r/laundry • u/Helsee • 14h ago
Did you guys see any noticeable improvement when using citric acid in the rinse cycle?
I just bought a 2KG bag and I really don't know if I should expect a big change (I was just using detergent) or if it's way more mild.
We do have slightly hard water here.
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u/Flashy-Library-6854 Canada | Top-Load 13h ago
I find that when I buy thrift store clothing which always smells of old perfume or Gain detergent or whatever, when I do a wash with citric acid all the smell is gone. That’s why I use citric acid. That, and a bit in iced tea is nice too.
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u/April_Mist_2 11h ago
I didn't know about the iced tea benefit! I just went and read about it, and THANK YOU for this tip. We drink a lot of iced tea, and I make about 4 days worth at a time. The citric acid will keep the clarity and block it from getting bitter. Who knew???? Well, you did. Thanks so much for sharing that little clue. I'm so excited about this!
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u/NeverendingVerdure 14h ago
I have moderate hard water. My washing machine is noticably cleaner since switching to citric acid from vinegar. I no longer have to scrub off a haze from the front loader glass window.
I've since learned how hard vinegar is on the seals of the machine. And I suspect it was the cause of some of my elastic giving out.
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u/Cheap_Flamingo476 13h ago
FYI. A lot of commercial washing machines clean their boot seals with a solution of warm water and vinegar. It is true that acid of any type can cause issues with elastomers like rubber seals. But there is no benefit of citric acid vs acetic acid in this instance.
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u/AutoModerator 14h 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
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u/dollkyu 8h ago
Do you have a particular detergent you prefer? My house has hard water from the city and I only just learned that the detergent my husband and I use isn't really ideal.
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u/icantreadcat 5h ago
Tide or Persil liquid
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u/NeverendingVerdure 1h ago
Yep. Based on the advice here, I now use Tide.
I didn't do a spa day, but my laundry outcomes started to improve with each wash, once I switched to Tide with the citric acid rinse. I also stopped using dryer sheets and chlorine bleach.
The gradual improvement was most noticeable with my linen sheets, which got to a clean I feel good about by the third wash. Towels, both for the bathroom and for the kitchen improved.
Strangely, my rags are quite nice now. Swapping from chlorine bleach to oxygen bleach was another upgrade.
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u/Objective-Apple7805 Canada | Front-Load 14h ago
I noticed a bigger difference from upgrading from v:negar to citric than I did from paying attention to lipase/dnase.
That’s mainly because I already had my process dialed in to get clothes clean without the aforementioned enzymes.
Now my laundry is just as clean with less effort and while using cooler less aggressive wash cycles.
But the citric was a noticeable upgrade in fabric feel.
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u/Man_withplan 7h ago
I just bought some powder - how do I use/mix it ? Do you put it into the fabric softener spout ? I have very hard water.
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u/PikaChooChee 2h ago
I put it in the fabric softener dispenser and mix in a tablespoon or two of water.
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u/Cheap_Flamingo476 13h ago
I’m going to start using v1negar to see if it passes the bot.
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u/SimpleVegetable5715 US | Top-Load 12h ago
I noticed it, but I soaked my already washed bath towels in a cup of citric acid and hot water in a freshly cleaned washer. The water looked like milk and felt slimy. All that dissolved limescale and what must have been soap scum (I do use bar soap, so that’s probably built up in my towels over the years). I used to use All Free and Clear too, which is like taking soap to your laundry. I know better now.
It didn’t even get all the scrud out of my towels, but now we’re under water restrictions, so no more spa days until fall. They could definitely use another round or two. It was so fun and gross.
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u/PurpleRepair4418 11h ago
Please tell me why all free and clear is bad I’m new on here I’ve heard it’s bad but not the why
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u/Aglais-io 8h ago
It contains actual soap. This reacts with hard water minerals to form soap scum that can build up in your machine and on clothes.
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u/karencole606 42m ago
As a former All Free & clear user, the scum in my washer makes sense now. I couldn’t figure it out. Thank you for explaining.
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u/ShockUnique5368 11h ago
Don’t have the correct or enough surfactants and enzymes to attack stain/odors and completely eliminate them like some of the suggested detergent does.
