| Post Reply | RetroFed Forums Forum Index » Ask Lemmy |
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UnequalExchange
lemmy.world
UnequalExchange@lemmy.worldJoined: 2026-07-31 |
Also dont be afraid to please ELI5 it cause Im a bit 'slow' sorry ans thanks. Also I wont be wearimg ANY fabric other than cotton or wool so there isnt any need to worry about other fabrics here. Is cleaning wool clothing in baby shampoo a long-term solution? What should I be concerned about in the long term? Im only doing this long term cause I was tolf that baby shampoo is a cheaper 'detergent' than those other wool wash products like Eucalan and Soak Inc. So leave any notes about that if you know anything about it please. What do yall think anout this detergent here? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5qNWa9By9EY Is it cheaper than store brand detergents that clean cotton safely? Is it cheaper than typical store brand detergents that clean wool safely? Does borax or washing soda have enzymes in it or am I crazy? Or is the baby shampoo solution better ? Edit: just found THIS video about long term use of homemade detergents : https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VKeNjdgiwfo&pp=ygUaYm9yYXggYXMgbGF1bmRyeSBkZXRlcmdlbnTSBwkJOQwBhyohjO8%3D Also where in god's blue Earth does one even find 'washing soda' ? I dont think Ive ever seen that at the store, only baking soda. I live in canada as a side note so ... Is borax actually anti fungal ? Like is it anti mildew anti fungal? Can borax be use d alone as a detergent and what are the downsides of choosing to do this ? Thanks. Edit : Sorry I should have beeen more specific. All Im trying to do is find out 2 things:
and
Edit: Ive found that the trick that someone suggested involving using an essential oil (like tea tree oil or rosemary oil) plus vinegar during the final rinse did in fact get rid of all the midlew. Thanks |
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Onomatopoeia
lemmy.cafe
Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe Joined: 2025-01-02 |
Borax has borax in it (sodium borate). Washing soda has washing soda in it (sodium carbonate). Both essentially alter the pH of the water. The internet can answer pretty much all your questions about either one, dozens and dozens of articles have been written about using both. |
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CombatWombat
feddit.online
CombatWombat@feddit.onlineJoined: 2025-09-09 |
If you can find baking soda, but can't find washing soda, you can turn baking soda into washing soda by popping it into the oven for an hour on 400F/200C (source) Also, I thought we had a community specifically for this, but all I could find was !adulting@lemmy.world and the top post is you asking something similar 2 months ago, so I guess I'm misremembering, but it seems like a common request. |
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anon6789
lemmy.world
anon6789@lemmy.worldJoined: 2023-07-02 |
My brother and I both did the homemade laundry detergent for years with good success. We got everything off the shelf at Walmart, but Canada Walmart and Amazon sites make washing soda look much more expensive up there. That and the borax are about $7 each here. Zote and Fels Naptha soaps worked equally well, but I usually grabbed the FN. We added baking soda to the mix as well for deodorizing. Made both liquid and powder versions, and both worked and all the soap dissolved for us in both forms. This was in old top loader washers. I don't know if I'd try this in modern front loaders as they seem more specific about what they want to work with due to using so much less water. For wool, it's naturally more odor fighting if you let it air out, so you shouldn't have to wash it as much as cotton or other fibers. I tend to get wool dry cleaned because my wife's family ran a cleaners, but if you're going all natural fibers and homemade soap, I'm assuming that answer isn't helpful for you. |
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LeftReddit2
lemmy.world
LeftReddit2@lemmy.worldJoined: 2026-08-10 |
I dump all the clothes in the washing machine and leave it there. |
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Maeve
kbin.earth
Maeve@kbin.earthJoined: 2024-06-16 |
You can buy an off brand wool wash. Awesome or store brands are fine. Washing soda is stronger than baking soda, but I use baking soda: https://www.realsimple.com/washing-soda-vs-baking-soda-8418441 I don't want to pry, so if your aim is natural fabrics, linen and silk are nice in summer, but linen wrinkles like crazy. |
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idealism_nearby
lemmy.world
idealism_nearby@lemmy.world Joined: 2026-01-13 |
What exactly is wrong with using a delicates cycle with regular detergent? |
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UnequalExchange
lemmy.world
UnequalExchange@lemmy.worldJoined: 2026-07-31 |
What exactly is wrong with using a delicates cycle with regular detergent?
