What did people use to wash dishes before detergents?

[Maria]

All the liquid dish detergents cause the skin on my fingers to peel and bleed.

What did the old folks in the olden days use to wash pots, pans and dishes?

[Maria]

TSP is still being used, but it is a poison that can enter the body through the skin. It is an extreme base similar to lye, so yes, it can cause serious burns.

Trisodium phosphate is a strong chemical. Poisoning occurs if you accidentally swallow, breathe in, or spill large amounts of this substance on your skin.

Sodium orthophosphate poisoning; Trisodium orthophosphate poisoning

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency ... 002489.htm

[Barbara]

That's funny ! I was JUST looking at some on my painting shelf ! I used TSP even as a child doing painting projects.
So I kept it around to clean dirty walls before painting ever since.

This is a helpful warning that good gloves should be worn when washing walls with it.

As far as dishes, I long sensed that dish detergent is horrible. What logic is it to wash what you will eat from
with chemicals ? I have used water only to wash dishes since I lived away from home. At home, there was some kind
of dishwasher detergent always used. But things got simplified when I didn't have a dishwasher anyway ! It made me look at the concept as terrible.

If i need to clean stubborn food on pans, or let's say burned pots, I only use Clorox, in which I have abundant faith !
I don't see that as toxic, but as healthful in every way. Other people disagree, but I think Clorox was a gift from God to get rid of bacteria in an undamaging way.

However! I don't trust all these new "flavors" of Clorox : splashless, or High Efficiency, or whatever variations Clorox keeps introducing. I believe the only safe one is the original formula, now known as "Concentrated". I am not sure IF it really is !!

[Maria]

I have found that products by Mountain Green seem to be safe.

Lately, my husband and I are trying to find alternatives to liquid shampoos and detergents, which all contain a list of chemicals, even the so-called natural and organic ones.

One internet site recommends using baking soda (Bicarbonate of Soda) for shampooing and bathing followed by cider vinegar for a hair rinse. I tried it and it leaves me feeling refreshed. Of course, the eyes must be closed to prevent the vinegar from getting into them.

[Barbara]

Apple cider vinegar rinses are always advisable !
However, I can't see how baking soda would successfully wash hair and it would feel rather slimy in a bathtub.
There must be some better ideas. But the goal is a worthy one.
You know how shampoo stings when it gets in your eyes [I just washed my hair and had that occur !]. It must
be all those chemicals. Maria, you are right. I think ALL preparations are full of them. At minimum,
sodium laureth sulfate.

Some people like Dr Bronner's peppermint or other flavors.
But when I read about the company I decided to not use ANY of their soaps, popular as they are with alternative type of people.
And - Dr Bronner's, I am sure, also uses some chemicals like sodium laureth sulfate in order to have soap easily lather up into suds.

Other natural type of people recommend Johnson's Baby Shampoo, but that hardly sounds appealing to me.

[Maria]

Apple cider vinegar rinses are always advisable !
However, I can't see how baking soda would successfully wash hair and it would feel rather slimy in a bathtub.
There must be some better ideas. But the goal is a worthy one.
You know how shampoo stings when it gets in your eyes [I just washed my hair and had that occur !]. It must
be all those chemicals. Maria, you are right. I think ALL preparations are full of them. At minimum,
sodium laureth sulfate.

Some people like Dr Bronner's peppermint or other flavors.
But when I read about the company I decided to not use ANY of their soaps, popular as they are with alternative type of people.
And - Dr Bronner's, I am sure, also uses some chemicals like sodium laureth sulfate in order to have soap easily lather up into suds.

Other natural type of people recommend Johnson's Baby Shampoo, but that hardly sounds appealing to me.

There is a soap that is intended for washing the hair. I have not tried it yet, but I am tempted.
iHerb has it on sale for $4.55 for a 3.5 oz bar. J.R. Liggett's, Old-Fashioned Bar Shampoo, 3.5 oz (99 g)
One would have to follow that with apple cider vinegar in order to rinse the soap scum which forms in hard water, which we have in Los Angeles.

The problem with all shampoos, even Johnson's Baby Shampoo is the long list of chemical preservatives. If the name looks like a chemical, it is. And the list of preservatives has been increasing because they want to extend the shelf life. Sodium laureth sulfate (SLS) is now known as a problem, so manufacturers are finding other related compounds that create suds but has the same harmful effect on the body as SLS, then these companies say that their product is SLS free. All they have done is a switch and bait because they know that most people are not organic chemists.

[Lydia]

When I was a child, my grandmothers made soap from pig fat and fireplace ashes,i.e lye soap. They used it to clean everything, including us.
It didn't lather, you just scrubbed. I don't recall that it stung or anything and they used to fragrance it with things like lavender.
Wow! I haven't thought about that in decades!

BTW, its not that they couldn't afford store bought soap... they were people who had lived through great want and were loathe to waste anything.
Now I'm getting teary-eyed...I loved them both so much. It's funny how I feel like a little girl again when I remember them.