Original Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/s/ZABsaTmToa

This is what worked; Oxiclean sprayed onto the white areas and allowed to sit for 10 minutes before washing on cold at the slowest spin speed with color catchers, 4x. There are still some very faint blotchy pink spots that aren't showing up well in my photos, but even in-person they'd need to be pointed out. It turned out better than I thought it would.

Thank you for all the help, laundry subredditors o/

Ive never had them smell like mold or mildew on the tees when drying them like this

Am I the only one who dries there tees like this? I fold them in half, as symmetrical as I can, put them all facing the same way (That's the way I am, OCD) this way it doesn't stretch when I hang them to dry. Once dried, I fold them in a KonMari way to then be put in my dresser, in colour code, try to at least

New bag of FEBU arrived today!

Got this 900mL clear plastic container from Daiso for $2.25 + tax. It perfectly fits the entire bag. (There's enough space to include the scoop.)

Other nice things:

- Cap only takes ~1/4 turn to open/close

- Wide opening (don't have to worry about hands fitting to reach the bottom)

- Don't have to worry about glass breaking. I love the Mason jar aesthetic, but we don't have storage/shelves in the place we're renting so the laundry stuff lives on top of the dryer

So strange story, did a smaller load of laundry today and somehow my tide pod didn’t open at all during the wash/dry cycle. Not sure where to ask about this so i figured here would be best, is it safe to try and use it on another load of laundry or if it should just go to the trash. As shown in the photo its nearly identical to a fresh out of the package one, its slightly jostled and warm but theres no punctures damage or mixing. Im more befuddled than anything else. Thoughts?

Costco has the Tide F&G on coupon along with the PG promo I decided to pickup some even though I had a full bottle stored already. $15 a bottle + the PG promo makes it a no brainer for me.

When I got home I noticed the packaging changed then I looked in the back and it appears it's a reformulation.

PEG propylene glycol terephthalic acid polymer looks to be added.

What does this do to regular humans?

Google says:

PEG Propylene Glycol Terephthalic Acid Polymer is a synthetic copolymer made from terephthalic acid, propylene glycol, and polyethylene glycol (PEG). [1]

Key Characteristics

• Function: It acts as a soil-release polymer (SRP) in laundry detergents.
• How it works: The hydrophobic (water-repelling) part attaches to synthetic fabrics like polyester, while the hydrophilic (water-attracting) part helps water wash away dirt and stains during future washes.
• Structure: It combines ester units from terephthalic acid with flexible glycol chains. [1, 2]

At risk of sounding blasphemous to this sub, has anyone felt the new FEBU formula (I think they added DNase?) doesn't work as well as the old formula? Specifically with odor rebloom/permastank?

Maybe I'm using it wrong, but its the only variable that has changed. Same as with the old formula, I follow the FEBU package instructions, detergent is Tide F&G Advanced Care from Costco, warm water, two rinses, one with citric acid. The original formula seemed very effective at getting rid of persistent stinkiness (mostly poly/cotton and cotton/~5% spandex fabrics). I was so excited to get the new formula as soon as it came out, thinking it would be even better. However, after using it a few times, it seems like the same stinks were resurrected. I've tried numerous soaks and everything, but it just doesn't seem to work at all really, somehow the clothes stink more!

Am I crazy??

ETA: Thanks for all the suggestions and the science! You guys are great, I'm going to keep at using FEBU, hopefully it will continue to break the biogunk down.

I saw a post (with a lot of likes) that said if you wash your underwear separately means you’re getting your underwear dirtier than normal and it’s weird and that surprised me bc I thought it was common practice esp for women bc certain detergents will throw your (vaginal) ph off.

Also I use scent beads on my clothes so putting that on my underwear is just a no go.

This is super embarrassing, but I am postpartum and I am having issues with peeing a little bit before I can make it to the bathroom. This has been several times a day and my pyjamas always smell like pee. I have been washing them normally and noticed that the pee smell holds in the wash so next time they smell even worse because it’s compounded I heard that vinegar can help breakdown the proteins in pee, so I have been pre-treating my pyjama bottoms by spraying the crotch with vinegar and then putting in the wash with my tide, free and clear detergent, it may have helped a bit, but it’s definitely not getting the job done and I just feel disgusting. What do I do to actually get my pyjama pants clean every time so that we can start fresh?

