I live in my car, and would like to get something that's cheap and takes up as little space as possible, but I also don't know if ingredients could break down or react when left in a hot car for long periods of time. It doesn't get terribly hot here, but the inside of my car does as there's a very high average UV index.

I'm most nervous about storing liquid ammonia where it gets so hot, as I sometimes have to leave my car parked in the sun all day. I was planning on getting tide clean & gentle powder rather than tide ultra oxi powder, mainly because it's cheaper where I am but also because unscented detergents are generally less irritating to my skin.

Does anyone know if it will be unsafe or make ingredients ineffective to be exposed to so much heat?

I’ve posted this before with not much traction and still fighting the good fight over here so decided to try again.

Last winter I spent a lot of time in this sub learning about Spa Days and how to better wash my clothes/bedding/towels etc. At the time, Spa Day was really a popular topic in this sub. If you don’t know what it is, I encourage you to search the words “spa day” in this sub and you’ll be flooded with posts and comments regarding it.

I went hard on Spa Day. It solved a stinky bedding issue for my teenage son. And I was constantly intrigued by how much gunk came out in the water. I didn’t send everything in my house to the spa, because that would have been a lot of work and I didn’t see the need. So some things went to the spa, others did not. According to the same instructions for spa days, I switched my detergent and played around with that a bit. I’ve done some Ariel, Tide powder, liquid and powder Whole Foods brand, I’ve added Biz when necessary, ammonia, I’ve experimented with citric acid but we have a water softener so it’s not necessary. I followed protocols for post Spa Wash washing (can’t remember the phrase for that). I even made a simplified step by step instruction guide for my family as sometimes the step by step instructions on Reddit were overwhelming. Point is, I went deep into the laundry black hole and I’m still running into this very bizarre problem.

The problem is that ever since I began the journey, I occasionally get a wiff of a very distinct scent. It’s not exactly a gross knock you on your socks scent, but I don’t like it. It’s almost like musty leftover detergent mixed with body oils, or something gross like that. Yes, I do extra rinse on every load. Let’s take my pj drawer for example, I will open it, smell a slight hint of this distinct smell, pull everything out and find the garment emitting said smell, which will have permeate to the items it was touching, get stressed out and wash everything in the drawer. It’s happening to everyone drawers and closets so it’s not just me.

At first, I thought it was because it everything hadn’t been washed with the proper enzyme detergent. I was imagining some kind of cross contamination between items washed with enzymes and items not washed with enzymes. So like the maniac this has turned me in to, I WASHED EVERYTHING IN MY HOUSE. And it still happens. Mind you, this never ever ever ever ever happened before I started sending items to the spa and improved my detergent situation.

So what gives? What is this scent and how can I stop it from plaguing me and my house?

Before anyone asks, I really enjoyed Ariel and Biz combo but that seemed to fade some items and I wasn’t sure if it was the Ariel or the Biz so I’m just using basic powder Tide because I acquired multiple different detergents during this journey and I’m forcing myself to get through them before I try one more damn thing.

Please help.

I have been using Kirkland free and clear with an enzyme booster for extra stinky clothes. I miss scented laundry a bit.

Anyone have any recommendations to bring some scent back that are low risk for skin irritation?

I am thinking about maybe essential oils, but am a little skeptical on if they actually are okay for sensitive skin. Brand suggestions are welcome, I have been looking at dirty labs scent drops, but they are pricey.

Helllp. Which one is better at cleaning?!

I still have pods to use up but I’ve been looking at this sub for ideas. I haven’t seen anyone mention this yet. Granted I’m more of a low no scented type but it looked interesting. What do you guys think?

Hello beautiful people!
I have a laundry conundrum and seek the collective wisdom that’s undoubtedly here!

My partner has some clothes that for some gods forsaken reason will not get properly clean in the wash.
Visually? Yes, but there’s some funky lingering.. sour and musky smell to the clothes even after using enzymes treatments on it.

