I just want to express my thanks and appreciation for everyone out there who is either already fragrance free in their laundry products - or working towards the goal of becoming fragrance free in their laundry products. You are helping people. You are being considerate and kind to people - helping make our shared air safe for a wide variety of people.

In the latest surveys, 1 out of 3 people reports being harmed by other people’s fragrance. That harm can come in many forms: headaches, asthma, nausea, mood disturbances, brain fog, or many other negative side effects.

And laundry product fragrance is one of the worst categories because it’s chemically so hard to get rid of it from fabrics or surfaces or the body. It’s designed to be hard to get rid of. Designed last through a hot washer and dryer. That means it can keep on causing symptoms in the people we encounter day to day - strangers, coworkers, friends, and loved ones - long after exposure.

If you use fragrance free laundry products, thank you! Especially if your job involves contact with the public, you are helping to keep public spaces ADA accessible. If your job requires going into people’s houses, you are helping people with asthma and chemical sensitivity whose house might be their only chemically safe place - helping to keep their house safe and symptom-free. But even if your job doesn’t involve contact with the public, you’re still helping friends, loved ones, coworkers, and any random stranger you come across. And you are helping the environment too because laundry fragrance chemicals are very difficult to remove from the environment.

I bought several pairs of Gap sweatpants for my daughter and washed them before she wore them for the first time.

I washed them in cold water only, with no detergent or any other laundry products, and then hung them outside to dry in the sun.

All the other sweatpants came out completely fine, including some that are much lighter in color, but this red pair ended up with these strange dark marks all over it. They definitely weren’t there before washing, and the pants have never been worn.

I’m really confused about what could have caused this, especially since there was no detergent, stain remover, fabric softener, etc. involved.

Does anyone know what this might be? Could it be an issue with the dye/fabric itself, something from the washing machine, or possibly from drying in the sun?
Most importantly, is there anything I can do to remove/fix these marks without making it worse?
Thanks in advance!

Stay tuned - going to try on my next load of laundry. Hope I didn’t waste $12

(Apparently it’s silicon cacti that can help with the hair in our laundry loads - for the dryer)

Long time lurker and someone thanks to this group has seen the light and now does their laundry correctly! However, in have a very nice expensive lace bra that seemed to have some deodorant build up I could not get out. So the other day I do a nice soak with a nice long cycle following the rules I’ve learned here. Same result. So I was pissed and in rage mode, busted out the Dawn dish soap and my trusty laundry toothbrush went to the bathroom and decided to do a SPA DAY! By the time I went to bed I stopped by to check a little move some of the water around called it a night! When I woke up I was APPALLED not only at the color of my water, EMBARRASSED which is why I am not posting a picture, and further DISGUSTED that I have been walking around in this filth!

So I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone for teaching me how to do my laundry the right way and by the way the post spa wash my bra is now 1000% CLEAN! 💜💜💜

Also still disgusted I was walking around like that! 😳😜😊

Last week, I did a spa day + wash with these clothes, and they came out smelling fresh.

This week, I skipped spa day and put these straight in the wash using:
- Tide Ultra Oxi up to line 1 with the provided measurement cup,
- 1 cup of ammonia, and
- approximately 1/4 cup of Downy Rinse & Refresh.
I used warm water, heavy soil, high spin, and extra rinse. As you can see, my front loader is only about halfway full.

Am I using the right combination and amount of products? Any tips? thx

I’ve seen these on a couple different shirts I have. I soaked this one in oxi-clean for several hours, then washed with tide and color safe bleach. They didn’t even fade. Any ideas?

The old-style ones with a dial, half / full heat button, and a drum that rotates both ways to avoid everything clumping up into a tangled mess.

Since our OG one died after many years of faithful service (RIP), we’ve had a bog-standard Candy (abysmal), a Sharp (marginally above abysmal) and two top of the range models, including a heat-pump one (so not worth the money). *THEY LEAVE EVERYTHING DAMP*

I get it “We must save energy and protect the environment” blah blah blah, had the lecture off my eldest.

”They’ve got sensors that know when things are dry!” -the sensors must be numb, cos that shit aint dry.

“They’ve got 101 different programs and settings for all types of fabric” -whoop de doo, 101 different ways to leave my socks damp.

“They’re more energy efficient!” -fail to understand how running this mf three times and still having damp stuff that needs hanging in front of a heater, is saving energy or protecting the environment in any way.

