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I agree with Glenn

 

 

Fabric softener does build-up. I've have cleaned up quite a few of top loaders with blue gunk residue. I still have nightmares after cleaning my current machine (Speed Queen). Even though I use fabric softener sparingly and always diluted, I still have to remove the dispenser for a cleaning on a regular bases.
 
Yes and no.... yes, it can build up if you don't have good laundry habits, don't use a good detergent, don't use hot water, LCB, etc..

I have my hand VERY heavy on fabric softener and my washers have ZERO buildup.

My water heater is set to "almost trigger the safety valve", my hot washers are really hot, I use plenty of detergent (I confess my hand is also a bit heavy), rinse properly, repeat rinses depending on the washer, etc.

Now, if you have a heavy hand on FS, use only liquids or pods, cold water, quick cycles and overloaded machines, your washer will soon look like a Pantone scale with 50 shades of blue.
 
Reply #6

I haven’t seen too many of his videos but as soon as I heard “fabric softener destroys machines”, I clicked off. Yes, it can indeed buildup overtime but as mentioned, I mainly use hot or warm and never have any issues with any buildup etc. I’ve been rinsing in cold since it’s been warmer out here in the southwest (usually rinse in cold in the spring, summer and in parts of the fall where it’s still warm but as soon as it begins to get cold out, I rinse in warm) and haven’t had any issues so far. The only complaint I have about rinsing in cold is the machine takes a little longer to fill compared to doing a warm wash warm rinse cycle but that’s the only gripe I have about rising in cold.
 
 
I use softener on sheets, occasionally on shirts, nothing else.  The AquaSmart's dispenser flushes five times.  Residue accumulates and needs cleaning surprisingly quickly.  Same on the Neppy TL which flushes for the duration of the top-up from low to deep level on the final rinse.  The Calypso's dispenser also needed regularly needed cleaning when I was using it as the daily driver.

Washing in uber-hot or even normal-hot water is fine for those who are in-the-know on workarounds for machines that otherwise restrict it but the man/woman-in-the-typical-home doesnt't do that.
 
to adam-aussie-vac

I just couldn't believe what the guy said, and I still don't. No way am I gonna EVER put vinegar in my laundry as opposed to real fabric softener. He must be delusional. Using an ounce of detergent doesn't work.
No way am I having my clothes smell sour! Since when has fabric softener killed washers? Why is there a dispenser for it? SMH. I just can't. For real!
 
Absolutely, the only place where

I have actively used vinegar was at my previous workplace, as it helped to soften the cloths that we used to detail cars and there was no waxy film so they kept its absorbency, Plus the vinegar smell was nearly gone at the end of the dry cycle, so it probably worked out for the best there, but in general household situations it’s probably better to use fabric softener, I understand peoples “conspiracy theorist ideas“ when it comes to this although it does make me wonder when you iron something does that also make it softer? As I’ve noticed that whenever I ironed my pillowcases They always seem a bit softer and more “luxurious” (this is after they’ve come out of the washing machine After using fabric softener, gone through the extractor and then through the roto-Iron(Rotary Ironer))
 
eco friendly "solutions"

And I don't believe the crap that "eco friendly" "solutions" work. I've tried, and they've failed. We had wash day powdered laundry soap which smelled good, but I come to the conclusion that it was just eco friendly garbage. I thought it would, but never did. A real laundry detergent and fabric softener did 2000 times better, and I have NEVER had static cling or encrustation. I wish somebody like Sean A806 or sharkie626, or even jaykay18 would school that dude about using fabric softener, but I'm afraid it will fall on deaf ears. Yeah, like I don't know how to do laundry! God! I wish I could come through the computer screen and school him! You will never convince me that vinegar works better than fabric softener, Derrickwith2rs! Clearly not! Like I would want to make my clothes smell sour.
It really gets to me! UGH! SMH! So what if I used fabric softener on my towels? I still get dried off after a shower! To Sean A806, I don't care about the environment, I just want clean and soft clothes! Fabric softener has never hurt anybody, has it? I didn't think so. With the "toxic" stuff, it really was effective and did the job. There's nothing eco friendly about these "environmentally friendly" products, suggestions, and alternatives. You end up wasting more resources as I and many others have had firsthand experiences. Rant over!
P.S. Where's Chetlaham?
 