You cant clean wool with like 90% or more of detergents on the market since practically all of them have enzymes im them. And of the detergents that dont have enzymes in them, like bio vert , they tend to have so few surfactants in them that they are practically useless. AND THEN of the detergents on the market that have a lot of surfactants in them and no enzymes in them like, eucalan and soak inc. , they tend to be stupidly expensive per litre..... See where Im coming from?.... |
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UnequalExchange
lemmy.world
UnequalExchange@lemmy.worldJoined: 2026-07-31 |
You can buy an off brand wool wash. Awesome or store brands are fine. Washing soda is stronger than baking soda, but I use baking soda: https://www.realsimple.com/washing-soda-vs-baking-soda-8418441 I don't want to pry, so if your aim is natural fabrics, linen and silk are nice in summer, but linen wrinkles like crazy.
ok well then please name thesee CHEAP off brand wool washes please . And also Im in canada so they had better be sold herre or shipped here too 🤷🏿♂️ |
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UnequalExchange
lemmy.world
UnequalExchange@lemmy.worldJoined: 2026-07-31 |
My brother and I both did the homemade laundry detergent for years with good success. We got everything off the shelf at Walmart, but Canada Walmart and Amazon sites make washing soda look much more expensive up there. That and the borax are about $7 each here. Zote and Fels Naptha soaps worked equally well, but I usually grabbed the FN. We added baking soda to the mix as well for deodorizing. ...
uhh ya the answer isnt helpful cause I dont plan on dry cleaning the wool clothing regularly. Also Im not joking I sweat so much I get my wool clothing wet and smelly after about 1 or 2 wears. Even if I leave it hanging wide open for a 2 days or three its still smelly after ronly one time usinng it outside . I walk long distances daily on average so thats probably why. So I have to clean my wool stuff rregularly |
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Starya67
lemmy.world
starlinguk@lemmy.worldJoined: 2023-06-17 |
You cant clean wool with like 90% or more of detergents on the market since practically all of them have enzymes im them. And of the detergents that dont have enzymes in them, like bio vert , they tend to have so few surfactants in them that they are practically useless. AND THEN of the detergents on the market that have a lot of surfactants in them and no enzymes in them like, eucalan and soak...
There's bio and non bio detergent. There's plenty of choice, a lot of brands make both. You need a non bio, which has no enzymes. |
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Fallibilist
feddit.uk
Fallibilist@feddit.uk Joined: 2026-09-15 |
Here's what has worked for me:
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VibeSurgeon
piefed.social
VibeSurgeon@piefed.social Joined: 2026-01-15 |
uhh ya the answer isnt helpful cause I dont plan on dry cleaning the wool clothing regularly. Also Im not joking I sweat so much I get my wool clothing wet and smelly after about 1 or 2 wears. Even if I leave it hanging wide open for a 2 days or three its still smelly after ronly one time usinng it outside . I walk long distances daily on average so thats probably why. So I have to clean my woo...
Maybe the wool is too warm for you? |
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TheJesusaurus
piefed.ca
TheJesusaurus@piefed.ca Joined: 2025-10-20 |
There's bio and non bio detergent. There's plenty of choice, a lot of brands make both. You need a non bio, which has no enzymes.
Hey so, I'm not sure where in the world you're from but bio/nonbio laundry detergent is super super common in the UK and you'll find both readily available in almost every brand. I never heard of bio/nonbio laundry before moving to the UK, I wouldn't know where to look for bio or nonbio like detergents in Canada, this split simply does not exist in our products here as far as I know |
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TheJesusaurus
piefed.ca
TheJesusaurus@piefed.ca Joined: 2025-10-20 |
ok well then please name thesee CHEAP off brand wool washes please . And also Im in canada so they had better be sold herre or shipped here too 🤷🏿♂️
Dude you'd get a lot better results from people if you weren't a prick |
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UnequalExchange
lemmy.world
UnequalExchange@lemmy.worldJoined: 2026-07-31 |
There's bio and non bio detergent. There's plenty of choice, a lot of brands make both. You need a non bio, which has no enzymes.
ya I know . But arent the majority of bio detergents either so weak and have so little surfactants and cleaning agents that theyre just scams OR theyre stupidly expensive per a litre? |
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UnequalExchange
lemmy.world
UnequalExchange@lemmy.worldJoined: 2026-07-31 |
Maybe the wool is too warm for you?
