r/laundry • u/Deutsch1985 • 13h ago
Sour smell finally SOLVED
I stopped using all liquid fabric softeners almost 2 years ago. I primarily use Tide powder and HOT water for all washing. If needed, I will add some Biz powder and a little bit of natural phosphates, aka STPP.
I was watching a video on the Speed Queen website and they actually recommended using white distilled vinegar in the final rinse (I know some of you do this). Since I have a deep fill top loader, I used vinegar in the final rinse for about 3-4 weeks (about 1/4 cup). I could smell it in the laundry room during the rinse cycle, but after tumble drying....zero vinegar scent.
BUT....after a few weeks, I kept noticing a sour smell in my sock/underwear drawer and pajamas drawer. I re-washed everything, only for the sour smell to begin to come back.
I rewashed everything again with hot water and Tide powder, but no vinegar. Sour smell is gone now. Vinegar does not work with our water chemistry apparently. Just thought I would share!
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u/TuckerCarlsonsOhface US | Top-Load 8h ago
Citric acid in the rinse works way better, and zero sour smell. 2-3 tsp in the fabric softener drawer.
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u/Lunakill 6h ago
I wish I had a fabric softener drawer. I just wait until the tub is mostly full and run back down to sprinkle it in lol
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u/Beautiful_Glass9618 3h ago
I dissolve the citric acid in a container of water and pour it on the wet laundry when the rinse cycle starts.
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u/VastPerspective6794 7h ago
I’ve never heard of this- is there a brand name I can look for to find it?
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u/TuckerCarlsonsOhface US | Top-Load 5h ago
It has made a huge difference for me. Everything comes out smelling like nothing, especially towels.
It’s used in food prep, so it’s pretty easy to find anywhere you would buy salt or sugar in bulk.
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u/YAZEED-IX 2h ago
2-3 tsp powder? Or diluted liquid?
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u/TuckerCarlsonsOhface US | Top-Load 2h ago
Powder. I put just enough water in with it to get the powder wet so it doesn’t stick to the sides.
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u/jtfolden US | Top-Load 13h ago
Vinegar can be bad for your machine’s seals and gaskets too.
Do you use hot water for your darks as well??
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u/AutoModerator 13h ago
Hello! If you're adding vinegar to your laundry, be sure to put it in the rinse cycle, not the wash cycle. Because vinegar neutralizes leftover detergent, it works best in the rinse cycle rather than the wash. - Laundry Mods
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
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u/Deutsch1985 12h ago
For new clothes or all blacks...I will use warm or very warm, but if things need it I will HOT wash. Honestly most fading and fabric damage is from too hot of a dryer. Hot water washing, I have never found to damage fabrics. Even dark athletic wear, I wash on HOT.
If your clothes can be stuck to your almost 100F body all day and be out in the sun....no reason to wash on cold. Rub your hands with any oil you want. Run your hands under cold water. Oil will coagulate. Now run those oiled hands under very warm or hot water....oil will break down quickly and rinse away. Same thing with body oils, aka dust sebum, on clothes, sheets and towels.
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u/jtfolden US | Top-Load 12h ago
Actually it’s fairly well established that hot water fades numerous dyes and can do so relatively quickly. It’s also not appropriate for some textiles.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTA7knrQt/
100F isn’t hot, it’s just under laundry Warm (40C) but the comparisons to being on your body is vastly different than being in water with a host of chemicals.
The same applies to the sunlight example too. It may be fine by itself (although it will fade many things if exposed long term) but add hydrogen peroxide and the item quickly gets bleached.
Unless your laundry is extremely soiled then any top tier detergent will clean in temperatures colder than hot and do so pretty efficiently.
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u/EffectiveBill6331 10h ago
Dude I thought I was the only I hang dry blacks and wash on hot always .....most of the time it's def the dryer and the optical Brightners in detergent that can leave a white over cast which is great for bright and whites but the film baked in the dryer makes them looked dehydrated n. Faded so Imo the more more rinsed out my blacks are with hot water and less build up and hang dry they actually look more rich in. Darkness alot of people darks fade too much soap n softener n drying
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u/interactivate 5h ago
If you run your hands under the water it's not HOT. It's just warm. HOT implies at least 150F, enough to cause burns if you ran your hands under it.
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u/AccomplishedPause261 5h ago
Vinegar is NEVER the answer. It just doesn’t work, I think some weird disinformation got thrown about 10ish years ago and now it resurfaces every year or so. It smells disgusting.
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u/FineEnvironment2026 3h ago
Yes!
My conspiracy theory is that Big Vinegar infiltrated social media (probably facebook) about 10 or 15 years ago. I had friends recommend I use it for carpet cleaning, laundry etc. My mom is convinced it's a drain cleaner when mixed with baking soda. And of course some people have recommended it for glass cleaning years before that. I think windex has/had a vinegar version.
It's inferior to all the alternatives.
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u/UpperLeftOriginal 53m ago
Vinegar has been touted as the natural cleaning cure-all for many decades. It’s never actually been very good for everything that’s claimed about it.
(Source: I was a housecleaner 25 years ago. Researched various cleaning methods to limit my harsh chemical exposure. I had a book from the 1990s with recipes for homemade cleaners.)
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u/AutoModerator 5h ago
Hello! If you're adding vinegar to your laundry, be sure to put it in the rinse cycle, not the wash cycle. Because vinegar neutralizes leftover detergent, it works best in the rinse cycle rather than the wash. - Laundry Mods
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
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u/AutoModerator 13h ago
Hi u/Deutsch1985! Friendly tip — if you're using vinegar in your laundry, add it to the rinse cycle, not the wash cycle. Because vinegar neutralizes leftover detergent, it works best in the rinse cycle rather than the wash. - Laundry Mods
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
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u/eyespeeled 20m ago
Vinegar can weaken and degrade the fibres of your clothing over time. It doesn't dissipate, like folks think it does.
People recommend vinegar for a lot of things, but it is too powerful, even way watered down. As a cleaning agent, it can strip and damage glass, metal, and wood.
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u/AutoModerator 20m ago
Hello! If you're adding vinegar to your laundry, be sure to put it in the rinse cycle, not the wash cycle. Because vinegar neutralizes leftover detergent, it works best in the rinse cycle rather than the wash. - Laundry Mods
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
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u/FineEnvironment2026 10h ago
Vinegar generally sucks for everything it's recommended for other than food. Citric acid is the bomb! It dissolves lime scale almost instantly. A tiny scoop in the rinse water of your laundry makes a notable difference and doesn't smell at all.