I have 4 different varieties of the Sears...someone stop by with a truck and you can tak99% of it. I can't use all of this. I have never had a problem with this stuff disolving in my TL'ers. But I generally use hot water. I've heard complaints of it not disolving in cold and dubbed down warm. I've only used it 4 times in my Duet (I love saying my duet) all with hot water and again no disolving issues. I would just pre disolve it before adding it to the machine if its giving you problems, seems like a pain but it will only take a minute. Jody I think you need to stop by and grab a few hundred pounds of mine to add to your stash. LOL. I do plan to sell the vast majoriy of mine But will keep maybe 5 pounds of each. I really like it used with Wisk, STPP & Pure sodium percarbonate, Sins recipe..it does a fantastic job on whites and bedding. Have you tried that yet? Ajaynes2...I must have missed it..what machine do you have?

To those of you who have been using these "home made" detergents, are you experiencing any odor, mold or mildew issues? The reason I ask is because castile soap builds up into a gooopy, gel-like gunk if not properly rinsed. This could potentially cause problems in washers. Every home-made product I've tried - from detergent to fabric softener - has proven unsatisfactory. Either the products don't clean well, they risk building up in my machine or on my clothes or they just don't work. Price is not the only consideration, which is what appears to be driving this homemade laundry movement.

Sodium citrate/citric acid (same thing) is in practically every liquid detergent I've researched. Yet I know that precipitates and hard water did NOT cause my towels to feel stiff and harsh. I got this stiff result after ONE wash (so, no "buildup" possible) with a liquid detergent (Kirkland Free & Clear) that by itself, or with hard water minerals, feels soft even when not rinsed out of the fabric. 1) I used exactly the same detergent and the same hard water in my TL; towels came out soft. 2) My experiments have proven that hard water alone, or hard water plus liquid detergents, even when completely left in the fabric and allowed to dry, do not leave the fabric feeling stiff Now, powder detergent (Gain, Clout) and cleaning agents (OxiClean, borax) not rinsed out DO leave fabrics feeling stiff. But this was not what caused my towels to be stiff. Fabrics with liquid detergent residue not rinsed out all feel soft. (Woolite, which contains a lot of soap, also feels slightly, well, soapy. NOT stiff or scratchy, though.) After rinsing though, SOME liquids leave fabrics feeling softer than others. The ones that leave fabrics feeling softer contain "fabric conditioners." "Fabric conditioner" is another name for "fabric softener." These work by leaving a residue behind -- a soft-feeling residue.

Dadoes thank you. I will get into this interesting read later. Enduring, I've always believed a Laundry Sour should be the next to the last rinse, but I'm not sure why I think that...I probably read it. I would think our Sin could give great info on this subject. Possiably citric acid is such a mild acidic that it makes no difference. I also don't know how much needs to be used in order to be beneficial as far as neutralizing carbonates. I know there's been a LOT of talk on the web and expecially on mommy blogs about vinegar or citric acid being a safe alternative to LFS, IMO these people are misinformed...a laundry sour is used in professional laundries because it neutralizes certain residue, and carbonates expecially that have been neutralized give the fabric a more *smoothness* not a softness. Professional laundries use a sour because if carbonates are not neutralized when the garment goes under a hot iron they can turn that striking white dress shirt a not so attractive yellow. Everyone has their own level of softness...for me its a well rinsed garment that hasn't been over dried...but for others its the feel that a FS gives. I do ramble at times.