Laundry Help - Menasha,WI

When you wash the towels put them thru an extra rinse cycle, sometimes the powder detergent (I use it to) foams up more and especially in towels needs and extra rinse. I never use liquid softner and rarely use dryer sheets on the towels because it can make them less absorbent.

The arm pits of my husbands white under shirts also get yellow and crusty - I spray lemon juice on them when I sort the laundry so it has time to break down everything. Then when I wash I also spray the pits with shout or spray n wash. I find its worse with gel deo/antipers. than solid or spray.

Megan

I defiantely have your answer because I just found out about this and the last month has been "heaven" for my towels and "whites". I have 2 teenagers and one is a son who wears white T-shirts under everything!!! Both are very active in sports and both use alot of towels!!! Here it is...............VINEGAR!!! YES-VINEGAR

You pour the vinegar where you use to put the fabric softner-fill to the top and still use your laundry soap the same way. It is amazing how "fluffy" your towels become and the stains on the T-shirts will disappear. Good old "shout spray" is still good to do before you wash the T-shirts (or whatever). Remember, if you switched to fabric softner sheets to wash with soap and water every month (or so) the lint catcher because fabric sheets can put a residue on the lint catcher and seriously has made the dryer start a fire.

Sorry I forgot to tell you just use plain white vinegar (the cheapest brand-Walmart etc..).

Good luck

I have a top load washer and I use powdered soap, Oxiclean, and chlorine bleach on my laundry(a little bleach in the towels just to disiinfect otherwise only for whites) Since I started using the little blue bumpy laundry balls in the dryer, I have stopped using fabric softener all together. My towels are soft and fluffy and there is no static in any loads. They also cut down on your drying time. Give them a try!

Try using Borax- I add in about a 1/2 cup to my washer for each load and it really works wonders. Pretty inexpensive too- about 2.99 a box and it lasts for a couple of weeks.

Hi J.! I would suggest two things--one, stop using liquid laundry softener (dryer sheet will sufficiently soften your clothing, and reduce static); and two, switch to Charlie's Soap! I discovered Charlie's Soap about two years ago online, and it is truly a fantastic product. My husband's shirts had the same problem, and after using Charlie's Laundry Powder, things have improved significantly. Do a Google search and check them out. My whites are so much cleaner, and my actual washer is infinitely cleaner. I buy a huge bucket of their powdered cleaner; it will seem like it costs a lot, but I've been using the same bucket for two years. It lasts a really long time. (Start with a smaller size to see if you like it, though.) I also use their all purpose cleaner as a laundry booster. Fabulous combo! Good luck!

Try baking soda and or vinegar in the wash. I know it might be a pain but when I had a top loader, I would wait and listen for the final rinse, then switch it to cold then add the softener once the water filled which seemed to have helped w/ softness w/ the towels. I also found this stuff at menards called white brite that works pretty good. I also heard... believe it or not, that W.D 40 works as a stain pre treat but have yet to try it. Good luck.

I have never had any problems with buildup in my washing machine (it's 10 years old and I use liquid detergent and softener) so I don't have any suggestions for you there. The yellow stains in the armpits are from sweat, not deodorant; and unfortunately, I haven't discovered a way to combat that problem either. My suggestion is to not spend too much money on those shirts and replace as necessary. Sorry I'm not too much help.

Hi J.:
Try using vinegar in the washer to clear out the soap scum. You can also use vinegar in the rinse cycle to get the excess detergent out of the clothes. Use less detergent in the wash cycle, try about 1/2 of the recommended amount. I have never used fabric softner in the dryer or washer however I do know that dryer sheets can leave oily stains on some fabrics.

J. - I would definitely eliminate the dryer sheets. Google "toxins in dryer sheets" and you'll find a good reason not to use them. I stopped using them more than 10-12 years ago because I heard that they weren't bio-degradable. I understand now that the box indicates they are bio-degradable. But I since have learned that they contain lots of chemicals and I prefer not to use them.

Sorry, can't give any advice about the roughness of the towels, I've never had that issue.

Good luck,

After cleaning your wash machine. pour some vinigar in your machine and some in your fabric softener dispenser. Run your machine full cycle. Also you could try to catch your machine on the last rinse cycle, and manually put it in. This is kinda a hassle, But i had to do it in my last washer.

I found this website on yellow armpit stains: http://www.mrscleannw.com/tips/perspiration-stain.html . Looks pretty helpful.

As for the stiff towels, I find that having too much soap can make items hard and scratchy. I would try reducing the amount of powdered detergent you are using. I use powdered detergent, too, and have stiff clothes/towels when I use too much or if soap is still left in the items.

J.,

I think this suggestion may be the most helpful but you will have to invest in some new products. I suggest using products by Amway called SA8, the powder detergent is great and it is known to keep your machine from gathering up all those additives that other products have and you will not have the buildup on your towels and clothes which will help them to dry faster. They also have a product in the SA8 line called all fabric safe bleach it also comes in a powder form. To get these products you can possibly purchase them on line on ebay which will save you the hasssle of speaking with a quixtar rep and paying a membership fee.

I used to sale these products but didn't like the idea of meeting sales quotas so to avoid paying a yearly membership fee I purchase the product from reps that sell their products on ebay. I hope this helps I am sure you will enjoy the products if you chose to use them.

I could be totally of my rocker here, but it could be that your towels have a build up on them. I personally don't use fabric softener with my towel loads because it coats your towels and makes them less absorbant. So it could be that it is building up on your towels and making them feel less soft.

As for the armpits, I have no idea. I have never had that happen. Well, yellowing I have, but not hard or crusty.

I also periodically run my washing machine with no clothes on hot with bleach to "clean" it and then wash it again to make sure the bleach is all rinsed out. I have no idea if it really helps, but I do it anyway :)

You really shouldn't use fabric softener/drier sheets on towels. These products are ment to prevent static so they are oil based. Putting oil on your towels will prevent them from soaking up water. I don't use fabric softener or drier sheets and I use liquid laundry soap. I don't have problems with residue in my machine or stiff fabric. I also dry everything but towels and sheets on low heat setting.