I just don’t.
Unless it’s kitchen towels covered in grease, or really muddy, greasy clothes in the load, I don’t bother.
It comes out smelling fresh and is perfectly clean without that horribly over-perfumed scent of fake flowers or fake mountain breezes.
The agitation, and the warm water does the trick, and I have never looked back since.
I did try a load here at my parents, with a bit of detergent and I almost threw up from the nausea of the strong chemical-laden ocean mist scent that came off the clothes.
I have to re-wash them later on. This time, sans detergent.
I don’t do it because I’m cheap, eco-friendly or that I want to save a boatload of money.
I do it, because it has made a slight difference, for the better to stop using detergent. My clothes seem to last longer/better without chemicals attacking the fabric, and the fresh-without-being-nauseating scent is a huge bonus for my (now) sensitive nose.
So unless you are covered in grease, huge chunks of dirt, and/or feces on a regular basis, give washing just with warm water and a cold water rinse, a shot.
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.
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It’s actually a proven fact that 75% of things that we put through our washing machines only actually need a rinse cycle yet we all put through on a full wash, myself included. Saying that though, for years I have only used eco wash balls. Try them you will be pleasantly surprised.
I agree with this post. It’s the combination of agitation/water that does the cleaning not the detergent. The only thing detergent does is add fragrance. You can also add baking soda to the washer to help brighten and soften clothes.
This is disgusting. Are you from India? That’s what Indians do who come to this country. You have a poor excuse about “harsh chemicals” and “perfume smells” of detergents. There’s alternatives to both of those. You are a pig. You’ve probably got fecal bacteria in your washing machine.
Who fucked you the wrong way this morning?
Right?! Jesus Christ, such hostility for such a benign, non-political post. People are funny when they’re online.
I understand about the harsh chemicals in regular detergent — they irritate my skin like you wouldn’t believe :/ I just use a home-made laundry detergent, and it works WONDERS <3 All you need to make it is:
– 1 bar of soap (doesn't matter which kind)
– 1 box of Arm & Hammer washing soda
– 1 box of borax (not necessary, but recommended)
– a 5 gallon bucket with a lid
– 3 gallons of tap water
– one big spoon
– a measuring cup
– and one knife.
It'll take a full day to make this, but all you have to do is heat 4 cups of water in a pan to almost boiling, then take the knife and whittle down the entire bar of soap into the hot water; then stir until you have highly soapy water.
Then put three gallons of hot water (about 3 gallon milk jugs worth); mix in the hot soapy water, stir for a while, then add a cup of washing soda, then stir a little more (then you can add half a cup of borax if you are using it). Stir a little more, then set overnight — the next day, just recycle the milk jugs to hold your homemade detergent! 😀
I agree with Tiffany. I have 2 small children, so some soap for me is essential. I just started using homemade detergent this January. I love how the clothes small fresh and clean without all the strong chemically smells (although, truthfully, the reason I went to homemade was to decrease household costs; buying Tide every month was killing me!)
Try using a natural, vegetable based detergent such as Seventh Generation Lavender and Blue Eucalyptus… Slight scent, safe for the environment and your clothes.
I actually don’t use any laundry detergent any more. If I did, I normally
buy Seventh Generation or other such eco-friendly ones.
I don’t use laundry detergent either, such a great idea. They are just as clean without the chemicals.
I have never thought of this and I will try it! Perhaps with just a tad of detergent for the extra dirty things 🙂 I work in a office and my clothes never get very dirty, not even when I'm in the garden.
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I really do find that I don\’t need detergent. People find it weird when they first hear of it, but I haven\’t smelled my clothes to look and feel dirty after washing with just water and the agitation of the machine.
I totally do this too – or don't do this (as in I don't use much detergent if any). I also don't dry my clothes, unless it is the middle of winter in Vancouver (meaning, very humid, clothes will NEVER dry). I have a tiny apartment, but still feel it is necessary to not dry my clothes in the machine. I don't like spending the extra loonie per dryer load, and I don't like my clothes shrinking!
My apartment windows/balcony door face the courtyard and I smell laundry soap 4 floors up from the communal room – makes me itchy, gag, feel sick, have a headache, and wakes me up/keeps me up, even if i have all windows/door closed!
I wish I had my own machine so I wouldn't get other people's yucky soap on my clothes. The leftovers that get on my clothes really irritate my skin! When I lived in India I sent out clothes to wash and the dhobi whalas beat them on rocks and dried them in the sun. Loved it.
