Musings from Marilyn

Posts Tagged ‘washing’

Well, I finally took the plunge and did what was the last holdout of my Eco-Friendly-Clothesline-Loving-Cold-Water-Washing-Laundry-Goddess status:  making my own environmentally friendly detergent.  I have been meaning to do this for years but finally got a nudge, okay, a push from a thread on the eBay Clothing Discussion board.  There was a lively discussion about making homemade detergent, and since I had all the ingredients (and laundry to do) I made up a batch of the powdered detergent.

There is a liquid version and a powdered version.  I chose the powdered version because frankly, it sounded a lot less complicated.  And the liquid version makes something like 792 gallons at a time and I don’t have the storage space.  Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit on the amount, but it was a staggeringly huge amount!

The powdered version is really simple:

• One bar of Fels Naptha soap – finely grated
• One cup of Borax
• One cup of Washing Soda or Baking Soda

I used the fine grate side of my grater to get the soap finely grated, kind of like Parmesan cheese.  It takes a bit of muscle but it goes pretty fast.  Then just mix the Fels Naptha in a bowl with the Borax and the Washing Soda.  Or you could mix it in a jar and shake it up (lid on, please ).  Now it’s ready to go and should look something like this:

Use 2 Tablespoons of powder per load.  Since 2 Tablespoons equals 1/8th cup, I found an old 1/8th measuring cup and keep it with the detergent.  If you are using warm or hot water, just add the powder to the load.  If you are using cold water to wash, you can put the powder into a little saucepan of water on the stove and heat until the soap melts, then add to your laundry load.

Today I washed a white load in warm water, and a dark load in cold water.  The detergent worked really well on both loads and the laundry came out very clean and soft.  Be aware that there are little or no suds, but it does clean amazingly!  There really is no scent either, just the very faint clean smell of the Fels Naptha, which I happen to adore.

It’s easy, it’s safe, it works, and it’s amazingly thrifty.  I haven’t done a cost analysis of this, but I’m sure it’s just pennies per load.  We don’t need a bunch of over-scented chemicals to get our laundry clean!  We can help the environment and help our pocketbook in one fell swoop.  So give it the old college try and you too, can be on the road to being a Laundry Goddess.  It’s fun!

~Marilyn Huttunen

Since becoming a complete and total air-drying fool several years ago, it’s amazing how the little things thrill me.  Now that summer has finally seemed to settle in somewhat in the Seattle area, I have been able to do most of my line drying outside.  Yes.  On a clothesline!

During the loooooooong, rainy winter, spring, and the first weeks of summer, I was feeling quite doubtful that I would ever be able to use my outdoor clothesline again.  Racks of laundry drying indoors filled my kitchen, bathroom, and occasional hallway.  It took days for it to get completely dry.  It was like doing the tango, maneuvering through the maze of drying racks.

It hasn’t been really hot here, but 70 degrees and a nice breeze seem to be the ideal conditions for good drying.  It’s so nice to hang laundry in the morning and actually take it in, dried, in the afternoon.  Everything is so smooth, crisp, and has the intoxicating scent of the sweet summer air. Aaaaaaaah!

Sheets and towels are especially blissful air-dried.  I may be in the minority, but I love a fresh, snappy, stiff air-dried towel!  You will never want to go back to soft, limp, non-absorbent dryer-dried-fabric softener-Bounce kind of towel after you get used to air-dried towels. Fake scented, chemical coated towels are a thing of the past for me, thank goodness.

I am relishing, and have a much greater appreciation for these nice summer days.  It’s great to put the summer weather to work; just hang and go (I am inherently lazy)!  Plus, it’s free, and I think the laundry turns out much better.   Here’s to more great summer weather! 

“After enlightenment, the laundry.”  ~Zen Proverb

~Marilyn Huttunen

I’ve aired my dirty laundry for about 6 years now.  Well, actually it’s clean laundry and I air-dry it on either a drying rack or clothesline!  Being a “slow dryer” as it were, I often feel as though my whole life is consumed by laundry.  Either washing it, hanging it, waiting it for it to dry, and putting it way.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  It is a rhythm that slowly weaves its way in and out of my days.

Outdoor drying becomes a huge issue when you live in the Pacific Northwest.  Especially in the fall, winter, and much of the spring.  My indoor drying racks are in constant use during these times.  Once in a great while I dare to hang laundry outdoors in the depths of winter, but it is almost always to no avail – little or no actual drying gets accomplished.

This winter and spring have been especially rough on Seattle-area air drying enthusiasts.  Out of the 132 days since January 1, only 27 days have NOT been rainy!  I may not be that great at math, but I know that it means there have been 105 rainy days.  No wonder I haven’t used my outdoor clothesline much!

Yesterday and today have been sunny though (knock on wood).  Add temps in the 60s, a brisk breeze, and you’ve got ideal conditions for successful solar-powered drying.  In fact, the laundry is dancing out on my backyard clothesline as I write this.  When you become a consistent  air-dryer, nothing brings satisfaction to your soul quite like seeing laundry flap in the wind.  And the resulting intoxicating scent of outdoor dried laundry that is beyond compare.  I love that Mother Nature does her work so wonderfully and bonus, for free!

