Can You Use Fabric Softener as Detergent?

At our last apartment my husband and I noticed a smell. Over time we also noticed that our clothes had begun to pick up the smell, and to this day we have yet to get the smell out of our clothes. Over the summer I decided I would purchase some scented laundry detergent (since what we had was homemade and virtually unscented). I went to the store and looked through the various bottles and boxes and found Gain's Moonlight Breeze "detergent". It smells so good! I knew it was just what I needed. I took it home and used it all summer and probably would have continued to use it if it wouldn't have been for a friend exclaiming "I didn't know you could use fabric softener as detergent!" And that, my friends, is what caused me to look a little harder at the bottle and I faintly read the words "Fabric Softener". Well, of course, I was embarrassed. But this posed the question:

Can you use Fabric Softener as Detergent?

And here are my findings!

The short answer is no- Fabric softener and detergent ARE different. Detergent cleans your clothes, while fabric softener helps control static, soften your clothes and adds some yummy scent.

Fabric softener is also added by your machine during the rinse cycle so that it is diluted and doesn't make your clothes oily. 

Fabric softener will NOT clean your clothes, however it will mask your clothes in scent. This can either be good or bad. It could either be like a teenage boy drenching himself in cologne after gym class or it could be like showering at night versus showering in the morning- no one will really know. For us it was the former. Our clothes smelled good right out of the dryer, but after being worn throughout the day we always thought we stank (because we probably did). And we didn't stink like our old apartment anymore, we stank like body odor. Gross!

I read it put like this: "Think of it like shampoo and conditioner , detergent is shampoo [and cleans the clothes] and fabric softener is conditioner for your clothes." (http://www.todaysmodernwoman.com/cleaning-laundry/142207.htm )

In this article she also says that from her personal experience, she has had clothes stain from fabric softener being poured directly on them! 

Ultimately I wouldn't even recommend it when you are desperate, but you may decide otherwise. The big turn off for me was realizing my clothes weren't really getting clean. All that dirt, sweat and grime from the summer was only getting watered. And the mask of the fabric softener scent didn't really even last throughout the day. 

I would recommend reading your labels carefully before checking out and even looking up the brand and scent online if you are not 100% sure!

If the Lord Wills..

Well the summer has been FLYING by! I can't believe that we are almost half way through July.. That means we only have about a month left before we leave to go back to Rolla for the fall semester. Crazy, I know. Our internet history shows a lot of links to apartments and a lot of new bookmarks for listings. AND we've already scheduled a day to look at apartments in person. It feels like our summer hasn't even started. We've been running around so much it feels like more work than when he was in school. With that being said, we've gotten SO much done! I've refinished 3 pieces of furniture, made a dress, sewed several long overdue items, and spent a ton of time with family members who live in this area. But now it is time to start making plans! We are moving... AGAIN! Sooner than we think! Just today I started organizing some things and boxing new things up. We have been talking about what day Luke will end his internship, and what day I will end my summer job as well. We've been talking about what day we should move, or if we should leave our jobs a little earlier and gradually move things throughout our free time. We've been talking about my job. Where will I work? How will we live? Everyone asks us if we've considered that we could move down there and Luke could start school and I could not find a job for a really long time. Then what will our plan be? Well, of course we've considered this. In fact it's a very scary thing to think about. That's a huge possibility. But, we believe that the Lord will take care of us, and if He wills for us to live on the poor side for a while, then we'll live on the poor side for a while and cut costs and pinch pennies wherever we can. We are both very excited to live on our own again. Living with Grandma & Grandpa is fun, funny, interesting and always brings something new. We have definitely gained a lot from living with them, and are so thankful for their willingness to let us live with them and invade their personal space. There is just something different to living on your own. It's a lot easier. And anyone who has been in a similar position as us, knows that I don't mean that in a rude or ungrateful way. It really is strange to think how fast this summer has gone. Our summer in Texas really did not seem to go this fast! Ah... Texas... that was only one year ago?? We cannot wait until we can get back into a routine! Maybe the fall semester will bring a little more peace than the summer! Eh... probably not. At any rate, we hope and pray that we will be granted a smooth move to Rolla and a great fall semester without the stress of me finding a job and easy classes for Luke. If the Lord wills, then great! If not, great too. We will be happy with whatever He wills because we know He knows best. Rolla, here we come!