Washing Machine Goo (Detergent)

[alioop]

You're very welcome Judy .  I did have a bit of a smile at the thought of hundreds of cats trotting towards your neighbours door! and your neighbours face! . 
Intrepidtrier, I reckon the frogs might not like it due to the fact that it's the smell their main predators leave behind!!? 
Gotta love that goop.

[alioop]

Well, I made the batch of washing machine goo/foam.  It seems to have gone well, and I have done a couple of washes with it and they seem to be good.  Definitely no nasty odour when using the goo YAY .  The dried washing probably doesn't smell as strongly (the nice sort of smell) as with the one with ammonia and maybe not quite as soft, but they smell clean and fresh and it's done the job on socks and underarms of clothes etc.

I followed the instruction for goo and just added a cup of bicarb that had been dissolved in 1ltr of hot water to the final mix before putting in bottles - I will try to get to the washing machine goo thread today and post how I did it.
Here's a pic too, don't how clear it will come up, but hopefully gives an idea of final consistency it's a bit like thick cream.
Ali

[Thermomixer]

Looks good -might move it to the washing machine thread?

[alioop]

Thanks Thermomixer! 
If anyone needs more detailed info on what exactly I did for the bicarb alternative (instead of ammonia), let me know.

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

Thanks for trialing this Ali.  I need a safe grey water option so I will give this a go too.
Chelsea 

[judydawn]

Ended up with a stain the size of a 50 cent piece  (olive oil) on the front of one of my blouses.  Threw it in the washing machine with a load of clothes with the goo but it didn't come out so I coated it with more goo and let it sit for 24 hours, rinsed it off and hey presto, stain gone.  Phew, lucky one as I had meant to use stain remover on it before adding it to the wash. Gotta love that goo 

[ermy]

Alioop, 

Yes please  I would love to know exactly what you did for the bicarb alternative.

My Dear Partner type man complained tonight that the towels smell like dogs urine (he didn't actually use the word urine though) ever since I started using the home made washing goop. 

[alioop]

Hi ermy......

Well, I did the basic grinding up of the soap bars (I used Velvet soap bars) and added the water and mixed in the TM as per the usual instructions.  I then separately dissolved 1 cup of bicarb in 1 ltr of hot water in another container.  I used a bucket to mix the the soap mix and bicarb water together (give a really good mix so that the soap mix and bicarb water combine fully together and do not separate when pouring into bottles/containers).  If you notice some separation of the two mixes in the bottles give them a really good shake (this what I did and the mix has stayed combined).  The smell is a lot more subtle in this mix, but it seems to have been cleaning the clothes fine.

Next time I might try putting some vinegar in the bottles and pouring the soap mix on top of it (instead of using the bicarb mix) as I'm pretty sure this should work fine too. 
Hope your DP likes this one better!! 

[ermy]

Many thanks Alioop.

I will make this tomorrow morning and report back.  I would make it tonight however the neighbours might think that i'm chainsawing the house down with the incredible noise the thermomixer makes while breaking up the velvet soap. 

[faffa_70]

some have tried adding essential oils, is there any reports back on that yet??

[CarolineW]

I made the goo about 3 - 4 weeks ago in my processor before I got my TM. 

Have been using it all this time and found it worked well, but have noticed just recently that some of our clothes are starting to look a little 'dull'. Probably because store bought detergent has optical whiteners and brighteners that this home made stuff hasn't.  I therefore have started to use it less, inbetween using store bought detergent.

Yes, this problem occurs with all homemade washing powders (or goos  ), apparently because it doesn't have the laundry blue (aka brightener) which bought powders do.  It used to be available everywhere, when it was standard to make your own laundry goo, and was added by housewives to the wash.  Now, I can't find any for 'normal' people to buy, except for 1 company in the States.  And it seemed a bit extreme to me to order it in from the States - even I draw the line somewhere 

So, the route I'm following at present is to alternate.  This time I use homemade, next time I use shop bought.  That's worked so far.  Wish I could buy laundry blue, though ...

[brazen20au]

those using the velvet soap, where have you been getting it?

[alioop]

I'll have a look today while I'm in town at work Karen - it will either be Woolworths, Coles or IGA as that's all we have down here!

[JulieO]

Brazen I got mine from Woolies.

Caroline, yes that's what I've been doing, alternating.  Also when using the goo I have been adding some Oxy White granules to each load, bought from the cheap  shop, to hopefully give a boost. 

To be honest when this lot has been used up, I won't make any more, but it was worth giving it a shot. 

[faffa_70]

I buy mine at Coles Karen