have a challenge with pH.

I stopped doing an extra rinse, and instead do a short hot wash cycle with nothing in it at the end, instead of the extra rinse. Extra rinse was not enough for me.

I can't stand the smell of Simple Green (my husband uses it to wash the tires on our truck), but I do think that method will be very effective.

[Mama~Love]

Yikes, this is so confusing. I need a chemistry degree to figure it out .

[KBinSATX]

So ChinaMomKaren, does the SG do anything to up or down pH as well?

[mom2alicia]

what about Planet? i was just looking at their website and it looks like they don't use any additives. they specifically mention they don't use any optical brighteners. it looks like it is coconut oil and soda ash and borax. anyone know about Planet and how it works for dipes?

[KBinSATX]

I thought one of the things to avoid were oils ... coconut oil, etc.

[mudder17]

Yikes, does this mean that TTO and Peppermint oil and Eucalyptus oils are a big no-no? I had some on some wipes and then tossed the wipes in the diaper wash without thinking. Now all my diapers smell like peppermint oil. Do I need to wash them all with a squirt of Dawn or can I just use the diapers this time and then use Dawn with the next wash?

Thanks!