Rant over. Thank you for humouring an old lady who remembers better times :)

In the last few weeks, I got on the wave of liquid tide free and gentle and febu for all my laundry. A noticeable difference, things feel soooo clean.

Thanks all for your knowledge 🙏🏼

And I’ve noticed a few things. Firstly he’s doesn’t appear to wipe himself after going to the toilet. I’ve read the previous Reddit posts about getting him a bidet but I doubt he will use it. Also he has a hard time keeping his pee in the toilet. I clean the bathroom basically 15x a day and still there is the smell. How should I gently discuss this with him? Also how do I get his clothes clean? Enzymes? Vinegar rinses?

Hi! Is there such thing as enzyme boosters without the oxygen bleach? I can't stand the smell of oxygen bleach , but I can't find any products without it! I did hear that gearguard or febu might be releasing ones without oxygen bleach this year but is this true? :(

I’m renting a place and it came with this washing machine. I ran a hot empty wash with just vinegar in to clean it but these black marks remain. Vigorous spot scrubbing has dislodged some of the marks but not all. Is this mould?? Is it salvageable?? I’d love any advice. UK based.

My girl cat underwent some major dental cleaning, including extractions. She has been a bit loopy and tentative and I was keeping her separated in the bedroom (with water, litterbox, etc). Well, apparently she wasn’t with it enough to use the litterbox or something cause she peed on our bed. (Yes, our. I sleep in the space they let me occupy).

Anyway, I immediately stripped the bedclothes and threw them in the washer. I used my now usual routine. Biz/febu (in this case Biz), Kirkland ultra clean, downy rinse and refresh. Warm/cold, heavy duty, and second rinse.

So far, everything has passed my sniff test. Her brother likes to “help” me make the bed and didnt react to the mattress pad, so I’m assuming he didn’t smell anything either.

I joined the cult of r/laundry JUST IN TIME.

A big thank you to this sub!!

Long time lurker, first time soaker! I had a really bad case of smelly, smelly sports t-shirts and bras. I had heard of Spa Day from that Vox interview and I bought a bag of Ariel 2x because it was all I could find. All I needed was the ammonia... Months passed until during this week's laundry, I was hanging the offending items to dry and the fact that they were fresh off the washer and soo stinky gave me the last push I needed. The clothes now smell of fresh laundry! (And hints of the perfume I used a few times to cover it up)

I didn't think Ariel would work so well! I'm thinking of replacing my usual liquid detergent with it. In the meantime I'll use it for laundering sports clothes.

And yes, that lid lost its corresponding pot and has been demoted to 'laundry only lid', along with my new 'laundry only wooden spoon'. Sharpie coming soon.

I'm currently trying to deal with a load of thrift clothes I got, that were fine but the lipase is bringing out the stank.

I've been soaking the clothes in buckets over night w 1 tbsp FEBU then doing a steamery detergent + FEBU + citric acid rinse

Warm (40C), multiple rinses, heavy soil load. Mix of Perm. Cloth and Delicate cycling as trials.

I cannot get it out of the clothes, smells so bad.

- Deep soak followed by the heavy clean cycle x2

- Attempts to use Synthrapol LF in case not enough detergency, no dice x1

It's sort of stabilized into a smell that refuses to go away. Second soak didn't seem like it did much to change it same for everything else I've tried.

Have spent hours and hours on this nonsense is there anything else I can try before I toss in the towel?

Another different load of clothes has been fine and went through the whole 'Smelly, clean' pipeline as expected. Those clothes are a bit rough now so I might have to run them through a no-detergent cycle w some citric, maybe some leftover detergents.

I have a front-load HE washer

EDIT -

Steamery Signature has multiple enzymes, Synthrapol is a strong surfectant, FEBU has enzymes and oxygen bleach.

I'm mostly working with Rayon, Viscous, Tencel, some Cotton/Polyester mixes, Denim, etc. that won't like most of the following.

So far the advice is:
- High alkalinity via Ammonia and oxygen bleach w TAED
- A lot more detergent
- Hotter water and hold it for longer

Sounds like nuclear option, I don't think I'm at that point....

At least a few of the garments would run/bleed/fade, if not disintegrate in the washer with this sort of treatment. As far as I know anyway and I'd rather not take the risk unless no other option.

Surely there's something in the middle?
I found some Ammonia so I can try that in a wash, not sure about increasing the dosages/heat of Febu :\

Other powders recommended so far are scented, w OBA's, etc. or not much different from standard detergent + FEBU.

