How much do you pay per load

[Deleted]

Of laundry of course. I'm not counting water or electricity or cost of the washing machine etc. Just for detergent, softer and static cling sheet if you use it.

I got those three in one sheets 20 for $4, so thats $0.20/load. Is that a good cost. Well it is low enough that I'm fine with it. But how does it compare|?

[dancinmama]

I can't use the dryer sheets as it is not recommended by the manufacturer of my dryer. Using coupons and drug chain rewards, I have a stockpile of Shout, All, Downy/Snuggle, and bleach that I got for free or very close to it. But I'm one of those crazy Grocery Challengers.

The Snuggle was completely free at WAGs a while back with coupon. I paid a little OOP for the Shout, but submitted my receipts for a rebate from SC Johnson so I think I actually made a little money on that one. I purchased the All at CVS and got it free after coupons, EBs, and a CRT. I bought the bleach at WAGs using Register Rewards. I probably paid a little OOP along the way (sales tax probably), but other than that, free or just a few pennies.

[bobbysgirl]

I get softner for free like dancinmama. Once a year I buy sheets at the dollar store and cut them in half. I use them, then save them in a plastic container. I pour a bit of liquid softner in the container to soak the sheets and use them in the dryer. It just took me longer to write this than to do it.

Detergent is BOGO and a coupon so about 2.50 for 2 bottles. I never figured it out.

[Malarky]

$22 for 1 1/2 years of laundry.
That's how much I paid for a 30# box of Tide powder. I have a front load machine and we use about 1/4 cup per load. We probably wash 5 loads per week, plus I wash 160 cheer uniforms twice a year.
I stopped using fabric softener a couple of years ago. Almost all of our clothes are 100% cotton so static cling isn't a problem and it makes towels less absorbent.
OK, almost forgot, add in $5 or so for a giant bottle of spray n' wash. I've had it for over a year as well.
Math isn't my strong point, but I have to say that I pay next to nothing for laundry. And when it's nice out, I hang my clothes.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

heh heh heh .... Is it bad that I don't know how much I paid for my dryer sheets, color catchers, or detergent? I know I bought 6 bottles of the detergent on sale a while ago, and after this open bottle, I have 2 left. I think we bought the Color Catchers at the Commissary in Florida. And we buy the dryer sheets either at WalMart or Target.

[rubyslippers]

I do like Dancinmama and get my laundry supplies at the drug stores or dollar stores for next to nothing. I HATE buying laundry detergent and have been trying to stockpile enough for the year with my drugstore rewards and so far, I have enough to get me through most of the year. I got my liquid softener at Family Dollar last year for very little and am down to the last bottle. I'll have to wait for the next great sale. Whenever I hang laundry on the line, I always say I'm saving 50 cents. I don't know if that's true or not. I heard it awhile back but have been saying it for years.

[Deleted]

Malarky by my figuring you pay about $0.07/load.

[Malarky]

I can live with .07. I know others pay less, but I also know that I have another 30# plus in reserve, and I won't have to buy any more before the world ends in 2012.
And should we all survive, I'm willing to buy more.

[rumples]

How do you like those 3-in-1 sheets? I travel quite a bit for work and was thinking of replacing the small bottle of detergent and dryer sheets that I keep in my suitcase with a couple of those.

[Tiny]

I'm rounding up cause I can't remember the exact price... but a 110 load jug o' laundry det at Sam's was under $20.00. 2 jugs last me about 18 months. I do between 3 and 5 loads a week. I use Sam's Dryer sheets I bought those over 2 years ago... I think there were 150 in the box - I'm pretty sure they were less than $10.00. I use them mostly in the winter when I if/when I use the dryer. I cut them in half or leave em whole and use a couple of times. I'm gonna guestimate I spend between $25 and $30 a year on laundry supplies.
I don't bother much with stain removers. I don't have a big problem with stains. I can only think of one thing I "ruined" with a stain in the last few years - a favorite t-shirt when I got some of the drippings from BBQ pulled pork on it. I forgot about it and washed it and foolishly put it in the dryer. I don't think I'll ever get that stain out. If I know I've got something on a peice of clothing on laundry day I'll usually pre-soak it (wet it, rub in alittle detergent and let it sit on the side until I'm ready to wash that particular load). Modern Laundry detergents are marvels of cleaning science. A 1/2 cup to a cup of baking soda in the wash water would probably also help by 'softening' the water thus boosting the detergent even more.... science!

I think not using Fabric Softner helps with stains not sticking.

[Apple]

Right now I'm washing clothes for free. I had a coupon for $3 off fabric softener and it was on sale 2 for $5, I bought 11 and probably still have 6 left (I use very little a load due to the type of washer). DS makes the homemade laundry detergent, so the cost of that is about 2 cents a load (he does the labor, not me, so it's worth every penny Even if I were to include water and electricity I'm pretty sure I'm still free or pretty close...I have a HE washer, I never use enough water to pay over the base cost (no incentive to conserve water here) and my electric bill comes in at around $40 a month, except in summer when it jumps to around $75 because I run the central air. With all the other electrical stuff I've got, the washer can't be much of that bill. The electricity to dry them might be a little different, but it's not enough to make me want to line dry to save money.

[Deleted]

Jan 8, 2011 20:43:41 GMT -5 @rumples said:

How do you like those 3-in-1 sheets? I travel quite a bit for work and was thinking of replacing the small bottle of detergent and dryer sheets that I keep in my suitcase with a couple of those.

I really like them. It's not like poring detergent was that difficult but these really are simple, don't take up much storage space and I love the scent.

