Ammonia in Laundry

[frigilux]

Martin--- Do any of your front-loaders dispense bleach during the wash tumble, or is that your top-loaders? I thought all front-loaders dispensed during the first rinse.

Mark-- The pump on my Maytag 8100 kicks in for a few seconds upon start-up, as does Harley's. Any liquid poured into the empty drum will be ejected as soon as you press start. I suppose I could use a detergent pod and pour ammonia in the liquid detergent cup.

I'm surprised at the number of people here who use it! I can't recall ever purchasing it. My mom used it a couple of times when I was little and the scent freaked me out. Of course, I'm the one who finds the scent of liquid chlorine bleach comforting, so...to each his own.

 

[cuffs054]

I tried it for two loads. First was cotton sheets. It seems to have pulled some of the color out of them. They did come out very "fresh". Second was a mixed load of whites and kitchen towels. Did seem to make the towels "brighten" a little. Slept on the sheets last night and found them rougher than usual.

 

[dermacie]

Ammonia

It will also brighten faded fabric in your car.

 

[rpms]

How much do you add to a top load washer?

 

[mark_wpduet]

I think it actually

says on the back of the ammonia bottle how much to put for laundry, but I've always eyeballed it. I've never noticed any roughness or color change on anything using ammonia, even if poured straight up on clothing. It's not a pleasant smell, that's for sure. I hold my breath when I pour it in the washer.

@ Frigilux - I find the faint scent of Chlorine bleach comforting too....just a super clean smell, but only very diluted. I have always filled a spray bottle with distilled water and a tablespoon of chlorine bleach and that's what I wipe everything down with....but that straight up bleach smell is too strong..

 

[frigilux]

Mark-- I definitely meant the scent of diluted bleach. Sniffing it straight up would stand my hair on end, LOL.

 

[foraloysius]

And we all know what that looks like... lol

 

[yogitunes]

lets see, on the Calypso, the first rinse is the bleach dispense....granted it most likely works so well, is it recommends 1 cup of bleach, for about 4 gallons of water....cold rinse at that....

the Neptunes and Cabrio add it during the last few minutes of wash

the Maytag 806 is not timed, so it is dispensed at the moment agitation begins....same for the 1-18

Kenmore direct drive machines, with timed dispensers, added it during the last 2 minutes of wash....

the thing with bleaches now is you have to watch the concentration or percentage of sodium hypochlorite......where it used to be across the board at 4%.....now depending on the 'ultra', can be as concentrated up to 9%....only meaning you have to use less per load, and the dilution factor for a HE machine versus a typical old school top loader....

depending on the load, usual amounts for Ammonia to add is between 1/2 to 1 cup....

if you can find it, try Parsons Ammonia Lemon......probably one of the best smelling Ammonias around....fresh yet not over powering...

ammonia doesn't seem to be as damaging to clothing like bleach can......I add it to the start with detergent...

 

[foraloysius]

I always knew there was a difference between chlorine bleach on the American market and the NL. Overhere for years concentrated bleach has been the most popular especially for cleaning toilets. It has a 10 - 15% concentration. Only the cheapest brands are more diluted those are 5%.

 

[washman]

Hi Frig!

 

[frigilux]

Hi, Ben!

 

[frigilux]

Thanks for the bleach-dispensing info, Martin. So the Neptune front-loaders released bleach during the wash tumble. Interesting.

The 1960 Kenmore Model 80 I grew up with dispensed bleach during the last 4 minutes of the wash. You'd hear the unmistakable 'clunk' of a solenoid which lifted a plunger in the dispenser and shortly the scent of detergent and bleach would waft out of the machine, helped along by the waterfall from the lint filter. Ah, memories...

 

[imperial70]

I used the bleach dispenser in my GE front loader for the ammonia. It worked great. However it caused a weird reaction for the fab softener in it's dispenser. It turned waxy and separated from the water.

So the second wash I just added to the drum before loading clothes. That worked great too. There is a difference in the finished laundry.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[mark_wpduet]

I finally bought more today

Kroger only had the home sense brand....no lemon scent like they usually do, so I had to buy the plain old regular kind.....but it still works. I bought some at the dollar store once.....lemon scent. I can't remember the brand name, but the bottles were really BEEFY compared the Kroger brand and it was also lemon scent...

 

[vintagekenmore]

I was able to find lemon ammonia at my HEB here in Houston, it was their store brand but they did have it, my Kroger only had the clear ammonia marketed under their brand name. Decided to try it on some laundry today and all I can say is "WOW". Some wash cloths I had put in a load that always seemed to have that "funky" smell no matter how many times I rewashed them, came out smelling of the detergent and softener I used. My bed sheets and pillowcases came out wonderfully soft and noticeably brighter. Im most definitely sold on this "wash day wonder". Now I know why grandma swore by it on laundry day!!!

 

[gorenje]

Hi Vintagekenmore your experience with Ammonia seems to be like mine. I was also really surprised.

Now I've made so many loads and I think I will not stop using it.

The Curtains I washed the other day came out great with detergent and ammonia !

 

[polkanut]

Brian "rpms"

The instructions on the jug of ammonia in our laundry room says to add 1 cup at the beginning of your wash cycle.  I add it before I add any detergent and let the tub fill up a bit with water so it's diluted before adding anything else.

 

[cuffs054]

Been trying ammonia in some loads and it is doing a good job. I've been using a full cup in the Fridgimore since it actually uses water to do it's job. Any suggestions on how much to use in the MT since it "washes" most loads in air?

