holy cow! WHAT a difference vinegar makes!

[Carl Fredricksen]

As for the homemade laundry soap, is this stuff a liquid or a powder? Does it have any scent? I like unscented laundry detergent, so I want to make sure if I make it myself, it won't have some perfumey smell!

As mentioned, it is a powder. It does have the Fels-Naptha smell when in the storage container, but it doesn't seem to transfer to the clothes after they are washed. I was concerned to because I prefer unscented as well, and it does just fine by me.

But the soap smell does keep the laundry room smelling good!

 

[jenseib]

Only read the 1st page, sorry, if this was asked. Can you use it with oxy clean powder? I normally put a scoop of oxy clean in each load.

 

[mamo-4-wdw]

Thanks for all the great tips. I usually use vinegar to clean the coffee maker and we do the cucumber thing too. Some of the family puts vinegar on turnip greens.

 

[apnep]

As mentioned, it is a powder. It does have the Fels-Naptha smell when in the storage container, but it doesn't seem to transfer to the clothes after they are washed. I was concerned to because I prefer unscented as well, and it does just fine by me.

But the soap smell does keep the laundry room smelling good!

Carl,

So I saw someone mentioned it being bad to have fat in the soap...does Fels-Naptha have any? I thought all liquid soaps had some fat content in it and that's why they are bad for the front loaders...including the HE kind. I could be wrong.

I have a couple of bars of Zote soap (the pink bar) and was going to just use those but I notice they have fat in them...

Ang

 

[jenseib]

Has anyone ever used the white distilled vinegar as a hair rinse? If so, how?

As a hairdresser, we have always used white vinegar for hair rinses. never heard of using apple cider vinegar for that.

It's good for perking up curls. (we used to recommend it when perms were really in)

Also a little off topic, but a good way to get build up out of your hair, and medicines, is to use baking soda....shampoo, make a paste with the baking soda, let it sit 5 minutes, rinse...shmpoo again and then condition really well. (It wil ldry your hair out) We used to use this before all perms to get any of the medine or foreign traces out that can affect the way a perm comes out.

 

[njsweetP]

As a hairdresser, we have always used white vinegar for hair rinses. never heard of using apple cider vinegar for that.

It's good for perking up curls. (we used to recommend it when perms were really in)

Also a little off topic, but a good way to get build up out of your hair, and medicines, is to use baking soda....shampoo, make a paste with the baking soda, let it sit 5 minutes, rinse...shmpoo again and then condition really well. (It wil ldry your hair out) We used to use this before all perms to get any of the medine or foreign traces out that can affect the way a perm comes out.

Thank you! I like the tip about perking up the curls. I did a rinse with white vinegar and then a rinse with apple cider vinegar. I liked both, couldn't really tell a difference.

 

[ceecee]

I always used vinegar in my top loader since you could open it while it was running. My front loader obviously does not stop mid cycle. Where do you add the vinegar with the detergent or in the softner area? My washer and towels smell really bad...I leave the door open all day and wipe it out. I bought some Tide cleaner for the washer and it smelled terrible!!! Too much fragrance.

 

[katied]

I always used vinegar in my top loader since you could open it while it was running. My front loader obviously does not stop mid cycle. Where do you add the vinegar with the detergent or in the softner area? My washer and towels smell really bad...I leave the door open all day and wipe it out. I bought some Tide cleaner for the washer and it smelled terrible!!! Too much fragrance.

I've put the vinegar in the place of fabric softner for my front loader. It's worked great! I also never close the door on my front loader - so it can dry out. That way, I don't have any smell issues.

To get rid of the smell issue if you already have it, run an empty cycle on extra hot, and instead of soap, put 1/2 cup of vinegar in the soap dispenser. This should clear out your washer (some folks use bleach instead of vinegar - up to you, but I'm not fond of using bleach for anything).

Good luck.

 

[njsweetP]

Ok, so I've been going crazy (cleaning) since I started reading this thread.
Has anyone tried using 50% water/50% vinegar solution on their stainless steel? It's wonderful!!!! Cleans and shines!!! I think I read somewhere that vinegar can be used as a deodorizer, is this true? I just cleaned DD's whole bathroom using vinegar from mirror to tub, sink to floor! The room is shinin'!

 

[ceecee]

I've put the vinegar in the place of fabric softner for my front loader. It's worked great! I also never close the door on my front loader - so it can dry out. That way, I don't have any smell issues.

To get rid of the smell issue if you already have it, run an empty cycle on extra hot, and instead of soap, put 1/2 cup of vinegar in the soap dispenser. This should clear out your washer (some folks use bleach instead of vinegar - up to you, but I'm not fond of using bleach for anything).

Good luck.

Thanks! I will try anything to get rid of the smell.

 

[imagine]

Anyone know if you can use the homemade soap and/or that much vinegar when you have a septic system? I seem to hear conflicting reports, so curious if any of you using that are on septic? Our's is a very simple, gravity fed system, no pumps/mechanical parts, etc.... I'd love to do this, but want to be sure it isn't harder on my septic system. I know you are to use liquids with septic, so I assume I would have to go the liquid route?

