Laundry Lies!

I know that I run a soap company but to be honest my laundry habits have been rather slap dash. My mother actually spent time at school learning how to wash, iron and totally clean a house. There was in fact a house opposite her school they went to every week... boy was it clean. I did not have this level of training and have generally opened the washing machine door and thrown stuff at it (I do not know how to mix colours) . The only thing is - I am highly sensitive to most chemicals so I have had to use expensive non bio products.

More recently thanks to some of our new products my laundry world has been radically improved. If like me you actually spend a lot of your time doing laundry this has been a very good thing for my wallet, my skin, a little bit for the planet and for everybody's clothes!

The things that have made a difference for me:-

The stain removing soap bar

This is the go to product for; (this is just last weeks list). My Sons' favourite T Shirt, this was covered in pink hair dye that he had been persuaded to use at a party. Fake tan stain on MY top, which I had found in my daughters room. Guest room towel, partner had used to wipe off toothpaste.

Solution - Pick up laundry bar, create a lather with water, rub gently where the stain is, leave for a while if the stain is bad (you could put item in cold water and soak if it is really bad), rub with bar again if necessary. Then pop in the wash as normal Take out what was a nearly ruined item and smile; it is ok the stain has gone and it is a miracle! 

Naturalwashing.co.uk laundry soap flakes

I now do not use any of the usual brands for the washing machine. Once you have bothered (this seems an enormous faff at first, but it really isn't) to dilute the flakes into what is a sort of gel like gloop. You simply put a scoop into the washing machine drawer and do the usual cycle. The flakes are environmentally friendly , clean your clothes and do not make my skin itch.... they also also seem to last forever, brilliant!

Lavender Marseille Laundry Liquid

The smell of your clothes after using this liquid is fantastic. I interchange the flakes with this liquid soap. You pour a very small amount into the middle drawer of your machine (or use a dosing ball in the drum if you prefer). You really need only a very small amount, which brings me to the title of this blog. Whilst trying to educate myself on laundry I came across a great article about Jolie Kerr. She is the author of a book called - My boyfriend Barfed in My handbag and Other Things you Can't Ask. This book is full of great gems including the fact that it is a lie you need a lot of detergent. In fact if you use too much detergent it is detrimental to the cleaning process. This is because it creates too much foam, this then sits in a dirty heap on top of your laundry and does not get in amongst the rest of your clothes to clean them. With the lavender liquid and the flakes you really don't need very much. This product does not include any foaming agents (SLS) it is made out of Marseille soap so is predominantly vegetal oil based. 

So, with the help of these products and a lot of time my laundry habits have improved at last!