How White are Your Whites?

[launderess]

That Woman Should Be Comitted For Textile Abuse

Didn't watch the entire video, just to painful.

Using automatic dishwasher detergent along with LCB and other ghastly substances has been put about by many, including those who claim to be "textile restoration" experts. Just Google the terms and you'll find more than a few recipies for various "eye of newt" potions along these lines.

Automatic dishwasher detergent is not only highly caustic, but normally has a pH >9, that is very alkaline. I would need to be in order to disslove grease and muck on dishes, pots and pans. Some of the newer enzyme detergents may be a bit milder, but still all are based on heavy doses of sodium carbonate (washing soda) and other chemicals that are harsh on textiles. Adding insult to injury these women are using huge amounts of LCB, which will become more aggressive as the pH level (along with water temperature)rises. Finally the long soaking or wash cycles increases contact time to this witches brew for textiles. I certianly wouldn't subject any item of clothing or lines of value to this treatment, but hey, that is just me.

Without proper rinsing (and lots of it) to rid fabrics of all that LCB and harsh chemicals, they will stay and continue to "work". Slowly breaking down fibers and wearing them down. Without proper neutralising of the high pH level, those items must also feel harsh and scratchy.

Finally adding what looks like "homemade" detergent composed mainly of soap and yet more washing soda is just asking for trouble.

Washing soda is probably the worst thing to use with soap because of the way it deals with calcium and other minerals found in wash water. There is a reason "detergents" replaced soap for laundry day, and many persons who try these various formulas eventually find what housewives/laundries back in the day had to deal with, tattle-tale grey laundry which began to have a whiff about it after awhile. Yes, there are ways to avoid all this, but few know much less do them, so again I say "to each his own".

 

[maytagbear]

UGH!

If she used a real detergent, like Tide or Sears Ultra Plus, she wouldn't need to do that.

Furthermore, she measured a liquid with a measure for DRY products.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[bosch2460]

In my opinion

That poor woman is dumb as owl shit, and probably smells twice as bad, judging from the looks of those whites....

 

[rolls_rapide]

And in my opinion...

...she is a silly besom!

She could save herself lots of time and effort, not forgetting the money she spent on all these ingredients, if she would purchase a top quality powder detergent.

I would be thoroughly ashamed to call them "Whites".

Send her to the loony bin!

 

[gmmcnair]

I think she deserves a new award....

....I think Roseanne called herself "Domestic Goddess."

I would like to nominate this woman for the title of "Domestic Dunce of 2010"

My God....her restored stuff looks worse than the rags in my shop bag. EWWWWWWW!!!!

I mean, why not do what the Maytag Laundry Guide Suggests.....twice the recommended amount of detergent, as hot a water as you can get, 1 cup chlorine bleach and then a 20 minute soak before completing the wash cycle? At least that works.

Better yet, like everyone else has said, why not just do it right in the first place and the clothes will be long worn out BEFORE they have the chance to look like that. Disgusting!

 

[mrcleanjeans]

This dope and her nasty soap

What a joke! That Cascade is enzyme-laden,and those enzymes are killed with chlorine bleach,the amount of bleach plus the 20 minute soak is asking for at least thinned out whites, her homemade soap soup-goop is putting dulling soap and chalk residues into those greyish brown,oops, I mean "white" items due to the precipitating nature of borax and washing soda, and the fatty nature of soap. Also, where's the savings? If you MUST cheap out on your laundry detergent, a gallon of adequate detergent can be bought for 2.99. But it's true. Buying better detergent would save more than going thru this mess!

 

[brettsomers]

That was a riot! Thanks for the laugh!

 

[dirtybuck]

A Suggestion!

Perhaps it would be wise for some on here (preferably the more experienced ones that do more laundry) to go to You Tube and throw some comments to this "person" in regards to her videos about her odd laundry whitening and soap making habits.

 

[westyslantfront]

My recipe for glistening whites is:

Hot Water
Bleach
Bluing
Phosphates

Ross

 

[autowasherfreak]

Speaking of bluing.

I have to wear white polo shirts at work and some of them are starting yellow. I wash them in hot water, bleach, and Sears detergent. Would bluing take away the yellow or is there something else I could use?

 

[launderess]

You Could Use A Detergent With Lots of OBAS

That is optical brightening agents, such as Tide, and or those labeled "bleach alternative".

Absent that, bluing may work but La France was better, sadly it is no longer produced.

Bluing merely gives fabric a slight blue tint. This counteracts the yellow, but also makes textiles seem a bit duller. However if one uses a detergent with OBAs as well as bluing this should work.

 

[autowasherfreak]

I thought of getting a bottle of Tide with bleach just to use on my white work shirts and tan work pants instead of using liquid bleach, or using Oxy with the Sears detergent for my work clothes.

 

[foraloysius]

I posted a message at this video. Let's see what happens.

 

[circlew]

Jim

One of my neighbors told me that overuse of Clorox would actually cause whites to yellow. Maybe you're using too much.

 

[autowasherfreak]

Thanks Tom, a friend of mine said the same thing. Some of the shirts are actually starting to get little holes in them, and one has a hole about the size of quarter. Next payday I'm going to get some new shirts and only use Tide with bleach on them

 

[autowasherfreak]

Her Maytag looks so much like a Whirlpool it makes me sick to my stomach to look at it.

 

[maytag63]

Her homemade "mucus" is the problem. Why doesn't she just order some mexican laundry detergents. Foca, Roma, even Arial is available online. Will save her time and money in the long run.

 

[mrb627]

Her Maytag

I think that is a Norge-Tag machine. Not long for this world with that bleach mixture she churns in it. It will leaks and destory the bearings all too quick.

Malcolm

 

[gmmcnair]

"homemade "mucus" is the problem. Why doesn't she just order some mexican laundry detergents. Foca, Roma, even Arial is available online. Will save her time and money in the long run."

Very true. Even the Sun, Xtra, and Purex liquids outperform the laundry snot that you see in these videos, and don't leave a residue.

I have made the goop before out of my homemade soap scraps, but to have it work you need a much stronger concentration in the solution, and you need much more of the goop to work. I used a lb of soap to a gallon of water, added the borax or washing soda separately at wash time (mixed in before the soap), and it works about as well as your average detergent. Of course, I used about 2 cups of the snot in a washload....four times as much....you need some suds with soaps to make sure scum doesn't form.

Even with the sudsy mixture, it doesn't rinse as clean as a detergent, it's a mess to make, and in effective concentrations, it isn't as cheap as buying Sears Ultra Plus (which is MUCH better). It's fine if you happen to make your own soap, and a handy way to use up ugly batches on dog beds and shop towels, but it isn't a big money saver for anyone else.

The typical goop recipes you see on the web, when you figure out what goes into them, aren't significantly better than just washing your clothes with plain water. In some ways they're worse; at least plain water doesn't leave a residue.

 

[kqkenmore]

probably smells twice as bad, judging from the looks of tho

I hope that she dosent use the same method to clean her hoochie coo or they will be saying where is the rotten fish.That is just plain embarrising.I would set those kitchen linens on fire.