Using STPP

[esty]

Thank you stan for taking the time to answer all my questions. I really appreciate it. I will try to find out my water hardness level, however since I don't know how to calculate it I will get back and ask once I find out.

Thanks again.

 

[mamapinky]

esty

Stan has given you good advice...but I wanted to clarify something..I have my stpp and laundry detergent mixed together. .bulk style lol. I used a bucket with a tight fitting lid and if I add 10 cups of detergent I add 5 cups stpp stir well and its ready to go, but you don't have to do this you sure can add it to your washer separately. As for pretreating I would say yes expecially since you are using enzyme free detergent. I pretreat once in awhile not always but I use enzymes and I do long soaks with heavy soils or stains. Yes you will probably find you can use less detergent when using stpp. You will also notice the clothes rinse much cleaner removing more of the detergent. You may be able to contact your water supplier and get your water hardness..however when I called mine they said they don't have that information so I still don't know mine. I doubt mine is hard hard since my dishwasher is almost 20years old and the washer is 14years and they are both going strong..I think if I had hard water the deposits would have already destroyed the appliances and I would find the deposits in the screen filters in the facets. ..course this isn't a scientific set in stone answer lol.I did use a test strip I purchased at walmart in the pool section it showed soft water but gave me no number and I haven't a clue if its reliable it may only be saying I have soft enough water for a pool..lol. but to answer your question. ..I would add an ounce or two of stpp to the wash water..agate a minute and feel the water if it feels slippery you know you have adden enough..good luck. Cheryl

 

[esty]

Thank you Cheryl for all your advice as well. I truly appreciate it. I do also stop and soak on heavily soiled loads. I guess you are using a powdered detergent if you are able to premix. I am using a liquid so I guess I can't premix. Just curious what detergent you are using? I do use liquid tide on my husband's and older son's clothing. Just not my little ones. They get a rash from any enzyme detergent I have tried. Even a free and clear one. So I guess you feel your clothing comes out cleaner with stpp even though you are using a detergent with enzymes. I started using Persil pearls for whites on my husband's and older son's white loads. I do add some oxyclean to that, soak a while and get amazing results! I just feel that the arm and hammer unscented doesn't cut through dirty clothing well. I have to pretreat every little stain and let sit a while, then rinse it out in the sink before putting it in the washing machine.
Thanks again so much,
Esty

 

[esty]

Ok. I got the water level hardness for my area. It's 3-4 grains per gallon, and 60-70 parts per million. Anyone know how to interpret that I would appreciate it. Can anyone advise now on how much stpp to add to my top loader speed queen?
Thanks again to everyone!

 

[mamapinky]

esty

You may regret asking me what detergent I use lol I have a lot so I will just name the few I use regularly, and yes I do prefer powder but I have a few liquids I use occasionally.
Powder
Tide with bleach or persil pearls with a shot of biz
for whites and dish towels
Tide free and clear pods for my asthmatic grandson
Gain lavender with a shot of biz for bedding
Sears (green box for brights
Ariel color and style for darks
Ecover sunny day for delicates (but can't find anymore)
I do switch up and use others at times as I know I have at least 50 different ones but these are the ones I use the most. I hope you have good results with the addition of stpp. Cheryl

 

[stan]

Hi Beth

Glad you got that info. That's not too hard. Now do you know how many gallons your washer uses for a fill ? If not can you approximate?

 

[esty]

hi stan

I just looked it up on speed queens website. The average water consumption per load is 24.3 gallons. I guess each time it fills is about 12 gallons. I have no idea how to do the calculation for the stpp. Would you know how its done? My daughter's load just went into the dryer. I used 2 ounces of stpp and a little less than line one on the arm and hammer. The load came out very nice and clean! I even had a pair of white cotton tights that had different stains on it. I didn't pretreat that pair on purpose to see how it comes out. All the stains are gone and everything came out nice and bright. I am very pleased with the results. Thank you Stan and Carroll for all your help.

 

[stan]

Hi Beth

No need for me to do the math then! If that worked, then there you have it.
The old saying sometimes rings true
"If it ain't broke don't fix it"

 

[mamapinky]

beth

Your welcome glad I could help. Have you done anymore loads? What were the results let us know.How many pounds of stpp did you order..I'm asking because you will never again be happy in the laundry room without it, lol it really does help a lot..take care Cheryl

 

[gpevas]

STPP ?

