Another Q about homemade laundry soap!

[Dace]

I have been looking for the Washing Soda. I have checked 2 different grocery stores, walmat & target.
All I can find is Arm & Hammer Laundry detergent. It says detergent on the box. I can not find anything else that seems to be what everyone is calling washing soda.

Also, if the goal is 1) be frugal and 2) be green...are these ingredients all natural? I am going with Ivory soap over the Fels but then I don't think the Borax is considered green... just wondering if it would be considered better for the environment or simply more frugal. Anyone know?

 

[me&thegals]

No, but I'd love an answer, too. My mom was asking me some tough questions about the "greenness" of both those ingredients. For now, I'm glad to not have phosphates and that they're REALLY cheap. Can't comment much more. (off to Google them )

 

[Dace]

I am looking on this site...they have some really good info and you can compare products. For example Ivory soap has a clean health rating but Fels has a Slight health warning and is flammable. You can also see the ingredients.


http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/search

 

[me&thegals]

Thanks--I'll look at that one, too. Looks like most people believe Borax to be green but not edible. Of course, many natural substances would be harmful to eat. One site says that the overuse of Borax instead of phosphate-laden cleaners is causing marine problems and a buildup of boron in seaweed, etc. Hard to know what to believe and what to ignore online sometimes...

 

[freemotion]

My understanding is that Borax is a mined mineral. Need to look into this...

Not sure about the soda, but consider this: homemade soap is made with caustic lye, which will burn you badly if you come into contact with it, and will kill you if you ingest it. Yet the most healthy bar soap you can get is homemade. Lye can be made by running water through wood ashes, so there it is, right in your woodstove.

Many things are healthy if used properly and in moderation, yet unhealthy or deadly if misused.

This doesn't answer the question about borax and washing soda, I know, but it is a thought as we are doing research.

Avoiding petroleum-based products is probably the real key, I am thinking....

 

[farmerlor]

The only place I've found the Washing Soda is at Albertsons grocery store. Don't go to the big box stores, it's going to be at one of your regular grocery stores. As they close more and more of these grocery stores in our area I worry about where I'm going to get my supply in the future. I'd heard you could get it at Ace hardware and some of the Army surplus locations but I've never checked.

 

[sufficientforme]

I have been looking for the Washing Soda. I have checked 2 different grocery stores, walmat & target.
All I can find is Arm & Hammer Laundry detergent. It says detergent on the box. I can not find anything else that seems to be what everyone is calling washing soda.

Also, if the goal is 1) be frugal and 2) be green...are these ingredients all natural? I am going with Ivory soap over the Fels but then I don't think the Borax is considered green... just wondering if it would be considered better for the environment or simply more frugal. Anyone know?

I am not sure about your health concerns, but I have been using it successfully with my family for a long time with no skin reactions etc (using fels) here is a picture to help find the right stuff, hope this helps

 

[OkieJonesClan]

:Wal-mart and Target never seem to have Washing Soda, no matter the state. I get mine for $1.87 a box at a local chain called Crest. They sell quite a bit of it. You can ask a grocery store manager to order it for you and many times they will. Target and Wal-mart usually won't, though so you may have to look at another grocery store. My Aunt called about a dozen places, so she wouldn't have to drive around looking. One manager told her he would order it. He did. The case he ordered sold in a matter of hours and now it is a "stock" item at that store when he never sold it before.

 

[freemotion]

I thought I'd looked everywhere, gave up for months, then found it at the grocery store (Big Y, MA) within a half mile of my house....all three items, actually. The fels naptha was in the bath soap aisle!

 

[PotterWatch]

I don't buy "washing soda", I buy sodium carbonate (same thing, just different name). I get it in the pool care section of my local market. Of course, being in southern california where people use their pools year-round makes it easy to find...