 
Laundry detergent is alkaline.  Vinegar is acidic.  It has function to counteract residual alkalinity which can cause fabrics to feel harsh/scratchy to the touch ... particularly if the detergent forumula is high in sodium carbonate (washing soda).  Vinegar doesn't have the waxes and lubricants that are in fabric softener products so cannot soften fabric on that level.

Regards to clothing left with the scent of vinegar, that's unlikely after spin extraction and drying.  The couple/few ounces of vinegar diluted in several gallons of water in the machine is a negligible amount.
 
Solutions don’t work if dilution's to much

Is how I would put it, although I am partially thinking about potentially washing some greasy rags with ground up laundry soap and some hot/warm rinses These rags were actually quite dirty and probably dirty enough that I didn’t even really feel comfortable putting them on any of my machines and the laundromat I went to use soap but nothing came out of the machine there was no soap there was no suds, It really just seemed like there was only just water, this is even after throwing in some dishwasher tablets and dishwasher cleaning tablets, although it does make me wonder did I get the Alkaline so balanced that it was literally a pH of seven inside the machine? That I’ll never know
 
Softner/water quality

Fabric softner is made from petroleum byproducts (cheap and plentiful for manufacturers to keep your money) and does not biodegrade easily.

Another issue not pointed out is water quality plays huge with detergent usage. Excess detergent/calcium makes stiff garments.

Mechanically softned water - 2 tablespoons of detergent is plenty and negates a need for FS because less detergent is used.

Detergents work better in soft water therby keeping stinky clothes at bay w/o perfums masking bacteria/odors.

Many people "think" they have soft water naturally from public water supplies which is a clueless statement.

Harder water will need the works to mask odors.
 
water quality

I've used fabric softener in various water qualities, and I've yet to have an issue. I remember when my GE would slow down during spin due to suds lock, it would disipate and speed back up when it dispensed. You could clearly smell the softener all over the house. It was a pleasant smell.
 
 
Jerome, where do you find a reference, preferably from a testing laboratory, that fabric softener physically damages fabric?  The waxes and lubricants can interfere with moisture absorption which makes bath towels and dish towels and such items less effective for their intended purpose but that doesn't involve physical damage.  It also interferes with flame-retardent items such as kids' pajamas and shouldn't be used on those types of clothing.

Softener kills suds via the waxes and oils in it that counteract the surfactants in the detergent, which is also the source of scrud (waxy sludge build-up) in washers.  That's why softener shouldn't be added until the final rinse when residual detergent hopefully is minimal.
 
According to "Stiftung Warentest" most fabric softeners had a negative impact on colors and fibers compared to textiles not treated with FS.

Still does not keep me from using the stuff at least in small doses.

From my personal observation FS has a tendency to precipitate or coagulate in the rinse water which in turn might lead to a build up in the washer but only if clothes are not 100% clean.
The smallest trace amounts of residual body oils in clothes + FS = trouble!
But even then as long as you use enough detergent and hot enough water in the next wash again there shouldn`t be much of a problem.

https://www.test.de/Weichspueler-im-Test-5519844-0/
 
Oy Vey!

Some people are masters at beating a dead horse! For cryin’ out loud if you like liquid fabric softener, USE IT, no ones stopping you!

And if you don’t like it, then DON’T USE it!

Different strokes for different folks.

Trust our own experience and let the endless debate go. No matter what side you’re on in this argument you will NEVER change the minds of your opposition.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.

Eddie
 
No Eddie, I think AW would be a very sad and quiet place if we weren`t allowed to have the same discussions again and again.
If I find the subject of a thread not interesting enough for me then I don`t follow it, but I think there is no such thing as a dead horse if at least two members still are having fun in a thread.
It may be their party then, not mine but I`d respect it.
And I believe if we had another top vs frontloader, hot or cold water, Democrats vs Republicans or whatever thread the outcome wouldn`t be the same either as always someone new shows up or someone old changed their opinion.
 
fabric softener killing everything

So if fabric softener kills everything, then why are they still selling it? If this guy had any common sense, he'd know that it's not the softener that's the problem, it's how it's being used. I use it all the time in the Speed Queens at my apartment always using heavy soil and everything is nice and softened. And yes, I use it in my towels and I still get dried off at the end of the day. I agree with Adam.
Derrickwith2rs, let's not be stupid! So get real! Fabric softener is safe when used as directed! I'm done![this post was last edited: 10/19/2023-22:03]
 

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