Photo by Magic Madzik
Next month we’ll be covering all different aspects of natural laundry. I’ve been busy testing some different natural laundry products, but I have to admit that I have struggled with going green in the laundry area. We’ll talk more about that next month, but today I want to know…
What area of natural laundry to do struggle with the most?
Getting stains out?
Finding a good natural detergent?
Line drying your laundry?
Whatever it is, I’d love to know so that I can try to address as many of those questions/problems next month as I can!
I’d love to learn about products that can get both stains/ground in food and dirt as well as man stink out. I
I’d love to know more about natural, or homemade detergents, that get whites clean.
I love the idea of line drying but I don’t like how rough the clothes or towels or sheets feel after they are dry. My mom does this and I’ve never liked how they feel or smell sometimes. If they would be softer I’d do it. I also don’t have a line so having an inexpensive option would be great too, preferably something that would move with us in the future.
I’ve made my own laundry soap and used soap nuts and I like both.
I guess I mostly struggle with line-drying and also stain removal. I make my own detergent, which I’m sure it’s very natural (are borax and washing soda natural?) but it saves us money and I LOVE the smell! I’ve read Fels Naptha soap works wonders on stains and I used it as a teen, but it’s so much easier to just spray stuff on. 🙂
My current hunt is for natural stain remover. We went completely green in laundry with using soap nuts from Naturoli and they do really well about getting stink and stains out, but every so often we have grease or oil stains. We do line dry, even in the winter but I am not willing to give up my dryer completely yet. I still need it as a default during difficult seasons of life. So, ways to make line drying cloth diapers easier in the winter would be great. My bumgenious organic cotton ones take 3 days to dry inside! Thanks for writing on this topic! I just reduced out clothing again and fit all of our clothes into one family closet that is 3X5 feet and one dresser.
PS I have a great stinky running funk remover with essential oils if you are interested.
I have several green laundry aspects that I need help with. First, I cannot convince my husband to let me line dry outside; however, I think I would still have a problem with it. I like my clothes to be soft, so I did buy an indoor, retractable line and I hang my clothes until they are almost dry and then toss them into the dryer for a few minutes (our dryer has a moisture sensor on it). I do use a 1/2 sheet of Arm & Hammer dryer sheets too (this is the husband…he insists on clothes “smelling clean”). Second, while I don’t wash my whites and towels/sheets in HOT water, I do use warm and to get rid of germs I use Clorox 2 (I know…I know…but I want my things clean). Looking forward to your results!
I make my own laundry detergent with borax, washing soda and Fels Naptha. I will use a spray stain remover on occasion on the really muddy things that come into the home.
I would like to know of a good natural strain remover. I would also like to learn more about making my own laundry soap.
I have so much trouble keeping whites bright because we have very hard water. If you have a trick (sunshine?) that would be great!
I agree with everyone else. I need a replacement for my “Shout” stain remover and for my “Oxi-Clean free and clear” whitener! 🙂
I need help with ideas for line drying indoors. My son has severe allergies which means outdoor drying is out of the question. The problem indoors is space–how to have enough drying space to do more than one load of laundry per day.
As for brightening whites, I cut up a lemon and toss it in the wash with a small palmful of rock salt. If you can line dry outside, the whites will look really great, but even inside they look pretty good. For tough stains, I rub a cut lemon directly on the stain and hang the item in the sunshine prior to washing. Gets mud, grass stains, even blood out of white baseball pants for me a couple times a week.
I feel like using cloth diapers have really helped in the laundry arena because I’ve been forced to trade dryer sheets for wool dryer balls and use a earth-friendly detergent! This detergent tool from the Real Diaper Association is super helpful: http://detergent.realdiaperindustry.org/
I LOVE to line dry, but our HOA doesn’t allow it. So, I use my dryer for most things, but I use a little folding hanging rack to air dry my diaper covers and other clothes as space allows.
I love your blog and look forward to this series! 🙂
Getting the stains out is a major issue for me. I was making my own detergent but it just wasn’t doing a good enough job for me. It just couldn’t compete with my grubby 20mth old. I just this week bought a brand called Ecos which I believe in made in Illinos. Would love to know how truely natural it is from any of you U.S ladies who might have used or heard of this brand before
I have heard of Ecos, but not tried it myself. I think it’s a reputable natural company. I would check out their website for more info, and maybe check the ingredients on the cosmetic database? I wish there was something like the cosmetic database for other household products!
I need help with getting coconut oil out of clothing. We use it for deodorant and my husband put his shirt on right after he put on the deodorant and now there are oil stains down the front of his shirt. I have tried to get oil out of other items of clothes with no success. And, don’t tell anybody, but I don’t care if it is all natural or not. I figure its greener to save a nice shirt from being trashed than it is to use a couple tablespoons of something to get the stains out. 🙂
I’m going to be writing in a few days about how we are solving this problem too. In my neck of the woods, it’s not having the space to line dry outdoors — it’s that we’re having the rainiest spring in several decades. I try to use a drying rack inside but there’s just not enough room, so I end up just throwing stuff in the dryer. I’m also going to try to make my own laundry detergent that also works for cloth diapers (I heard the formula with Fels Naptha will cause the diapers to repel.