Hi Laura,

No, I don't mix it into the powdered formula, I just add it to what ever clothes might need it.

Also, it might depend on your water type & the type of bar soap you are using for the laundry. Hard water seems to leave whites less white. The ivory is really a body soap that contains palm & coconut oils for moisturizing the body. Soaps made specifically for cleaning & laundry do not contain these oils because they make the clothes smell & can even turn them rancid. That gray film is most likely the moisturizing oils in the ivory.

I've been using Fels Naptha for the laundry soaps, but its not a "clean" soap as far as added chemicals. I just ordered some old fashioned, basic lye soap from MoSoap that is made with lard, tallow, water and lye as our grandmothers used to make & use. I'm excited to get my order & make up a new batch of laundry soaps & try them out. I'm thinking this is going to make the best laundry soap a person can make using natural ingredients.

Another laundry type bar you could try is Pink Zote Soap. It's made for laundry and cleaning. I'm not sure how pure that one is either but it might not create the buildup you are talking about. I found it at a Dollar General around here. The ingredients are sodium tallowate, (tallow), sodium cocoate, (coconut oil ?), fragrance, optical brightener and dye.

Lye combined with a fat & water creates a salt, or sodium plus the fat type. Sodium olivate would be olive oil,

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Robin, Do you add the oxygen cleaner by Sun to the homemade laundry soap? My whites are incredibly gray and dingy since I've been using the homemade laundry soap - even with chlorox bleach.

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A long time ago I read a hint about drying heavy or bulky items in the dryer like comforters, synthetic pillows, winter coats, towels, jeans, etc. The tip was to purchase a tube of wilson tennis balls and throw them in the dryer while you dry the clothes. I assume you could use those in place of the dryer balls, but I'm not sure about any off-gassing of the components that make up the tennis ball. I did use them for years though and never had any problems with them, but at the time I was using downy.

Now like a lot of the others, I use white vinegar in the rinse and use grated bar soap, mule team and A&H washing soda to make either a powdered or liquid laundry detergent.

For whites I used to use Oxy-Clean until A&H bought them out and added stuff to the pure original. I looked into that and found the oxygen cleaner by Sun is just the pure stuff and I get that at the dollar store.

I was putting essential oils in the vinegar but it seemed that I couldn't really smell it even before the clothes were dry so I just use the vinegar by itself now. They always just have a fresh clean smell to them.

I also line dry in or out or on hangers to save on propane for my dryer. I sort of feel like a pioneer woman doing all this stuff but its kinda relaxing and I know I'm doing me and my kids a favor by putting in a little extra effort. I can't wait to buy a clothes line and put it outside this year! Next fall I'm going to get another wooden clothes dryer for the house

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I have been making my own laundry soap with Borax, Washing Soda and Ivory Soap. I have also been putting vinegar in my rinse cycle. I've been very happy with the results since I started this a couple of months ago. But, I've noticed something - my whites are really becoming quite dingy and gray. I'm still using Chlorox Bleach with my whites. I have also noticed a gray filmy residue on the agitator where I believe the vinegar is released onto during the rinse cycle. Any ideas as to what I should do or what's causing this?

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No, I find the vinegar doesn't leave any odor in the laundry-- nor do I smell it in the house while the laundry is running (I have a front loader, but I doubt that it matters). My son *hates* the smell of vinegar, and he doesn't even know I put it in his laundry-- so I figure that's a pretty good measure of how well it rinses out. ;) One time I had a load of towels that did have some residual vinegar scent-- and my son noticed it right away-- but that has only happened once in many years. I suspect there was some error in the washer settings or something amiss with that one load. Occasionally I will have some static with a few things when I first take a load out of the dryer (I hang my clothes when feasible), but I just deal with it-- it's rare, and not a big deal to me. I've never noticed any static when the garments are worn, just when first taken out of the dryer.

A note on some other comments... If my whites weren't coming clean, I would assume my colors were not faring any better-- it's just more obvious on the whites. I'd be looking for a different option-- one that gets all the clothes clean.

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I have tried using baking soda for a fabric softener and it works okay. I am curious about using vinegar now. Does it leave a vinegar smell on the clothes? If so, can it be covered up with a essential oil? If anyone could share any hints or tips, I would be very very greatful!

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I used to use dryer sheets mainly for static cling, instead I am using a tennis ball and it seems to work. Salt is an excellent clothing softener too. Vinegar refreshes and sets the die in new or self died clothes.

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Regarding:
"The three main ingredients found in fabric softeners are surfactants (used in detergents), fragrance, and undenatured ethyl alcohol. The later [sic] is suspected of causing many health problems, from being a liver toxicant to an endocrine disrupter. "

I'm thinking you meant to write "last" instead of "latter", but isn't "undenatured ethyl alcohol" simply the natural alcohol one would find in beverages? And while I don't dispute there are many, many livers out there destroyed by ethyl alcohol, the amount of residual alcohol on one's clothes from a dryer sheet must surely be incredibly small -- much smaller than the dose even a teetotaler would get from being in a house when bread is occasionally baked, right?

I'm not arguing that commercial dryer sheets are a good thing -- just that I was so taken aback by the comment about alcohol that I wanted to write and ask if there was some mistake perhaps.

Donald

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Both Baking soda and Vinegar work. I put the vinegar right in the fabric softener dispenser. I also add some to the wash cycle to help with any odors. I have been doing this for several years since reading one of Annie's tips. The lavender water is a wonderful idea. I also make up a water solution with an assorted combination of lavender, eucalyptus, lemon , Rosemary essential oils and spray items I am putting in the dryer. Also makes a great room and car freshener. I haven't used toxic cleaners for a long time.

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Both Baking soda and Vinegar work. I put the vinegar right in the fabric softener dispenser. I also add some to the wash cycle to help with any odors. I have been doing this for several years since reading one of Annie's tips. The lavender water is a wonderful idea. I also make up a water solution with an assorted combination of lavender, eucalyptus, lemon , Rosemary essential oils and spray items I am putting in the dryer. Also makes a great room and car freshener. I haven't used toxic cleaners for a long time.

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