I have always detested fabric softener whether it be in the liquid form or dryer sheets. The smell of it, the way it makes your clothes feel, the rashes it causes, the way your towels get a rancid smell from not being able to dry them enough in the dryer due to the film on them. Can I say I detest the fake chemical fragrance of dryer sheets again? I cringe when I smell it on people in public.
Now I really hate it...I recently discovered it contains beef fat. Gross. Manufacturers are not required to list it specifically as tallow/ beef fat because fabric softener is not a food product. They can make up any name for it that they want and still be within the constraints of the law.
I wouldn't rant so much (to each their own) except for the fact that my apartment has shared laundry facilities. Even though I use fragrance-free soap and refrain from using fabric softener, other tenants use it. It ends up on my clothes as the residue coats the inside of the washer and dryer. Makes me itch and breakout everywhere.
Scratchy clothes are due to soap residue. Manufacturers of laundry soap recommend that you use more than you need to so that you go through it faster and buy more. Do a test yourself by using the recommended amount then keep on washing the load until there is no more soapy foam. Usually takes about six times!
Also when you use fabric softener it does not allow the laundry soap to get your clothes clean enough so the soap, dirt, body oils, fabric softener with beef fat, etc. just keeps on building up and up and up!
Avoid soaps with fabric and stain protectors as they are plastics and dimethicone. Waste of extra money for the product. Does nothing to protect your color. Just builds up and makes your clothes scratchy.
Toss your bleach for whites, after repeated use it yellows them. Use economical Borax. Just soak the load in the washer with Borax in addition to your laundry soap for about five to fifteen minutes even over night if you want. Five minutes of soaking followed by a short wash cycle gets any load cleaner than using a long wash cycle.
Use vinegar in the rinse cycle. It breaks up the soap residue and allows for the water to rinse it all out properly. Worried about the pickle smell? Worry no more! As your clothes dry, whether it be on the line or in the dryer, that pickle smell will evaporate. It also keeps fuzzies off of your darks and locks in color. Elminiates static too.
Vinegar and Borax both kill germs 99.8% just like bleach but without the toxicity! I use them to clean with too.
You can also use baking soda in addition to laundry soap in the load. About a 1/2 cup to a cup will suffice and makes clothes oh so soft and clean.
Baking soda and vinegar also get out all of the stinky odors like a charm. Not harmful to the environment and economical.
All of this is much cheaper than fabric softener with beef fat in it. BARF! Cow clothes!
P.S. Don't overfold your towels tightly. It traps moisture and contributes to the rancid smell.
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thanks for the laundry tips. i'll have to remember the info on borax and vinegar. i don't use the dryer sheets either. i read recently where they can cause problems with your dryer (another reason not to use them--that and the beef fat deal). i keep it simple--i buy bulk powder detergent from the co-op. all of the fabric softeners and pre-wash and dryer sheets--i'm too impatient to hassle with all of that, not to mention all of the chemical and perfume stuff that makes me itch.
I didn't know that about softener. Ewww. I never use the scented stuff, but now I won't be using it at all.
So does borax work on mold and mildew? I hate using bleach, but I assumed it was all that would work. And what do you think about Oxyclean?
Yes Borax works excellent on mold and mildew. Oxyclean is Borax but for more money with added blue sparkles and fragrance. Same thing with Bon Ami...way cheaper to get a huge box of Borax verses a small container of Bon Ami.
Also Seventh Generation Non-Chlorine is basically hydrogen peroxide. Cheaper to just buy hydrogen peroxide instead of over-priced Seventh Generation.
Oxyclean is good though as far as I know and I have been pleased with it in the past, it just basically the same thing as washing soda (different than baking soda)and Borax. Cheaper to use Borax and washing soda.
Here is the MSDS on Oxyclean. Looks like it may be a bit more toxic than Borax?
http://www.melrosechem.com/english/msd_eng/hs0853.pdf
Here is Borax:
http://www.sciencelab.com/xMSDS-Sodium_Borate_Borax_fused_-9924967
You seriously just suggested I pour baking soda and vinegar into my washer? I can't wait to try it.
Yuppers. Just put a 1/2 cup of baking soda in the load with your soap and then 1/2 cup to a cup in the softener dispenser or wait and put it in the rinse cycle if you do not have an automatic softener dispenser.
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