- cross-posted to:
- anticonsumption@slrpnk.net
- cross-posted to:
- anticonsumption@slrpnk.net
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It’s worse. Fabric softener is composed of an anti static oil. When you run it in the laundry, it coats all of your clothes with a very thin layer of oil.
Which is why towels dried with fabric softener and dryer sheets don’t absorb water anywhere near as well as plain towels dried without it!!
My mom complained to me for years that I wasn’t “doing it right” by not using fabric softener. But her towels are useless compared to mine! She continues to spends $100/ year on fabric softener while on social security. Over the year she has spent thousands and thousands of $$$. 🤦♀️
If only millennials bought more fabric softener instead of avocados and coffee they would be able to afford a house.
That homemade laundry soap made with bar soap would be a nightmare in hard water. I don’t even want to think about soap scum in the drains and in my clothes.
I just use the smallest amount of detergent I can get out of the bottle, that works well. And don’t wash a garment after wearing it once if it’s not underwear. Invested in a lot of Merino stuff which manages to be comfortable even here in Florida and doesn’t stink ever. I can wear those shirts and just hang them back up.
It’s worth noting that cat owners(at least, never had anything buts cats) should avoid certain essential oils, As our furry pals’ little organs aren’t equipped to process them, and they can easily be deadly!
@pseudo@jlai.lu, saw you mention essential oils too, just a PSA.
I can’t imagine baking baking soda in an oven is cheaper than just buying washing soda? They’re both sold in similar size bags (1kg) for similar prices in my area (€9-€10). Seems like a waste of energy to buy the wrong type of carbonate.
Yeah I’m not putting all that effort and potentially ruining my washing machine to save me a few cents per wash. That seems ridiculous.
You don’t even have to buy the fancy, expensive, in a pod detergent or anything, considering they always contain the same stuff that comes in a box/bottle. Just buy whatever’s cheap.
Yea, making your own laundry detergent from grated soap and borax seems like something people with money do to convince themselves they’re frugal. When in reality, there is no way in hell you’re making a commodity cheaper than GreatValue ™
Yeah, the cheap standard powder detergent would probably be less expensive. The volume you’d need to make to beat it is huge. Like, maybe five years’ worth.
I am also laughing at making washing powder in the oven to save money. The amount you’d spend on electricity would put you in the red, unless you live in a petrostate with free electricity or something.
The amount of free time you’d have to have, as well, to even consider baking the powder for an hour per round to make it usable… After a certain point my time is valuable to me and I’d rather just pay a dollar or two extra to not have to worry about all this mess.
Indeed. Or working for prison slave wages.
Lol yeah I didn’t even consider that. At this point it almost feels like some of that has to be trolling. Either that or there is a large detergent hobbyist community out there that I have just not been aware of.
Not just the effort, but by the time you buy all those ingredients, you’re probably paying more than you would for normal laundry detergent.
And if you use Dr. Bronner’s bar soap as recommended, you’ll be paying out the ass.
Not to mention the gas to go to the three separate stores you probably need to buy that shit from.
Eh, all of that stores really well, so buy in bulk.
Hello electricians and safety nerds. Fabric softener removes the fire rating on fire rated clothing protecting you from arc flash hazards.
I want to know more.
This is pure conjecture, but my guess is that the film of fabric softener left on the clothes would interfere with the fire retardant fibers/may be flammable itself.
From my understanding, the old fire gear I wore as a much younger man, the fabric was treated with special chemicals that could be washed out if not laundered correctly.
Yes, and it will even say so right on the tags. At least it did on the 35 year old bunker gear I wore when I was young and a volunteer fireman in my small rural town. They had special washing instructions right on a big tag sewn on the inside to the coat and pants.
Fabric softener is great. Mix a bit with water and use it to clean your shower glass doors/walls. It removes limescale like a charm thanks to the anionic surfactants that are in there. And the Aldi store brand costs hardly anything.
