this post was submitted on 20 Mar 2025
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[–] [email protected] 50 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Yeah I'm not putting all that effort and potentially ruining my washing machine to save me a few cents per wash. That seems ridiculous.

You don't even have to buy the fancy, expensive, in a pod detergent or anything, considering they always contain the same stuff that comes in a box/bottle. Just buy whatever's cheap.

[–] theshoeshiner 44 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (4 children)

Yea, making your own laundry detergent from grated soap and borax seems like something people with money do to convince themselves they're frugal. When in reality, there is no way in hell you're making a commodity cheaper than GreatValue (tm)

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Not just the effort, but by the time you buy all those ingredients, you're probably paying more than you would for normal laundry detergent.

And if you use Dr. Bronner's bar soap as recommended, you'll be paying out the ass.

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[–] burgerpocalyse 19 points 2 days ago (2 children)

im ok with buying a container of laundry detergent every few months

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yeah I don't use fabric softener or dryer sheets but a good value size jug of detergent is worth it to me. My wife and I both work two jobs., I don't want to spend any time grating soap.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

I'd recommend powdered detergent instead. It's usually far cheaper per load since you aren't paying for them to ship you the water that's in the liquid detergent.

You also don't need to follow the 'load size' guidelines listed on the scoop, as only the bottom line or two is really adding anything to most loads.

Relevant Technology Connections Video

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[–] woodenskewer 38 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Hello electricians and safety nerds. Fabric softener removes the fire rating on fire rated clothing protecting you from arc flash hazards.

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 2 days ago

My favorite is the Tide Free and Clear commercial where the kid goes "look dad, it's just as clean but without any of the chemicals that harm me!" They're literally admitting their core product contains harmful chemicals yet people are still buying it!

[–] thingAmaBob 13 points 2 days ago (15 children)

Borax gives me rashes, but I’ve used laundry bar soap or just the super sensitive skin liquid stuff. I use vinegar instead of name brand fabric softener because it’s cheaper and the other stuff gives me a rash. Nearly all of the store bought laundry stuff gives me rashes.

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[–] [email protected] 46 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I'm not sold on that homemade detergent. Soap tends to leave insoluble residue, especially when you have hard water. There is a reason why almost everything uses synthetic detergents (though it might also be because those are cheap).

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 days ago (14 children)

All ot does is make the fabric soft? Are yall wearing potatoes sacks?

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[–] shy_bibliophile 56 points 2 days ago (16 children)

You can just use white vinegar instead of fabric softener. It's significantly cheaper, can be used for other non-laundry things, eliminates odors, and doesn't gum up your washing machine with residue.

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[–] [email protected] 45 points 2 days ago (4 children)

I’ve read that the homemade laundry soap is actually soap, not detergent, and that it will over time ruin your machine.

So, I’ve just continued buying laundry detergent and have just used a fraction of what the instructions advise. It’s worked for me. I don’t buy softener or sheets. Couldn’t afford it if I wanted to. But I do have oxyclean on hand only for when I’ve forgotten a load in the washer until it’s stinky or when I wash the dog bed covers or whatever.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yeah.... Especially if you have a high efficiency machine. Washing machines use a lot less water than back when these "recipes" were actually practical. So if you utilize shaved bar soap and borax, you're not only going to be leaving residue to build up in your machine, you're going to have it build up in your clothes as well.

Also, a lot of people are sensitive to borax. The reason they don't use it in regular detergent as an agitator is because it can cause rashes for a large percentage of the population.

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[–] buddascrayon 22 points 2 days ago (6 children)

I don't know about needing to make your own detergent. But using dry detergent would be a drastic improvement in cost compared to what most people do because if you're buying liquid detergent, most of what you're buying is water.

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[–] dustpuppy 7 points 2 days ago

It also makes the clothes extremely flammable.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 days ago (5 children)

If you have a problem with limestone in your water you can use the cheapest vinegar you can find and add it to the washing machine to make your clothes smoother.

[–] LaunchesKayaks 11 points 2 days ago (9 children)

Vinegar is also great at getting smells out of stuff. It's excellent for animal smells. I use a little in each load of laundry because my fave hobby is doing stuff with horses and I also have a beagle with a natural hound stink. It gets out all the animal stank and a 2 gallon jug costs $3 at the local dollar store.

I also used the stuff to deep clean my carpets to help out a disabled cat I owned. He had trouble determining where the litter box was because he was blind and brain damaged and the person who was in my house before me didn't clean up after their cats. Most of the smell was gone, but just enough was there to confuse my boi.

10/10 recommend vinegar.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 days ago (17 children)

how much is a cup in non freedom units?

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 days ago (14 children)

Freedom units should be replaced with something like racist units or genocide units or orange units

[–] IndustryStandard 20 points 2 days ago

The freedom was always sarcastic

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 days ago (1 children)

soon enough it will be nazi units

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

This feels like info that should be in the new Anarchist Cookbook.

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[–] auginator 9 points 2 days ago

Haven’t used it for years

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

Baked baking soda is used to make ramen

But it can also irritate your skin

[–] A_A 21 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (4 children)

You don't need to go up to 400°F to decompose baking soda into washing soda. Decomposition starts around 122⁰F (50⁰C) and is complete at around 250⁰F (120⁰C)

Depending on the thickness you put in the pan you may want to put the oven around 300⁰F so to speed up the process.

You can safely go to higher temperature as it won't ever be overcooked.

detailshttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_bicarbonate

Heating to transform (baking soda) sodium bicarbonate into (washing soda) sodium carbonate does remove moisture but also removes carbon dioxide :

When sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO~3~) is heated, it undergoes a decomposition reaction to form sodium carbonate (Na~2~CO~3~), water (H~2~O), and carbon dioxide (CO~2~).

The reaction can be represented as :
2NaHCO~3~ + heat → Na~2~CO~3~ + H~2~O + CO~2~

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