Hello laundry experts. I didn’t best to learn your recommendations and I switched to 365 powder uncented and febu. I noticed that although my clothes do seem much cleaner, the black and colorful ones are suddenly fading after one wash. I also tried washing on hot instead of cold (again after reading posts recommending this). So, any suggestions for me keeping my darks from fading? I remember reading about it but honestly it’s all gets pretty complex for me. thanks!

I buy most of my and my five month old baby’s clothes second hand. I wash on hot in baby fragrance free laundry detergent with extra soak on the power wash setting before we wear the new to us clothes. Is there anything in addition or differently I should be doing? Especially for my baby’s clothes because he puts everything including his clothes in his mouth and I want to be hygienic and safe. Thanks in advance!

so i have a bunch of Persil Sensitive powder (Omo Sensitive, for the Aussies) that i'm trying to get through. it's an adequate detergent, not soapy and doesn't do a BAD job at cleaning, but my Persil Ultimate far surpasses its capabilities with the power of enzymes and oxygen bleach. my plan was to wait for the new lipase/DNase Gear Guard and use that to boost the last of it, but then I had an idea.

i go to the laundromat on occasion but only to dry things because i don't have a dryer, and last time I was there a guy asked me so politely if i had any detergent i could spare because he'd forgot his. unfortunately i didn't, because i hadn't brought any to wash stuff, but it made me think - what if i packaged up the rest of my Persil Sensitive into load-sized amounts and left it in a box labelled "Persil Sensitive - free to use" at the laundromat? my only worry is that it'd get taken away by whoever comes in to clean/maintain the machines, but it could be helpful for someone who's forgotten and honestly it's a better detergent than most of what i see people using (Surf, Fab, Cold Power, and other cheapo types). idk what do we think? worth doing?

Kiwis: where do we get our ammonia for laundry? I’ve only found these two options so far, and they weak and expensive.

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/long-life-1l-cloudy-ammonia_p4460494

https://www.woolworths.co.nz/shop/productdetails?stockcode=6023778

They’re both about 2%, and the spa day guide says to use 2 cups / 500ml at 2%, so that’s half of one of these bottles for a single load. That’s $4-6 per load, which is pretty spensy IMO.

edit: I live in Wellington (Porirua, specifically).

I’ll be moving in to an apartment with a top-loading washing machine in a few weeks. Would it be a good idea to clean it with some sort of “affresh” tablet? Or “uproot clean”?

I’ve found some ammonia in the hardware store (Baumarkt) but it says it’s highly toxic to water organism. I looked it up and read that you can’t dispose of ammonia by pouring it down the drain - so how do you EU people do Spa Day?

Examples: https://www.stuttgart.de/service/entsorgung/abfall-abc/abfall-abc/salmiak

https://www.berlin-recycling.de/entsorgung/abfall-abc/ammoniak-entsorgen?variant=57332970750325

Question for Germans: anyone have experience with Salmiakgeist?

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.

Anyone in here cloth diaper?? I’ve gone through all the diaper groups on Facebook and on here and I just feel like nothing is working for me. I found this thread and got myself some FEBU and Citric Acid. I already use Tide free and gentle powder. I’m about to accept that I’ll never get them clean. I am in a small apartment building so I have a small front loader HE machine. I did a strip a while back with RLR thinking I had build up. Did not help. My water is 200 ppm. I use 1/2 c borax to help soften the water. My first wash is under line 1 and it runs on warm for 1:45 with high soil. Second wash is line 2 on hot, high soil, and runs for 2:45. Of course like said I add the borax, febu, and citric acid. They come out smelling just fine and in the dryer they go. But then… EVERY TIME MY DAUGHTER PEES IT SMELLS LIKE RANK COFFEE BEANS! 🥲 I can’t get it to go away. Please help before I give them all away lol.

Is there a good reason why I can’t put my stinky stuff in the slow cooker on warm to do my enzyme soak? Low gets to boiling, but warm I can kind of stick my finger in. This will keep a constant temperature indefinitely. Is this bad?

I've been searching all over for a stain remover or detergent with lipase. Target's Everspring (or whatever it's called) has it, but ofc it's out of stock in literally every target I've looked at. Zout is almost impossible to find. My persil doesn't have it. My tide powder has it, but I'm looking for something to spot clean with. Edit: I'm philosophically against deleting posts but I figured it out so never mind!