I’m not convinced about the cost. A kilogram of borax seems to run about $10CAD. 2 cups, at 1.7g/CC, would be about 850g, so $7 just for the Borax. Unless there’s a much cheaper place to get it…
A ~5L jug of Tide costs $31, or about $6/L. If they have approximately equivalent cleaning power per volume, Tide wins.
My favorite is the Tide Free and Clear commercial where the kid goes “look dad, it’s just as clean but without any of the chemicals that harm me!” They’re literally admitting their core product contains harmful chemicals yet people are still buying it!
Honestly at a loss here. The title references fabric softener, but the content relates more specifically to DIY laundry detergent while only mentioning that softener makes clothes more vulnerable to wear & tear. What’s the nitty-gritty on the fabric softener? Does it actually damage clothing in some way?
As geek analogy, is it like the subatomic bacteria that starts destroying the Klingon ship in Star Trek: the Next Generation S2E8’s “A Matter Of Honor”, or does it just make the material more susceptible to tearing?
This new generation can’t do anything and spends money frivolously… This generation is too stingy and resourceful… Guys pick a damn lane.
They can’t afford fabric softener or washing detergents to clean those avocado stains.
I don’t know about needing to make your own detergent. But using dry detergent would be a drastic improvement in cost compared to what most people do because if you’re buying liquid detergent, most of what you’re buying is water.
I started using the dry stuff years ago and it works great. Also, if the clothes are not really dirty i.e. have literally dirt stains on them, you need surprisingly little detergent. Same goes for the dishwasher.
Problem with the powder is not all of it dissolves, especially at 30C. End up with crusty baked on powder around the dispenser. Maybe dissolve in a little water and then treat it like liquid detergent? Might try that
I mix it with a cup of hot water before putting in in my wash. This completely eliminated that issue.
Yeah I’ve tried them multiple times but every time it leaves my clothes with white stains on them.
That is very store dependent. Last time I checked, my local grocery store only had premium brand dry detergent but had discount brand liquid detergent that was cheaper than store brand (which is what I use). I did the math, and the price per load on the dry detergent was not that good. Obviously, my math assumes that the advertised loads per package is true (which is assuredly not the case) or, at least, that brands have the same degree of inflation in their figure.
There’s more than one store to buy such things at, try Home Depot for instance, they even carry the stuff in bulk. And online purchasing exists so you’re not relegated to just that option.
If you believe being independent is more important, then more power to you. But even “making your own” you’re dependent on getting the baking soda and soap from stores as well so it’s really just a matter of how much you need to save and how far you’re willing to go to secure that savings.
im ok with buying a container of laundry detergent every few months
Yeah I don’t use fabric softener or dryer sheets but a good value size jug of detergent is worth it to me. My wife and I both work two jobs., I don’t want to spend any time grating soap.
I’d recommend powdered detergent instead. It’s usually far cheaper per load since you aren’t paying for them to ship you the water that’s in the liquid detergent.
You also don’t need to follow the ‘load size’ guidelines listed on the scoop, as only the bottom line or two is really adding anything to most loads.
With my washer I get undissolved detergent if I don’t mix it with water before adding clothes. It’s not a huge deal but sometimes I’m tossing it in in a hurry and my teenagers don’t take the time to do it and then complain. Also teenagers can be very smelly and I have a little loyalty to a brand that seems to do a better job on the smell than others I’ve tried. I second your recommendation though for most people. I used to have a job doing laundry and the powdered detergent we used with the commercial washers worked great.
Add a 1/4 cup of distilled vinegar where you normally put in bleach. Vinegar is really good at removing smells, cheap, and doesn’t leave a residual smell on the clothes
Yeah, I just looked it up. The name brand that I buy is $23 for 132 fl oz. With the way I use laundry detergent, at 0.5 oz per cycle, that’s 264 cycles for $23. Less than $.10 for the name brand stuff, maybe less for a store brand.
I have kids so I run 2 batches per week, but that’s still 20 cents per week for a family of 4. Not sure that’s worth making my own.
probably most everything is a scam if you look close enough.
