Posted on 05/11/2011 6:31:29 AM PDT by Free Vulcan
I'm old enough to have a vague memory of clothes so white that they were called bright. This happened despite the absence of additives — the ridiculous varieties of sprays and bottles and packets that festoon our cabinets today and that we throw into the wash to try to boost the cleaning power of our pathetic machines and increasingly useless laundry soap.
Then, the other night, I experienced an amazing blast from the past. I added a quarter cup of trisodium phosphate (TSP) and otherwise "treated" nothing. The results were nothing short of mind-boggling. Everything was clean — clean in a way that I recall from childhood.
Next came my confrontation with the local dry cleaner, which I've used for years. I explained what happened and how puzzling it is that by using TSP I was able to clean my clothes more thoroughly and perfectly than his commercial service.
He was not shocked. He completely agreed, though sheepishly.
I pointed out that TSP, which is a natural element, is amazing not because it cleans — it needs soap to do its thing — but rather because it rinses, whooshing away all dirt, oil, stains, as well as all leftover detergent. Bleach whitens but it ruins fabrics, and that's not good. What is needed is a good rinsing agent that leaves clothes not only perfectly clean but also smelling fantastic. TSP does it, and that's why it has long been an essential ingredient in laundry soap.
Once again, he agreed.
Does he use it? No. And why not?
It is not "commercially viable," he said.
How can this be? It is not expensive. It is freely available at the hardware store in the paint section. If something works, the laundry service pleases its customers more. That means more business and higher profits. Isn't the goal to clean clothes well and do a good job for customers?
Yes, true, he said, but, again, TSP is not "commercially viable." He politely deferred all further questions to the Dry Cleaning and Laundry Institute, whose website provides no information at all to nonmembers. However, the Laundry Institute did answer my email:
It is true that trisodium phosphate produces cleaner laundry.
Also, for the survival minded, this might be useful to stretch soap and get clothes clean without near as much work.
Interesting. I’ll look in the hardware section in Walmart.
We used to use TSP all the time at the silk screen shop in the 80’s. I was under the impression one could no longer get it, thanks to the tree huggers. I haven’t noticed it in the paint dept. of the hardware stores for a long time...but then again, I wasn’t lookin’. : )
Would it be available at the Home Depot? Or should I go to a more generic ‘hardware store’? When I do find it, how do you measure it out, quantity, etc?
I started mixing up good, old-fashioned TSP with my dish soap and now the dishes sparkle again.
I’ll be picking some up. I have only used it for cleaning my backyard deck.
Looks like a quarter cup in the clothes and a teaspoon in the dish washer.
Thanks! I’m doing the laundry today and will try it out. BTW- I’ve used Borax to boost the laundry also (very cheap) - do you have any info on that?
That's because they changed the old orange box that was so familiar. You have to ask for it, you'd never recognize it now.
It is not cheap. I use it occasionally though not everytime. Be careful and get real TSP because they have replacements for it and it isn’t always very clear because TSP is the most noticable thing on the label.
Be careful that you don’t get the almost identical product “TSP-PF”. The PF means “phosphate free”. It’s like buying a car without the engine.
I use it for exterior cleaning with my power washer and it works great.
Also note, the dishwashing detergents like Cascade now don’t have phosphates because a few states now ban them. You can buy it with phosphates online at newegg.com.
There was an article a month or two ago, perhaps in the WSJ, about how people are complaining about their fancy dishwashers not getting the dishes clean. Care to guess why?
Consumer Reports will no longer rate top loading washing machines because with the current energy and water standards they no longer work period.
They removed phosphates from laundry detergent back in the 70’s I think. Then in early 2010, phosphates were removed from dish washing soap. The reason being is they cause algae blooms and low oxygen (eutrophication) in lakes.
You can still buy commercial dishwashing detergent on line with phosphates.
You can also by TSP at home improvement stores and hardware stores and add a little yourself.
I started mixing up good, old-fashioned TSP with my dish soap and now the dishes sparkle again.
Mee too. I add a 1/2 teaspoon of TSP to powdered Cascade in the dishwasher and Wow! What a difference. I buy my TSP at True Value Hardware.
bttt
Me too. We’ve been using TSP in our dishwasher for 6 months now.
Excellent results. I’d use it in the laundry, but I have my clothes dry-cleaned.
Can you elaborate on this? I need to buy a washer soon and really don't want a front loader.
Someone just discovered the wheel! Any paint store or lumber yard will carry it.
The reason it works is that it produces a very alkaline solution that helps break down oils and make them water soluble allowing them to be washed away.
Hey everybody!!! TSP! Get yer TSP!!!!!!
Thanks for posting this! Just the other day when I was doing laundry, I was complaining about how our clothes just don’t seem to get clean anymore. Now I know why. And it figures that government would be the geniuses behind it. I knew they messed with dishwasher detergent, but I didn’t know about the laundry soap.
I happen to have TSP on hand as well! I should probably stock up on that before they ban that as well. UGH!
I notice the tags that government-loving lefties added right under the article. They are so predictable.
Make sure that you get real trisodium phosphate and not the phosphate-free version in a similar box. You might not even be able to buy real TSP in some states. I’m just about out of my good dishwasher powder and the new stuff doesn’t have the phosphates, so I’ll be tossing in a quarter teaspoon with each load.
20-mule team; Reagan; VRWC
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.