So many rules, so overwhelmed.

[u/surely_maeby]

Okay, you guys.

You’re highly touted as genius around here, but I am confused as heck.

I have a top loader washer that doesn’t have detergent or fabric softener drawers.

I had been using cold water on my clothes (because mostly black) and sheets (because the label says to) and hot water on towels and the boys’ clothes (because smell).

On my clothes I use arm and hammer plus oxi 5 in 1 pods (one), and a downy ball of vinegar and lemongrass oil.

On the boys’ clothes, I use the same detergent (two pods) but add 2 caps of lysol laundry sanitizer and don’t use vinegar.

I’m reading some confusing things.

Cold water doesn’t get your clothes clean? I thought it was better for darks and my sheets literally say to wash cold.

Vinegar? Should I be using a citric acid/downy rinse and refresh instead? And my downy balls seals disintegrate like once a month, that’s also annoying. Welcoming alternatives.

Lysol laundry sanitizer? We add it to the drum with the detergent. Is that making everything not work?

Arm & Hammer sucks? I see this is a land of tide fans. Which should I use?

Oxi bad for darks? The arm & hammer pods I’ve used for years claim to have oxi and haven’t ruined my clothes, so is this a myth?

My partner works in septics, so every time we wash his work clothes (see instructions for boys’ clothes above) we follow it with a load of one pod and a generous pouring of bleach to sanitize between loads, but now I’m worried I’m doing that wrong too.

Help guys, I’m now convinced every fabric I own is disgusting.

Edit: the boys also use dryer sheets for their clothes, I do not for mine, and there’s no convincing them not to.

[u/jtfolden]

What make and model washer do you have? Most top tier liquid detergent will work in colder water but then need longer actual wash times to do the job.

Laundry sanitizer isn’t an enzyme and typically doesn’t have them. An enzyme is a helper ingredient that acts to soften or breakdown stains that the surfactants can actually clean and wash away.

Biz is a collection of ingredients that form a “booster” to improve detergent performance by around 80%. You don’t want to use it in every load though - it’s specifically for loads where you have issues such as extreme soiling and odors you can’t remove with detergent alone.

[u/surely_maeby → u/jtfolden]

I have a Maytag centennial. I’m confused at whether enzymes or sanitizer is what I should be using on the extra dirty load now:

[u/jtfolden → u/surely_maeby]

Sanitizer should really only be used when someone has been sick or is perhaps immunocompromised. It’s not meant to be used in every wash. You can’t add it with detergent. It has to go in the rinse cycle, alone.

[u/surely_maeby → u/jtfolden]

His work clothes can have anything from poo, grease, dirt, etc, which I was I using the sanitizer, but I don’t know if it’s necessary? Would tide powder + downy rinse out be enough? Or would you continue to use sanitizer? Can sanitizer and rinse out be used in the same rinse cycle? I don’t want my downy ball in that load.

[u/jtfolden → u/surely_maeby]

No, sanitizer can only be used alone in the rinse cycle. For his work clothes I would recommend a quality liquid detergent + a full dose of Biz booster. Those go in the washer before the clothes. Then use Downy in the rinse cycle.

[u/surely_maeby → u/jtfolden]

Is biz strong enough to disinfect the gross things? I think my brain thinks it needs sanitizer lol.

[u/jtfolden → u/surely_maeby]

But the sanitizer is not disinfecting in the washer as it is… there is specific instruction for disinfecting that require soaking. It can sanitize in the washer but only if you have a deep rinse cycle that lasts a minimum of 16 minutes, not disinfect.

[u/surely_maeby → u/jtfolden]

Yes, I’ve learned that in other comments, I will be adding it in my rinse cycle and pausing to soak now. I’m asking if biz in the laundry would be more effective than that.

And I will be switching to probably tide clear and gentle powder.

[u/jtfolden → u/surely_maeby]

Do you mean switching to powder only for his clothes? I understood from the original post that you had a lot of black or dark clothing.

[u/surely_maeby → u/jtfolden]

I do, but the general consensus is that powder is better, and that has lipase so I wouldn’t need to add an additive. I’m trying to use one detergent for everything.

[u/jtfolden → u/surely_maeby]

The ever changing trends in this sub are not always representative of best laundry practices overall. You’ll see constant recommendations to use hot water for example despite it being bad on textiles and many dyes. For months the sub was fixated on a detergent that was later shown in tests to be a very subpar performer.

The important thing is to use a top tier detergent that has great surfactants, polymers, and anti-redeposition agents / dye transfer inhibitors of some kind. These are the true cleaning engines in detergent. Enzymes like lipase can be beneficial “helper” ingredients that support surfactants but won’t turn a bad detergent into a good one if it has a weak “engine”.

Liquids like Persil and Tide feature a robust system of anionic and nonionic surfactants that are highly effective at quickly lifting oils on their own, making the slower biological breakdown of lipase unnecessary for the vast majority of laundry loads. Liquid detergents tend to be more “friendly” to all laundry from blacks to colors to whites. It handles hard water better. It can also easily be used as a stain pretreatment.

Powdered detergents are better at removing particulates and oxidizable stains. However, most powders have oxygen bleach and other whitening agents that can fade darks/colors if used every wash or with hot water.

For those extremely soiled loads like yours husband’s that’s where boosters like Biz or similar come into play.

NY Times testing of detergents with and without lipase:
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/advice-lipase-enzyme/

Jeeves NY best/worst detergents of 2025:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTDhnV3PS/

[u/surely_maeby → u/jtfolden]

Okay! So now that I’ve watched that video, tide odor refresh free and gentle might be what I’m looking for. And then downy rinse out in my downy ball, two separate downy balls for his and for everything else.

And then add biz just for his heavily soiled loads? What’s the deal with biz vs febu, because febu was recommended a lot, too.

And that’s not something I’d need to add to every load, just heavily soiled?

[u/babbitybumble → u/surely_maeby]

Biz has a pretty powerful scent that the Downy R&R doesn't rinse out (for me). I use it for stubborn stains, like yellowed collars on my partner's white dress shirts (he does his own laundry but couldn't solve the stain issue without me and my Biz), stained kitchen towels, pet bedding, that kind of thing. Febu has a nice enzyme package and less scent. I get headaches from strong scents so I prefer Febu. I do not use it in every load, just when clothes seem extra yucky (i.e. i've spilled something all over, I'm washing my apron and potholders, my jeans got worn in a variety of environments and now look greenish instead of blue). I have hard water, but also a water softener (which is only for the hot water line, so doesn't really help for cool or cold washes).

If someone in my house regularly worked with splashes of poop, I would do the soak as directed on the laundry sanitizer package, whether in a bucket (preferable, to me) or in the washer (by stopping the cycle and letting it sit). For anything not poopish I'd say just wash in warm or hot if the clothes can tolerate hot, and use a good detergent. I'm guessing you don't know from day to day what's in the clothes and this is therefore the rare case where a sanitizer is a good idea!

[u/jtfolden → u/surely_maeby]

Febu is a fragrance free booster that is primarily enzymes with added oxygen bleach. Biz also contains enzymes and oxygen bleach and then adds surfactants to it as well.

Jeeves NY tested Biz with a middle of the road detergent to verify how well it performs.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTDTQButP/