For All Those Who Add Vinegar & FS To Rinse Cycle

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launderess

launderess

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Was reading around P&G's website for Downy fabric softener and since they finally list contents, came upon something interesting.

Besides no longer being the tallow based gunk it once was, Downy now contains formic acid given as a "pH adjuster".

One assumes this is along the same lines as commercial fabric softeners that are meant to both "sour" and soften the final rinse.

From reading over on THS, many persons are fond of cutting their Downy with white vinegar. Am wondering however if this could be gilding the lily. Too low a pH is just as bad for textiles as too high.
 
I'll take the old tallow based gunk anyday. At least it rinsed off in hot water. The new stuff doesn't even wash off, and has buildup issues on both clothing and machine parts.
 
Hi Laundreress

MSDS are always a good source about pH levels of laundry products.
Have read several of household fabric softeners, can tell you that they all have a similar pH like vinegar. Guess it is a good thing to use some softener because healthy human skin also has a sour pH of about 5,5.
I wonder how much difference it makes for enameled washer parts what kind of acid is used. Never heard of fabric softeners damaging a washer like vinegar may do.
 
MrBoilWash

MSDS are great resources, however here in the United States they do not list all ingredients.

As there are no laws forcing detergent makers to "come clean" as it were, it is welcomed news that P&F has finally begun to tell, if only on their website what exactly is in their laundry products.

In the past a label might say (and probably does for all I know), "pH adjuster", not "formic acid".

As for using white vinegar in washing machines, what one has been told is that pre-packaged products are controlled to give a certain pH level per dose. In the case of laundry products this ranges from fabric softeners, to washing machine "cleaners", to laundry sours.

Vinegar is about 5% acidic, but much depends upon how much is used. Persons pour one, two or more cups of the stuff into final rinse waters and that cannot be good. Consider also that unless another load is done afterwards, the bit of remaining "acid water" sits in the sump and perhaps lower tubs of the washer.
 
I've stopped using fabric softener for a couple of reasons:

1) I used it primarily to stop static cling from building up on loads of shirts/synthetics in the dryer. My new dryer has an Anti-Static option which shoots some steam into the load at cooldown. This seems to have alleviated the problem.

2) I have very soft water. Bath towels are soft to the touch out of the dryer. Is fabric softener really needed? I've found I prefer not having an artificial scent on my clean clothes and linens.

3) Anecdotal evidence from members concerning gunky build-up and subsequent mold/mildew/stink in washers and reports of problems with dryers when softener sheets are used, lead me to believe it's probably best to steer clear of the stuff.
 
I agree with Eugene.

I stopped using the softener about 2 years ago, and I don't miss it!

I don't want the "smell" polluting my IAQ of my home.
 
I'm with Frigilux and Mayguy!

I stopped using fabric softener a few months back (I was mainly using sheets, but they were leaving small "blotches" on my clothes and towels). On a whim, I picked up a small bottle of Downy at Big Lots back in June, just to re-try this brand again.

I've not noticed that much of a difference when using fabric softener over not using it. I do know that in opening some of the bottles and taking a good sniff of them, most of the brands smell HORRIBLE! The only "decent" one I found was Walmart's Great Value Mandarin Orange scent.

After the Downy is gone (which should be on the next trip to the laundromat in a few weeks), I'll be going back to NO fabric softener.
 
I am thinking of also giving up on the cheap, watery, gallon-jug supermarket stuff. Too much itchiness downstairs these days from that. Besides, why bother if the stuff is going to force me to go buy Vagisil to stop the itchiness.
 
They'll have to pry the stuff out of my cold, dead, hand

I love my fabric softener!! I usually use Downy or Suavitel, mainly because I LIKE the scent. I always use liquid. Oh well, I'm used to being different (tee-hee!).
 
I'm with Delmer (Whitekingd), I love my softner. But I use Snuggle. Some of its scent variances are strong, which I kinda like. The ladies at work notice and like the scent of my laundry. Downy put some sort of waxy buildup on my towels and made them less absorbant so I stopped putting Downy in every load. But when I switched to Snuggle, that wasn't the cae any more and my dispenser stays clean too, unlike with Downy. Plus I'm kinda partial to the bear on the package.
 
Dermatitis

Can be caused by almost anything which comes into contact with skin. It all depends upon what one's body finds irritating, though some substances are more prone than others to cause problems.

Personally do not use FS for routine laundry, but do like a very small amount of the "green" lavender versions when doing sateen linens. Scent is nice and it does make them easier to iron.

In the old days one was instructed to add a bit of any sort of fat or oil to a starch bath/final rinse to make for smoother ironing and provide a gloss. Butter, lard, grease, tallow, etc were all used. However today we have silicones and other substances present in fabric softeners as "ironing aids".
 
We have discovered that an eyedropper-full of tea tree oil, mixed with the bottle of liquid soap we use in the shower, solves a wide variety of skin irritation problems. This is especially true in the winter, when everything gets drier.
 

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