Anyone hubbie saw a thing on it in nz while there a few weeks back and is desperate to find out how to make it and make washing powder too any tips advice recipes anyone??
and do u know where to buy the ingredients cheaply in qld?
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Anyone hubbie saw a thing on it in nz while there a few weeks back and is desperate to find out how to make it and make washing powder too any tips advice recipes anyone??
and do u know where to buy the ingredients cheaply in qld?
Not sure on ingredients, but there a book 'spotless' maybe your library has it?
It has info on that sort of thing.
A lot of home made cleaners use cheap everyday ingredients, vinegar, borax, that sort of thing.
- Low Allergy Laundry Powder -
Measure by volume, not by weight,
one part - Bi Carbonate Soda,
one part - Washing Soda (the powder form - not the crystal form)
and
one part - pure Soap Flakes, (either Lux, grated Sunlight soap, or your grated home made soap).
These three ingredients mixed together will get your clothes clean, without the chemicals that are destroying our environment and harming many people at the same time.
Washing powder
- 1/2 cup washing soda crystals
- 1 cup soap flakes
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1/2 cup borax
- 1/2 cup bicarb
Crush washing soad crystals, mix all ingredients together. Use 1 tbsp for a small load, 1 1/2 for medium load, 2 tbsp for large load
- the original recipe says to place the soda crystals in a bag & crush with a rolling pin but I found using an old blender much easier. I also used an old measuring scoop out of an OMO box instead of a tablespoon.
I wash in cold water - you need to dissolve the powder in hot water before adding to the machine if you wash in cold.
All ingredients cheap & easy to find at Coles.
Also for fabric softener I use white vinegar with a blend of essential oils, usually citrus like lemon & bergamot, with a dash of lavender.
Dishwashing liquid
- 1 1/2 cup soap flakes
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups washing soda
- 1 1/2 cups white vinegar
- lemon essential oil
Bring soap and water to the boil, reduce heat and stir until smooth. Remove, stir in soda until blended. Add vinegar and a few sdrops of oil. Store in a sealed bottle.
I did make this once but TBH I wasn't impressed. Now I stick to the Earth Choice brand, it does a great job & is cheap and (apparently) environmentally friendly.
HTH :D
yeah i did make it once too ... made a HEAP of the liquid , i found i was usuing heaps , there for going through it quicker . and it wasnt the best in removing the stains ..most of the time on the kids clothes i wash in half BI carb and half washing liqud ..
another wasy to cut the costs , and make the powder last longer is , buy a big bag of cheaper powder and a good quality one on special , and use half and half ... it will do a good job :)
and Jasp the fabirc softener - does it work ? what are your ratios ? i dont want my clothes to smell like vinegar or get oil stains .. kwim ... i have also seen a recipe where you can use conditioner as a main ingerident ... will have to find it again ..
That sounds easy to make and use, thanks Kim. Does it wash well???:
thanks,, is it actually cheaper mind u i buy the cheaper brands anyhow? anyone know what the savings are? anyone have some good feedback on these recipies?
i don't mix anything up for the dishwasher, just plain Bi-carb, vinegar in the rinse aid. I can't quite believe it but it works! I do however dump everything in the sink hot water before it goes in.
I just look for good quality phosphate free wash powder, use half the amount stated and back fill with bicarb.
I couldn't be arsed mixing anything up - lucky for me it works well!
Saved a PACKET though xoxoxoxo
I have 2 empty Earth Choice dishwashing liquid containers - the caps screw off & they are large-ish & easy to wash - I have rinsed them well & I just fill them almost to the top with vinegar. I add 2-4 drops each of oil, and if I'm using the cheaper Lavender oil which you can get in the supermarket then I add a capful of that.:
So a typical blend might be 2-3 drops each of lemon, orange & sandalwood, plus a cap of lavender blend (you can get a water-soluble one in the supermarket cheap).
It's very cheap & very easy - easy is important! and IMO more effective than fabric softeners, which can be pretty nasty chemically.
I have been doing this for about 18 months & have never once had any problems with the machine or with oil stains etc, and I don't think you get the vinegar smell even wiothout the oils. Give it a go on a load of towels or something first if you're worried ;) but I LOVE it & will never use anything else.
I thought the washing powder in the machine worked quite well, although for white clothes I would still use something else now & again to keep them 'white' iykwim.:
It was cheaper for us, but I use OMO or Coldpower if I'm not making my own. The biggest problem really is...like Lulu said... a lot of the time, I couldn't be arsed making it.
The dishwashing liquid, as I said I wasn't really impressed with. I will stick with Earth Choice.
And the fabric softener - I have never used anything else since I started with this, and never will, it's easy & cheap & IMO better ;)
I haven't got around to trying the washing powder yet (using up DH's enormous stash), but I do use vinegar rince and bicarb only for my nappies. I aslo use bicarb and vinegar in the dishwasher.
Vinegar works better than rinseaid!
hrmm interestiing:)
:
So no dishwasher tablet? Just bicarb and vinegar in the washing powder dispenser?
Bi carb in the powder dispenser and vinegar in the rinse aid dispenser.:
Vinegar has no odour once it's dried :):
We have been using a vinegar/bicarb/water mix for fabric softener, and you really do notice a difference. I use it on nappies mostly.
:yeahthat::
ohcool !! im going to use bi carb in the dishwasher now too !!!
also Jasp - the lavender oil - is that the Eureka one thats water souluble ??
also - Bicarb to whiten teeth , mix it with toothpaste and scrub hard once a week , works great .. Bi carb is awesome for everything , cept scrubbing my kitchen sink ... always dries funky and i can never get it shiny again ... :rolleyes:
AH but if you pour vinegar after you've done the first rinse it will be beautiful and shiny!!!
:yeahthat: I use a bicarb& vinegar mix for stovetop, sink & benches. I used to bleach my kitchen benches (you know cordial stains etc that are really hard to get out? ) - this works better and isn't nasty & bad for you. An extra rinse with vinegar gets rid of it.:
Charmalea - yes, the Eureka brand - I don't know how it is therapeutically but I just use it for the smell ;) and it's cheap.