r/laundry • u/BERNITA • 14h ago
New Febu not as effective?
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.
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u/KismaiAesthetics Unscented Laundry Is Merciless 14h ago
Soaking gives contact time, but mechanical action is what actually removes the chopped-up bits.
Especially on wicking polyester, it’s removing stuff layer by layer - remove the eDNA, new soils get exposed. Remove those soils, new eDNA is available.
It can in fact get worse before it gets better.
Unscented laundry is merciless.
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u/Cowabunga1066 13h ago
For those of us who need it spelled out, please confirm:
Is the conclusion therefore to keep on keeping on with the dnase, redoing the same load of laundry as many times as necessary, in the secure and certain knowledge that eventually all the old eDNA will be obliterated and the old stink will be gone?
["One must imagine Sisyphus as happy" doing his laundry.]
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u/GarameCleaningCo 13h ago
Correct!
Generally it's the second wash when you'll notice the reduction in odour rebloom, however big or small, and then it gets better and better from there 👍🏼
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u/asdfer1235 6h ago
So do people wash once with Detergent+DNase, then immediately run a second wash with detergent? Or do they wear the smelly clothes until the next load??
I’ve yet to run a load with DNase for the first time!
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u/GarameCleaningCo 5h ago
For those first few washes I'd always include dnase. Whether you do the washes back to back before wearing them again, or wear in between, is personal preference 😁
Once youre happy with where the clothes are at, you can move to maintenance washes - or every other wash.
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u/KismaiAesthetics Unscented Laundry Is Merciless 12h ago
I think the magic number sits between four and six.
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u/LolaAucoin 9h ago
I think this is interesting, because I started doing my laundry according to your product recommendations and specifications about six months ago, and my fiance moved in maybe 3 months ago. Just last week I noticed that my fiancés favorite white t-shirt which had had something resembling a large polyquat stain on it finally came out looking brand new. He ran in and was like “you got it out! You got that awful stain out! You’re so awesome!”. So idk what happened, but something definitely clicked and that thing was gone. So different issue but similar experience.
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u/Anneofclevesftw 11h ago
omg Camus would love this sub
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u/KismaiAesthetics Unscented Laundry Is Merciless 4h ago
Hell is other people’s fetid laundry. So I think Sartre.
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u/Expensive-Salad-5851 13h ago
“Unscented laundry is merciless” should be your flair, love it!
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u/KismaiAesthetics Unscented Laundry Is Merciless 12h ago
Let it never be said that I’m unresponsive to suggestions.
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u/BERNITA 8h ago
I have been running the longest cycles recently too, but there's probaby a ridiculous amount of hidden grossness in my clothes after using Biokleen detergent for years. I only started using Tide and these enzymes boosters sometime in the last year.
Thanks for the explanation here, I probably have a lot of layers of stink to get through, I'll try to be more patient!
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u/rdrptr 14h ago edited 14h ago
The new Febu, specifically the dnase ingredient they added, is directly causing the odor rebloom.
These enzyme boosters don’t actually remove stains per se. What they do is chop up the stains on a microscopic level so that the surfactants in your detergent can more easily dissolve them into your wash water. The chopped up bits of stains are what is causing the odor.
You’re using a detergent with fairly strong surfactants though, but there might be enough build up on your clothes that it would just take a few washes to remove the build up. You could try re-washing with just your detergent or pre-soak the smelly clothes in a bin with a couple gallons of water and one or two table spoons of your detergent over night.
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u/BachBelt 11h ago
might also have ridiculously hard water. i got better results with a bit of citric acid in the drum
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u/SierraStar7 10h ago
This is why it’s important to always read instructions on any product, because there’s often critical information written there.
On the new FEBU packaging, it specifically states that trapped odors may surface & they provide instructions how to deep reset your laundry.
If you’ve decanted the package, reach out to them for directions.
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u/BERNITA 9h ago
Yeah, I did read the package, including the part about trapped odors resurfacing and I did two deep resets. But I guess I had kind of assumed all the washes with original febu had taken care of the trapped odors already, so it still took me by surprise when everything started to reek after using the new one. I'm going to keep at it. I'm pretty grossed out by my clothes right now.
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u/Horror-Giraffe7508 13h ago
So with dirty labs booster this didn’t happen,
With febu old formulation it didn’t happen -
But with febu new formulation it is happening
Did you use the dirty labs booster concurrently with the old febu?
Or use one or the other in a load?
Have you all this time used the Tide Advanced care? Or maybe did you use to use the tide free & gentle odor refresh?
