How To: Save money by making your own laundry detergent
Brew laundry detergent that cleans your clothes for just three cents a load -- a fraction of what it costs with store-bought detergent.
Brew laundry detergent that cleans your clothes for just three cents a load -- a fraction of what it costs with store-bought detergent.
When it comes to staying safe, we all know that dish detergents, spray cleaners, and any sort of bleaching cleaners are bad for our health, since they distribute potentially cancer-causing toxins into the air.
In order to hand-wash your clothes, you will need the following: a sink with a stopper, a laundry detergent designed for hand-washing (e.g. Woolite), a stain remover, fabric softener, and a drying rack.
We'll show you how to use an attachment for a power washer called a "Foamer" - you'll never hand wash a car or boat again!
Doing the laundry uses a lot of water and energy. Here’s how to wash your clothes with a clean conscience. This video will show you how to conserve energy when doing laundry.
If you have done hundreds of loads of laundry you might be in a habit of not measuring your detergent and just pouring it into your washing mashing. Although you may think you are taking a short cut, you might be causing more damage than you think. You could end up with too much detergent in your load and have residue on your clothes and even have detergent build-up in your machine, which can be more costly in the future. There are many ways to improve your laundry technique, some even have a...
It’s easy to make those telltale sweat spots disappear if you know what to use on them. Don't throw away those white shirts, learn how to get rid of sweat stains instead.
In this video, Jeff shows how to frugally clean your vulcanized shoes. You need a water bottle with a tablespoon of non-bleach detergent, a pencil with a clean eraser, an old toothbrush, a cloth and some paper towels. First, wipe the shoes clean by pouring the detergent solution onto a wash cloth and then scrubbing down the shoes. Soak up any excess water with a paper towel right away. Then, use the eraser of the pencil to help clean the dirt off of the soles of the shoes. If your shoe has te...
Are your duds looking a little worse for wear? Here are some extra-effective ways to keep your clothes looking as good as the day you bought them. You won't want to buy new clothes as much if you can keep your old clothes looking brand spanking new.
Handmade gifts are always appreciated. Hand painting ties can be wonderful, creative work, especially if it is for Dad on Father’s Day. You’ll make a keepsake he’ll treasure forever.
This video shows how to make homemade laundry detergent with three ingredients. There are three ingredients required. The first is soap. The demonstrator recommends natural laundry soap which can be bought at a grocery store. The second ingredient is washing soda. Washing soda is not the same as baking soda, though some people have used baking soda successfully. Washing soda is recommended, however. The last ingredient is Borax, which can be found in most stores. To make the laundry soap mix ...
It feels great to wrap up in a big, fluffy towel after a steamy shower, but it's frustrating when that towel isn't quite up to the job. Over time, towels lose their ability to hold water and dry as needed thanks to daily use and the biggest culprit—laundry detergent.
If your clothes are coming out stained after they've just been washed, it may be a problem with your detergent. There are also other areas that may be the culprit for resulting in dirty clothes. It's an easy fix and will result in your clothes looking washed and not dirty.
Cloth diapers are a little bit more work than the disposable kind. No need to worry, with some regular laundry detergent and vinegar your baby will be happy as a clam in his clean and irritant free diapers.
Wearing vintage clothing is one of the best ways to reduce the environmental impact of your fashion choices—short of walking around naked.
The most used and most washed articles of clothing are undergarments. Underwear, specifically bras and panties, are in desperate need of attention after each and every use. They're not like a pair of jeans, wearing them twice in a row is not a good idea, nor clean. Shabby’s not chic when it comes to lingerie. Use a little extra care to keep your lace and silk bras and panties looking good.
Pressure washing alone is enough to clean most surfaces, but for stubborn stains or mold and mildew, the use of cleaning detergents can help make cleaning easier and more effective. Watch this how-to video to learn how easy it is to use cleaning detergents with your pressure washer. Learn to use the soap storage to load pressure washer detergents. Use cleaning detergents with a pressure washer.
In this tutorial, we learn how to stain a concrete floor. To start, you will need to prepare your floor by cleaning it vigorously. Remove all dirt from the floor, then use detergent and water to wash, when finished dry with a shop vac. You will have to use a hand brush to scrub alongside the walls. After this, wash your floor with a mixture of water and baking soda, then use the shop vac to dry. Next, rinse the floor off with plain water and dry with shop vac once more. To finish, apply faux ...
In this tutorial, we learn how to make homemade laundry detergent. To make this, you will need: 6 c water, 1/3 bar grated laundry soap, 1/2 c washing soda, and 1/2 c borax. To start, you will heat up the water and the soap in a large pan until it's all dissolved. Then, you will stir in the rest of the ingredients and mix until it's all dissolved as well. From here, boil the mixture for 15 minutes and then remove from the heat. Then, you will add this to cold water so you have 2 gallons of soa...
If you're washing your clothes and feel like there is not enough suds in the machine, adding more detergent won't make a difference. It can acutally hurt your clothes and the machine, making it work harder to clean clothes or clean up a mess.
Be like Moses and part the Pepper Sea! Learn a nice trick using pepper, water and dish-washing detergent that is sure to freak out believers and non-believers alike. Use this as inspiration for one of your April Fools Day pranks!
