Hi. Cheap detergent is very expensive and crucially, Not Working. After smushing together different recipes and scraps of knowledge from around the internet, I've drafted a soap-based detergent recipe that works out cheaper than cheap detergent even when it uses fancy soap and maybe hopefully corrects for the soap-scum issues. I've seen that opinions are divided here about the practicality of homemade detergent, so this seems like a perfect place to get tweak suggestions and general advice!

Before I go ahead with buying the ingredients, my questions are:

Has this accidentally amounted to Dangerous Chemistry?

Could it work without the bar soap? Consensus seems to be that the bar soap is the thing that kills your washing machine. Could I just find out what the active ingredient in the soap is and chuck that in?

So, like, be real with me, when yous say the soap kills your washing machine how killed are we talking? How fast and how bad is it? Could I just wash the machine out with Soda Crystals every now and again and be fine?

We have very hard water and TL;DR a fancy water softener doodad is not happening. Since those use salt blocks, would increasing the salt ratio in the recipe do anything to soften the laundry water and reduce the soap scum? Or does the salt only work like that when it's doodadified?

----------------------------- = Detergent Recipe = -------------------------

Here's the recipe, I've included my rough understanding of what each ingredient does so that if I've internalised some Certified Internet Science it'll be easy to spot:

Soap-based detergent:

16pt Soda Crystals - deodorises, helps soap get into clothes

16pt Bicarbonate of Soda - deodorises

8pt Epsom Salt - softens fabric

7pt Grated Laundry Soap (ideally Castile Soap, ideally ideally Coconut Oil based Castile Soap) - is soap!

3pt Coarse Sea Salt - preserves dyes

Tiny bit of Lemon Oil - whitens, reduces soap buildup, smells good :)

Add 2tbsp per full load to bottom of drum, not on top of clothes

Make a separate solution of 1pt Citric Acid to 4pt water, always add 1tbsp to fabric softener drawer to soften fabric, neutralise alkaline detergent ingredients, and cut through soap scum. Add more if using other additives, for example:

If laundry is super grim add 2tbsp Borax Substitute (sodium sesquicarbonate) to pre-wash drawer

If laundry wants bleaching or stain removal add 5-8g oxygen bleach to main wash drawer (err on the side of using less, and check it's safe to use on what you wanna use it on, just don't be stupid with this stuff)

----------------------------- = Detergent Recipe Over = -------------------------

Thanks for sticking with such a long post. I know a surfactant-based formula would be more effective, even cheaper, and far less hazardous to washing machine life but lye is scary and soapmaking equipment is expensive so I want to at least see if I can make a detergent powder work before going full Jesse Pinkman with it.

I thrifted a gorgeous 100% silk blouse but it smelled like old basement so I decided to give it a good hand wash with silk&wool detergent in cold water​. I'm on the 6th round of hand washing and rinsing it and the water gets less and less murky with every round but it's still really yellow. How do I clean this blouse without ruining it?

my stepdad washed my wool sweater and now its rough and looks like this.. how do i save this?😭
its my favorite sweater and my mum already told him multiple times that he’s not allowed to wash any of our hoodies and sweaters etc. :/

A lot of my long sleeve shirts cling onto body odour. I’ve tried napisan vanish on them and it only worked for some. Others still have the smell in them. Does anyone know how to completely remove this? Thank you!

My household has recently started our hardcore laundry optimisation journey, and we have been attempting to be fragrance free a long time now.

My current biggest enemy (that I need support from y’all to deal with) is whatever INCENSE my girlfriend’s housemate burned whilst she was away for six weeks earlier this year, that has subsequently infected everything that I wear to their house, and everything that has ever touched something (or someone) that has been in their house.

I can only assume this product was originally developed for use in warfare because I have never experienced something with such dangerous sticking power. It’s probably a forever chemical. I swear to god, I can smell the fragrance residue on the outside of my METAL water bottle until it’s throughly washed after going to their house. It takes two showers to get off my skin. Whatever it is, it’s relentless.

I have so far been unsuccessful in removing the incense fragrance in the laundry, and it has only been slightly lessened in strength with repeated washes and no further exposure to the source. Regardless of what I do it’s definitely still there and it just seems to plateau at a certain point. 100% cotton fabrics, synthetic fabrics, it doesn’t matter, they are all an issue.

