What Laundry Detergent is your favorite and do you line dry your clothes to save money

[NYCgrrl]

I use whatever is on sale and powder based. I add items such as washing soda (when I can find it), baking soda, powdered bleach, and borax to the base. I rarely use fabric softener since I consider it a counter-intuitive Madison Avenue marketing tool.
Do first rinse in vinegar water to remove excess cleaning products. I rarely dry clothing with heat since it sets any missed stains and lessens the lifespan of textiles in general. The man takes his clothing to a laundromat and gets charged by the pound to have them washed and dried; I wash almost everything I and DGD own by hand. Both adults think the other is crazy.

I like the way Tide smells but prefer to spend money on perfume when I want a nice scent.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Walmart sells washing soda.

I use Nellie's, which is a powder--you only use a small amount, it has no scent. I get irritated skin, too--I hate to call it an allergy, I'm not gong to die from it (just feel like I might, but no actual danger, LOL). I use regular dryer sheets most of the time, but I have those wool balls to put in with my towels, to fluff them up.

I don't hang clothes outside here in NC, but I did when we lived rural. I LOVE hanging clothes outside! (Weird, I know.) But, now we live on a golf course, and I doubt people want to see my frilly delicates swinging in the breeze. I do have a drying rack inside, plus some hooks on the laundry room door--I use those items for sweaters, dance clothes, swimsuits, etc.

 

[morgan98]

I do not line dry, but hang some items due to the fabric, risk of shrinking, etc.

I generally use Tide. However, we also have OxyClean powder on hand and will add a bit to loads of towels and we use it for whites. I also have a bottle of Woolite that I use for mainly my work clothes that are a bit more delicate, I guess.

 

[PollyannaMom]

All Free & Clear. DS had sensitive skin when he was little, and I'm just used to that brand now.

I don't like to dry outside, as we have some pollen allergies here, but I do have a large rack in the laundry room and hang a lot of stuff. It's no so much to save money on running the dryer, but to keep the clothes from shrinking/wearing out sooner.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Arm and Hammer or Oxy (when it's on sale). I like Tide, but my son always has reactions from it. I use bleach/vinegar combo for our towels.

 

[winterman]

I have used Tide, original scent, and Downy for years. Haven't had a clothes line for 30 years. I dry everything, except towels, on low heat. I do have a rack in my bedroom closet for my bras.

 

[aprilchem]

I use Persil because I like the smell of it and it cleans well. I usually use whatever scent-free fabric softener I find that's cheapest because DH is sometimes allergic to fabric softeners.

And no - I don't line dry. People don't really do that where I live because we get a ton of rain in the summer and the clothing will freeze in the winter. I do have a drying rack in my laundry room, which I use for bathing suits and towels in the summer (I have three kids on swim team, so TONS of bathing suits and towels).

 

[loves to dive]

I use Cheer for most of our laundry, I'm allergic to just about everything else. For my work clothes and undies, I use everyday Woolite. I use Downey liquid fabric softener in everything except towels, I don't use any for them. We can't have a clothes line in our neighborhood, back when I lived in the country I hung everything on the line unless it was going to rain for a few days, my ex-husband was too cheap to let me use the dryer. I actually dislike clothes hung outside because they are too stiff, I did like hanging diapers out there (I used cloth diapers, I'm old). I do only dry my clothes on the gentle cycle so they all come out slightly damp and I hang them on hangers in my laundry room to finish drying but that's just because I don't want them to shrink. Towels, sheets and honey's clothes get dried completely.

 

[cabanafrau]

Tide detergent, usually white vinegar in place of fabric softener. Have several of the folding racks from IKEA that are used indoors or out depending on the weather. Sheets, towels, socks, underwear go in the dryer, as does most of the more casual clothing, pajamas. Better washable clothing and delicates air dry.

 

[Pumbaa_]

I use Costco’s Kirkland pods and hubby prefers their liquid

I don’t dry anything outside. I hand the do not dry items on my drying rack.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Tide pods usually (though if there is a good sale I will buy that) and I always try to hang out the laundry, weather permitting. Except towels and linens, those go in the dryer because there's no room for them outside.
I have two tree branches and three tiered clippy hangers so I have limited space I can hang things!
Our city also has a by-law about clotheslines but I don't think I have EVER heard of a complaint being made... I try to keep the underwear out of the direct line of sight but guess what people? we wear underwear...

