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

[jaiminee krikit]

Tide. I used to use Era, primarily because that's what my mom used when I was growing up, but the first time i used Tide I never looked back. My clothes are just cleaner with it, and I usually use less.

I only line dry my clothes when my dryer breaks. Our dryer was broken for a couple weeks a few years ago so I had to use the clothesline outside. Oh I did not enjoy that! It was mid-summer and sooooo hot. It was nice because the clothes dried ridiculously fast, but I would work up quite a sweat just getting the clothes. It was funny, one day while I was hanging clothes, my older neighbor lady walked over and started talking to me about how nice it is to have clothes dried on the clothesline. I told her the only reason I was doing this was because our dryer broke. I guess I'm spoiled.

 

[Kitty 34]

Arm and Hammer liquid for all our clothes; Cold Water Tide for sheets and towels. I use a dryer.

 

[Dis703]

I just purchased a clothesline to save on electricity and be a little more eco-friendly. I started selling Norwex products and bought their wool dryer balls as well. I stopped using dryer sheets. I mostly use Tide detergent.

 

[cabanafrau]

I recently came across a similar situation, in regard to what's in the moisturizers we are putting on our faces and allowing to absorb in to our bodies. When I was younger, I always checked the ingredients to make sure there was no mineral oil or stuff that would clog my pores and make me break out. Now, I'm on the hunt for a good hydrating moisturizer that still won't give me adult acne and that doesn't cost an arm & a leg.

I picked up a bunch of free samples. A lot of these products have great reviews. So I figure I'll try them all to see which ones work for me. I read the ingredients of each one. They ALL say: dimethicone, dimethicone, dimethicone, variations that end with -cone, one even said vinyl-dimethicone. Basically they all have a variation of silicone in them. The stuff that NASA invented to make their spaceships more durable. The stuff that potholders & kitchen utensils are made out of. The stuff that was in breast implants that, when leaked, made women so sick. Yet, this form of silicone is supposed to be alright for us?

I don't think so.

We really don't know the long-term cumulative effects. I have allergies to a lot of natural fruits. Yet, I'd still rather go with putting naturally derived ingredients that I am not allergic to than all this synthetic silicone stuff on my face which absorbs it. Or, some reviewers have found silicone just sits on their face and peels off when dry. Neither sound good to me.

I'm still on the hunt for a good moisturizer. May have found one last night made with 97% natural ingredients. And it's by Garnier, of all companies. I liked one of their moisturizers until they discontinued it. So this one probably will be too. That happens to me a lot. This one is made with aloe vera as the first ingredient, which always does wonders for my face after a sunburn. Yet, the jury is still out on whether it will break me out when used long-term.

Something to consider with the natural health and beauty products is their need for preservatives. After years of trying to find the solution for miserably dry hands in the winter a good friend finally got checked for allergies and discovered she's actually allergic to a common preservative in most naturally based moisturizers and other beauty products. Now that she knows she's been able to winnow things down when shopping and was thrilled not to have itchy skin and cracked, bleeding hands this past winter.

 

[BLAZEY]

As an Australian, it always amazes me that in the US everyone seems to use driers almost exclusively. In Australia it would be a very rare occurance that a house on a block of land wouldn’t have some sort of clothesline. Even small blocks of land will pretty much have a small fold down version mounted on a wall / fence.

I’d be lost without my clothesline - pretty much the only things I use the drier for are our bath towels.

My sister was living in Sydney while doing her masters degree at McQuarrie, when I went to visit her. We dried some stuff on a drying rack at home here in Canada, but yes in Australia we used a clothesline and indoor rack. I went out to Big W and bought more for her as one of her roommates would use them and not removed clothes when the were dry or leave them in the washer. The smell I bleached the washer. Then I spent one day doing my laundry and my sisters. Just left the roommates stuff till last. It was in February/March so it was hot.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

I use Persil sensitive. Used to use other free and clears like All/Seventh Gen/Arm & Hammer, but I find the Persil outcleans them all and smells the freshest without being irritating.
I've used Tide pods in a pinch (travel) but I think Tide stinks so I wouldn't choose it for normal usage. No clothesline here - could never due to allergies and the HOA wouldn't allow it anyway. Clothes that can't go in the dryer dry flat on top of the washer or dryer or get hung up to dry.

 

[Hikergirl]

Tide fresh & clean, no scent. Another town that doesn't allow outside hanging.

So what happens if you hang clothes out? Prison?
It just strikes me as strange that it would essentially be against town law to hang clothes out to dry.

 

[wishesuponastar]

I have been using Kirkland powder for years. I like that I can make a paste with it by adding some water and that takes care of all the stains by rubbing it in.

I have 2 indoor lines in the basement and would be lost without them. I partially dry our clothes then hang them up. Haven’t had to iron when doing that.

 

[Imzadi]

Something to consider with the natural health and beauty products is their need for preservatives. After years of trying to find the solution for miserably dry hands in the winter a good friend finally got checked for allergies and discovered she's actually allergic to a common preservative in most naturally based moisturizers and other beauty products. Now that she knows she's been able to winnow things down when shopping and was thrilled not to have itchy skin and cracked, bleeding hands this past winter.

