What is the Most powerful Laundry Soap ...

**many houseapes** · 09-08-2009, 09:28 PM

What is the most powerful laundry soap on the market? I have been using Extra and Sun for the last few years and lately, it hasn't been doing the job like it used to. I don't know if they are watering it down or not. I have had to buy oxiclean to get the laundry clean. Is there any laundry soap that is strong enough that I don't need to use oxiclean ?

**semo_mom** · 09-08-2009, 10:22 PM

I make my own, the recipe is here on the site, and it's the best I have ever used. I'm completely amazed by it. It's very easy to make and cheap, so if interested here is the link

Duggars Laundry soap recipe: - Frugal Village Forums

But to answer your question as to a soap on the market, I like Tide. It's just too expensive anymore. I like Era as well.

**fairydana** · 09-08-2009, 10:27 PM

I am a Gain user. I have used Tide and love it as well but it is way more expensive than I want to pay! So my answer is Gain!!

Good luck!

**TigerGirl1226** · 09-08-2009, 10:49 PM

I use Gain and don't really have issue. Every other month I buy a bottle of Rit brightener for whites and toss that in the wash with the bleach and it brings my white back to life.

**frugalwarrior** · 09-08-2009, 10:57 PM

I have used tide w/ bleach for the last 2 years and been happy w/ it. I finally ran out (Farmer Jack G.O.B sales ) and just bought gain mango tango. I hated Tide w/ fabric softener or fabrese in it. I swear the clothes smelled like cat pxxx after I used it. Sears used to make detergent when I was a kid. It was so strong if you used the recommended amount it dissolved the thread.
I occcasionally use fake oxiclean from Big Lot to boost. We have well water w/ sulfur and iron.Yippeeee.

**akolb** · 09-09-2009, 12:44 AM

i am a huge fan of arm and hammer's concentrated eco-friendly line, esp the dye free type. that plus a bit of borax...works for us!

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Arm-Hammer-Detergent-Concentrate-Perfumes/dp/B001KYQI0Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=grocery&qid=1272389651&sr=8-1-catcorr"]Amazon.com: Arm & Hammer Laundry Detergent 2x Concentrate, Free of Perfumes & Dye, 32 Loads 50 fl oz (1.47 L): Grocery & Gourmet Food@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21DEBxox2eL.@@AMEPARAM@@21DEBxox2eL[/ame]

plus, big arm and hammer is like $5 and borax is ab $3. lasts forever.

**pop goes the weasel** · 09-09-2009, 09:25 PM

If you have a dishwasher and use powdered soap in it, you can take some of the soap and dissolve it in really hot water for whites and soak them. I usually soak them overnight but thats because I always forget about them lol. Then throw water and all in washer and wash as usual. The first time I did this I had to repeat it because we too have well water with sulfer and theyw ere yucky and dingy. But now about once a month I'll do this and they look brand new. Not to mention this takes out set in stains also for me

**laurieah** · 09-10-2009, 09:09 PM

I just switched from extra to tide, I can't believe the difference. Tide is so much more powerful and I can get away with using less.

Laurie

**CrazyHomemaker** · 09-10-2009, 09:24 PM

I love my homemade detergent. DH says his white T's are not white anymore. They're not. He wants me to try 'regular' laundry soap on the clothes. I bought a large Tide today and nearly had a heart attack when the cashier rung it up twice. The price wasn't on the shelf, so I guesstimated the price - $20.99. I'm only going to use it on the whites to see if it makes a difference. Yes. She caught her mistake before I did. Good girl!

**Grainlady** · 09-13-2009, 10:04 AM

If you break down the chemistry, "powerful" would be based on many things in detergents, but mostly phosphates. Phosphates have been removed from detergents (by law), therefore, they no longer perform in hard water as well as they did when they contained phosphates. Detergent formulas are changing all the time to include new chemicals - this link may be helpful:

http://www.cleaning101.com/cleaning/chemistry/

You can boost your detergent performance by adding phosphate-containing Cascade Dishwasher Detergent - especially in the whites load (Cascade also has enzymes in it for cleaning those organic stains like grass stains and mustard), or add STPP (Sodium tripolyphosphate) - http://ths.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/l...601018823.html. STPP will stop the white "dust" from minerals in hard water from settling on your dark clothing - which is a hard water issue, not the power of the detergent. Mexican detergents, like Roma (I've seen it at Big Lots), Ariel, and FOCA still contain phosphates. So if you have really hard water, a phosphate-containing detergent may be the better choice.