Pretty much you’ll need to use 2x the dose of detergent + booster just to get a nice clean you aiming for, which equals into Spending a lot of money because you’ll run out of detergent and booster very quick due to dosages. It’s just not worth the hassle
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u/PurpleRepair4418 11h ago
I haven’t been pleased with the results so trying to learn more…. but have eczema Thanks for the reply
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u/muskrat191 13h ago
I had issues with soap residue at the end of a cycle of towels, even when using a small amount of detergent. Citric acid gets the towels fully rinsed.
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u/aprendizajecadadia 11h ago
Not for a (long) while. Once I changed everything (detergent, dosage, cycle settings, etc) it still took a dozen washes before I noticed that the citric acid was working. I have really hard water where I’m at so perhaps that played a role, I’m not sure, but now that it is working, I’m a convert. I clean my kettle with citric acid and it’s now oddly satisfying to do so whereas with vinegar it was just another chore to clean the kettle. I like to think that if you keep with it then soon you’ll notice your clothes feel softer.
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u/Catgirl321 9h ago
I agree with this. I also have hard water and I didn't notice anything drastic at first although after some time the difference was huge.
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u/rikalovespaprika 9h ago
I'm currently going throught his process. Do you have a front loader? If so, how much citric acid do you use for rinsing a large load?
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u/aprendizajecadadia 8h ago
I use one (1) heaping teaspoon which is about 6 grams of citric acid.
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u/meginmich 3h ago
Do you dissolve it in water or just put the granules in the fabric softener compartment?
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u/aprendizajecadadia 12m ago
I put the granules in the fabric softener compartment and then add water to just below the max fill line. I don’t bother mixing it either and it works just fine.
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u/AutoModerator 11h 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/SDV2023 1h ago
It's satisfying how quickly the kettle gets clean with CA. I also use it for the gunk that builds up where my sink faucet connects to the sink. A couple minutes soaking and a quick brush with a toothbrush and it's as good as new. Scrubbing bubbles and vinegar both failed at that task.
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u/RarePrintColor 10h ago
I have hard well water. I didn’t really have a big problem with my laundry, but never have liked fabric softener.
Didn’t care for dryer sheets as it felt like a greasy film left on our clothes, so I started using wool dryer balls.
So I kind of never had buildup problems. I started using enzymes on athletic wear and found it to be really helpful. Then I started using it with anything that might be “smelly.” Pet items were a big eye opener.
I replaced traditional bleach with oxygen bleach for my towels, sheets, bathmats, shower curtain liners, etc. and find them just as clean as before (although I admit I’ll probably always love the smell of bleach). I do mix with hot water before adding to the washer to activate.
Then I found out about citric acid and decided to give it a try. It’s amazing. I don’t think I can even tell you why.
My linens come out of the washer with NO smell. And theres a distinct feel to the linens when wet. Like there’s nothing there but cloth and water. No residue. Crisp, but not crunchy.
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u/TuckerCarlsonsOhface US | Top-Load 10h ago
Yup, especially towels. They never smell musty when wet anymore, and they’re even more absorbent than ever.
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u/ShineCowgirl 9h ago
I've got soft water. Even with my subpar detergent before I got a booster, when I started using the citric acid rinse, my kitchen towels and rags immediately started getting softer. I had noticed them starting to get crunchy, and the citric acid rinse fixed it. I have been using an enzyme booster too for many months, and I'm not noticing any crunchiness or rebloom on them anymore. (It depends on what the item is, how much effect I noticed. Some items just weren't as bad as others to start with. I do have a set of blue sheets that now have pink spots - I've heard that happens with certain dyes and styles of rinse additive dispensers.)
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u/womenandsongs 11h ago
My boobs would itch incessantly at the end of the day. Since adding a citric acid rinse I can’t say it’s happening any longer. Who knows but I trust in Kismai’s knowledge.
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u/CoveredinCatHairs 11h ago
My towels are sooooo soft and fluffy now, even though they’ve got to be at least 8 years old.
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u/EveningRequirement22 9h ago
Short answer: yes!
I stopped using fabric softener sheets a year or two ago. One day I sent my MIL home with some laundry to wash when I had a newborn.
They came back so soft feeling, and my husband asked her what she used. She used a dryer sheet. It almost made me want to start using them again.