In this video, you will learn how to properly do laundry at college using a washer machine, dryer, laundry detergent, and laundry card in an hour and a half. Learn how to choose the correct wash/dry cycles that coordinate with your type of laundry. (colors/whites/delicates)
Your dog travels all around the house all day. Here are five places to remember to keep clean. Watch this how-to video as the Dog Channel offers five places your dog encounters that are important to clean regularly. Remember he always travels to his toys, crate and bed.
This instructional housekeeping video shows you how to take those old shrunken clothes you have and make them wearable again. You will need white vinegar, a sponge and a zip lock bag. Coat the entire t-shirt in the vinegar and load the shrunken shirt and wash it in a hot wash, after a few minutes, add detergent to wash out the smell of vinegar. After throwing the t-shirt in the dryer for about thirty minutes, the shirt should have expanded several inches in every direction. Don't throw away c...
We hang flags to proclaim our patriotic spirit. This is especially true for retired veterans or those who have loved ones serving in the military. Others hang flags representing the seasons, important events, favorite teams or just a cute and whimsical design as decoration. An American flag can be particularly tricky to wash. Red, white and blue all lying together in one inseparable panel can cause the blue or red dye to bleed onto the white. This is not just a problem with an American flag; ...
Don't let ants ruin your next outdoor outing. Picnics are a wonderful way to share yummy food in the great outdoors. Ants think so too! You can keep pesky ants away with just a few simple actions.
In this video, David teaches us how to clean the inside of windows easily and quickly. You don't need fancy tools, all you need is a terry cloth towel, a squeegee and dish washing detergent. First, put a little bit of the soap into a bucket and wash down the windows. Next, take a squeegee and wipe horizontally making clean lines. The excess water should drip down and you will catch it with your next squeegee wipe. If you have extra wetness on the edges, grab an old t-shirt and wipe the sides ...
Whites are the hardest color to keep looking bright and new after just a few months' time. Your sweat and oils quickly become stains, and colors from other clothes will eventually bleed into the fabric, discoloring your bright whites into something merely whitish. But before you reach for the bleach, the ultimate chemical cleaner, try some a few of these safer, less-toxic DIY solutions out instead.
Dry cleaning can be a pain the butt, not to mention super expensive, especially if you're wearing a lot of wool sweaters during the cold winter season. Thankfully, with a little time and effort, you can wash most of your "dry clean" or "dry clean only" clothing at home.
Have a shirt you'd like to give a color makeover? Get the color back in your favorite shirt or fabric by following these steps. Learn how to dye fabric with help from this how-to video.
If you're finding soggy detergent in your dishwasher after it's done with its cycle, it may not be the machine. In fact, it's probably your fault. It's important to know how to correctly load a machine otherwise things like this might happen.
If you are finding white or colored marks on your clothes, it's more than likely going to be detergent residue. These unsightly stains can ruin your clothes and be a sign that something is wrong with your washer or with what you are using.
A nifty step-by-step guide to making your very own laundry detergent lamp. Upcycle that recyclable detergent bottle and gain a swell lighting fixture for your home! This involves some basic circuitry and wiring of a cheap lamp fixture. You use the laundry detergent bottle as the base of the lamp. It's a bit arts & crafts project and a bit conservation! Help our mother nature with this nifty at-home craft decoration project!
Mike Kraft tells us how to clean a concrete driveway in this video. The driveway can collect a lot of different stains, which can lead to deterioration. Pressure washing is the best way to clean a brick or concrete driveway. You will first need to place detergent onto the driveway, then use the pressure washer to clean off the ground. You will also need grease remover if you have grease stains that are on your driveway. If you have a low pressure washer, hold the stream closer to the ground, ...
Wash your window blinds with a minimum of mess. Howcast presents you with tips on how to effectively clean your window blinds. Blinds can be tricky to clean, so pay attention.
Pesticide residues remain in most fruits and vegetables, even after being washed with detergents. Pesticide residues are not removed normally from fruits and vegetables, even after washing. The reason? Pesticides are oil-based, and as we know, oil and water do not mix. Oil is usually not removed by water, certainly not tap water, which introduces other problems. The solution is to use a special kind of water called Kangen Water. Fred Brown, Vegas Buzz Featured Columnist and water expert, give...
The Recipe A quick search online will show you that there's no shortage of homemade laundry soap recipes: Here's one from The Simple Dollar. And we've got 10 more at Money Talks News. But below is one that seems to work pretty well. You'll need:
You will Need! 1 box of detergent (should be at least 3/4 full)
In order to make Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent, you will need the following materials: A dutch oven or a large pot, a grater, a spoon, ¬O cup of Borax, ¬O cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, a bowl, a measuring cup, 3-5 gallon cleaning bucket, empty plastic detergent bottles, and Fels-Naptha soap or Ivory bar soap (grated).
If you need to save your money for bills, then this laundry tip will help keep the costs of laundry to a minimum. It's a really simple and cheap tip if you happen to be out of laundry detergent during a load. Simply grab a bar of soap and cut a third of it off. Then place it in a pot of boiling water and let dissolve for about ten minutes. When it's done, transfer it to a large bowl and stir for about thirty seconds. Then it's ready! Makeshift laundry detergent!