Good "cheaper" laundry detergent?

[CTdiznymom]

My washer repair man told me to use liquid instead of powder bc it gunks up the pump. I use Tide but agree it's getting to costly. I know when my kids do the laundry they use way too much so I now use a 1/4 cup measuring cup instead of relying of the cap. The clothes are still clean and I've cut way back on the amount we have been using.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

From the responses listed, here is is the breakdown by votes so far:

Purex: 13
ERA: 2
ALL: 3
Arm & Hammer: 5
Walmart: 3

I apologize to those who are loyal to Tide as I didn't include them here. I know some folks love Tide..but man it is soooo expensive, so I only tallied the votes for less expensive options.

 

[RobinFabulous]

Just personal experience here....

I cannot believe noone mentioned GAIN! I LOVE Gain. We love the smell, and it gets our clothes really clean. I also use both liquid and sheet softner. I've had the preschool teachers ask me what I use on Allie's clothes because they smell so good. I also only use about half the amount of the cup.


Allie has a lot of boutiquey clothes, so I wash on cold with a tiny bit and hang to dry, then I throw in a wet washcloth and a sheet to soften them up a bit in the dryer for 5 mins.

DH installs cable (think sweaty hot and yucky) and it makes his uniforms smell great.


Also I used to use Purex. I ran a children's consignment store and the Purex is the WORST for fade. I swapped over and some of Allie's favorite most loved and most worn outfits look as good as the day I bought them.


I buy the big size of Gain ($10) and it lasts a month at least (with 5 people and a little dog that loves clothes) (It's sideways and has a dispenser on it)

Some stains need pretreating. I know a lot of people swear by their own stuff, but Shout is the only thing that I really get to work for me..... Or Oxiclean in BOILING water. None of the others seem to work on Allie's marker/preschool/playground stains..... One day she literally clolored a white long sleeved shirt that was under a jumper with a hot pink marker. The shout totally removed it.


Allie is really sensitive, we got a bottle of Sun and it made her itch. Her grandmother sent home some clothes washed in Tide and when I put them on her she screamed.... She had a rash where they touched her skin, it was awful.

 

[jjjmranch]

Ivory is one of the worst soaps for our family. It is harsh and makes me break out into a rash.

I use Era, found at Sam's Club for a reasonable amount.

If you use a water softener, you can use less than half of the recommeded amount of detergent. Same with your dishwasher, definitely use the light load cup to fill with detergent.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

Robin, maybe gain is cheap where you live but it's almost as bad as tide here! The cheapest I have ever seen it is $10 a bottle for the same amount of loads as purex or all. I love the smell of gain and years ago I could get it for $3-4 a bottle and it really works well (IMO just as good as tide, both are p&g anyway I think) but I haven't seen that price in a long time.

I think it's just where I live though.

 

[donnabc]

Use to use Tide Free, but could not afford it anymore. Now I make my own...

Grate one bar of soap (I use Ivory) or 1/3 bar of Fels Naptha. Cover with about 4 liters water and heat on stove until melted (use a BIG POT). Add 1/2 cup Washing Power and 1/2 cup Borrax. Stir until the powders have melted. The solution will thicken.

Let the solution cool then pour into old detergent bottles.

This makes about 3 jugs of liquid detergent for a total of about $1.00!

 

[donnabc]

I still buy Tide once a month...the travel packs for $1.00...but I get it/them FREE with the P&G coupon that comes in the paper :0)

 

[emh1129]

Robin, maybe gain is cheap where you live but it's almost as bad as tide here! The cheapest I have ever seen it is $10 a bottle for the same amount of loads as purex or all. I love the smell of gain and years ago I could get it for $3-4 a bottle and it really works well (IMO just as good as tide, both are p&g anyway I think) but I haven't seen that price in a long time.

I think it's just where I live though.

First, - your username fits this thread perfectly!

Second, I agree. I love the smell of Gain but it's just as expensive as Tide here, so I don't buy it anymore.

 

[MousekeMommy]

We use Gain, and it's still inexpensive in my neck-of-the woods (Southeast Indiana/Cincinnati).
I always hate trying to change laundry detergents, because my kids break out with Tide, Cheer, some cheap-o stuff I tried from Kroger one time and Aldi another time . . . various fabric softeners and bubble baths we've tried . . .
Anyway, good luck! And maybe I'll try purex . . .

 

[labdogs42]

I use the All Free & Clear 2x or 3x. It works great and I can find it cheap at Target, CVS, and/or the Christmas Tree Shops. I stock up when it is on sale. I have also used the Purex free and clear and CVS free and clear and they seem to work fine, too. I follow the package directions and compare prices based on their # of loads per bottle. I gave up on overpriced tide years ago!

Oh yeah, for particularly crummy loads, I add a scoop of powdered Biz and it works great!

ETA, we all have sensitive skin, so we ditched scented soaps when DS was born. I also use unscented Downey. I try to get that on sale at Target.

 

[ameraumi]

I have been ordering soap from www.jennyssimplyclean.com and I love it. Since I have a front loader, I use half the amount so the 20 load sample bag becomes a 40 load for me. I know the shipping negates some of the cost, but it is well worth it to me. It still comes out to be a cheaper then other natural products at the store.