Those of you who already air-dry know what I’m talking about; and those of you who don’t, I invite you to at least try it.  It does take a bit more patience and waiting.  But when you let nature do the work in its gentle way, you are in for a great experience.  E. B. White says it well: “We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it’s only picking grapes or sorting the laundry.”

~Marilyn Huttunen

Being a bit of a laundry renegade, I am ever on the search for laundry procedures that will not only save me money, but preserve the environment AND get clothes just as clean!  As you probably could guess by now, I am an avid clothesline user.  I air-dry 100% of the time, using a clothesline outside in nice weather and drying racks inside during inclement weather.

As far as my washing procedures go, I use my trusty 20 year old washing machine.  It is nothing fancy, but definitely gets the job done well.  I’ve always washed darks and wools in cold water, but stuck to the age-old tradition of washing colors in warm and whites in hot.  I guess this is just how  it has always been done.  Not wanting to mess with housewifery  tradition,  I didn’t want to change the routine lest some evil descend upon me!

One day, in a flash of determination, I decided to wash everything in cold water.  Yes, even whites.  Even towels.  Even sheets. Even underwear.  I know…GASP!  Eighty to ninety percent of the energy used to wash clothes heats the water.  And unless you are washing something that is really muddy or oily, it’s completely unnecessary with the modern machines and detergents we have now.

I have not noticed any difference in the cleaning results using cold water.  Things get just as clean, in fact to my eye they almost seem cleaner.  I may not feel the warmth from the dryer or hot water washes anymore, but that’s okay with me.  Laundry renegades will do most anything to be cool.

~Marilyn

Take a look at the sky in this picture.  This was just taken today from my backyard and has become a constant sight around here day after day.  Gray, cloudy, rainy weather has gripped us all spring.  Cool temperatures too.  There have been a few days of sunshine, which have been glorious, but the dark clouds always seem to be lurking around the corner.

I really try not to be the complaining sort, especially about things that I have no control over – like the weather.  I do, after all, live in the Pacific Northwest, where moisture is king!  This is good for keeping the landscape nice and green, the air clean, and the skin dewy.  It gets a little trickier for line-drying enthusiasts like myself, when trying to schedule an outdoor drying session though.

After three solid weeks of rain, it was finally a sunny day yesterday.  I hurriedly washed several loads of laundry and loaded up my clothesline.  It was an absolutely ideal drying day; warm temperature and softly blowing breeze.  It was a joy to once again see my laundry waving, doing the clothesline dance in the sun!  Everything dried relatively quickly and since it stayed sunny all day, I could rest easy knowing that the sun could just do its work without interruption.

I am glad that I got the bulk of my laundry done yesterday, as today it is back to the gray clouds and rain.  And probably for the foreseeable future.  It’s looking like it will be a very cool summer around here.  This means that I will have to keep an even greater eye on the sky:  looking for those lurking rain clouds whenever there is a patch of sunlight to hang the laundry in.  I also have my indoor drying racks close at hand.  I use them all winter and was hoping to put them away for the summer.  But to be a successful air-drying enthusiast, the first rule is to be flexible…and patient…and diligent…well, you get the point.  Dry on!

~Marilyn

I’ve been doing a bit of tweaking to my laundry routine this spring;  trying to get it as simple as can be with the best possible results.  I now wash everything in cold water.  I had been hesitant to do this totally, especially with whites, towels, and sheets.  But after experimenting using hot, warm, and cold washes, I really find absolutely no difference in how clean they get.  In fact (I know this seems weird) the whites seem to be whiter when I wash them in cold!  90% of your washing machine energy goes to heating the water, so it makes good sense to get it to close to 0% using cold.

Another thing is using less detergent.  WAY less!  The one thing that drives me crazy is the measuring caps on liquid detergent.  I can never see the marks, and they never seem to explain it on the label.  So once I figured out where the obscure measuring marks were, I started using half that amount.  Sometimes I just use the merest dollop when I’m washing sweaters.  Too much detergent use is really bad for your clothes and your washing machine, as it can cause residue.  Too much soap scum lets bacteria breed.  And if you are using fabric softener (sheets or liquid), that also adds to the residue buildup on your laundry and washing machine.  I personally do not use any type of fabric softener, much preferring the natural stiffness of line-dried laundry.

Once in awhile I add 1/2 cup white vinegar to the rinse water of whites or towels.  This seems to cut through any excess detergent residue, and also adds a bit of softening.  And no, the vinegar smell doesn’t last!  It will evaporate upon drying.

Since I only use my washing machine (my dryer is now retired) I’ve become more focused on it.  One thing I do after every wash is clean the lint filter.  Yes, your washing machine has a lint filter.   It’s amazing how much stuff gets caught in it, so it’s good to keep it clean.

I always used to keep the lid of my washer closed.  Then I started noticing a funny smell coming from it.  After doing some research I found that it was all the moisture being trapped in there that caused it.  Now I keep the lid open all the time when not in use; it needs to be aired out so all the excess moisture can dissipate.  The odor problem is now solved.

By keeping it simple, using the barest essentials to clean your laundry, and air-drying you’ll see a big difference in how clean your laundry is!

~Marilyn