[donnafreedman]

I, too, can't remember how much I paid for laundry soap but it was super-cheap thanks to coupons/rebates. I also scored a half-full warehouse-store-sized jug of All when DD and DSIL moved to Phoenix. Haven't even tapped into it yet as I am finishing up the detergent I bought before that.
It's probably been two years since I bought any. In the future when I start a new jug I'm going to write the date on it and see how long it takes to use it up.
I presume that the rest of you also use less than the recommended amount...? Unless you're doing laundry for a household of farriers and sewer workers, you can usually use a lot less than the capful recommended on the bottle.
As for how much per load I pay to wash and dry: $1.50 to wash, $1 to dry. I get around this by doing two loads at once, putting some of the laundry in the dryer for a couple of minutes to get the wrinkles out/give it a head start and then hang it to dry. The other stuff gets dried all the way. It saves me a buck at a time and also saves wear and tear on T-shirts, etc.

[Apple]

I presume that the rest of you also use less than the recommended amount...? Unless you're doing laundry for a household of farriers and sewer workers

Yes, except for those days I have had to work on the sewer (ewwwwww... Dry well only though and I usually wash them at work, not take them home, if I can) or have gotten all nasty from mud or carbon dust. I've walked away from some jobs where my blue-jeans or tan Carhartts looked black, especially when I was working with the welder.

[toservewithlove]

Those $3 Snuggle coupons were awesome. I bought 8 of them, I think. I know that $2 a bottle is my buy price for detergent. I currently have All and Era in my pantry. I grew up on Tide and still believe it does the best job at getting stains out, but I haven't bought it for a couple years now due to the cost. I always use the full cup of detergent and a couple of dryer sheets-esp in winter as clothes are always full of static. The wash machines in my building are $1 to wash and $1 for 45 minutes of dry time. The machines are small and don't hold a lot. I spent $16 yesterday on laundry and didn't wash any of my bedding. I hope to get to a laundromat sometime within the next few days to get that done. I hate doing laundry. I dream of my own washer and dryer more than I do a house.

Thanks Later for your opinion on those Purex sheets. I've also thought about getting some of them to see how they'd do.

[973beachbum]

Jan 8, 2011 20:26:39 GMT -5 Malarky said:

I can live with .07. I know others pay less, but I also know that I have another 30# plus in reserve, and I won't have to buy any more before the world ends in 2012.
And should we all survive, I'm willing to buy more.

I just bought more laundry detergent at Shoprite. It was 99 cents for a bottle that does 42 loads. So even if I use the whole capful, which normally I don't, it costs me about 2.5 cents a load. I can normally buy a 40 box of dryer sheets for $1.00 so another 2.5 cents a load.

So my grand total is 5 cents a load. Sounds low enough to encourage the kids to go out and roll in the mud.

[sccdf]

I think detergent is cheaper than buying new clothes. (I have kids). I buy name brand detergent when it is buy one get one free or cheaper and use it as directed. You do have to watch. Do not assume one of the cap cups is one load. Usually there is a line half way down. They want you to accidently use twice as much as you need.

My secret laundry weapon is white vinegar. It is more effective than Fabreeze on sweat stains. I often buy clothing from charity shops. The garments are clean and pressed when I buy them but often have a residual smoky smell. Add a half cup vinegar to the wash and the odor is gone.

[upstatemom]

Jan 9, 2011 18:41:53 GMT -5 sccdf said:

I think detergent is cheaper than buying new clothes. (I have kids). I buy name brand detergent when it is buy one get one free or cheaper and use it as directed. You do have to watch. Do not assume one of the cap cups is one load. Usually there is a line half way down. They want you to accidently use twice as much as you need.

My secret laundry weapon is white vinegar. It is more effective than Fabreeze on sweat stains. I often buy clothing from charity shops. The garments are clean and pressed when I buy them but often have a residual smoky smell. Add a half cup vinegar to the wash and the odor is gone.

I also add vinegar to my laundry. I try to use All Free and Clear and BJ's sometimes has coupons for it so I buy the large size. I do not ever use fabric softener and dryer sheets, I can not stand the smell of them. I have dryer balls I put in the dryer when I use it, but I prefer to dry on a drying rack either on my deck or in front of the fire so I do not have a static cling problem

[rumples]

Hmmm... I guess I'll have to put those detergent sheets on my next shopping list since I have a two-week business trip scheduled for next month. Anything that can't "blow up" in the suitcase has to be a good thing, right?

[telephus44]

Wow, I need to stay in the coupon game! $3 Snuggle coupons! I love Snuggle.

I tend to pay around $2 for fabric softener (Snuggle or Downy, though I prefer Snuggle) and probably about $1 a bottle for detergent (Xtra - goes on sale for $2 at CVS, and I usually have $4/20 or some ECB's or something to bring it down to about $1). I use on average two bottle of detergent and 2 bottles of fabric softener in a year.

I also go through a thing of spray and wash every 2 years, and I bought a huge box of Oxiclean powder that I'm on year 3 of, and the box is still about 3/4 full. I only use it for really dirty loads, and I use less than half of recommended, otherwise it leaves a residue (and yes, I always add an extra rinse).

I also have a front loading washer, so I use so little detergent it lasts forever. It's also one reason I never worry about making my own to save money - if I'm already spending only $4-$8 a year on laundry detergent/fabric softener, how much can I really save?

[Elderkind]

I make my own laundry detergent and add vinegar to the load so I guess with the cost of bleach (only used occasionally), vinegar (only used occasionally, water and electricity factored in, I pay about 50-75 cents a load... without the water and electricity factored in about .03 cents a load...

[family legacy]

I spend about $0.13 per load using high efficiency detergent and liquid fabric softener.

[Gardening Grandma]

I buy my laundry detgt at Costco. $13.99 for 186 oz. I use 2 oz per load, so cost would be .15 per load. I don't use fabric softener sheets. Once in a while I'll use fabric softener, so I'd need to figure out how much that adds. I rarely use bleach either.