 

[RobinFabulous]

Robin, maybe gain is cheap where you live but it's almost as bad as tide here! The cheapest I have ever seen it is $10 a bottle for the same amount of loads as purex or all. I love the smell of gain and years ago I could get it for $3-4 a bottle and it really works well (IMO just as good as tide, both are p&g anyway I think) but I haven't seen that price in a long time.

I think it's just where I live though.

It's a bit cheaper than Tide here, but I never buy it unless it's on sale and with a coupon. I actually got some of the free Purex from CVS and gave it to my cousin. I thought about trying to use it, but I'm so stuck on what I use.


I also used to cloth diaper and when you do that you learn just how much laundry soap you can actually use. I'd do a load of diapers with just a few tablespoons of laundry detergent. If you used too mush soap on them they'd smell and not absorb the urine.


I think that's important to realize too that you can get away with a lot less soap than they tell you to use. I've had a front loader HE and now I'm back to using a regular top loader and front loaders really only need a tiny bit. I use half to a third of the capful no matter what size my load. I pretreat stains, and on the really yucky sweaty clothes I do use closer to half, whereas on the normal wear I use closer to a third.

Like I said I buy the huge dispenser bottle and it lasts a month at least. I normally have at least a load a day, sometimes more (if someone's sick or whatnot) and I also wash sheets every other week. We do bathe at night and hang up towels, but with three kids we still go through a lot of towels.

 

[Nik's Mom]

I use Gain. I just make sure I buy it on sale. Costco has a large size, but since it's not the HE type, I can't buy from there. My front load washer needs the HE type.

 

[lilandvisma]

okay..for those who get the coupons~what are the sites ? Generally the only coupons I hve been finding have been crummy...buy 2 get 50 cents off whhhhoooppppiiieee lol. My preference if money were no issue would be whisk...but at wally tonight i couldnt believe the price over $13 WOW . I then moved down towards all...the kind in the green container ..umm floral something maybe? I typically buy the big 96 load one and it lasts under a month for us. $12 at my walmart...but i was feeling cheap tonight so I moved further down the isle to everyday elegance lavendar..mmm that smells soooo beautiful and cleans good but...its very puerfumey~ sooo i see the 64 load purex smell it and then throw it in my cart, disgusted because i wanted my all. $5 purex and $4 snuggle ...sigh

I have done two loads so far tonight and am surprisingly content. yet secretly yearn for my whisk...

just for laughs i really think i am going to try and attempt to make my own soap lol..i saw how the duggars on "18 kids and counting" did it...but does it matter what soap you use?

tide has always been off limits here as i have been allergic to it all my life...i really dont care for the way it smells either. gain is nice but the price per load stinks. On sale it was $10 at walmart but you only get 64 loads i believe or LESS if you get the purple or red one.

 

[estherhead]

okay..for those who get the coupons~what are the sites ? Generally the only coupons I hve been finding have been crummy...buy 2 get 50 cents off whhhhoooppppiiieee lol. My preference if money were no issue would be whisk...but at wally tonight i couldnt believe the price over $13 WOW . I then moved down towards all...the kind in the green container ..umm floral something maybe? I typically buy the big 96 load one and it lasts under a month for us. $12 at my walmart...but i was feeling cheap tonight so I moved further down the isle to everyday elegance lavendar..mmm that smells soooo beautiful and cleans good but...its very puerfumey~ sooo i see the 64 load purex smell it and then throw it in my cart, disgusted because i wanted my all. $5 purex and $4 snuggle ...sigh

I have done two loads so far tonight and am surprisingly content. yet secretly yearn for my whisk...

just for laughs i really think i am going to try and attempt to make my own soap lol..i saw how the duggars on "18 kids and counting" did it...but does it matter what soap you use?

tide has always been off limits here as i have been allergic to it all my life...i really dont care for the way it smells either. gain is nice but the price per load stinks. On sale it was $10 at walmart but you only get 64 loads i believe or LESS if you get the purple or red one.

I originally made soap for the laughs too, I just thought, "What harm could it do to try it out?" And I really thought I'd hate it. Especially after I saw the slimy stuff. How on earth could this ever work? But I just love it so much.

Anyway, to your question. I have no idea if you can use all kinds of other soaps. If you google it people share what kinds of soap they use. My understanding is the big difference is the smell. But it doesn't really make your clothes smell anyway. I still use Downy for that. It just has a smell as you put it in. With the Ivory it just smells like laundry detergent. But some of the other soaps evidently make it smell kind of yucky. I've never tried so I'm not an authority.

 

[windycitymom]

I use Purex and the Aldi's brand (Astra is $1.99 for 50 oz.) works just fine too!

 

[reservations4five]

FYI- the Sears brand is on sale this week- 120 load HE box of powder for 9.99

 

[CLR4321]

I have been using Purex exclusively for several years. It works great, smells good, and doesn't irritate my boyfriend's sensitive skin. I like the Mountain Spring kind, and get the Lavender kind if it is out.