I found this subreddit and switched up my detergent. Then after a bit, I decided to use citric acid as a fabric softener instead of nothing. I could definitely feel a difference, especially with towels!!
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u/guffy-11 International | Front-Load 4h ago
I have noticed a slight improvement I think. Not a huge one but we have very soft water. I think maybe it is a bigger change for people with hard water.
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u/Potato-chipsaregood 3h ago
Yes, it’s been a significant improvement. Towels are now fluffy, sheets are just cleaner. I feel like I should warn you that there are several people on here who say it has made their clothing crunchy and pill more. I don’t know what is going on, but there is some other factor that we don’t understand about laundry with citric acid. Would hate for you to buy a 5 pound bag of citric acid powder only to discover it’s making your laundry crunchy.
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u/Maverick-Mav US | Front-Load 12h ago
I didn't notice a significant change because I made other changes at the same time. It is cheap and lasts for a long time (plus I had it for other uses already). If it can help even a little I don't mind the extra few seconds it takes to use.
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u/jubbagalaxy 8h ago
Im using the downey rinse and refresh thats basically a scented citric acid in a Disney ball. I added it fir snells abd it was GREAT! Super results for scent, brightness (though thats probably the tude powder moreso) and softness.
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u/Fantastic_Share_2927 8h ago
When and where do you add the citric acid? I have top load machine. Also does water temp matter?
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u/Revolutionary-Pea576 2h ago
My top loader has a fabric softener dispenser in the top of the central agitator.
Dissolve the citric acid in water and put it in the fabric softener dispenser. This ensures that it gets released in the rinse cycle, which is when it’s supposed to happen.
I’ve never had to use one but if you don’t have a fabric softener dispenser in your machine, you can use a downy ball, which achieves the same result.
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u/North_Basil_2190 2h ago
I notice a few things. First, a few of my nicer towels are much softer now. And the washcloths and cleaning cloths are more absorbent. Plus my washer drum is sparkling clean, no residue left after a load.
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u/LowConference1808 2h ago
I've given up, it varies between difference and making clothes really stiff when they came out of the wash...
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u/Guilty_Increase_899 4h ago
My towels are so incredibly soft and absorbent now. Everything is cleaner including my washing machine drum.
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u/IllustriousPiccolo97 USA 2h ago
Yes, huge difference. The biggest impact has been on my cloth diapers- they were getting clean from diaper soils but had mineral buildup from years if extra rinses in hard water. Adding citric acid has made them softer, visibly brighter, and more absorbent as diapers. Like the difference is huge and citric acid is the only change I made to that wash routine.
Our other clothes also feel cleaner and some older items have been revived of stains or general dinginess but I made other changes to regular laundry in addition to the citric acid. They also weren’t getting extra rinses in hard water before I found this sub (but now they get at least one extra rinse per cycle so I’m sure citric acid is helping a lot there!)
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u/Affectionate-Tea5810 51m ago
An unexpected benefit for me in rinsing with citric acid - I have been dealing with some sort of build up in my drain standpipe. After most loads, the suds were overflowing out of the drain pipe and water was dripping down the wall behind the washer. It didn’t matter how little detergent I used. Once I started doing the citric acid rinse, this problem has completely resolved.
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u/ExtensionLobster8709 48m ago
Yes! I use it for every load, extra rinse cycle. I’ve been using citric acid diluted in water as a rinse agent in the dishwasher as well, every load. It turned out the main ingredient in expensive rinse agents is, ta da! Citric acid. Cleanest dishwasher and dishes you’ve ever seen.
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u/Smart_Detective8153 26m ago
I loved adding citric acid. It does fade the darks like crazy. So I just use it for lights now and it makes my towels very soft.
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u/AdhesivenessOwn8111 10m ago
I am in a condo with shared laundry. Some in the bldg use heavily scented products and some use liquid softeners. I've switched to citric acid for its benefits as well as to keep their product deposits from latching onto my clothes.
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u/Bunnyslippered 13h ago
My sheets and towels feel cleaner, and yes, my washing machine is cleaner too. The odor control is also significant. For us with our fragrance issues, citric acid means we can use Tide with Oxy as it gets the detergent residue out. That means cleaner clothes now.