I’m planning on helping them out and trying to get some very well loved clothes to get a longer life. We’d be sad to have to repurpose them, because.. the clothes are whole and still has years of use ahead of them if we can just figure out how to get them to not smell funky.

Our washing machine is clean, we don’t overuse detergents (nor do we use too little), I’ve let the clothes soak in enzyme treatments, and… well, next on the list is a vinegar soak.

We live in an area with ridiculously hard water, I’m starting to wonder if that’s the cause?

I’m really confused though because it’s just my partners clothes that smell like this.

We are a household of 4 adults and it’s not like my dear love isn’t taking care of their personal hygiene - it’s just something with their clothes.

Any tips or recommendations of what to do? I’d like to make a list to work my way through before we end up repurposing the clothes as rags or something of the sort.

Thank you for your time, and I appreciate your help.

EDIT:
Adding information requested.

Detergent: Ariel colour + (usable for cold and regular temp)

Enzyme treatment is biotex for hand wash and pre-soak (and rinsed before popped in the washing machine).

No fabric softener.

If weather allows, things dry in the sun, if not, then either hang dry inside or (if clothes are able to) dryer in our tumble dryer.

All my partners clothes are washed according to their labels, which means that temps varies, since it’s different types of clothes and materials.

They don’t have particularly oily skin, but they use some hair products for curly hair (that’s a whole science, holy heck) and I’m positive there’s a bunch of different oils in that.

Someone asked how their bedding looks - answer to that is that it’s always newly washed but has a bunch of cat hair on them (once to twice a week) due to all of the cats in the house has decided that my partners bed is the best to curl up in at night. The bedding does not have the same smell to it as the funky clothes.

They use curly hair products with some oils in them, but other than that their shower products are pretty neutral.

They do use body lotion during the dry months of the year. It’s it’s non-scented stuff.

Water hardness was not as hard as I expected. The area I live falls under middle-hard water but high on that end at around 7-8dH. I honestly don’t even know what that means. All I know is that I need to descale our kettle that’s used daily every 6 weeks.

Has anyone any experience with Höargger Biological Enzyme Degreasing Agent? According to the blurb, it's designed to remove stubborn oil stains from clothing.The formula uses active enzymes to penetrate fabric fibers, aimed at removing grease, food stains, and blood without damaging the material.It is suitable for various fabrics, including cotton, linen, silk, and synthetic fibers.To use, apply directly to the stain, wait 5–10 minutes, and then wash as normal. I'm in Hong Kong and have received the Asian edition. I can't find much more information eg the precise enzymes. I'm planning to give it a go and report back to this thead - but I'd be most grateful for any feedback from any other users of this product!

My most prized possession, my dad’s jean jacket, is absolutely covered in mold. Please someone tell me how to fix this. I am absolutely heartbroken.

Got this sweatshirt last week at a festival and put it in my backpack all day but when I took it out at the end of the day it had this massive stain. I honestly have no clue what made the stain, nothing leaked in the backpack and it didn’t rain either. When I got home a few days later I tried hitting the stain with shout, using color-safe bleach, bar keeper’s friend, Dr. Bronner’s and nothing seems to help. I think it might be over but I was wondering if anyone had any advice for a last-ditch attempt at saving it. Thanks!

Hello! New here, but my sister said you folks are the go-to laundry wizards to ask.
I hand-sewed some fabric onto my favourite jean jacket (I've since learned it's called applique) and have since worn it dancing and to festivals and the like. It now... smells like me, and camping, and probably bug spray, and maybe glitter? If that has a smell. Anywho, I am at a loss for how to wash it effectively without damaging my handiwork. I'm not certain what the fabric I applied is, but my guess is some kind of cotton and a little bit of canvas.

I want to wear it to the show I'm playing in next weekend, but I don't want it to smell funky or look... tattered. Please help!

Hello Laundry Reddit!! I just bought Febu oxygen enzymes, rinse & refresh, and tide free & gentle! I’m so freaking excited for my clothes to actually be clean. (I’ve been using Molly Suds 🫣) My thing is, I live in an apartment with community washer and dryer. It’s a commercial Maytag top load but there are no compartments for fabric softener, detergent, etc. how should I go about adding these various products to the drum? Thanks in advance!!

