Making your own color catchers

**Ilovemydogs** · 08-15-2012, 07:52 AM

Check out this website. She has a lot of great tips but this article caught my eye! Something to try.

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/...html#more-7240

**Tashana** · 08-15-2012, 08:03 AM

Good idea to have a box of soda ash on hand. Thank you for sharing!

**Stitchnripper** · 08-15-2012, 08:09 AM

Great hint. I already have washing soda that I use to make homemade laundry detergent (the dry version)

**Annaquilts** · 08-15-2012, 08:08 AM

They are so dirt cheap to buy. I also cut them in pieces and they still do the job.

**BellaBoo** · 08-15-2012, 08:18 AM

The original color catchers are terry cloth with no sizing or chemicals at all in the fabric. it is very expensive to buy and make your own with the right fabric. I have made and used my own fabric detergent for years using Napa soap, soda ash, and borax the way my grandmother made hers. Once she was able to buy detergent she liked she never made another batch. LOL. Works great for non really dirty clothes but not for towels or washcloths. After a while the towels will become less absorbent. A vinegar wash is needed every so often for clothes washed in soda ash. Buy cheap detergent on sale and save the hassle. I keep a container of homemade on hand for when I run out and can't get to the store.

**SouthPStitches** · 08-15-2012, 08:22 AM

Have had two kinds of color catchers. The first was white fabric with some nap to it. Believe you could use one up to 20 times. Only problem was, if you tossed them in with darks, often the fuzz appeared on your black tee shirts. Removes in the dryer but I don't machine dry a lot of my laundry.

Have used the Bounce color catchers and they seem to work well but haven't really put them to the big test. My question to everyone is sometimes there hardly appears any dye on them. Any harm in letting them dry and reusing? I have considered that they may not be quite as efficient the second time around.

**purplefiend** · 08-18-2012, 11:40 PM

SouthPstitches,
I use the Shout brand color catchers and reuse them until they are a dark color.
Sharon

**Stitchnripper** · 08-15-2012, 08:59 AM

My Bounce color catchers come out gray with dark fabrics. As for the laundry detergent, I've been making mine for over a year with no issues on the towels and seems to get the dirt out of our clothes. I do have to admit that we don't work outside or in heavy dirt producing industries. The towels are still very absorbent. I wonder if it has to do with the water? Or that I use Zote laundry soap? Anyway, I like the idea of it.

**DeniseP** · 08-16-2012, 09:50 AM

Originally Posted by Stitchnripper

My Bounce color catchers come out gray with dark fabrics. As for the laundry detergent, I've been making mine for over a year with no issues on the towels and seems to get the dirt out of our clothes. I do have to admit that we don't work outside or in heavy dirt producing industries. The towels are still very absorbent. I wonder if it has to do with the water? Or that I use Zote laundry soap? Anyway, I like the idea of it.

Do you find that Zote works better or the same as Fels Naptha?

**JJean** · 08-15-2012, 12:19 PM

Thanks for posting this--I was very curious to learn about it.

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