Rinsing
Rinsing is certainly NOT just a matter of washer performance and dosing.
I have had psoriasis for years, completely under control until a recent outbreak and I am having the devils own job of finding detergents that actually work but rinse out cleanly without leaving residue that makes my skin flare up.
These brands will be unfamiliar to people outside Australia, but it illustrates the point.
for a few years I exclusively used Abode laundry powder, it is created by a very small company and sold in a small number of places. It is expensive. When using it with active psoriasis my skin slowly calmed down. I used an LG front loader and always selected an extra rinse - total 4. Along with other steps I took to cut skin irritation, my skin settled right down and for years I had no psoriatic patches.
They changed the formula and I didn't think it cleaned as well. no irritation though.
I tried a couple of supermarket brands and found as long as I used the sensitive version, they were OK. not Aldi trimat though, I itched like crazy after using it. Most recently I had tried Bosistos Eucalyptus powder which makes a big deal in advertising about how easily it rinses out, leaving no residue. The Bosistos seemed to clean well but I was getting itchy - I love the smell of eucalyptus, but it can upset my skin.I had been itching a bit.
I always stuck to powders - Choice had found them to be better performers over the last few years.
More recently I started chasing better results on whites, which could often be a bit grey. A recent Choice test has several liquids as top performers including Dynamo, which is a popular Henkel brand. It was the second best performer out of dozens tested. I was interested to try a liquid, I wondered if detergents might have an advantage easier rinsing? (no residue of undissolved powder.)
I got some Dynamo Sensitive liquid. didn't seem to clean any better, and my itching stepped up to a new level. I tried a new Organic Choice whicch had several claims about being kind to sensitive skin, but I now have a red rash around my neck and shoulders, and get periodically itchy around my whole torso. I have started using a "fabric conditioner" which is supposed to neutralize any detergent residue, I used to use it with the Abode but stopped when my skin settled down years ago.
I have gone back to the old successful formula - Abode powder for wash, and fabric conditioner in the softener dispenser, and lots of extra rinsing.
Unfortunately my current washer, a Miele, doesn't offer a stand-alone rinse/spin program, so to get the extra rinses I do the wash on cottons 40, with fabric conditioner in the dispenser, when it had finished I then do an "express wash" which gives 3 more rinses. The Miele has a water plus option but even after I programmed it to do both extra rinse and higher rinse water levels, I was still itchy.
My skin is starting to improve, but I still have some clothes last washed with the evil liquids. I gathered all my shirts and washed them with no detergent, after 3 rinses I was still getting suds.
Some products have ingredients at are designed to resist rinsing and cling to the clothes - fluorescers to brighten are the main one. If they irritate your skin, they are a bugger to get rid of.