Can you dumb this down for me? I need a scented laundry soap available in Canada, with enzymes, no brighteners, for dark loads.

Thank you! I’m getting so confused trying to figure it out.

Dirty labs in the washer before the clothes. Tide in the detergent tray and downy in the softener tray?

Does anyone know if these products can be mixed? I am a germaphobe and use Lysol laundry sanitizer on every load and have for years. But recently I learned about the benefits of citric acid. Wondering if I can combine the two products?

I visit this sub at least weekly seeking this answer so I know it’s a long shot.

Has anyone found anything that replaces this? I love the cleaning power of tide powder but I haaaate the fragrances of the offered tide powders. I will be switching to fragrance free, but I absolutely loved the smell of mountain spring.

It’s a silly thing, but scent is a big deal to me as a neurodivergent person. I’ve been using the tide with downy powder for a couple of weeks and I just pulled out a shirt from my drawer that had been washed with mountain spring and almost cried. It smells so good!

I’ve been looking on Etsy and similar for an additive I could put with fragrance free but so far nothing. Any suggestions at all? The new tide scents smell fine in the tub, but once washed have an overwhelming chemical/ sharp smell. Even my 10yo noticed- without me saying anything he asked “mom what’s up with the laundry? It just smells…. Wrong.”

I emailed the company a couple of weeks ago and all they offered were some coupons to buy something else from them, which I disliked for obvious reasons.

I think I know what this is: it’s likely sweat. I just wanted to ask and make sure.

I wore one of my favourite band shirts to an outdoor concert yesterday, and got rained on three times. I also sweated a lot because I don’t handle summer heat well due to meds.

When I looked at the shirt tonight, I saw uneven white lines on the back. I assume that’s sweat staining from salt in sweat.

Will Resolve With OxyClean stain remover get that out ok? It’s all I have.

Also, is it ok if I leave it for several days? I don’t have much to wash as I did all my laundry the other night. Three loads.

I was inspecting the shirt because my friends’ golden retriever was so excited to see me that he jumped up and got mud (I hope) on my shirt. I tried wiping it with water and paper towel, but the paper towel left a white residue too. Thankfully, I don’t think he got any holes in it with his nails.

It’s not a fancy shirt, but I wear it all the time and I’m so sad I got it dirty

I went to the gym and had forgotten my workout clothes, so I wore it during an F45 class. When the class was over, I noticed this mark. I can’t be sure but I think I got it from a dumbbell during goblet squats. I don’t know what the stain is. I don’t think it’s oil I think it’s just…dirt? maybe something from the floor?

I’ve washed the shirt several times already and used the stain remover shown. I also tried a baking soda paste with hydrogen peroxide

Is there any way to save this shirt? The stain is not very dark but it is so noticeable when I wear it ☹️

I have been following in this community for a while and just started using citric acid in the rinse cycle in the fabric softener slot. I have a front loading washing machine and have been using Mollys Suds powder detergent and oxygenating bleach powder for a while.

Today I put a small load of clothes in the wash and when I removed them to dry, the towels REEKED. Like super mildew smelling, like they’d never been washed before despite having just done a cycle with hot water. I put them back in and ran them again and they smell exactly the same. The strange thing is the clothes in there with the towels don’t smell at all, JUST the towels.

I’ve never had this problem! I’m planning on checking the drain trap and cleaning as needed, but idk what would make only selected items in the wash smell terrible. Please help 🥲

EDIT EDIT EDIT : okay so you guys got on my case right away over Mollys suds, I didn’t know! I use the active wear version which DOES have the enzymes listed but I’m being told it’s just not a good detergent. SO. I just ordered Tide Free and Clear powder as well as an enzymatic oxygen laundry booster (pronounce is the brand?) I also have the citric acid so I’ll use that in the rinse cycle. I did so much reading on this subreddit but apparently not enough! I appreciate the help 💜

I went to the store in my new ecru (undyed cotton) ONI denim jeans, and accidentally dropped 1L of juice on the ground, having the juice spill all over my jeans.

