Cleaning > LaundryMarch 24, 2005

Emergency Laundry Detergent

If you run out of laundry detergent towards the end of the month and don't want to spend your last $'s, regular dish liquid will work great. I use 3 big squirts for a normal size load to get clean clothes with no foaming.

By Margaret

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By
03/23/2011

You know, boaters will understand, if you spill fuel on the lake or sea you can squirt Dawn on it immediately.., and it is gone... It is also used for big oil spills victims, the sea birds, or fresh water birds, to take the oil off their feathers so they can fly again, and live. Dawn is great!

By
06/18/2010

Not that I run out but when we use to go camping and you used the showers at the camp gounds start with you cloths on soap up and you get them washed and strip as you go is good enough for camping and then you are all done at once. you can rinse and wring them out as you are letting your hair rinse. Just do not forget what ever you are going to put on after.

By
06/18/2010

Ms Wolfe, sailors have been using Dawn for laundry in sea water for years. It works great!

By Susan (Guest Post) 11/17/2008

Dish washing liquid is great for collar grease. Just put a little on a collar, rub the sides together and then toss the shirt in the wash.

By Sarah Ann (Guest Post) 11/17/2008

I buy the inexpensive buckets of laundry soap and when I ran out of automatic dish washer soap, I used the laundry soap. It works perfectly. I do not use perfumed soap. Most laundry soap is low sudsing, so there is no mess.

By
11/17/2008

My mom used this tip in reverse. She ran out of dish detergent and used a small amount of laundry detergent in lieu of dishwashing liquid to hand wash her dishes. She made sure to rinse them very well and there was no residue problem. The dishes came out very clean and shiny.

I have also used dish detergent in my laundry and I save the shampoo bottles and add a swish of water to use in my laundry. This is especially good when washing delicates.

By
11/17/2008

Dawn is the best soap for greasy clothes..and if you have pets, great for fleas!

By
11/08/2006

Well thank god for you. I just ran out and ran on this site. I have four bottles of ajax dish liquid. And 4 more loads of wash. Super duper great thing you posted this.

By
03/24/2005

It is not necessary to use detergent at all unless you are washing very dirty or soiled clothing. I recycle my clothes washing water so I use plain water in a twin tub washing machine for all my washing. Stained or grubby items get a presoak in nappy, (diaper), soaker, wrung out and washed in plain water. My clothes are clean and fresh. So if you run out of detergent try just plain water.

Regards

Jo

By
03/24/2005

Do you have a top load or a front load washing machine?

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