So I was looking at the shelf-full of laundry additives last night and wondering…which work best when? Do some work better on certain problems (e.g., grease, other stains, etc.)? Are there temperature restrictions? Color restrictions? Are there certain brands that work better than others? Other things to consider? I’ve listed below the ones I’ve currently got on the shelf, please feel free to add your own.
Chlorine bleach
Dry bleach
Borax
Baking soda
Washing soda
Vinegar
Stain removers (currently Shout, sometimes Spray’n’Wash or something else)
Pet odor removers
Other (Oxyclean, dish liquid, etc.)
I used to use Clorox all the time on sheets and towels (per Mom’s instructions), but now I only use it rarely on whites. I used to add dry bleach to all the colored loads, but lately I’ve been trying baking soda; I’m not sure if it’s made any difference. I sometimes add borax to a hot-water load if it’s extra dirty. Will borax work in cold water?
I occasionally use vinegar on smelly things. I usually use dishwashing liquid for grease, although I had pretty good luck the other day with OxyClean. I use stain removers occasionally if it seems warranted. We had a cat problem for a bit, hence the odor neutralizers (trust me, neither baking soda nor vinegar cut cat pee very well).
I’ve got some washing soda I inherited, and I’m not at all sure what to do with it.
I use general chlorine liquid bleach for whites, and Simple Green for everything else. That stuff gets grease stains out of my clothing like you wouldn’t believe. I’m not sure if it’s MEANT to be used on clothing, but we always have. It comes in a spray bottle.
Shout!Naps are good for keeping in your purse if you tend to wear your food.
I just use a normal old laundry detergent. I’m boring, and don’t care about my clothes enough to spend money on additives. I HAVE heard good stuff about OxyClean, though.
I really like the Spray & Wash Dual Power stuff. It comes in that 2-chambered bottle and sprays together to go on the stains. It works really well on my family’s stains. My husband gets nasty grass and dirt on his jeans from cutting grass as a side job and it gets it all out.
My daughter had a job as a server at a retirement community and would come home with all sorts of food stains on her shirt and the Spray & Wash got it all out. Chocolate sauce, tomato sauce, all of it.
My son is 10 so you can imagine - dirt, grass, food, stuff I don’t want to know about.
It all comes clean.
I like Borax 20-Mule Team, too. I use it for sheets and towels.
For really nasty stained kitchen towels, I use a mix of Clorox 2 and Cascade dish detergent. I use a cup of each and let it agitate for a few minutes in hot water, so it all dissolves and mixes through. Then I turn the washer off and let it sit for several hours (all day or overnight). Then I turn the washer back on and let it finish the cycle. This will bleach the towels a bit, so don’t use it on clothing or your fancy heirloom towels.
Simple Green! I’d forgotten about that stuff, used it a lot when it first came out. I’ll have to give it a try - I do tend to wear my food, especially if it was something greasy. (I’ve got more shirts with one nasty grease spot that won’t come out…)
I’ve boiled towels and Tshirts with lye soap before, too. It’s the only way to get the red clay stain out (as much as possible, at any rate).
Look, they have a whole slew of Simple Green stuff now!
I use store-brand laundry detergent (or no-name) and Borax. I started using Borax when my kids started school and the unform included white shirts (white? for primary school kids??) and white socks. They got dingy very quickly. Borax keeps 'em nice and white, and I throw it into colored loads occasionally for a perk-up. I use cold-only washes, but I have a setting that jets a little warm into it which is supposed to help the detergent for some reason (says my husband) so I use that setting. I’d say it really makes all my loads Slightly Warm, rather than Cold or Hot.
Spray 'n Wash is the only thing I use for stains, with decent results. Getting it on the stain as soon as possible seems to make the difference. If you can’t wash it right away, roll the item up tightly to keep the liquid from drying.
I’ve been trying to get cat pee smell out of my 2-year-old son’s shoes. His caregiver’s cat apparently sprayed them while he was napping, or something, because they reek. Internet searches say use detergent with enzymes. We purchased some Tide Smelly Scent with Enzymes for this purpose. I soaked them overnight, then washed and it seems to have mostly worked. I’m motivated to get this stench out because they’re $56 Ecco shoes and it’s not like I’m just going to throw them out.
Yeah, I use cheapo detergent too. I’ve started to use borax in other loads, but wasn’t sure if it actually would work for colors/cold water. I may switch to that instead of the dry bleach - that doesn’t dissolve very well and I seem to have to reload and rinse clothes a lot when I use it.
I’ve got a gel-stick somewhere (Shout, I think) that you can put on stains and it doesn’t dry out as fast (up to a week, I think). Good stuff, if I can remember to do it.
I’ll look tonight and post the name of the pet stuff I used. I got it at Wally World or PetSmart. Some kind of enzyme; I went through a lot (you have to douse things pretty solidly and then wash them) doing two loads of laundry that the cat peed in, but it seemed to work pretty well.
OK, the stuff I used is called “OUT Pet Odor Remover”. You spray it on and let it sit (direct enzyme action instead of diluted in the washer), then wash or otherwise clean.
It seemed to work pretty well. I really soaked stuff down, though, since I was in no mood to have to do it over.
So does anyone know what washing soda is good for? I’ve got half a box, but no clue when to use it.
Wasing soda is a detergent booster. It will help keep whites white and colors bright.
I use soap (not detergent), washing soda, and borax on smelly stuff.
If you are using a bunch of different laundry products, are they rinsing clean? Try doing a load without anything and see if suds appear. Particularly with the things you wash a lot.
Annie, what brands are soap, not detergent? The only one I know of is Ivory Snow – it is recommended that you NOT use it on kids’ nightclothes because it removes the flame-retardant stuff. Is there an “adult” soap for the laundry?
Thanks for the info about the pet-remover, redtail. I will pick some up for future emergencies!
I use Sun & Earth, which I get at Shop Rite. It’s more expensive than detergent, but I think it’s worth it. Shop Rite has expanded its natural soap line and put them in the laundry aisle.
A lot of it depends on the water. “Hard” water is difficult to lather and scales badly leaving a lintlike residue so lots of effort has been put into making detergents work effectively in cold, less than soft water. (In a typical home that was originally plumbed for softened water, the water heater, dishwasher, and clothes washer will have both cold and hot service with soft water. So will the showers, toilet, but not the outside taps nor cold water in the kitchen.)
Scale buildup in clothes actually makes them wear quicker too. That’s one thing I noticed about a lot of laundromat/apartment/dorm style facilities with hard water - clothes don’t get as clean no matter what detergent…
I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned Oxy Clean or another oxygen booster. I use Oxy Clean first – a scoopful as the water’s first pouring in – then add a little detergent before adding the first round of clothes.
I find it less harsh than using liquid nonchlorine bleach. Colors definitely come out a lot brighter. The only thing to remember is to dissolve it completely before adding clothes, or else you can get powder residue.
Heck, sometimes I use it in the white load instead of straight bleach.
Oh, and I’m an Arm & Hammer gal. Reasonably priced, and never had had an issue with it.