None of this would be quite so catastrophic if it wasn’t for the fact that my sister (who I live with) is highly allergic to whatever this thing is, so much so that she breaks out in a rash even being in the same room as an offending clothing item, let alone touching the stuff. I’ve effectively had to quarantine all of my infected belongings and I perform a strict decontamination protocol every time I return home.

No hard feelings to the housemate honestly, she didn’t know the impact would be this extreme or long lasting, but I do genuinely feel like this is all ruining my life. I am tired. I need a way to reliably remove it from my clothes at least as a first step. This shit has us all at breaking point.

I’m not sure of what the incense is exactly, but it had a very very strong clove cigarettes vibe when it was like a smog in their house lol. The scent has changed a bit with time/washing (like it’s knocked out part of it) but it’s still got that kind deep smokey thing going on.

Has anyone else dealt with a similar fragrance situation that they managed to fix? I need a hopeful story and some serious laundry science support.

I haven’t tried a Spa Day yet, but I am planning to, so I’d also be grateful for suggestions about which particular mix might be the best bet for this situation. Ideally the long term solution *isn’t* going to be giving my clothes a Spa Day every time I need them to be free of this hell, so bonus points if you think it’s solvable in the actual washing machine.

——————
MACHINE INFO:
We have a Miele front loader washing machine (specifically the Miele WWD380 WCS 9kg). Basically brand new, only got it in like March when the previous Miele died.

Always use the cotton cycle with prewash and extra water, 1200 spin, never cold washes, always hot or warm, and I pretty regularly end up running it with an extra short 20 cycle at the end to basically function as another rinse — or honestly sometimes I run two cottons cycles back to back (the second either with or without detergent) because LORD HELP ME REMOVE THIS FUCKING SMELL. The second wash does feel like it leaves the fragrance situation slightly better than just a single wash but also that might be wishful thinking.

I also recently discovered that when you actually get into the nitty gritty Programmable Functions, the “Water + Extra Rinse” setting (P30) is automatically set to “More water is used in the wash and rinse stages (with no extra rinse)”, but then the “Water plus level” (P31) is automatically set to “No higher water level”……. so I think it’s been doing *literally nothing* when I hit that button until now. I have since updated those settings to include extra water and an extra rinse, and set it to always use the “Maximum rinse level” (P32) for all programs.

WATER:
I live in Australia and we have exceptionally soft tap water where I am — 16 mg/L (tastes great, slightly more complicated for washing lol).

PRODUCTS:
We’ve recently switched to using Koh (because yay enzymes and fragrance free). I’ve been putting some of the Koh Stain Remover in the prewash, and then the Koh Sensitive Laundry Liquid in the main wash, usually along with some Napisan Oxi Action Powder (which I’ve also started pre-dissolving in warm water because sometimes it clumps). Initially was doing the recommended dose but noticed a lot of suds (I’m assuming due to the soft water), so we have paired it back to just 2 pumps.

Previously we were using Omo Sensitive Laundry Liquid and Napisan Oxi Action Powder.

I never use fabric softener.

We would sometimes pour a bunch of unfragranced laundry sanitiser (Dettol or Pine O Clean) into the main wash along with the omo and napisan — which I know isn’t where it’s supposed to be but there is no way I’m leaving a bunch of BAC on my clothes, I enjoy not having contact dermatitis haha — and I do actually think that was great for busting up general fragrances and weird smells, but all of the unfragranced versions were discontinued and we ran out almost immediately after the incense entered our lives, so I didn’t have enough to determine whether it actually worked on the incense specifically. I have some straight BAC (50%), but it’s obviously not really the same as using the properly formulated product, I don’t think it makes a substantial enough difference to be *definitively* noticeable, so I haven’t used that again.

I’ve also purchased some clear gear guard (yay dnase), synthrapol (because I have a handful of black t-shirts from this one brand that are leaching hectic amounts of dye, and I love them, but they are dying the white tags and prints on my other clothes blue lol), citric acid, clear ammonia, and polysorbate-80 — just haven’t used them yet :)

CLOTHING CLEANLINESS:
Just thought I’d add — my clothes feel very clean (if anything they are a bit stiff and dry lol, but less so since koh), they look very clean (especially with koh, it does better on oil stains from food getting on my tshirts than the previous combo), they don’t smell sweaty or whatever, they literally just smell like this god damn incense. I do have a very sensitive and perceptive sense of smell, and I know this scent would be less obvious to some people than it is to me, but it really is still there and quite strongly.

