I rarely use bleach. The secret is to sort your laundry. Wash white clothes with white things ONLY. The light colors get washed together. Then wash dark colors together. Be sure to use enough detergent and spot treat stains, and if a spot remains after washing the article, do not put it in the dryer, which can set the stain. For ring around the collar and cuffs on white shirts, shampoo can do a great job. I like to brush it in with a stiff nail brush, and I use up shampoos I don't like that way too.

I use Oxyclean and hot water for my whites. Don't believe the propaganda, bleach is terrible for your health and the environment. I don't understand how anything so potentially harmful can be called safe!

I use borax, or Arm & hammer super washing soda. They are both whiteners and disinfectants. Also good for house hold cleaning. What else is harmful for us and when doing laundry is detergents.. more chemicals! I use Seventh Generation free and clear laundry detergent (Target has it at the best price) they have a great web site where you can down load coupons. ( www.seventhgeneration.com ) I add Borax or A&H to the detergent and 1/8 of a cup of white vinegar for fabric softener (where you put fabric softener)..clothes are clean and smell clean.. not like "perfumes" and the whites are white.
Ree

I too use Oxiclean for my whites. Never use bleach.

You can find concentrated Hydrogen Peroxide at natural food stores - dilute with water, store in refrigerator, great too for whitening enamel kitchen sinks!

Borax is a great mild bleaching agent. I wouldn't dream of using regular bleach. Haven't needed to use anything else on the worst of the worst--DH's undershirts and athletic socks--since I started using Borax. Keep it away from kids and pets, too. It's as harmless as table salt, and both are lethal in a large enough dose.

Does anyone know where I can get Borax in the New York area??...Can't find...Target used to have it but I didn't see it yesterday...None at Stop and Shop...Don't want to go to Walmart for one product...mine is a pain to get into and park....Any ideas ??

Why are you so afraid of bleach? You drinking water is purified with the same substance in bleach....swimming pools are kept from transmitting diseases by chlorine bleach. It works well for sanitizing and stain removal.
In reality borax is more toxic than chlorine bleach. Borax is a salt of boron a more chemically active relative of chlorine.
Flourine is another related element....and it's in your tooth paste. Iodine in another element in the halide group and it's in your table salt...it prevents goiter.
Chloring is not dangerous compared to many other things you might use.
Linda C

emaemes
..I buy it in supermarkets ..stop n shop, waldbaums..and check back in your Target, they usually carry it. I love it..always have great results.. it's been around for 100 plus years! good luck in your search...hope you find it!Ree

Look for 20 Mule train borax. Grocery stores and walmarts, k-marts, targets will have it.

Lindac:
Here is why I am so afraid of bleach:

Most of us have grown up with the idea that whiter whites (and brighter colors) mean cleaner clothes. We continue to use chlorine products with abandon to whiten and to disinfect. We write on white paper and bathe in and drink chlorinated water. After all, who wants bacteria- infested water? In our society, chlorine is ubiquitous-and so are its side effects. In fact, the long-term residual effects from chlorine are becoming such a health hazard that the American Public Health Association is urging the American paper industry to stop using chlorine. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found dioxin (a toxic byproduct of chlorine) to be 300,000 times more potent as a carcinogen than DDT.

Since I borrowed that argument from a website, here is some more information for you (although it appears you are pretty knowledgable about chemistry, i.e., the Borax explanation): http://www.lightparty.com/Health/DangersOfChlorine.html

Tracy

reeree,
Do you live in Michigan? I have never seen Seventh Generation in my Target but I would love to! I always try any natural detergent I can get my hands on to see which one I like the best. I am currently using ECOS laundry detergent from Costco. I just love it, but I've heard a lot about Seventh Generation and would like to try it. I just hate having to order that stuff online.

ebear1271
I am in NY...believe it or not, I found two new products, one is Charlies Soap. I just got it 3 days ago..( read about it on the laundry forum) and I have to say..much better than seventh generation. My clothes smell really clean..a natural real clean.. love it! The only thing with the charlies is, I am not too sure how good it is on getting stains out. I also bought their all purpose cleaner, they said to use it full strenght for laundry stains to pre treat..well it didn't work good for me at all..( couldn't get a chocolate spot out of my daughters white shirt from ice cream) but I have read how other people had better results. they have a web site, www.charliesoap.com they have a first time buyers discount and free shipping. a small 3lb bag does 80 loads

Now I am waiting for Shaklee products..lol..I read about that also on the laundry forum. (there is a clickable link on that forum) I actually just ordered it, and did not get it yet. I heard that was a great product too... people have raved about it as well. I figured I will give each product an honest try and see which one I like better and thats what I will stick with. The reason I started using the seventh generation is, it is truly natural and that is not easy to find these days, so many products claim to be, but are not and it's the only one I found local. with the seventh generation, I had to add borax or arm and hammer super washing soda. With Charlies, I added nothing and the clothes were much cleaner. From what some have written , they like Shaklee products better. Shaklee also makes a nature bright to put in the wash, I heard this was wonderful, not only for the wash, but for other purposes also and I heard this zaps out any stain. I also ordered their all purpose cleaner basic H.. it's a very concentrated, one 16oz bottle will last forever, and has multiple uses. For example , for a window cleaner, you only need 2 drops per 16oz of water...( you can buy their set of 3 bottles to make your different cleaning mixes)So..needless to say, I can't wait to try their products. Charlies is all unscented, but Shaklee comes unscented and one with a mild soft scent. I ordered the unscented. You should go to both web sites and read them.. when I get mine, I will try it right away... I will let you know what I think in comparison... so hold off the seventh generation.. I promise, there are better products out there, and I am more than happy to have found them! (not that 7th generation is 'bad' , I just feel that there are other truly natural products out there that work much better) stay tuned...Ree

reeree,
Just a tip for stains, hydrogen peroxide works great. My son has been having trouble making it to the potty for # 2, if you know what I mean. If peroxide can get that out it should work on chocolate!! Just put some on the stain, wait a while and then rinse in hot water. You might have to try it a couple of times. I've been putting it on a blue ink stain (several years old) in my beige carpet and it's almost gone.
It would be great if you could post on how you like the Nature Bright. I'm still using Oxyclean spray pre-treater. I usually only use the peroxide on really bad stains. With 6 people in the family I can't afford to keep replacing stained clothes. That's the only "chemical" cleaner left in the house though.

Hi ebear!
Thanks for the tip with the peroxide.. I have never used it for stain removal..just cuts and scrapes..lol

Well..I did get the Shaklee products! The nature bright worked great!!! Took the chocolate stain right out of my daughters shirt..believe? like it was never there! On another forum, someone talked about getting an old wine stain out of light colored carpeting, they used nature bright and they said it was out completely..can't remember where I actually read it though....???? If you go on the laundry forum, there is a posting on Shaklee products..one of them has a clickable link..that is where I bought mine. I have to say..I LOVE their basic H2 ..it's the all purpose cleaner and it is really concentrated... I think just buying that one bottle will save you a lot of money, it really goes a long way! Let me know if you order the nature bright (maybe you can try it on the ink stain..??) keep me posted! Ree