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juststartn
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| Posted: July 03 2008 at 9:46pm | IP Logged
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I'm looking for the best deal around. I'm on my last box of Arm and Hammer laundry detergent, and I want to go to something a bit friendlier for my septic system....
But price is a consideration. So I'm looking for a great deal--I've found it for $8.99/bag, with a flat shipping rate of $9.50, and you can fit five bags into one flat rate box (which is a smart way to do the shipping thing). Considering each bag weighs in at 3lbs, well, that would get expensive realllllllly fast, if you went on a lb by lb basis.
Does anyone have a better (cheaper) place?
Rachel
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Married DH 4/1/95
Lily 3/11/00
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Sophia 4/19/04
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Ava Maria, in the arms of Jesus, 9/5/08
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mathmama
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| Posted: July 04 2008 at 6:26am | IP Logged
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Well, if you bought directly from the Charlie's website you could get a 5 gal bucket for 139.87 and that is like 8.75 per bag (as opposed to the 10.90/bag you would be paying). Since it is free shipping, that seems like your best deal. Of course, you have to pour alot of money into detergent now to get the savings.
Beth
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wifemommy
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| Posted: July 04 2008 at 9:42am | IP Logged
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Make your own for the price of one bag and a lot more loads It is septic safe and works well.
Here’s what you need:
- 1 bar of soap (whatever kind you like; I used Lever 2000 because we have tons of bars of it from a case we bought a while back)
- 1 box of washing soda (look for it in the laundry detergent aisle at your local department store - it comes in an Arm & Hammer box and will contain enough for six batches of this stuff)
- 1 box of borax (this is not necessary, but I’ve found it really kicks the cleaning up a notch - one box of borax will contain more than enough for tons of batches of this homemade detergent - if you decide to use this, be careful)
- A five gallon bucket with a lid (or a bucket that will hold more than 15 liters - ask around - these aren’t too tough to acquire)
- Three gallons of tap water
- A big spoon to stir the mixture with
- A measuring cup
- A knife
Step One: Put about four cups of water into a pan on your stove and turn the heat up on high until it’s almost boiling. While you’re waiting, whip out a knife and start shaving strips off of the bar of soap into the water, whittling it down. Keep the heat below a boil and keep shaving the soap. Eventually, you’ll shave up the whole bar, then stir the hot water until the soap is dissolved and you have some highly soapy water.
Step Two: Put three gallons of hot water (11 liters or so) into the five gallon bucket - the easiest way is to fill up three gallon milk jugs worth of it. Then mix in the hot soapy water from step one, stir it for a while, then add a cup of the washing soda. Keep stirring it for another minute or two, then add a half cup of borax if you are using borax. Stir for another couple of minutes, then let the stuff sit overnight to cool.
And you’re done. When you wake up in the morning, you’ll have a bucket of gelatinous slime that’s a paler shade of the soap that you used (in our case, it’s a very pale greenish blue). One measuring cup full of this slime will be roughly what you need to do a load of laundry - and the ingredients are basically the same as laundry detergent. Thus, out of three gallons, you’ll get about 48 loads of laundry. If you do this six times, you’ll have used six bars of soap ($0.99 each), one box of washing soda ($2.49 at our store), and about half a box of borax ($2.49 at our store, so $1.25) and make 288 loads of laundry. This comes up to a cost of right around three cents a gallon, or a savings of $70.
Plus, you can make slime in the kitchen - and have a legitimate reason for doing so
This was from the simple dollar March 15 2007. There are a lot of suggestions on there for modifying the recipe. Also I would recommend running a load with just vinegar periodically. Also the guy who did our home inspection said No bleach in the septic system. Annie
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juststartn
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| Posted: July 04 2008 at 12:18pm | IP Logged
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I've looked around here, and I haven't found any washing soda yet. I may need to order some online, since driving around to find it is prohibitive (plus, we're a one car family, and with five dc, its not my favorite thing to do anyway)
Yeah, I knew the no bleach in the septic system (which makes me have a hard time with stains. I'm resorting to my bleach pen, which doesn't put as much in there as doing a regular wash/bleach load).
Thanks for the recipe!
Rachel
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Married DH 4/1/95
Lily 3/11/00
Helena(Layna) 5/23/02
Sophia 4/19/04
John 5/7/07
David 5/7/07
Ava Maria, in the arms of Jesus, 9/5/08
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wifemommy
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| Posted: July 05 2008 at 7:25pm | IP Logged
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I read some of the replies on the link and some people used Oxyclean and another something from the pool store. However one type of oxyclean can NOT be combined with bleach. toxic chemical reaction so make sure you check the label. I guess washing soda is really getting hard to find  Annie
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Donna Marie
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| Posted: July 05 2008 at 7:35pm | IP Logged
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Annie, which kinds of soap work best? and how much would i use for a front loader? Do you know?
God love you!
Donna Marie from NJ
hs momma to 7dc +one more due 10/08!
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God love you!
Donna Marie from NJ
hs momma to 9dc!!
Finding Elegant Simplicity
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Stephanie_Q
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| Posted: July 07 2008 at 8:59am | IP Logged
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I've been looking at Charlie's for our cloth diapers. I want to make my own detergent for other laundry (powdered, not slime), but I keep reading that soap builds up on diapers and makes them less absorbent.
The 5 gallon bucket from this site is the best deal I found ($119.99 and free shipping on orders over $100 makes it less than 10 cents a load). $25 for 2 bags and $40 for 4 bags is cheaper, too.
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Stephanie dh 6.01
dd 6.02, dd 8.03, ds 3.05, ds 12.06 at Catholic school.
dd 12.09 at home.
Baby boy due 10.13
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wifemommy
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| Posted: July 08 2008 at 9:41am | IP Logged
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The Family Homestead This site has more info about using it with front loaders. I have used Ivory and a plain castile soap both with good results. Fragrance free yet clean  Annie
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Charlie's Laundry Detergent
