Dirty Laundry

[BigT]

Tennis balls? Care to elaborate a little?

 

[Marie]

If you put a couple of tennis balls in the dryer with your clothes, it fluffs the clothes up and makes it so you don't have to use fabric softener.

 

[BradKW]

This will probably piss off a few folks but here goes.....

If your clothes are clean in the first place, then they aren't so stinky when they get dirty. I suspect your clothes are not clean after you wash them. I suggest you folks invest in one of the homemade laundry detergent recipes that are all over the internet. It made a huge difference in the way the clothes smell when they are clean and I've noticed they weren't as stinky when dirty.... even David's socks weren't bad stinky after wearing them all day (like they used to be). If your clothes are too stinky (for what ever reason) sprinkle some baking soda over them as you add clothing. It certainly won't harm anything when you do laundry. I keep my dirty clothes in open bins (the kind used in restaurants to bus tables with) and have no problem with smelly clothes, even in the summer.

The laundry detergent I made up is here and I used Ivory soap because I know that I am not allergic to it and I had fun putting it in the microwave to blow it up and make it so easy to crumble with my bare hands. I did not use any scent crystals either. I do not use fabric softener (I use three tennis balls in the dryer). My daughter made her's with White Zote (she likes the smell) and it cleans great plus her dirty clothes don't get bad stinky.

I was reading the linked recipe for laundry soap...looks pretty easy. But the whole focus was on economics, saving money over Tide. Do you have any information regarding how effective different laundry soaps and homemade recipes might be? thanks...

 

[compassrose]

I was reading the linked recipe for laundry soap...looks pretty easy. But the whole focus was on economics, saving money over Tide. Do you have any information regarding how effective different laundry soaps and homemade recipes might be?  thanks...

I ended up making my own laundry detergent because I haven't had my clothes come out REALLY clean since I stopped using Amway's SA8 laundry detergent (which gets clothes REALLY clean) back in the mid 1990's. Since I also have an allergy to the fragrances (and some of the other chemicals) used in store bought detergents, I am limited to what I can use. Most folks say Tide cleans the best. Tide has always caused a loverly rash all over me. A fact that never dissuaded my mother from using it. I used to use ALL Free & Clear. But it went from cleaning poorly to cleaning not at all. You should not need to use a scented fabric softener for your clothing to smell clean. Clean clothing does not need to be fragranced. I wash heavy bath sheets and put them in my linen closet. Six months, even a year later, they still smell like clean towels. Not perfumed, not stale, not musty, but clean. This is not a high sudsing detergent. Mine does not suds at all. Suds are not what gets your clothing clean. I have used it in my top loader washer as well as in my daughter's front loading HE machine (add it to the drum with the clothing). My first few loads were incredibly depressing. The water turned a really nasty grey as the homemade detergent worked at washing the old accumulated dirt and detergent out of my clothes. It looked so bad, I washed all the "clean" clothes too. Made my skin crawl. I had to take a shower. At times the water still gets pretty dirty depending on what I have been doing. And I am not easy on my clothes. Plus the water I am washing in is very hard. I'm thinking of adding a some Epsom salts to my laundry mixture to soften the water next time I do laundry.

I wash in cool/warm water. Ivory soap flakes dissolve in warm water better than cold. So I start my washer out on a small load setting and use the HOT water setting which empties out my 10 gallon water heater and resorts to cold tap water which actually means the water is "warm" by the time it stops. I add my detergent to this and let it agitate for a few minutes dissolving the Ivory bits and mixing the detergent in the water before I stop it, add a load of laundry and reset the fill level to the biggest load (super capacity) with cold water setting. This stuff makes my sheets smell so clean and they smell clean for much longer. My very thick towels stay clean smelling longer even after using them for a few days. I do know that my dirty laundry is no longer as stinky as it once was. I believe, though I cannot prove it, that my clean clothes were not clean causing old dirt to be stale smelling and the new dirt to combine making a bad smell. Besides, I should not be able to smell deodorant on clean clothes that have not been worn since they were last washed. That means the clothes were not really clean in the first place.

Sorry about the rant. But I spent a lot of money on products that were supposed to do a job and they never really did. That is wrong. And I wore what I thought was clean underwear! ICK! That's just... ICK!

 

[speedhighway46]

Compassrose:

Thanks for the plug for Amway SA-8. I retired from Amway in 1999 after 25 years. I was in charge of manufacturing and engineering. Back in those days we made between 15-18 million pounds of SA-8 monthly. Excellent detergent!

 

[LeeRevell]

I am not particularly chemical sensitive, but I too get a rash using Tide.  I guess it's just too strong.  I have long favored All Tempa Cheer.

