Ellen, a Frugal Flamingo reader, offered such great tips over on Facebook that I wanted to post them here.
I had mentioned wanting to experiment with ivory soap and here is what Ellen offered,
I use Ivory soap instead of the Fels Naptha as my daughter has extremely sensitive skin (severe eczema) and found that the Naptha was too strong and it has dye in it. I do use about 15 drops of Lavender and Grapefruit Essential Oils to give it a nice scent.
I also use Baking Soda along with the Washing Soda and cuts the price down even more as I cut the Washing Soda amount in half and use the Baking Soda.Since, there were also several questions regarding HE washers, she also added this.
I highly recommend grating the Soap Bar of your choice as fine as you can. In my Front Loader/High Efficiency washer the larger the soap is grated, it won't feed through the dispenser and you will clog it and it will overflow with H2O.Thanks for the great tips Ellen! I love the baking soda idea ! I have never heard of that before and it would definitely decrease your costs even more! Who knew that I could be this excited about laundry?!
If you have other tips to share, leave a comment or start some Facebook chatter!
Another way to cut your costs is to leave out the laundry softener and use white vinegar instead. It rinses the clothes cleaner, it keeps your machine cleaner, and there is NO smell once they're dried!
ReplyDeleteThis is a fascinating discussion Billie. Is it equal amts of ivory soap as the Fells Naptha?
ReplyDeleteVicki...yes it should be the same. 1 bar of ivory or 1 bar of Fels Naptha.
ReplyDeleteI like the baking soda idea too! It makes so much sense... it would soften the water thereby acting as a fabric softener, whiten the whites and help remove odours. So simple and so smart!
ReplyDeleteWho knew I'd be happily talking about laundry soap for 3 days?!? ;)
SKIP THE IVORY AND USE DR.BRONNER'S!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy girls both have eczema and sensitive skin. I switched to Dr. Bronner's in our homemade detergent and Bath soap and wow! What a difference. Plus, it smells good!{essential oils or fragrance free}
that sounds good Rachel. Where do you buy yours?
ReplyDeleteSonnewald's is cheapest but Target&The Vitamin Shoppe carry it. (at Target- it is NOT in the soap aisle, it's with the Natural body care stuff.}
ReplyDeleteI LOVE IT- plus, it really get's stuff clean. Johnny mountain bikes... all year... so we deal with mud regularly :)