10 Other Uses for Laundry Detergent
Did you know that there are several other uses for laundry detergent besides cleaning clothes? Grocery stores offer great deals on laundry detergent all the time, especially the more inexpensive brands. You may want to grab one next time you go to the grocery store for these reasons:
- Kitchen and Bathroom Cleaner: Mix 1/4 cup of liquid laundry detergent with 5 gallons of water. Fill a spray bottle and store the rest in a bucket to use as refills. The detergent will cut grease and can be used on counters, appliances (stove, etc), sinks, toilets, floors, and more.
- Natural Bug Repellant: Bugs don’t like soap in general. Your cleaning solution can also repel bugs if you spray it around the floor board, windows, and even the outside cracks of your house. Keep pests away from plants by spraying the underside of the leaves with the same solution.
- Drain Clog Remover: Instead of buying Drano, pour 1/4 cup of liquid laundry detergent down your sink. Wait a couple minutes and then pour a gallon of boiling water down the drain. It should flush the clog out.
- Carpet and Furniture Stain Remover: Apply powdered detergent to the newly stained area. Let it sit for 5 minutes and then work the detergent into the stain. Then brush or vacuum away what is left.
- Set-in-Stain Remover: If you have an older stain on carpet or furniture, try mixing a teaspoon of liquid laundry detergent for every cup of water. Pour it into a spray bottle and there you have it! It’s MUCH cheaper than buying stain remover.
- Clean Fresh Oil Spills in the Garage or Driveway: Sprinkle powdered laundry detergent onto the fresh oil spill (make sure it’s covered). The powder will soak up the stain.
- Old Oil Spill Clean Up: If the oil spill is old and dry, dampen the area with water before covering the area with laundry detergent. Work in the area with a floor brush. Let it sit overnight before sweeping or vacuuming the area.
- Hand Cleaner: Remove paint and/or car grease from hands by mixing 1 teaspoon of liquid laundry detergent and 1 teaspoon of cooking oil (vegetable, olive, coconut, etc). The detergent gets rid of grease while the oil will soften skin.
- Weed and Moss Killer: Sprinkle powdered detergent on the moss and weeds that grow in the cracks of your driveway. Let it sit for a couple days until it turns brown and then sweep it away. *Note: You may want to try mixing liquid detergent with water and using it as a weed killer spray. I’m going to try that this summer! Please let us know if it works for you.
- Homemade Bubbles: Mix laundry detergent and water together to make a cheap and homemade bubble solution for bubble guns. The ratio of water and detergent may vary depending on whether you want small or large bubbles.
Did you know that you can save a lot of money every year by making homemade laundry detergent? Here are some recipes:
*Note: This article is made up of suggestions that may or may not work for everyone. Let us know what works for you!
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