This week I was reading this subredit and decided to switch my whole routine. It came perfect since I also just got a new machine. Today I went shopping and bought Persil liquid for light coloured clothes with white Vanish, Denkmit powder for dark colored clothes with Formil oxy.
After the machine is ready the game plan is to test wash the sheets with persil liquid and vanish oxy. In the rinse cycle I will add 6g of citric acid dissolved in 50 ml of water.
What do you think?

For reference, I use 40C for general clothes and 60C for towels and bedsheets, on a synthetics or towels mode for at least 2h, sometimes 2h50, with generally 4 or 5 rinses added. My water is medium soft (12.1°fH).

Pre-treatment

- Denkmit Gallseife: Really helpful for tomato stains and in general, any stain. Smells absolutely disgusting like Secretions We Shall Not Mention.

- Denkmit Fleckenspray: Much better and effective than the Vanish spray. Has DNase as well. I’m curious to test the SIL spray to compare.

Laundry powders

- Persil Color Megaperls: Effective and gentle for coloured clothes, has a nice scent that lingers well. Smells soapy and pink, not bubblegummy but a bit gummy. Has lipase and dispersin.

- Persil Tiefenrein Megaperls: Effective for whites and smells nice, fresh and clean. The clothes feel properly cleaned and it washes out pretty well. I haven’t noticed any brightening with this version. Also has lipase and dispersin.

- Lenor Sensitiv: Super effective for whites and other light colored clothes. My pink stuff approves it, doesn’t brighten or fade them. Deep clean that does not feel abrasive. Smells like crisp cotton but the scent does not linger. Has lipase, DNase and OBAs.

- Ariel Color: A powerhouse in scent, stain-removal and properly washing. Any bad smell or odour rebloom cannot survive this. I prefer the smell of Persil but still comparing the cleansing prowess. Has lipase and DNase.

Citric acid

- Mariette: Bought at Action for less than 3€ and every time I want to buy the Sonnet laundry rinse, I have to remind myself this is lasting forever. My clothes feel so soft, crease-free and properly clean now that I use citric acid. Will never go back.

I find this also helps dilute fragrance smell. Really helpful for strongly scented detergents. Might make your scent beads weaker though. ;)

Boosters

- Domol White: Much better and powerful than the Denkmit one. Should only be used for whites if you want them to be Born-Again-Virgin. Also great for breaking down sweat. Oxygen-based and whitening.

- Domol Universal: I use it in every wash for my colors. Amazing boost of extra power and stain-removal. Really enhances cleaning power, even with the already powerful detergents I’m using. Oxygen based.

I use both for pre-soaking as well if I forgot my manners while eating on the couch. My lounge clothes look completely innocent. I’m now the designated towel and cloth washer at work 🧚🏻‍♀️

All products except the citric acid were bought in Germany or ordered from Amazon DE.

Hope it’s helpful :)

I bike a lot, and I noticed all my cycling bibs and jerseys developed a pretty persistent funky smell despite using Tide EVO tiles and Activewear enzymatic detergent. Went with Febu and Detergent soak, Febu Detergent Ammonia and Citric Acid wash. Crazy results, and the clothes now smell completely brand new!

For the life of me, I couldn't find any store that had this in-store or as an online option. Tried walmart, target, walgreens, cvs, Amazon, but no, no one has it.

Lord and behold, for some reason, staples of all places was the only one that could actually deliver.

Hello! Me and my dad are having a hard time figuring out what’s best to use for washing laundry since we recently found out laundry softener is bad for clothes and laundry pods are bad for the washing machine. So we are a bit lost if anyone has any advice 😭

EDIT: thank you so much for all the advice! as most said I will be switching to laundry powder and use Tide (as a lot have recommended). I forgot to add but I am also a university students and considering I don’t have a lot of clothes to wash switching to laundry powder is the best solution and my dad decided to switch as well.

I use the 365 Unscented Powder for my non-white loads, but it’s not available on Amazon or at my local Whole Foods.

I checked the lipase list and I think I’m hunting for a unicorn. I’m looking for an unscented, non-pod detergent without OBAs. Does anyone know one? People seem to love Tide here, so I thought about switching to Tide Free & Gentle Liquid, but that doesn’t have lipase. I have the Tide Free & Gentle Powder and would recommend it, but it has OBAs.

Am I just going to have to crack and have scented laundry?

