Frugal Living Mom

Save $54.79 a Year (or more) :Try Using Less Laundry Detergent

by 7 Comments

Today’s frugal tip is just one you have to test out on your own to see if you like.  But to save a little money you may want to try using less laundry detergent.

I recommend just taking out a little at a time and seeing if you or your family notices.  We actually have an HE washer and I did quite a bit of research on why you have to use special HE detergent in them.  From want I have found is that they bubble up less.

But one day I was out and I had a bottle of freebie detergent I was going to give my mom just sitting there- so I decided to “risk it” and put in 1/2 a regular “serving”- and you know what, it was just fine- no crazy bubbling and my clothes came out clean.

I do know that every washer could be different and you may have a different experience that I did, I found that for me personally it was worth a try- and it worked out for my family!!

Have  any of you used less detergent to save money?  Did you hate it or love it?  Has anyone tried regular detergent in their HE washers?

If you have a frugal tip email it to FFD. We would love to share it.

This Post Contains Affiliate Links - Disclosure Policy

Comments

  1. I've always used normal detergent in my HE washer. I refused to believe that this HE washer that was supposed to save me money in both electricity and in detergent would require me to the (rarely on sale) HE-specific detergent. I've even put in a full amount, on some of my husbands work clothes when they are extremely soiled and never had a problem. I wouldn't tell the warranty company, if you have one, though...they would likely say it voided your warranty or caused any issue you may have with your machine, even if it's unrelated.
    Reply

  2. I have been doing this for months and I do not have a HE washer. I use a third of the soap and the clothes are clean and smell just as good. I live in a townhouse and do not use my dyer so using less soap means the clothes are not stiff. I did notice when Ifirst started this that there was alot more bubbles then I put soap in there. After washing thing twice the bubbles we less. I was using the recommended amout. Never again.
    Reply

  3. I learned at a very early age from my mother that the detergent companies ask you to use far more detergent than necessary, except for those filthy loads. I've ALWAYS used half of the recommended quantity and always have clean clothes. The same is often true for dishwasher detergent.
    Reply

  4. I learned at a very early age from my mother that the detergent companies ask you to use far more product than necessary, except for those filthy loads. Using the full amount actually adds to detergent build-up in your clothing. Try washing a load of towels with NO detergent and you'll still see suds because of that build-up. I've ALWAYS used half of the recommended quantity and always have clean clothes. The same is often true for dishwasher detergent.
    Reply

  5. Great tip. I also save a lot on fabric softener sheets. As soon as I open the box, I cut the sheets into thirds (or quarters depending on the size of the sheet to begin with). On most loads I use 1 of the little pieces. On loads like towels, I don't use any. I find that the softener makes the towels less absorbent. If I have a load that I know contains clothing that it gets very staticky, I will use two (possibly even three) of the little pieces
    Reply

  6. I've always use half of detergent in my laundry no matter what washer it is. the only clothes that I don't use have is my husbands work clothes cause they're gross.
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

Archives

Privacy and Disclosure

Advertise with FLM

Contact us for advertising