Naptha (which was the cleaning solvent in bars of Fels Naptha) was an excellent cleaner, but it's since been removed from laundry products because it may be carcinogenic. You can still purchase naptha as an industrial cleaning solvent.

All detergents lose their "power" in cold water, even the detergents designed to be used in cold water. Detergent manufacturers and care labels define cold water as 80-85°F. If the temperature of water is too cold for your hands, the detergent will NOT activate and clean effectively. Cold water below 65°F is NOT recommended for washing. Even here in central Kansas, our cold water is 72° today, and it's MUCH colder for most of the year. Newer washing machines will actually add hot water even on the COLD WATER WASH cycle in order to keep the cold water from being too cold for detergents.

Hot water is also a key to clean clothes, that has been poo-pooed of late. Hot water is suggested for removing dirt from heavily soiled items - detergent alone may not be enough.

Other old-fashioned laundry aids are pre-treating and soaking. Once again, detergent alone may not be enough for heavily soiled clothing.

Depending on how hard your water is, you may need to use more detergent, as well as hot water, if body oil and dirt aren't coming out using the regular amount. So the correct amount of detergent can be a key to the "power".

**CrazyHomemaker** · 09-13-2009, 12:02 PM

Thanks, Grainlady. That was a pretty easy to read site. 20 years ago I used Cascade to wash my white car. It took off junk and repelled the rainwater for a couple of weeks. I should have remembered about this. Thanks for reminding me. This will be the next thing I try unless I can find the stuff from Big Lots.

I used the Tide 2X and added bleach to the whites yesterday. It made quite an improvement. I had 2 equally yellowed shirts and washed only one of them. The whiteness is about 50% brighter. DH will be happy. I'm still going to use my homemade laundry soap for colors, sheets and jeans. This seems to work best to get out grease on DH's jeans and the stains he always seems to get on his good shirts. I think I'll purchase a small washboard, too.

**Michelle** · 09-13-2009, 01:44 PM

Tide is the most powerful IMO. It's also the most expensive. It is my favorite though.

**Grainlady** · 09-14-2009, 05:35 AM

Originally Posted by CrazyHomemaker

Thanks, Grainlady. That was a pretty easy to read site. 20 years ago I used Cascade to wash my white car. It took off junk and repelled the rainwater for a couple of weeks. I should have remembered about this. Thanks for reminding me. This will be the next thing I try unless I can find the stuff from Big Lots.

I used the Tide 2X and added bleach to the whites yesterday. It made quite an improvement. I had 2 equally yellowed shirts and washed only one of them. The whiteness is about 50% brighter. DH will be happy. I'm still going to use my homemade laundry soap for colors, sheets and jeans. This seems to work best to get out grease on DH's jeans and the stains he always seems to get on his good shirts. I think I'll purchase a small washboard, too.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Zote-Soap-Laundry-White-15-Ounce/dp/B001SB6J1Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=grocery&qid=1272390363&sr=1-1"]Zote, Soap Laundry White, 15-Ounce (25 Pack): Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/417BCdqA74L.@@AMEPARAM@@417BCdqA74L[/ame]

I'd suggest trying ZOTE - http://www.zote.com.mx/english/about.htm - as the bar soap in your homemade laundry soap because there are optical brighteners in ZOTE that you don't find in other bars (bath bars or Fels Naptha) that are commonly used in homemade soap mixtures. The optical brighteners will give whites the optical illusion of being "whiter", much like adding bluing did in "grandma's" day. I can find ZOTE at Big Lots for 80-cents a bar.

Getting Clothes Clean
http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_c/c-503.pdf

page 2 has information about how to get clothes white again:

• Wash the clothes again in hot water.
• Add enough water softener to make the water
feel slippery (about 1 cup).
• If the water becomes sudsy, the clothes were not
rinsed enough. Wash them again adding only
water softener.
• If the clothes do not whiten, add soap or detergent
and rewash.

**CrazyHomemaker** · 09-17-2009, 10:50 PM

I made one of my first batches of homemade soap with Zote. It was a flop. I'll have to try it again with my new recipe. I like the smell of it. I get it at the Save a Lot.

I saved this site to my computer. This was another good one. Thanks.

I never thought of the water softener. I've got a lot of things to try now. Thanks again!

**Rosebush3** · 09-18-2009, 08:18 AM

I used the homemade laundry detergent. It was ok for the most part, not great, and it would NOT remove deodorant. That was gross. It was ok on clothes that really weren't dirty.
I grew up with Tide, it's what I buy now when I can afford it. Extra is going on sale today here for 1.50 a bottle, I guess I am going with that for a while. Every now and then I'll have to run them through a wash cycle with Tide just to get them really clean.