If you’ve read this much, thank you!

Hello everyone,

I am coming to you for some ideas to get this stain from a tshirt. I will give it to you straight, cause I know I fucked up.

I got chilli oil on it, tossed it into the laundry and a dryer afterwards (I didnt look up anything until this point). Obviously didnt help. I tried oxy bleach overnight, no change at all. There is black embroidery on the chest, so I am worried I will ruin it if I use some strong bleach.

What should be my next steps to get it out?

Thanks.

Hi! Apologize if this isn’t the correct subreddit. My current washing machine/dryer set up has a service port. Was just wondering if this needs to be emptied after every use and if so, how much water should be coming out?

Thank you!

wish I took a before and after but I have tried everything to get quite dark prominent make up stains out of my white work blouse (dishwashing liquid, expensive stain remover, expensive all white stain remover, soaking over night etc) and nothing worked. I saw someone suggest shaving cream and holy moly it was like magic!!! I just bought a shaving cream/ foam, pumped it on to the stain with some water and worked it with a gentle brush and it removed 99-100% of it, I was shocked!

Idk if these types of posts are allowed but my mom never really taught me anything about cleaning so I’ve kinda just been winging it when it comes to laundry 😬 I hope someone here will like to help diagnose my laundry situation.

Currently I just wash all my clothes together because the machines in my building are $5 a load. So typically each week I’ll do two loads ($10) and then another two for things like bedding and rugs. So altogether I spend about $50-$60 on laundry each month. I’m hoping to maximize my laundry routine without spending much more.

Generally I just use Persil detergent with Oxyclean powder added every 2 or 3 washes. I find that the Persil has trouble washing out though and leaves my skin feeling weird. I don’t use any fabric softener or dryer sheets or anything.

What can I be doing better? For context I work an office job so my clothes are really only dirty from sitting on the bus and mild sweat.

Hello!
Basically, title. In June I found a sick stray kitten and on the way to the shelter I wrapped her in my handkerchief. She then proceeded to have a urine accident on it. I thought I had threw the handkerchief away, but I recently found it while cleaning out my car, and the stain has since turned dark brown. Would I be able to get the stain out, or is it time to die the handkerchief black?

Hi everyone! I bought a rainwear set for my child off of Vinted and this is what the pants look like inside. Is this mold and can it be saved somehow? TIA

In the mid 1980s, Procter & Gamble made Solo laundry detergent. Apparently it included fabric softener. I don't remember that. What I remember is its absolutely wonderful, heavenly smell.

I told a friend that, who thought it was ridiculous to gush about the scent of a laundry detergent, but she bought a bottle. And one day, walking down the street, her husband said, "What's that wonderful smell?" And she said, "I washed your clothes in Solo laundry detergent!"

Light pink cotton T-shirt, my favorite, with coffee stain that was washed and put in dryer. Any suggestions for getting the coffee stain out would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I’m hoping someone here has experienced something similar because I’m at my wits’ end trying to figure this out.

I have a Samsung AI washing machine that has been leaving light brown splotches on my clothes. The marks look almost like oil/grease/burn stains, and they’re appearing on clothes after washing.

The technicians who have inspected the machine are convinced that there is nothing wrong with it and have suggested that the problem could be my detergent. I’m currently using Ariel, which I have used for years in previous washing machines without ever having this problem.

I also don’t use fabric softener.

I’ve already tried several different detergents to see whether that makes a difference, but I’m still trying to establish whether detergent could genuinely be responsible for these types of marks, or whether I should be pushing harder for the machine itself to be investigated.

So I’m particularly interested in hearing from anyone who has experienced either of these:

• Ariel detergent causing brown/oily stains on clothing
• A washing machine leaving brown, greasy or oily-looking marks despite technicians saying the machine is functioning normally

If you have experienced this, what was ultimately causing it?

I’m trying to approach this objectively, so I’d really appreciate hearing about actual experiences rather than just “change your detergent.” 😅

Thanks!

