Here at LaundroXpress, people constantly ask us, “Which laundry detergent is the best?” I don’t think there is a greater laundry challenge than walking down the soap and detergent aisle and deciding which products to buy. We are constantly bombarded with ads about how well this one cleans, how well that one smells, how one contains bleach, how another contains optic brighteners, and that one over there… well, it contains every cleaning agent known to man. These can all sounds like great features but what really matters in a laundry detergent?
Where Do I Start?
There is a simple rule that everyone should follow with laundry detergent, and it’s this: less is more. When we want a laundry detergent or soap we want that and only that. We want to be the one who determines when I need bleach, softener, or other additives, so I opt for the simplest product that basically does one thing: removes and suspends soil from my clothes and leaves them clean and fresh. Now by fresh, we don’t mean those detergents that are filled with fragrances to create the illusion of fresh. A truly fresh detergent should not have you leaving your house without advertising what detergent you use, simply by smell. It’s great to see the labels that read “Free of” or “Does not contain.” We don’t want odor or artificial color, just the cleaning product. We believe it to be healthier for the body and the clothes.
Which laundry detergent should you use? I’ve tested them all, and believe me, that was a challenge. Sometimes the detergent that gets out the most spills and spots is not the one that is best for your clothes, or your family. Some laundry detergents are particularly hard on colored fabrics, fading them and giving dark colors a whitish cast.
Next, choose your laundry product, and measure it into the machine. Remember to adjust the amount of detergent used to the size of your load. More is not better where laundry soap is concerned. It’s just harder to rinse out. Detergent residue makes fabric sticky, and that makes it attract soil faster.
You need to find a detergent that is not only gentle on clothes, but also gentle on you. Your detergent should be gentle on colors, tough on whites, and be able to remove the very worst messes. For general laundry, just follow the directions on the box or bottle. I prefer liquid soap because I can measure out the detergent in the cap, and do a little pre-spotting with it before I toss the clothes and the balance of the detergent in the machine. We are one of the few Laundromats in Miami that provides brand name detergents without all of the nonsense. If you forget your detergent, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!
[…] Here at LaundroXpress, people constantly ask us, “Which laundry detergent is the best?” I … […]
Thanks for sharing about this soap-it soudns great! By the way, we don’t use fabric softener for our clothes (b/c of skin sensitivities), but we do use white distilled vinegar. A 1/2 cup during the final rinse helps soften clothes, esp. for fire-retardant kid’s jammies (supposedly, I don’t know since we don’t have that kind!). So I keep a big jug of vinegar by the washing machine!
You didn’t say what type of wood your floor is made of, but because blcaeh and water turned it black, I’m guessing that it is something that is high in tannic acid, like Oak or Cherry because they can have an immediate chemical reaction when they come in contact with wet steel. Are the marks where the nails are? Or are they caused by a reaction with wet blcaeh? It may not matter because those types of stains can be very deep and difficult to remove. Bleach doesn’t cause a stain, it removes pigment from whatever it touches, and the black marks are a chemical reaction to it or water, so you will probably have to sand at least the stains, if not the whole floor.Without seeing it, I’m guessing that the entire floor may have to be refinished. Sanded down to bare wood, sealed, and a new top coat applied, though a flooring company will be able to give you expert advice. If the area isn’t huge and the rest of the floor is in good shape, you may be able to sand out the problem area and recoat it, but again, we’d just be guessing from here. Most flooring refinishers will do an estimate at no cost so you should probably have someone look at it because they can tell how deep it is, the type of finish you have, and what your options are. If you’re lucky, the stain isn’t too deep and you can simply sand it out and reapply a sealer and finish, which is probably polyurethane.