Hypo-Allergenic Laundry Soap?

[Myka]

I need to test to see if my dog has an allergy/reaction to the laundry soap I am using. If I wash her beds with washing soda would that be sufficient? Any other suggestion?

[renegaderuby]

Ok. first and foremost. I think the "wool" is probably the culprit. I think its just going to take a little bit for it to get out of her system. BUT...that being said. i understand wanting to try different laundry det

I have to give you a back story before I can completely tell you what I did and why..because skin problems run in my and my hubs family. and we had two itchy dogs at one time, that were NOT handling all the different trying of laundry detergents.
And it was a nightmare trying to find something that made EVERYONE's skin happy.
I have very sensative skin.
hubs has so so sensative skin.
Teen has excsema.
And again the two dogs were having the issues with all the switching.

Tried the tide free and clear. No relife from any of us (in fact ANY tide product my skin goes berzerk).
Tried the all free and clear. Little better, but it didnt seem to HELP do away with any of the common excesma problems it claims to.
Tried every detergent on the market..and MOST of it would irritate the underside of our dogs bellys (Or US).

so one day I googled "homemade detergent".
Let me say its been an experiment from the begining...but all the experiments put to gether did not cost HALF of what trying all the store bought stuff did.

What I found works for all of us (pups included) is.
(one gallon recipie)
1/4 bar of GLYCERN soap (grated with a potato peeler). (they do make unscented, all natural glyceryn soap)
1/4 c borax (its an odor remover and stain remover and color safe)
1/4 c of arm and hammer super WASHING soda (not baking soda). (but you can skip this its not absolutely nessicary).
1 cup water
1 gal (minus one cup) of hot water.

Put the one cup water in a small saucepan and place on med heat . Add bits of soap sproatically and constantly stir with whisk. Keep up this process until the soap and water are one (soap soup). it will bubble over, so do not leave unnattendend (dont put all soap bits in at once..will be a giant glob).

Once this is done, pour one gallon water (minus the one cup of water)...into a large mop bucket or some sort of plastic container (if it has a lid, thats a bonus). add the hot soap soup and the other ingredients. whisk for five mins. Cover (if no lid, I use a layer of plastic wrap, then a layer of foil over the plastic wrap).
LEAVE SET FOR 24 hours.
after 24 hours...wisk briskly for five mins...pour into smaller container. ( i just use old laundry jug that has been cleaned out really well).

It will need shaking before each use..because it collaguates. But it does NOT gum up the washer or anything. Can be used in HG washers because it does not produce excess sud.
IF you have a really stinky or yucky load...a extra scoup of borax on top will solve that problem.

For FABRIC SOFTNER> white vinagar. 1/3 cup into washer right before rinse cycle begins (or just use the fab softner dispenser)...softens clothes. It also removes yucky odors.
THE SMELL WILL GO AWAY ONCE FABRIC IS DRY (i promise).


I've used this for over a year now..and my skin is happy, DOGS SKIN IS HAPPY , and teens exscema is considerably better. Hubs skin is great too.
It may or may not work for your pup. But I can tell you one thing....its cheap/easy to make and if it solved your skin issues...its worth a try.

(the only thing is...you will have to add your fabric softener sheets (for your smell good fix) to YOUR stuff seperatly). But since you wash your stuff seperatly than pups..it shouldnt be a prob.
You also have to get used to your dogs bedding having NO scent at all. But hey...it beats them itching.


If nothing else you can use YOUR detergent on your stuff..and the homemade on thiers. Also remember to wash thier beds at least three times in straight hot water (nothing else) to rid thier beds of whatever is in them now.
(i actually submerrsed mine in boiling water....and left sit till it was cool. then washed three times in hot water to get it all out. (but I had tried about eight different detergents and fab softners..so i had to be a little more extreme).
Hind sight..may have been cheaper to just start with a new bed (lol).

Good luck...and by all means...I'm not an expert. Just saying what worked for my family. Two legged, and four legged.

[Myka]

Thank you Ruby for such a detailed response! I'm guessing that you could easily add some drops of essential oils to add a scent if you wanted to...might have to work through a few to find out what the dogs tolerate. I am holding hope that you are right about the wool! That would be so much easier than trying to figure out what else it might be.

[renegaderuby]

Originally Posted by Myka

Thank you Ruby for such a detailed response! I'm guessing that you could easily add some drops of essential oils to add a scent if you wanted to...might have to work through a few to find out what the dogs tolerate. I am holding hope that you are right about the wool! That would be so much easier than trying to figure out what else it might be.

Yes you can add 5 drops of essential oil per gallon of hm lnd det. Personally, I'd leave NO scent for the dogs stuff. But you can easily add some into yours. One tip that works well, is add the oil after its cooled, and whisk really well. Because it seems when you add it when the stuff is hot..it dosent mix as well. (weird..you think it would be the other way around).

I added lavendar, and I've added peppermint (around christmas time). but make sure its high quality essential oils, or you just smell like hotel room.

Oh..If you try the homemade det and hate it on your laundry (or it breaks pup out)..if you add about a CUP full of borax, and mix it really well..it makes a GREAT cleaner on tubs, tile ect. (i made a OVERLY SCENTED ) batch by accident one time...and so I had the idea instead of wasting it..just add more borax and make it kinda gritty..and it made a wonderful scrub on the tubs, (didnt scratch it).
also ..the homemade det works JUST FINE in cold water (i wash almost everything in cold). and 1/3 cup is about all you need per load. If its a larger load, up it a bit. But I find 1/3 gets about all of the loads just fine.

One last thing..and I'll shut up (lol)... If the finished product greatly resembles SNOT (sorry)..its PERFECT!

[renegaderuby]

so myka...hows the rash/ ect issues going???

[Myka]

I have an update in my other thread, "What kind of rash do I have?". Roxy isn't getting any better and has started to scratch herself (she didn't bother before, although reeeeeally loved getting scratches). Her skin has thickened in her loin area, and she has a lot of flaky skin around her haunches mainly. She has greasy flaky skin in/around her ears too. I'm worried right now about mange, a bacterial or fungal infection, Seborrhea, or???

Roxy is going to the vet Saturday morning. I'm hoping for some answers.

[renegaderuby]

Originally Posted by Myka

I have an update in my other thread, "What kind of rash do I have?". Roxy isn't getting any better and has started to scratch herself (she didn't bother before, although reeeeeally loved getting scratches). Her skin has thickened in her loin area, and she has a lot of flaky skin around her haunches mainly. She has greasy flaky skin in/around her ears too. I'm worried right now about mange, a bacterial or fungal infection, Seborrhea, or???

Roxy is going to the vet Saturday morning. I'm hoping for some answers.

Sorry. I didnt catch the update on the other thread. I;m sorry to hear roxy is having so many issues right now. Guess its not the wool. Hmmmm...I dunno. It sure looked like allergic reaction to me. But it could be something else I guess. Poor roxy. you get it figured out soon , and she can get some relife

[Myka]

I'm really hoping it isn't allergies. Pretty much anything else is easier to deal with.