Thanks for any insight!!

 

[FoundMyPrince]

I did 2 loads of towels in my laundry today. First load, I used the last of the vinegar. For my second load of towels, I was out of vinegar, and the towels were washed exactly the same way but without the usual vinegar added.

WHAT a HUGE difference! I never really noticed before. First load is soft. Second load is ...well....not. Actually they feel scratchy, it is a very noticable difference. Got to go stock up on vinegar!

Thank you for the tip! I washed several loads of laundry yesterday and added the vinegar in the fabric softener area -- worked great!!

 

[SnowWtch]

I understand you put the vinegar in the fabric softener place in the machine but how much do you use? Do you think it would help get the stains out of a shower mat? I tried washing it and it's still discolored. It's one of those non-slip mats that go in the bottom of the tub.

 

[tink576]

I use 1/4 cup per load. Don't know about getting stains out. You could give it a try and let us know

 

[sameyeyam]

Anyone know if you can use the homemade soap and/or that much vinegar when you have a septic system? I seem to hear conflicting reports, so curious if any of you using that are on septic? Our's is a very simple, gravity fed system, no pumps/mechanical parts, etc.... I'd love to do this, but want to be sure it isn't harder on my septic system. I know you are to use liquids with septic, so I assume I would have to go the liquid route?

Thanks for any insight!!

I'm on septic and have used both liquid & powder, both homemade and also store bought. So far no problems. We have our septic pumped about every 4 years, just to get rid of the sludge, kind of a preventative maintenance kind of thing. I also use vinegar in my wash and have no problems.

I think as long as your septic is getting a good mixture of water, solids to help bacteria grow, etc. you shouldn't have any problems. I think it's when you use a LOT of something that you have problems (like vinegar, bleach, etc) that it will cause the bacteria to die off.

Grease is probably the number 1 problem in septics. As long as you aren't pouring a ton of vinegar or bleach down the drains you should be fine.

 

[alicia080979]

I burnt my hand cooking dinner tonight and within a few seconds you could see a blister start to form in all the red swolleness. I just happened to read this thread last night and the links within about all the uses of vinegar. I had DH grab the vinegar and poured some on a paper towel and held on my hand for a few minutes. The pain, redness and swelling went down and no blister formed!!! I couldn't believe it! So thank you Vinegar lovers for saving me from a painful burn tonight

 

[Carl Fredricksen]

Carl,

So I saw someone mentioned it being bad to have fat in the soap...does Fels-Naptha have any? I thought all liquid soaps had some fat content in it and that's why they are bad for the front loaders...including the HE kind. I could be wrong.

I have a couple of bars of Zote soap (the pink bar) and was going to just use those but I notice they have fat in them...

Ang

Maybe someone with more chemistry knowledge than I can chime in. The list of ingredients is on the front of their webpage HERE. The only thing I see in that list (I used to do IT work for a soap company) is glycerin which is a byproduct of the fat rendering process in making bar soap. But the glycerin is usually refined off and used separately for other things than soap.

The only information I have found on HE detergents is that they are specifically concentrated to be low sud formulas, which this homemade one is as well. I haven't seen anything about the fat content in the soaps, but I don't have a front loader so will not claim to be an expert at all.

HERE is the ingredient list for Tide HE (for comparison), which has Ethanol in it . But it lists sodium fatty acids which usually translates to animal fat. The Fels-Naptha does not list this as an ingredient.

I also find it amusing that the Tide uses Borax as an ingredient, which is a primary ingredient in the home made soap

 

[Carl Fredricksen]

I always used vinegar in my top loader since you could open it while it was running. My front loader obviously does not stop mid cycle. Where do you add the vinegar with the detergent or in the softner area? My washer and towels smell really bad...I leave the door open all day and wipe it out. I bought some Tide cleaner for the washer and it smelled terrible!!! Too much fragrance.

If I had the option, I would put 1/8 to 1/4 cup in the softener area, so it would release later in the cycle.

 

[apnep]

I always used vinegar in my top loader since you could open it while it was running. My front loader obviously does not stop mid cycle. Where do you add the vinegar with the detergent or in the softner area? My washer and towels smell really bad...I leave the door open all day and wipe it out. I bought some Tide cleaner for the washer and it smelled terrible!!! Too much fragrance.

Ceecee, I have a front loader. I put the vinegar in the softener compartment before I start the load.

Ang

 

[apnep]

HERE is the ingredient list for Tide HE (for comparison), which has Ethanol in it .

I also find it amusing that the Tide uses Borax as an ingredient, which is a primary ingredient in the home made soap

Yikes. I'm going to check the ingredients on my laundry soap now.

Thanks for all the tips. You've been most helpful! I can't wait to run out of soap now so I can make my own!

Ang