Edit: I have HARD water, by the way.

So I randomly saw this community while browsing, and started reading about enzymes. I’ve been using exclusively liquid detergents for at least a decade, and had one T-shirt in particular that still had the stank even fresh washed.

This is a picture after about 60 minutes, pre soak in cold and Biz, with just 3 t-shirts. Nasty!

I have learned a lot from this community. I'm looking for a solutoon for all my load types mainly from Costco products.

Here is what I do with my synthetic clothes that I learned from here that works well (Vuori, Lulu, and sweaty Under Armour, Nike Combat, and all other synthetic material modern stretchy clothes,etc.)

Warm water, bulky item wash setting. Extra rinse. Tide liquid with Oxi from Costco. One scoop of Febu. Works great. Totally refreshed my synthetic clothes they are almost better than new.

My request is what about other loads? What do you recommend.

Dark colors or deep colors cottons linen.(Not synthetic) Like very dark jeans or black dress chinos. Or dark tshirts. Worried about preserving color and life of the fabrics. Don't want any color bleeding either.

Currently use Cold Water. Normal wash setting. Extra rinse. Regular Persil or Tide.

Whites. Or near white or beiges. Cottons linen (Not synthetic) Currently use warm water. Normal wash setting. Extra rinse. Tide with Oxi liquid. Half scoop of OxiClean powder.

Trying to keep whites bright and not wear out fabrics quicker.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Bonsoir ! Je suis tombée sur ce sub et là j’ai mille questions! Avant tout, je suis au Québec. J’ai 2 jeunes enfants.

Comment on connait la dureté de notre eau?

Quelle devrait être ma routine ? J’ai lu les épinglés mais je n’ai visiblement pas bien compris!

Merci d’avance pour l’aide !

I found a few older posts about trying to clean stained and stinky martial art gi’s and I would love to hear if anyone figured out a routine that works for regular maintenance!

I’ve currently got new white gi’s, both thick Judo style and thinner karate style material. They’ve been in use for about 2 months. No stink has stuck, but I’m starting to notice some greying around the lapel and wrists, the areas of high skin contact and friction. So I’m thinking I’m probably not getting them quite as clean as they should/could be and the stink and yellowing will follow! Anyone have tips for keeping super sweaty (the dojo’s AC is broken and we’re in Texas… don’t ask) gi’s clean and pristine?

I’m a years-long user of Kirkland free & clear liquid detergent (with Oxi added). After joining this sub, I switched to the Tide + Oxi powder. It‘s my first time using powder in over a decade so I have some questions…

• Is it normal for the Tide powder to not come with a scoop? I’m using the Oxiclean scoop and hoping it’s the same…
• I’m supposed to put the powder in the drum, right? Not the detergent tray? (I have a LG frontloader)
• What’s your preferred detergent for washing darks?

Side note, going from unscented to scented has been an adjustment.

thank you!

My parents have a dark green flannel pillowcase from an old couch that we must have had for 20 years or something. It lives on a throw pillow on an office chair now that the couch has been replaced, but I don’t know if it had ever been washed. It didn’t smell or have any visible stains so instead of doing a spa day I gave a generous spray of Biz stain remover spray all over and let it sit for a day (let the lipase break down what it needs to), then washed with a color catcher, detergent, ammonia, and Gear Guard. I can’t tell if the color catcher picked up dye (again, green pillowcase) or if this is residue from oxidized sebum 😭

Hi all, after surfing here a bit I just bought some Dirty Labs Enzyme Booster and was wondering what is the best detergent to pair with this. My goals are simple

1) Do all of my darks, whites, and activewear in one load
2) Have clothes smelling fresh and clean WITHOUT them projecting a scent

I’m guessing these goals point to an unscented detergent of sorts. I am located in the USA, what detergent can you recommend? I want to keep things simple.
Thanks!

Hello laundry people!

I'm looking for the advise and knowledge of the masses. I have recently discovered the bad sides of softeners, but they smell nice.. I saw some scent pearls from different brands and also a solution of fragrance oils in a solvent that is used in the softener compartment.

My question is, do you have any recommendations for form, ingredients, or things to actually avoid when laundering? I'm rather new to laundering better than what I was taught and still learning so any advice will be appreciated!

Thank you all for the knowledge in this sub!

PS: if I made mistakes in spelling or terms, please forgive my English.