Recent content by gmmcnair

Later Neptunes were a pretty good machine. The Amana-tags and to a lesser extent, the Norge-tags tarnished the name too. Neither were up to the Dependable Care machines.

Dependable Care My mother still has my old one. I bought it in 1993, and it still works like it did the day it was installed. It had one warranty repair on the timer, and that's it.

My Favorite Commercial Detergents When my hives aren't acting up, I prefer, in this order: Wisk Deep Clean, Era without oxi, and the Method 8x. Wisk cleans the best, Era is usually the cheapest, and the Method is convenient.

My mix I use about 40% homemade lye soap (by weight, 40% washing soda, and about 20% STPP. I use 1/2 to 3/4 cup per load in my Whirlpool DD, and wash in warm or hot. After the first spin,I reset the washer for a short wash at warm or hot, then let it proceed thru the deep cold rinse and spin...

I do make it.... ...I have sensitive skin and I still make my own. I do ingredients by weight with a high percentage of my own homemade tallow soap. I use about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of my mix in my top loader and get a rich layer of suds in warm or hot SOFT water. My laundry is not dingy nor...

Mich... LOL...my skin can't handle enzymes but I do soda ash for alkali. Oxygen bleach works better added separately, but I do have fragrance oil that smells like vintage Downey and Snuggle. A little bit of STPP in the mix and it does indeed rival if not exceed most commercial stuff. Plus, it...

Good machine...they're effective and simple. Easy to fix and rarely break. I would run it until it's no longer practical to fix it.

Stan My powder mix is "enhanced" by about 5-10%. Works great even on very dirty and greasy stuff. I have some cotton sweaters, and some wool blend stuff that I don't want to subject to that much oomph, so I do a cold water liquid (temp controlled cold, and not the pudding/gel stuff on...

STPP I would start with a tablespoon or so and adjust from there. If you notice any dinginess, up it a bit. It doesn't take much, especially since you already have borax and washing soda in the mix.

When I was car shopping.... I checked out a couple of CVT cars....didn't care much for them. Ended up getting one with a 6 speed automatic and I like it a lot.

Maytag DC My mother has had a Maytag Dependable Care since 1993, no repairs to date. Still looks and runs like new. It has average performance and load capacity. On all fronts, except noise, my Whirlpool DD bests it. Still, I wouldn't mind a DC if one came along for cheap enough. They're a...

Doing Great Stan Still soaping and still doing commercial construction as my day job! Hope life is treating you well. STPP is a wonderful non-precipitating water softener. Basically, it keeps minerals at bay without creating a cloudy mess. It also rinses beautifully clean, and is gentle enough...

I have had the perfect weekends for it.... ...the last two weekends have been perfect for hanging out clothes to dry. Sadly, I spent both weekends doing other things. My refrigerator died, so I had to clear out all the spoiled food and ready everything for the new one. Then, I spent the...

Hi Stan! Amazingly, I have been using this stuff for years at 2-3 tbsp per load in a standard top loader and it works just fine. I use 1/4 cup vinegar in the final rinse and after 7+ years, my towels are still white, my colors are not dingy and I don't have any "old soap" smell to anything (not...

You can also make it with Zote soap in the microwave. Cut it into pieces and zap until it puffs up like a big marshmallow. Allow it to cool and it will crumble into a dry powder.