Unnecessary washing products - please don't think I'm skanky

[ShyTalk]

Hi all. Did anyone watch the "Victorian Farm" programme on BBC1? Well, my DS bought me the book that accompanies the series for MD a few weeks ago. One of the chapters is about laundry and the writer says that since she researched clothes washing all over the world, she hasn't used washing powder, softener etc. She has found that it is the "slooshing about" action of the water, whether in a machine or a river that actually cleans the clothes and that the detergent is superfluous. She does say that to do this, you have to look at your laundry, and pre-treat nasty stains with laundry soap rubbed in (Fairy soap bar) before washing.
Having read this, I just had to give it a go, whilst being worried about lingering BO etc. We are 2 days in, and I find no discernible difference between using powder and softener and using nothing at all.
This may not be for everyone, it is rather a leap of faith, but I have always been the Queen of Clean, and I am convinced so far in this experiment that washing products are unnecessary. It is cheap, it avoids the build-up of residue in your clothes and prevents detergent run-off into rivers.
Also - if detergents are really not required, how did this multi-million £ industry develop when we don't actually need it?

ok have tried not using washing powder for a few washed - mainly dark washes and it works. I've put slightly smaller load in - so that the clothes could be agitated sufficiently, when dry - no stains and a fresh smell. Have also tried a light colour load - but have used powder (not as much) on a white load.

I'm convinced . just thought I would share

I've not been brave enough to try, as DS2 has got another tummy bug and I have been doings loads and loads (5 loads today ) of washing of icky sicky clothes and bedding. I have been gradually cutting down on powder for a while now though as only using a tiny amount of powder has always done the job for the stinky nappies.

'doings'?

I heard about this water washing approach some time ago - it was the result of a uni study somewhere in the UK.

I might give this a try in the morning as I have just run out of washing powder and like to stick a load on first thing. As it is I only use a tiny amount of ecover and sometimes a small amount of ecover softener (but not always). I now really can't stand the smell of fragranced softeners on my clothes.

I do love the smell if things have been line dried though, and I think that this makes a difference to the smell and cleanliness of the clothes (sun gets lots of stains out I find if it's a non greasy stain). Also I put in a bit of sanitiser with nappies, and borax sometimes with washes containing dirtier clothes. (If there is a really nasty stain I may squirt some vanish, figuring it is more eco friendly than throwing away clothes!)

I did find though that when things are drying indoors and drying slowly the smell is not so good. Last summer for example when the weather was awful I couldn't line dry a lot. The heating was off as it was warmish and clothes were taking a couple of days to dry on airers. They smelled really musty and I did change to occasional fairy use during that time. I can only imagine that the smell issue would be the same when using no powder.

I would think that no powder would be good for those with sensitive skin. This was a sort of secondary reason for using less powder and little softener. I don't want those things rubbing all over the DCs skin.

When I was a student I used to use bubble bath to wash my clothes when I was skint - you would never put laundry liquid / powder in your bath, so why use it on your clothes? No wonder so many people have eczema...

A large bottle of own-brand bubble bath is far cheaper than laundry liquid, smells nicer, and you don't need softener as laundry isn't hardened by the residue.

I noticed that hard crusty socks came out nice and fresh using bubble bath.

I think this is rubbish, I've seen lots of people cleaning clothes in rivers, and they use special green soap bars designed for clothes. Definitely not plain water.