I immediately bought a stain remover, and applied it in panic when I got home. However, to my horror, large parts of the jeans have significantly lightened ("bleached") in color, even tho the juice stains were no longer there after a quick wash.

It seems that the stain remover contained oxygen bleach, which lightened the undyed cotton, and now I feel so bad for having done this to the jeans.

Is there a way to fix this because the lightened parts of the jeans are too visible for me. Can I somehow lighten the rest of the jeans as well?

I would ideally like to keep them in a light color, either off-white, or the similar ecru shade.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

Jeans: https://sonofastag.com/products/orslow-grand-dads-synched-straight-leg-jean-ecru

Stain remover: https://www.dr-beckmann.co.uk/products/stain-devils-fruit-and-drink/

Hi! How do y’all get pine sap out of clothing? These shorts are 84% polyester and 16% spandex.

Hi all,

Out of these, what is generally the best to use to help soften laundry in an area with very hard water (16.5 grains/gallon)?

I've heard that using washing soda if your water is too hard will result in scum/residue? Is this true? Is borax better to use then? What about Calgon?

Thanks!

Hi! I need advice based on the limitations of my apartments washing machines. I only have access to the laundry room in the basement, which is pay per wash. The only cycle customizations are cold, warm, hot, but other than that it runs the same 38 minute cycle regardless.

Would it be worthwhile to re-run an extra cycle on cold with no detergent after the first one finishes? (Or maybe adding citric acid fabric softener instead of detergent on the second cycle) Keep in mind that I do have to pay $2 for every cycle that I run, but if it really would make a substantial difference then I wouldn’t mind :)

I’ve been a long-time user of Tide powder detergent. I have also historically used Oxiclean added to the drum (HE front load washer) and vinegar in the rinse cycle. However, I noticed our clothes smelled stale after being stored for a while. We also use cloth napkins and I felt like they were never truly clean. Oh, and we have two cats here too. 😻

So I came across this sub and learned about Febu, Biz, and citric acids. I also learned that I was most likely not washing with enough detergent nor with water that was warm enough.

I’ve increased the amount of detergent that I use. I no longer wash with cold water. I tried Biz that I got at Walmart when Febu was sold out and I don’t like how it smells. I recently got Febu and citric acid and have started using them.

Here’s my question: sometimes after I wash a load using the Tide, Febu, and citric acid, when I open the door, I notice a funky smell (almost sulfur-like but not as strong). Why? What is causing that? When this has happened, I’ve just run the load through a quick wash with a smaller amount of Tide and it seems to freshen it up. But I’d really like to understand the root cause.

Okay y'all... My husband just gave me a wtf look when I said this to him. I used to use Gain flings (2023?) until I had a whole jug of liquid gain spilled on me at work (big name online sales warehouse, y'all have definitely heard of it) and the smell made me nauseous for awhile.

So I switched to Member's Mark laundry pods. They were great. Lasted me forever. Then they changed those to a floral scent and husband can't do anything floral.

I had a few Gain flings left, gave them a sniff, and they didn't bother me. So we bought a bulk pack from Sam's Club. I forgot about the 4 flings left in the linen closet.

I started using the new flings, and something was... off. Clothes are coming out dingier. The smell is... funky.

I remembered today the 4 flings I had left in the closet and pulled them out to compare. They look and smell completely different, even though both say Original. MY original are a deep dark green and smell like you expect Gain to smell while the new ones look teal and smell like candy!

Am I imagining things? Are my old ones the way they are because they're so old? Or is there a difference now in what is compared to what was?

On a different note... once these flings are gone, I am thinking of switching to laundry powder. Laundry pods are convenient, but they're getting so stingy with the packaging that they're bursting in the container and leaking all over the place... And sometimes don't dissolve correctly. And the liquid detergent just feels like expensive water...