 

[Sameer]

I use Tide. My clothes are filthy living in the forest and now the desert. I cannot imagine making laundry detergent out here in the middle of nowhere. I have found out that if I use the kind of laundry machine that is not a 'top-loader', my clothes come out cleaner. Also I think the newer laundromats have more efficient machines. Some with the ability for a second rinse. As for Tide...I use the packets because one 5 buck, 14 packet package will do all of my laundry. I have no room for extras. Also I think I could be 'nose-blind' to odors in my van....anybody ever think about that?

 

[LeeRevell]

It's a fact we do become accustomed to our own 'stink'.  We don't notice what others will.

 

[buckwilk]

You folks should do as I do, leave that sort of thing to the maid. That's what they're hired for.

 

[akrvbob]

Because different people have different body chemistry, the smell of clothes may not be the best judge. As a total stoke of luck I have almost no body odor--a fact confirmed by several girlfriends who would know for sure. I can wear clothes for a really long time and they never smell. Even socks, I could by a new pair of sicks, wear them without washing till they are worn out, and they won't smell.

On the other hand, some people got the bad luck of the draw and they smell straight out of the shower, so their clothes always smell.

Because odors aren't an issue to me, I buy laundry soap based on it's environmental impact so I use Seventh Generation laundry soap. Seems to work as well as anything else i've tried.

I use Dr. Bonners for everything else and it works extremely well. Does anybody know how well it works as laundry soap? I'm thinking about using it once this bottle of laundry soap is gone.
Bob

 

[Sameer]

I think Bob is lucky! I am sure that I stink after awhile. I have a indoor shower in my van, but sometimes think that taking a frequent shower is ridiculous because two hours later I am dirty again living in the dirt and dust. My clothes get dirty fast too so why change them? Then I think "Why Shave!"....
I burn incense in my van on occasion because the smell of incense is most likely better than what I might smell like. I am sure that I am smell-blind to both me and my dog.
I should say I clean-up when traveling or going into town. I think the answer to all of this is Good Laundry Soap and a good modern Laundromat with newer machines...Not top loaders..! You can spray the laundry bag with Fabreze. You cannot use Fabreze as a body spray, but for a quick trip into town you can spritz it on the clothes you are wearing and smell good.

 

[akrvbob]

  I have a indoor shower in my van, but sometimes think that taking a frequent shower is ridiculous because two hours later I am dirty again living in the dirt and dust.  

That really is true, we live outside and dirt and dust is part of our life, especially in the desert. And even when I'm inside the door is open and the breeze is blowing dust inside. 

Plus, our dogs live outside, laying in the dust so when they jump in on the bed or us, we get their dust. 

I think our phobia about dirt is very unhealthy for us both physically and mentally, even spiritually. Contact with nature is totally essential to us as human animals and hating dirt is not healthy.
Bob

 

[highdesertranger]

I have no problem with the dirt and dust. but I draw the line with Boy Scout pepper. highdesertranger

 

[B and C]

I have no problem with the dirt and dust.  but I draw the line with Boy Scout pepper.  highdesertranger

I am an x Boy Scout and Scoutmaster and have never heard that term.  What is Boy Scout pepper if I dare ask given the context?

 

[Ella1]

I am an x Boy Scout and Scoutmaster and have never heard that term.  What is Boy Scout pepper if I dare ask given the context?

http://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/skit/pass_the_pepper-110.asp

 

[Ella1]

wool socks: I looked into the smartwool socks mentioned, on the socks addict site, and the caution to watch the percentage of wool.
One style I might have chosen, PhD Outdoor Light Crew Socks, contains 64% Merino Wool, 34% Nylon, 2% Elastane $20 per.
Kirkland's (Costco) trail sock, Merino wool blend, 4 pairs, for about $15-$20, is 78% merino wool, 18% polyester, 4% nylon, 2% spandex.

 

[B and C]

   
http://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/skit/pass_the_pepper-110.asp
   

ROFLMAO   Hadn't heard that one!  I spent 7 years as a Cub/Boy Scout and another 9 as a Scoutmaster to get our son to Eagle.

 

[SternWake]

My laundry bag is a retasked thin nylon bag originally designed to store an air mattress. It gets thrown in the washer and dryer along with the laundry.

I've never noticed any mildew smell, not over the other smells when the bag is opened. I can't smell anything emanating from the bag, but I am likely nose blind to all unpleasant smells in the Van.

It is rare that I goto the laundromat more than once every 2 weeks, usually it is 3+ weeks.

 

[highdesertranger]

actually what we always called Boy Scout pepper was dirt in your food. as in "what are all those speckles on my eggs. that's Boy Scout pepper." highdesertranger

 

[JannaB]

I wonder if you make life too complicated? I hand and machine wash with baking soda. Works great. I never notice my clothes stinking. The price is right.