Are scented laundry detergents okay to use around birds?

[saroj12]

You can tell I'm a little bored with my All Free and Clear unscented laundry detergent....
I would still use it for the birdroom cleaning daily small load of washcloths, but for my own clothes maybe I can branch out? I even saw a time release freshness All detergent today. But thought i would check with you guys first....

 

[Thugluvgrl187]

My Mom does all my laundry at her place and she uses the scented laundry detergent. Honestly by the time it is washed and dried it really doesn't smell much. Squeeky has been fine.

 

[itzmered]

I have never thought about laundry detergent before. I use All brand detergent and I like the Mountain fresh scent

 

[love4birds]

I remember someone having a bird that reacted badly (I think the bird started plucking?) to a switch in laundry detergent. I think it might have been someone on the Perch a couple years ago?? Not sure.

Anyway, I can't stand scented anything, so I only use the unscented laundry detergents and fabric softeners

 

[ortegah]

I make my own laundry detergent so it doesn't smell like anything and has no phosphates or anything harmful in it. And I use vinegar as softener. That being said, I do use dryer sheets that are scented but they don't make that much of a smell at all in my clothing.

 

[Archiesmom]

My birds have both been fine and I use scented However, I do use natural detergent and oxyclean when I wash their cage covers, and on the wash clothes I wipe their cages down with. Mainly, because their poop stains and I've found this combo is more effective than the scented stuff at getting out poo stains

 

[Gen120]

I make my own laundry detergent so it doesn't smell like anything and has no phosphates or anything harmful in it. And I use vinegar as softener. That being said, I do use dryer sheets that are scented but they don't make that much of a smell at all in my clothing.

haha, you are the first person other than my mom that I have known that makes their own laundry detergent, LOL! That is awesome! We use those dryer sheets too, the laundryroom in our house is on the opposite side of the house (away from the birdroom)

 

[Cydney]

I remember someone having a bird that reacted badly (I think the bird started plucking?) to a switch in laundry detergent.

I react badly to a switch in laundry detergent! lol Anything I've tried other than Tide causes me to break out.

 

[Thugluvgrl187]

How do you make your own laundry detergent? I am curious now.

 

[Kristy]

I read an eco-friendly review.

At the end of the day (and article) she choose:

Seventh Generation Free & Clear.

Here is nice article: Green laundry detergents - Laundry Detergent Reviews

 

[itzmered]

share with us how you make your own laundry detergent

 

[mizbirdy]

Here's an article from Mother Earth News on making your own laundry detergent:

Green Cleaners: Clean Your Home with Natural Household Cleaners

 

[ortegah]

haha, you are the first person other than my mom that I have known that makes their own laundry detergent, LOL! That is awesome! We use those dryer sheets too, the laundryroom in our house is on the opposite side of the house (away from the birdroom)

Well I have 3 kids so there's 5 of us and I make 5 gallons of detergent at a time for around $2-$3 for that amount. It takes me all of 20 minutes to make. I don't know why everyone doesn't do it!

 

[ortegah]

Here's the recipe I use!

Making Homemade Laundry Soap

I used to make dry detergent thinking it would be easier but I found that making liquid was easier. Putting bars of soap through a food processor isn't the easiest thing to do, but melting shredded soap in water on a stove is MUCH easier and the detergent goes much further...OH and it works with "HE"(High Efficiency) washers too!

 

[GG.]

Here's the recipe I use!

Making Homemade Laundry Soap

I used to make dry detergent thinking it would be easier but I found that making liquid was easier. Putting bars of soap through a food processor isn't the easiest thing to do, but melting shredded soap in water on a stove is MUCH easier and the detergent goes much further...OH and it works with "HE"(High Efficiency) washers too!

Thanks for the link Heather, my son had sent me a similar one (same recipe) a while back and I couldn't find it

he has made this and says it works great too

 

[ortegah]

Thanks for the link Heather, my son had sent me a similar one (same recipe) a while back and I couldn't find it

he has made this and says it works great too

It works a lot better than the stuff I was paying big bucks for! I buy the fels naptha soap from a small grocery store that sells the bars and then I got the borax and washing soda from Giant. The huge boxes only cost a few dollars and makes TONS of detergent. I do double and triple recipes of the stuff. It literally costs me around $2 or so for 5+gallons of detergent. And I stopped using liquid softener a while ago because for some reason it builds up in my washing machine and leaves weird spots on my clothes that NEVER come back out! Can I tell you how mad I've been because half my workout shirts all had spots on them? Now if I need something softened I use vinegar.

 

[ortegah]

Here's the calculations from the site:

Fels Naptha: $1.12 for a 5.5 oz bar. The recipes says use a 1/3 of a bar. I calculated 2 oz. just to make the math a little easier. The cost of the Fels Naptha per batch is: .40 cents


Washing Soda: $2.23 for a 55 oz. box. This came to .17 cents per batch. I calculated how much per oz (2.23 divided by 55) and then weighed a half cup of washing soda (4.2oz.) and multiplied my per oz. price by 4.2

Borax: $3.27 for a 76 oz. box. This came to .14 cents per batch. Did the same calculations as above, however a 1/2 cup of borax weighs 3.5 oz.

For the final numbers I have .40 + .17 + .14 = .71 for 2 gallons of laundry detergent.

So 71 cents for 2 gallons of detergent! My calculations of 5 gallons for $2 is about right then. You use a half cup for a load so 5 gallons would be 160 loads so that comes to about a penny a load!

 

[Thugluvgrl187]

Here's the calculations from the site:



So 71 cents for 2 gallons of detergent! My calculations of 5 gallons for $2 is about right then. You use a half cup for a load so 5 gallons would be 160 loads so that comes to about a penny a load!

WOW

 

[itzmered]

thanks for the recipe, I wish I would have done something like this while all my kids were still at home!

 

[Birdiemarie]

We use Soap Nuts for our laundry. I'm not sure if this is the exact brand we use because we've tried a couple but this gives you the idea of what they are and what they look like.

Soap Nuts Laundry Detergent - Retail Wholesale and Bulk Supplier - Certified Organic