FrugalB Friday Tip #1 - Laundry Any One?

ARE YOU USING TOO MUCH LAUNDRY DETERGENT

From Pictures

We all have to do it from time to time, whether you dread it or welcome it, washing clothes is on every one's chore list. I am one who dreads the day someone says "mom I need socks", as I wait until the last minute to get to our laundry. I actually implemented a rule that everyone must let me know when they get to the last (sock, t-shirt, p.j.'s etc) so that I wasn't caught off guard. So this is an area that can easily get out of control for me.

That being said because of my hatred dislike this is my least visited room and I don't put much thought into the chore. BUT there is cost savings in this little ole room for all of us.Chances are you are using wayyy to much laundry detergent. With the new water efficient machines using less water and the detergents becoming more concentrated it is said that the average person is using 10 to 15 percent too much detergent. Just following the directions, recommended amount, on the bottle will save you $$$ (you can read more on this here).

But if you take it further and really understand how clothes are cleaned you can save a ton (talking $20's not $1's). Laundry detergent doesn't clean clothes. It actually breaks down the surface tension in the water so that it can dissolve water soluble dirt easier. The actual cleaning is done by the agitator and the clothing rubbing against each other. Really the more detergent you use the faster your clothes wear out and fade.

Tip ~ Learn to load your washing machine correctly and experiment with the amount of detergent that works for your machine.