Hey I hear that. It\’s surprisingly strong, the scent of soaps and perfumes. It makes me nauseous sometimes…
Uh, I couldn't do this. Especially with sheets and towels, you have to use hot water and soap. Just because something looks clean doesn't mean it is. To wit, I've lived in Argentina, where most people take their clothes to full-service laundries (cheap, and I've never seen a self-service laundry there). Your clothes look clean when you get them back, but they aren't truly. All it takes is washing the piece of clothing with soap in a sink, and the water is instantly gray. I had to ask for perfume to not be used (smelled bad and covered up any unclean odors) and for double washing powder (they used some, but obviously not enough). Or maybe they didn't rinse the clothes properly — I dunno, but my clothes were not consistently clean.
I'm all for using less detergent, but using none is like saying just because it looks clean means it is clean. If you were hiking and you saw animal droppings in the water, would you still drink the water 15 feet away, because it "looked clean"? Nope.
Interesting indeed! I'd like to do it for all the reasons you don't list, as well as the one you do! 🙂
Will give it a try.
what about unscented detergent? I use Dye and Perfume Free Laundry. eiher from my local grocery store or Trader Joes and I love it. It comes out clean and smelling like nothing. maybe i am just a neat freak that way?
I have to disagree with you on this, I need to wash my clothes with detergent. Some people prefer to use baking soda instead of detergent. Whatever our differences are, we are each doing what works for both of us.
😉
This is very cool. I'm going to give it a try next time I do the laundry. I hate that detergent smell!
I just use a tiny bit of oxyclean. It's great. I buy a big box and use it for everything around the house. laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, cleaning the carpets. it doesn't leave a smell in my clothes, and no one seems to be sitting father away from me 🙂
I'm all for cutting out as many chemicals as possible, and I SO want to do this, but I always cold water wash (for a couple of reasons – my clothes seem to last longer and I don't have to sort, which for me would be a waste of water and quarters since I never have a whole load of both lights and brights by the time I need more clean clothes). So I don't think it would work for me! Drat. However, I do use the environmentally friendly stuff, so my clothes don't come out smelling like freesia breeze, at least – just, as you said, fresh-without-being-nauseating. 🙂
We use a lot less detergent than is called for and I still think sometimes it's too much. I don't know that I'd go all the way to nothing but it's an interesting idea.
I can see that with some things that are slightly worn, isn't stained, or doesn't touch the private parts of your body. But my underwear and workout clothes need SUDS. Plain water just won't do. If the chemicals or scent bothered me, I'd buy a green detergent or unscented detergents for sensitive skin.
No can do for me! My workout clothes are way too stinky, and without detergent, my white jeans that I wear for polo just wouldn't be as white anymore! I also love the smell of clean linen when I go to bed at night.
Also, I feel that the water here isn't clean. I don't know, call me crazy, but it has all these minerals in it that make clothes look dull.
Based on what I've read, this seems fine to me. Though I'd continue to use the dryer. The intense heat from the dryer is really what kills any bacteria living on the clothes and towels, not the warm or hot water. That's why it's always good to wash your hands after transferring a load from the washer into the dryer.
I haven't cut out detergent entirely, but I do use much smaller amounts than the bottles say to. And I hardly ever use dryer sheets, since I've taken to letting my clothes air-dry naturally when possible. I agree that my clothes seem the better for it, and I don't miss the super strong detergent smell, even if I don't mind it that much, either. And even if you're just doing it to avoid the chemical smell, it's nice to know that it's more environmentally friendly, keeps clothes lasting longer, and saves money. Can't argue with that! 😉
Yes! My BF's parents gave a set of these ceramic laundry discs: http://www.greenhome.com/products/housekeeping/la… that I've been using regularly. I was skeptical at first, but clothes do get clean. I continue to pretreat stains and bleach whites, but it seems like it's working. A message board over at snopes (http://msgboard.snopes.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=42;t=000233;p=1) seems to debunk their usefulness, but as long as it works for me, I'll keep using them.
I've heard this before–the rationale being that when people used to wash clothes simply by beating them against rocks, there was not detergent, just agitation. I usually wash clothes without detergent when I have clothes that I have only worn for a few hours, like clothes worn to church. I usually just wash them in plain water to get rid of detergent stains.