Thanks, I'll keep note of the preservatives. I have to stay away from some fruit as I'm allergic to them. - My allergy symptoms are an itchy throat & ears. I don't know if I have a skin reaction to them. Not planning to test them out. I just plan to stay away from them. A lot of the all/mostly natural products love to add a lot of fruit, nut oil & seed oil in as ingredients. Sometimes the label looks like the makings of a fruit salad. I may try something new and get an allergic reaction and think I missed reading some fruit or nut, but it may be the preservative. That's good to know.

 

[Imzadi]

I went out to Big W and bought more for her as one of her roommates would use them and not removed clothes when the were dry or leave them in the washer. The smell I bleached the washer.

DSis might want to tell her roommate that when she lets clothes sit in the washer too long that they mildew.

 

[smiths02]

So what happens if you hang clothes out? Prison?
It just strikes me as strange that it would essentially be against town law to hang clothes out to dry.

It is usually tickets and fines.

 

[smiths02]

Not trying to tell you how to do your laundry, but a bit of powdered OxyClean in the wash does the same thing, without a strong scent. Great for towels, workout clothes, my husband's outdoor/project clothes, etc. I had not used OxyClean before about 10 months ago, but I am now a believer.

I found vinegar does the trick.

 

[BLAZEY]

DSis might want to tell her roommate that when she lets clothes sit in the washer too long that they mildew.

This was about 10 years ago. That roommate was a 18/19 rich girl that had never done her own laundry. I showed her how to rewash her clothes with bleach or vinegar to get rid of the smell . The other roommate and DSis were older and working on their Masters degrees and came from homes where they started helping out a young age. Funny how when you don't let the clothes sit in washer the funky smell in the kitchen goes away too.

 

[morgan98]

I found vinegar does the trick.

We have a bottle of vinegar in the laundry room too!

 

[DawnM]

I hate the feel of line dried clothing. I grew up on it overseas and honestly just prefer a dryer.

And I use Kirkland liquid laundry soap and stock up when it is $12 per 126 loads. And I use about half the recommended amount (I have read numerous articles saying the soap manufacturer recommends that amount but the washing machine repair men suggest half of that amount!) So, it goes a long way! It comes out to .04 per load.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I hate the feel of line dried clothing. I grew up on it overseas and honestly just prefer a dryer.

And I use Kirkland liquid laundry soap and stock up when it is $12 per 126 loads. And I use about half the recommended amount (I have read numerous articles saying the soap manufacturer recommends that amount but the washing machine repair men suggest half of that amount!) So, it goes a long way! It comes out to .04 per load.

I had bought the Kirkland fabric softner. Since I never use a whole lot of it each load with a top loader (I actually used a Downy ball) and still don't use a lot with the front loader especially since my husband doesn't use softner that big container from Costco has lasted and lasted and lasted.

I prefer to use Purex, which Costco doesn't carry, so I don't buy detergent at Costco. The bigger sized detergent also doesn't fit inside my pedestal under my washer and dryer so that kinda sucks but it's a better deal than buying the smaller containers.

 

[Magpie]

I use whatever laundry detergent is on sale, because I really don't care which I use.

And I line dry because we've never bothered to purchase a drier. I prefer the feeling (and scent) of line dried clothes, and it's no trouble to hang them, so it never seemed worth spending money on.

We don't have a dishwasher, either, for very much the same reasons. It doesn't take that long to handwash the plates.

 

[MommyinHonduras]

Soapnuts which are free since they grow here and line dry everything, no dryer here.

 

[Imzadi]

I found vinegar does the trick.

We have a bottle of vinegar in the laundry room too!

Vinegar didn't work very well for me. It left some stinky residue, although it did make my towels fluffy soft. Again, maybe the water is too hard here. Great for making crunchy pizza crust, not good for stinky odor?

Also, one can't mix vinegar with bleach as it creates some toxic gas. So, I wouldn't be able to use it with my loads of white laundry that I bleach. I can't have fresh smelling color & dark clothes sitting in a drawer or closet with white clothes still having an odor.

Wow, that last statement sounds racist to clothes.

 

[morgan98]

Vinegar didn't work very well for me. It left some stinky residue, although it did make my towels fluffy soft. Again, maybe the water is too hard here. Great for making crunchy pizza crust, not good for stinky odor?

Also, one can't mix vinegar with bleach as it creates some toxic gas. So, I wouldn't be able to use it with my loads of white laundry that I bleach. I can't have fresh smelling color & dark clothes sitting in a drawer or closet with white clothes still having an odor.

Wow, that last statement sounds racist to clothes.

My husband sometimes uses the vinegar. Truth be known, I have a super bizarre aversion to vinegar. I am hype sensitive to it or something. I am not picky about food or scents AT ALL, but vinegar is too much for me. He will use it on some of his outdoor and wood shop work clothes. I prefer chemicals...lol!