soft towels, ozone, lemon juice and Betty White
Residual detergents left in cotton towels can give them a stiffness, that is undesirable. With so many of today's poor rinsing washers, it is no wonder people complain of stiff towels.
After the washer completes its first cycle, with a load of towels, I run them through another entire cycle without detergent...with the washer set for warm rinse.
I also learned a little trick from Betty White (GOD bless her) on The Mary Tyler Moors Show. Recall the episode where Lou spends the night with Sue Ann Nivens. Sue Ann, the next morning, returns Lou's socks, which he had left, and tells him that she rinsed them in Lemon juice so they would be fresh smelling.
I tried it and it works wonderfully. I put about 2/3 cup of lemon juice in the next to last rinse for all my laundry. It smells better than vinegar, helps to neutralize the alkalinity of any residual detergent, clothes feel soft and there is a very slight lemony freshness. Seems to help with my allergy to detergents as well. My towels are soft and fluffy.
Thank you, Betty White.
As far as Ultra-Violet light. My mother's 1960 or 61 one Whirlpool Imperial Mark XII washer had that same UV light. Being about five or six years old, I don't recall if our clothes were particularity fresh smelling because of the ozone. They may have been. Not all UV lamps produce ozone. I believe Whirlpool used the same lamp that Pollenex did it its table-top "air purifiers" of the day. People called them "ozone lamps" lamps as opposed to ultraviolet maps or bulbs..
I do recall my dad explaining ultra-violet light to me, when I asked him about what the blue light in the dryer was for. He explained how UV light works (as best you can to a five/six year old). He also told me UV light, from the sun, is also what makes one tan.
If the door of our Whirlpool was opened. interrupting the dry cycle, the UV light stayed on. When there were no clothes in the dryer, I would start the cycle then open the door and put my head in the dryer with my face close to bulb....hoping I would get a tan, ha. I had no idea how long it took, I guess I thought it was instant. I also didn't know this bulb was not producing UV-A or UV-B rays, so at best I was just disinfecting my face, and breathing ozone.
Interesting thing about UV, it's a totally different animal in various areas of its spectral range. At some areas in the spectra it produces no ozone, others areas it does produce ozone, and in other areas it actually destroys ozone. About 240 to 280 manometers, UV light will break the bond of the third oxygen atom in the ozone molecule and liberate it, leaving an O2 oxygen molecule.
UV light can tan, it can kill even antibiotic resistant bacteria, it can create ozone, or it can actually destroy ozone. Very versatile. What it does i solely dependent on where it is at in the spectrum.
