Homemade detergent vs. Tide: what changes by month 3

Homemade laundry soap costs about 5 cents a load. Tide runs 25 to 40 cents.

You make a batch. It works. Your clothes come out clean, and that jar on the shelf feels like a small win.

Then one day you pull a white towel out of the dryer, and it looks a little gray and tired.

You've seen this, right?

Here's what's going on.

Tide and other store detergents rinse all the way out. Homemade soap doesn't.

It grabs onto the minerals in hard water and clings to the cloth. You won't see it after one wash, or five. Around month three or four, you will.

That's why so many people make one batch and then go back to Tide. I'd rather you know this before your first batch.

The fix costs almost nothing. It's in the guide, along with the one kitchen soap you should never put in your washer.

Some of you love the jar on the shelf. Others want the big jug and the measuring cap.

What the guide walks you through

• Powder or liquid: which one to make first.

• The gray fix: the cheap step that keeps whites white.

• Your washer: a 2-minute test before you use it in an HE machine.

Get the homemade detergent guide →

Talk soon,

James Thornton
Homesteading