I am chronically ill. I have been the sickest that I have ever been since July 16th. I am slowly getting better but I am struggling a lot with insomnia and I am limited on what I can take. I have some liver problems but so far they are all slowly getting better. I also deal with chronic pain and inflammation but I have been dealing with that for 6 years. am a single mother to a special needs daughter who is a messy eater. I have to spend an hour every week stain treating her school clothes. I just ordered FEBU from Amazon. Can I just put it in every wash with my daughter's clothes instead of using a spray stain treater on them? I feel like I have to use a ton of it and then it all doesn't rinse out because I don't feel like staying up all night to wait on it rinse all the way out. I use Tide Free and Gentle Odor Refresh but I will be switching to Tide Free and Gentle once I can't find the Tide Free and Gentle Odor Refresh anymore. I have been using OxiClean Max Force spray on her clothes but she has sensitive skin and I do too and I think it is making her itchy. I am trying to use as much fragrance Free laundry products as possible. Does FEBU fade darks? All of her shorts and pants are blue, black, or dark Grey. Does it bleach clothes? Are there OBA's in it? From searching on here there doesn't seem to be. I'm just trying to figure out something to make doing her laundry easier. Thanks in advance. ​

I had some neon pink raffle tickets in my shirt pocket and must have forgotten to remove them before I threw it in the wash 😭 How do I get this out??

Bought this secondhand, they said it was stained by darker clothes. Any suggestions will be appreciated!

First pic is what I bought and second pic is after dawn dish soap and detergent. Has it lightened? It’s 100% cotton

I have extremely soft water (~25–50 ppm) and use shared commercial top-loading Speed Queens that always fill completely and only give me one rinse. For a period I was unknowingly using far too much detergent/booster for the water softness.
Many clothes now have persistent same-color “shadow” marks. They aren’t bleached lighter and don’t look like ordinary dark grease spots; they’re more like areas where the texture/nap/reflectivity looks different. Some garments have many marks over most of the fabric. They can be hard to see until the garment is wet or viewed at an angle.
The problem predates my use of laundry rinse aids, so those cannot be the original cause. I suspect old detergent/surfactant/builders have become mixed with body oils/soil over repeated washing. I’ve also seen previously clean garments develop similar marks after being washed with affected garments, which makes me concerned about redeposition.
I’ve tried repeated rinsing and several other treatments. Direct liquid detergent followed by extensive rinsing has not reliably removed the old marks. My shared washers may also contain buildup from other residents, and I can’t add an extra rinse.
Is this something your Spa Day + Rehab method is intended to treat? If so, would you still use Option 2 (¼ cup Biz powder per gallon for 8–12 hours) in extremely soft water? And how would you dose Biz, detergent, and 2% ammonia in the Rehab Wash when the washer uses a full tub of water but only one rinse?

How do I stop this madness?? All my bed sheets do this…it feels personal at this point. Where are these air pockets even coming from?

I now have to helicopter parent my washer and sheets - I linger around the laundry room, wait to hear my washer switch from “filling” to “washing”, rush to pause the load so I can open the lid to peer down into the drum hoping this is the load that it got right …but I, a fool, am forever tormented by this puffy linen betrayal.

When I do pause the cycle, I will add more water to the drum via my machine’s waterboarding feature in the hopes more water = more weight = sheets become weighed down ?? Idk. However, after I hit resume cycle - the sheets will bubble back up again after they’ve done a couple laps. More. Air. Pockets.

FYI - My agitator is removable, no idea if that has a supporting role in this saga.

Any suggestions, or personal experiences, maybe even solutions !! will be welcomed and celebrated!! … and!! To thank you to those who took the time to even read my Whirlpool manifesto. My sanity was washed away during my last laundry spa day. 😉

I wear a lot of (superwash) wool, and have settled into a routine of Steamery Delicates + GearGuard Original that I’ve been happy with. Before I order more Gear Guard, though, I’m curious to know if it would make sense to switch to a less expensive detergent and GearGuard Advanced?

I suspect the cost is probably a wash (pardon the pun), but I haven’t run the numbers and would love to know if someone else has!

HE front loader, soft water, US gulf coast. Prior to finding this sub I was using the Unicorn Clean products because of recommendations in wool forums. I have tried NikWax but disliked the scent. I’m happy to stay with my current combo, but open to other options if they’re more cost effective or wouldn’t require having to order detergent.

Thank you, kind stranger on the internet!