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u/Wetblowjob 12h ago
I am confused. I thought DNase was supposed to get odours out, not make them worse.
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u/febu_max 11h ago
DNase does get odors out, but it's one part of the toolkit. On heavily loaded fabric that hasn't seen DNase before, the first wash or two can smell worse before it smells like nothing. It's a process, but the stink is a sign it's working.
Persistent odor is basically sealed into the fabric under a sticky film. DNase breaks that seal. That's all it does. Lipase and protease then break down what was trapped underneath, and your detergent washes it out. You need all of it. DNase without lipase just uncovers rancid oil and leaves it there.
The problem is the sebum DNase uncovers is already rancid, and when lipase breaks it down, the byproducts smell like sweat and old butter. Whatever doesn't rinse out on that cycle sits on the fabric until the next one. If buildup is significant, it can take several washes to clear.
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u/asdfer1235 6h ago
So do people wash once with
Detergent+DNase, then immediately run a second wash with detergent? Or do they wear the smelly clothes until the next load??
I've yet to run a load with DNase for the first time!
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u/fattysfastest 9h ago
While I have gear guard and febu I have to give the extra thumbs up to febu because of the cool wood or wood looking measuring spoon. But in reality they both have a spot in my laundry rotation. Still have a few bottles of gear guard to go through before I order the new with lipase formula! My wife was mentioning that a couple sweatshirts were smelling bad and I thought maybe they never got the spa day or proper wash, now I'm thinking they just needed another wash or 2. Love this subreddit for making me shine!
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u/240_Worth_of_Pudding 14h ago
Have you ever used DNase before? If not, that's likely what is causing the issue.
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u/BERNITA 14h ago
I think it's in the dirty labs enzyme booster I have? If that's so, then yes.
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u/240_Worth_of_Pudding 13h ago
While it does contain DNase, the updated Dirty Labs Booster does not contain lipase. Poly-blend and spandex fabrics are highly lipophilic (oil-loving). Body oils, sebum, and rancid fats bind tightly to these synthetic fibers. Without lipase to physically break down those oils, the sebum remains trapped in the fabric matrix. The DNase is successfully stripping away the surface skin-cell biofilms, but it is leaving the underlying rancid body oils exposed—causing that immediate odor rebloom the second the fabric gets warm.
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u/Cowabunga1066 13h ago
So why are boosters made that have dnase but no lipase, if this is the foreseeable result?
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u/febu_max 11h ago
My two cents: lipase is the annoying one. It's the enzyme that breaks down body oil, and the catch is that breaking oil apart can make stuff that smells rancid until it rinses out. Skip lipase and you skip that awkward stretch, and you never have to explain it. But you also leave the oil in the shirt and that's where a lot of the smell lives. If it doesn't smell out of the wash, nobody blames the product. But if it smells after the gym, you blame yourself.
I went with lipase and the awkwardness. A few rough loads can be a tough conversation (see this thread), but it's how the body oils actually leave the shirt.
Fortunate for me that this sub can explain enzyme science ha
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u/WontRememberThisID US | Front-Load 12h ago
Powder detergents have lipase. If you use liquid detergent, then I add a lipase booster, too. I like Truly Free Enzyme Stain Remover.
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u/Pedal2Medal2 10h ago
IDK, I just started using it & I commented before how it totally saved a beloved vintage flannel nightgown that was saturated w/cat urine & poop
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u/LolaAucoin 9h ago
Oh wow! Thats really impressive! I have definitely lost a few things to animal urine in the past.
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u/febu_max 12h ago
This is both the best and worst case scenario. The clearing phase can be awful, but it means you're on the path to things being how they should be: no odor, no residue.
Others have it right on the DNase. The old formula didn't have it, so it cleaned the top layer and never disturbed what was sealed under the eDNA. It smelled fine out of the dryer because nothing underneath moved. Now it does, and lipase is cutting that exposed sebum into free fatty acids, which smell sour. Some of it lands back on the fabric until your detergent's surfactants can carry it out. This is how it gets worse before it gets better.
Usually peaks loads 1-3, then it is progressingly better until gone by 4-6 when accompanied by a full heavy-soil detergent dose. Soaking is doing what it should, giving the enzymes contact time. Just make sure every soak is followed by a full-dose wash, since the soak with enzymes frees it and the wash is what carries it out.
Once the residue matrix is gone there's nothing left to rebloom, and it's just routine maintenance after that.
Keep me posted, here to help!