Does anyone have a suggestion for a Woolite replacement that you can pack in carry-on with the liquid ban? I usually bring a few Woolite packets to do laundry in the sink while I'm taking a shower. One reason I don't like using regular detergent is the number of rinses you need to get it all out. With the Woolite it's pretty simple to rinse out.

Woolite packets:
http://www.magellans.com/store/Toiletries___Kits___Clothes_CareTL464N?Args=

Any idea about this stuff?
Powder detergent:
http://www.deliciousorganics.com/Products/ecos.htm#Powder Laundry Soap

This is more of a bar replacement than a powder replacement, but I've heard that the Lush shampoo bars also work really well for handwashing clothing. Just swipe the bar across wet clothing and scrub. I would imagine just about any shampoo bar would work; Burt's Bees shampoo bars seem to be a bit easier to find sometimes.

I haven't tested it out yet, but I'm planning to when I travel in a couple of weeks.

there is a powdered form of hand laundry products! Look for boxes of powders in 'baby laundry care' for sale in most grocery stores.

It's another issue, if you want to carry on a white powder.

Wisk sells laundry soap in tablet form. I take them when I know I'll be doing loads of laundry while gone instead of feeding $$ into the vending machine for soap. You probably could cut a tablet in half. Or just put some powdered detergent in a ziploc sandwich bag.

Even if I couldn't find a shampoo bar, I'd use hotel shampoo to do my handwashing before trying to take a baggie of some mysterious white powder through airport security. Besides, powdered detergents are formulated for larger loads, even the baby detergents.

My mother has always insisted that a bar of Ivory soap works as well as Wollite and is a lot cheaper. AFAIK, bar soap is still legal in carry-ons.

I use "Forever New" washing powder. I get it in the lingerie dept of a local department store, but they also have a website, www.forevernew.com.

Fels Naptha bar soap was recenlty highly rated by Consumer Reports as a stain remover when rubbed into fabric. Probably works great for general laundry, too. Can be found in many supermarkets or ethnic markets, esp. those with numerous latino or black customers.

As a traveler who often does laundry in the sink, I love Woolite. it works well for handwashing and is MUCH easier to rinse out by hand than most other detergents. I'm on the lookout for powdered woolite, too. If anyone finds anything...please post it here!

Or just put some powdered detergent in a ziploc sandwich bag.[/QUOTE]

But only if you have a few extra hours to spare getting strip-searched by drug enforcement agents. : )

I have a friend that uses this:
http://store.botanicalearth.com/laundrybarsoap.html

She claims it works just as well as Woolite. Can't personally vouch for it though.

I have a friend that uses this:
http://store.botanicalearth.com/laundrybarsoap.html

She claims it works just as well as Woolite. Can't personally vouch for it though.

Interesting.. I wonder if Whole Foods carries something like that. If not it'll cost about $8 to find out if the stuff is any good.

As an update, I bought 3 packets of the powdered Lemon & Eucalyptus laundry soap. The owner of the company is very helpful and recommended I try the powder instead of the bar (which is better for spot treatment). She's also very generous with the shipping cost and can pack up to 3 of the laundry powder packets (plus a very rich selection of samples) into a single USPS flat rate priority mail box.

http://store.botanicalearth.com/leeulaso.html

First impressions are that it's somewhat more difficult to dissolve than Woolite in cold water but if you use luke-warm water and add the powder before your clothes you'll be just fine. Also less than a heaping tablespoon per sinkload is more than sufficient.

Unlike regular laundry detergent, and more like Woolite you don't need several rinse cycles.

Since the current TSA restrictions are 3oz of fluid you could carry 12 packets of Woolite (each is 0.25 fl oz) but that'll cut into your ziplock baggie's worth of other toiletries.

So if you're looking for a powdered alternative to Woolite I'd highly recommend this stuff.

confided to me that she wasn't overly impressed with Woolite (.."Well, she would say that," you say, "she wants you to pay her to clean your clothes.") But after years of hand-washing in Woolite my hand-knit, Cortina-pattern sweaters, I'm inclined to agree. In any case I get very satisfying results using a small handful of whatever I've stocked in the laundry room at the time--All, Tide, etc.--tepid water, a 5-minute soak, much up and down dipping with the garment supported from below to avoid stretching, and LOTS and LOTS of rinsing until the water runs "clean enough to drink". Best advice; be really, really certain you have thoroughly dissolved the washing compound, whatever you use, before adding garments.

Fels Naptha bar soap was recenlty highly rated by Consumer Reports as a stain remover when rubbed into fabric. Probably works great for general laundry, too. Can be found in many supermarkets or ethnic markets, esp. those with numerous latino or black customers.

OT

Fels Naptha soap also makes the best organic plant spray for bugs you can imagine. Just put the soap in a jar with water until it "melts" or boil 1/3 bar grated with a small amount of water, then put some of the "goo" into a plant sprayer, fill with water and bugs just vanish.

My Grandmother turned me on to this 40 years ago. Fels Naptha has the same ingredients as the "Safer" line of "certified" organic pesticides at about 1/4 the price. http://www.saferbrand.com/store/product.asp?dept%5Fid=66&pf%5Fid=98024

Then you need the ultimate cleaning bar

A bar of proper Marseilles soap.

Handmade with olive oil - excellent for your skin.

Just as good for clothes, including fine textiles such as silk.

http://www.savondemarseille.com/

The website won't tell you much about the soap's clothes washing properties(it's trying to get the message across that the product is a luxury one, ideal for dry skin), but my Spanish grandmother has always used it for hand washing.

Mentions of the soap's suitability for washing clothes can be found here:
http://cqmagonline.com/vol03iss01/articles/art221/art221.shtml
http://www.frenchsoaps.co.uk/Savon.asp?id=535618791
http://www.thefrenchhouse.net/?product=5231

well, now you CAN take 3 oz. anyway.... but I second the person above who recommended Forever New. It's great - the only thing I wash my delicates in.

I was excited to find a substitute for woolite packets.....tide liquid packets....
3/$.97 at "ye olde walmart" in the health and beauty sample section.....

I tried the Tide liquid packets, but they are expensive and using them dried my hands out.

I've had good results using a LUSH shampoo bar and can do hair and hand laundry with the same product. One LUSH bar lasts a very long time.

susan*stew, welcome to FlyerTalk! As we now have a Travel Products forum, let me move this older thread to that forum for continued discussion. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

"Even if I couldn't find a shampoo bar, I'd use hotel shampoo to do my handwashing before trying to take a baggie of some mysterious white powder through airport security."

You aren't going to get stopped, arrested and shot for laundry powder. It's pretty easy for anyone to tell what it is. I'd avoid traveling with something like fertilizer,but your little packet of Woolite isn't going to ruin your day.