 

[ea56]

I would like to try using ammonia in the laundry, but I'm concerned about the fumes. I'm very sensitive to ammonia fumes (I have asthma that is aggravated by chemical fumes). Last week I put a cup of ammonia in a glass bowl on the top rack of my dirty oven with a pan of boiling water on the lower rack and closed the door( I think the fumes were coming out of the oven vent in the right rear burner). I had intended to leave this in the closed oven overnight then clean it the next day. Within a little over an hour the house was so full of ammonia fumes I had to open the windows, put on 2 air filters and clean the oven to get rid of the fumes. So my question is, if I use 1/2 cup of ammonia in an FL are the fumes going to drive me out of the house? Inquiring minds would like to know. Thanks in advance for any feedback!
Eddie

 

[yogitunes]

well granted a FLer does have an air vent of some sort, its not totally sealed once the door is closed.....

and depending on model....

as a TLer, you would smell bleach, ammonia, and detergents from the machine....

may be a bit more subdued with a FLer.....you actually might get more scent from the drain line/laundry tub than the actual machine.....

all I can say is try it, and possibly in lower doses, and like your oven, just be prepared to open windows if needed....this also depends on the laundry locations for smells and such.........

besides, for a Fler, you wouldn't need all that much....1/4c to 1/2c would be plenty....

 

[ea56]

Thanks Martin, I didn't even think about it, but when I use bleach, I really don't smell it much at at, but I sure did in the TL, so I'm gonna give it a try, (but without bleach!) I made that mistake when I was about 15 and was doing the laundry at home alone. We didn't have much bleach, so I added what we had and then topped it off with Parson's Sudsy Ammonia. Holy mackrel!!! It's a wonder I didn't kill myself. When my Mom got home I told her what I had done. She said, you idiot, didn't you read the labels! I guess not Mom,but she was just home from work and tired so I'll cut her some slack, lol!
Eddie[this post was last edited: 8/29/2016-19:08]

 

[yogitunes]

yeah, theres a few that shouldn't mix with each other, this probably the worst....

we all been there, done that!....even after were told not to....

I was known at work as a 'stain master'......if I wasn't asked for advice, I was given the actual garment/stain to remove.....

probably the only stain I could never remove.....yellow mustard from a 7-11 hotdog....that one stuck, any other type, I could get out...

working in a laundry helped a lot.....and sometimes we mixed concoctions to treat a stain......at this point the fabric was ruined, we couldn't make it any worse.....we had some wins and loses...but had to give it a try....

 

[cuffs054]

Yogi, you think 1/4-1/2 would be about right for the MT topload?

 

[imperial70]

Liquid dish soap and LCB

not to hijack the thread but while we're on the topic of mixing bleach and ammonia:
Remember to not mix Chlorine bleach and liquid dish detergent. Most of them have some form of ammonia.

back to the subject.

 

[yogitunes]

I would start with...

1/4c to 1/2c for FLers

1/2c to 1 cup for Tlers

of course adjust for load size and soil level.....water hardness may play a factor as well......but these are starting points to get you going....

1/2 cup works for most loads and machines.....

 

[imperial70]

I have to agree with YogiTunes. The 1/2 cup has been working great in my front loader.

 

[mark_wpduet]

I can't stand the fumes

but when I add it to my FL washer - I don't notice it going throughout the house at all.....I think when my Fl fills and starts washing, at that point it's diluted enough to not make a scent roaming the entire house.

 

[polkanut]

This morning I washed our shower curtain liner which had developed a bit of mildew along the bottom edge with a mixture of 2 scoops of Sears detergent (orange box), 2 tbsp. STPP, ½ cup Stanley Degreaser, 1 cup bleach & 1 cup ammonia both heavily diluted in our Maytag Dependable Care tl'er.  The water level was set to Large which would equal about approx. 15 gallons.  The water setting was set to HOT (135°-140°F).  This was followed with a warm water & white vinegar rinse.  It came out great!  But, being the goof that I am, I forgot the before and after pics.  DUH!

 

No problems with any fumes because both chemicals were added at different times.  The ammonia at the beginning of the fill, and the bleach when the machine was just about full.  I also added some white towels to ease the wear & tear on the vinyl liner.

 

[Marky_Mark]

I have never used ammonia with laundry but after reading this thread I am going to try it tomorrow.  I never have a problem washing whites, but in my attempt at treating colours more gently, I can have issues.  I have just done a bit of google research and it would seem that it's especially good for removing sweat smells and oil/greasy stains.  These are the exact two issues I have problems with.

 

The only way I can normally get my coloured clothes clean is by using a long, warm wash with a full dose of good detergent in soft water.  This just about gets out the underarm smells/deodorant/anti-perspirant (when I smell the underarm of a shirt, I want it to smell identical to the rest of the shirt).  As for fat stains (from cooking/eating) I have to spray some stain remover before washing otherwise they don't tend to come out first time.  Perhaps the miracle I am looking for is ammonia.  I could just toss some in with the wash and all fat stains and underarm smells will be banished without pre-treating and perhaps I could even use a shorter/cooler cycle.  Let's see...

 

[polkanut]

Mark,

When using ammonia you will still need to pre-treat any stains as you normally would.  By itself ammonia won't take of them alone.

 

If you're using a front loading machine I would suggest using 118.3ml  per load.