Id doubt that. I get too cold easily . I have to wear a sweater during most summer days cause thats how shitty my body is at generating heat and keeping itself warm. |
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VibeSurgeon
piefed.social
VibeSurgeon@piefed.social Joined: 2026-01-15 |
Id doubt that. I get too cold easily . I have to wear a sweater during most summer days cause thats how shitty my body is at generating heat and keeping itself warm.
You get too cold, but also sweat too much? Do these coincide? |
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RebekahWSD
lemmy.world
RebekahWSD@lemmy.worldJoined: 2023-10-19 |
So there are cleaners for wool, a lot of yarn stores should either stock or let you know. I know most wool cleaning is more spot cleaning than full cleaning? I can't work with wool though, it's itchy for me, so can't help more than that, sorry! |
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UnequalExchange
lemmy.world
UnequalExchange@lemmy.worldJoined: 2026-07-31 |
So there are cleaners for wool, a lot of yarn stores should either stock or let you know. I know most wool cleaning is more spot cleaning than full cleaning? I can't work with wool though, it's itchy for me, so can't help more than that, sorry!
huh.... thanks cause someone suggested this to me but I totally forgot about it. Ill try a yarrn store today . Thanks |
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UnequalExchange
lemmy.world
UnequalExchange@lemmy.worldJoined: 2026-07-31 |
You get too cold, but also sweat too much? Do these coincide?
They actually do coincide. I dont know what in the holy fuck is wrong with my body's biology cause ....WTF?! They obviously shouldnt coincide....but then they do?! wot? Im thinking a poossibility ius that the sweat itself is another factor making me cold but when I wear wool clothing the sweat gets to the wool clothing and then the wool clothing 'insulates' me using the sweat. Cotton clothing obviously doesnt help as much to 'insulate' when I sweat. Ive also found thatt even when I dont sweat I still gett cold. |
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VibeSurgeon
piefed.social
VibeSurgeon@piefed.social Joined: 2026-01-15 |
They actually do coincide. I dont know what in the holy fuck is wrong with my body's biology cause ....WTF?! They obviously shouldnt coincide....but then they do?! wot? Im thinking a poossibility ius that the sweat itself is another factor making me cold but when I wear wool clothing the sweat gets to the wool clothing and then the wool clothing 'insulates' me using the sweat. Cotton clothing o...
If you build up some sweat which makes the clothes wet, then that can definitely contribute to feeling cold. |
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UnequalExchange
lemmy.world
UnequalExchange@lemmy.worldJoined: 2026-07-31 |
Dude you'd get a lot better results from people if you weren't a prick
...wot? |
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RBWells
lemmy.world
RBWells@lemmy.world Joined: 2023-06-14 |
I have washed my silk and wool in my shampoo, the same one I use for my hair, since forever and it's fine. Some of this stuff is over 10 years old. I don't wash any of it very often, except merino underwear, that I throw in the washer, hang dry, and it survives but I'm not expecting to get ten years out of it. |
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UnequalExchange
lemmy.world
UnequalExchange@lemmy.worldJoined: 2026-07-31 |
I have washed my silk and wool in my shampoo, the same one I use for my hair, since forever and it's fine. Some of this stuff is over 10 years old. I don't wash any of it very often, except merino underwear, that I throw in the washer, hang dry, and it survives but I'm not expecting to get ten years out of it.
Im using shampoo currently too. I have no idea how long Ill gett out of these wool pieces of clothing.Hopefuly this can go on forever cause Im not spending 96 dollars for 4 litres of eucalan lol. |
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