 

[cinnaminny]

We use TIDE pretty much exclusively. I've tried most of them, but clothes feel cleaner to me with TIDE.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I have tried Tide, Gain and Persil after all of these friends claimed they were far superior, but I see little to no difference. Persil is the only one where I like the scent, but it's not worth buying it for that. I do like the convenience of pods (any brand of pods), but generally find them to be a poor value compared to liquid. I switched back to Arm & Hammer, but I'm trying something (can't recall brand) that was on sale right now (this weekend is the first time with it) and we'll see how it compares.

I do not line dry because we usually do all of our laundry on the weekends (free weekends energy company plan) and I really don't know how I'd handle 4-5 loads of laundry line drying + I could see it turning into an HOA complaint.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Walmart sells washing soda.

I use Nellie's, which is a powder--you only use a small amount, it has no scent. I get irritated skin, too--I hate to call it an allergy, I'm not gong to die from it (just feel like I might, but no actual danger, LOL). I use regular dryer sheets most of the time, but I have those wool balls to put in with my towels, to fluff them up.

I don't hang clothes outside here in NC, but I did when we lived rural. I LOVE hanging clothes outside! (Weird, I know.) But, now we live on a golf course, and I doubt people want to see my frilly delicates swinging in the breeze. I do have a drying rack inside, plus some hooks on the laundry room door--I use those items for sweaters, dance clothes, swimsuits, etc.

Thanks for that info! Now I just have to wait for a Walmart's to open up in NYC. We used to vacation in New England a lot and half the fun was seeing stores like WM, HD, and Lowe's, LOL.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

I use Era and OxiClean in the wash, and Kirkland dryer sheets (this time). I think when I run out of Era I am going to try the Kirkland liquid detergent. The bottle looks remarkably like the Era bottle, and quite often that is a tell as to who makes their Kirkland products.

I don't hang anything outside since it would be appropriate in my situation, however, we do have a double decker clothes rack in our laundry room to hang up cotton shirts and delicates. I hang about 20% of DH's clothes and 10% of mine.

 

[luvsJack]

If anyone here does hang out their clothes to save money, do you really?

Many moons ago, I thought I would get that power bill down. So for 3 months or so we kept the air turned way up, most of the lights off and I did hang out my clothes. Power bill went down like $7!!! First month, I thought “well, it hasn’t been long enough”. Second month, I still wasn’t positive. Third month—-air went down to “appropriate for penguins” and the clothes hit the dryer. Just didn’t see enough difference to make it worth it.

 

[BLAZEY]

I use Tide as it's the only kind that gets DH's sweaty greasy clothes clean (he's a chef). I have a drying rack that DH's Nana used for sheets and table cloths, but I use it for sweaters, swimsuits and bras . I hang those to dry not to ruin the clothes. Our electric bill averages $277 on equalized billing. This year I should get a refund back. Our heavy usage is heat in the winter, but I've been using the fireplace as we got a bunch of free wood when my uncle moved, 1.5 cords!!!

 

[Julylady]

Tide - Free and Clear pods, Downy or Bounce unscented fabric softener sheets. I put all clothes in the dryer for 3-5 minutes and then pull out the slacks/blouses and hang them damp on a clothes rack. Towels and everything else stay in the dryer until dry. My Allergist told me years ago never to line dry clothes outdoors as the pollen settles on them.

 

[cabanafrau]

Thanks for that info! Now I just have to wait for a Walmart's to open up in NYC. We used to vacation in New England a lot and half the fun was seeing stores like WM, HD, and Lowe's, LOL.

The internetz haven't reached NYC yet?

 

[NYCgrrl]

The internetz haven't reached NYC yet?

Of course it has but I still haven't opted in to regular food shopping online either.
I enjoy shopping for whatever (except clothing oddly enough) out in the streets where the sun is shining, my legs and arms are getting a workout and I can see people.
Idiosyncratic but there you are.