I want to ask does anyone know how long STPP last after the factory bag,bucket or other original container is opened? I read that humid air will destroy or change the STPP into trisodium phosphate. Which I tried in a wash load and had VERY bad results!!! I just found out about STPP and been buying a pound at a time fearing it would degrade. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[mamapinky]

stpp/moisture

Moisture will change stpp that's why its important to keep it away from damp areas..I put mine in triple ziplock bags being careful to let the air out of each than I put it in a space storage bag the kind you use a vacume to extract all air and I store mine in a closet away from kitchen and bathrooms. I do have some of my detergents premixed with the stpp in containers with tight fitting lids so I don't have to be opening the stpp all the time. Cheryl

 

[stan]

Gary

A container like this that closes, and you be fine.

 

[mamapinky]

hi stan

That's the type container I have for my tide with bleach, but for all my other detergents I'm using large wide mouth canning jars with lids I think I have 51 now I only have a few detergentsi use daily but sometimes I like to switch em up and figured canning jars allow me to have some of each at hand.
Also I love your washer I seen a nice pic of it in another post with lots of soap froth...I would love a washer like that but I haven't the space of course my family doesn't understand why I would want to go to the extra work when automatics are so much easier..lol take care Cheryl

 

[esty]

Hi, Cheryl

I actually did not do any other loads yet. Saturday is my day off from laundry. I was so happy with the results however I had to re-rinse everything once they were dried. As I was folding the laundry my hands started to feel very irritated as if a burning feeling. I realized that I probably put too much in. I put in equal amounts of detergent and stpp, when actually the stpp should be half the amount of detergent. I normally use till line one of any detergent. What do you think, I should use now? Less than line one of liquid detergent and half of stpp? It would be so much easier to premix it. What do do when you use a liquid detergent?
Also, I store my stpp in an old oxyclean container. I am thinking after reading the other comments, that maybe it's not tight enough. I bought a 5 lb bag. I put the remainder away in the same double bag it came in. I ordered it from Amazon. I am just thinking back to my mother's detergent boxes she used to buy back in the days before the ban. She had them sitting on a shelf in the basement next to her washer. It was damp down there at times. I don't remember her having a problem with the detergents. Maybe because she used them up fast enough. What about everyone who has vintage detergents in their houses? Does it get ruined?
Thanks again for all your help! Its much appreciated.

 

[stan]

Hi Cheryl

That container was a 4lb container of STPP from Soapgoods. If it's good enough for them to put it in, I figured it was good enough for me to keep it in.
Beth. Something doesn't sound right here! Was the 2 ounces you used, by weight or volume? Either way I can't possibly see how this would cause a allergic reaction. I have heard if allergies to dyes, perfumes, and optical Brightners, but never to STPP. Are you sure you got STPP and not TSP? Did you use a fabric softener, or a dryer sheet? More of a chance to have allergic reaction to those!
The Arm&Hammer liquid is something you've been using so ??
Without doing any math, I'd say that with your water and the number of gallons that goes into the machine for a full load you should need more STPP than the little scoop that come with the OxiClean. It also cause me to wonder if your machine doesn't rinse well, or you over loaded it.
Regardless of all that, if you have someone in the house with sensitive skin in the house, it's always a good idea to do a second rinse.

 

[stan]

Sorry Beth

That was a type O
Meant to say that "you shouldn't need more than the little scoop from the OxiClean container!

 

[esty]

Hi Stan

I didn't use the oxyclean scoop. I am just using the 3 pound oxyclean container that I used up a little while ago to store the stpp. I actually used the two ounce scoop that my stpp came with. I used a full scoop. Till line one of my detergent is also two ounces. The load was not overloaded. I am careful about that. According to some people even on this group, they feel that the speed queens do not rinse well. My hands normally dont react when I fold laundry. I actually rinsed everything through twice again and then I was fine. Everything else I used was exactly the same. My daughter was wearing clothes today and pajamas tonight that were washed in the stpp, and I can't get over the difference it makes. I called up my best friend who lives upstate NY and has well water which is very hard and told her to get some also. She is excited to try it.
Thanks again!

 

[stan]

Beth

Out of curiosity, whats a reason you're using the arm and Hammer liquid detergent. Is it scent and dye free?
I haven't heard about the Speed TL Queen washer's rinsing poorly before? I assumed they were well engineered? Perhaps there is a mechanical problem. You might want to pose that question in the Deluxe or Imperial section depending on its age.
The only other thing I can think of is that since you've been a liquid detergent user, and possibly a cold water user, you may have some build up in your outer tub.
If you think that's possible, then you may want to try cleaning out the machine by filling it with HOT water, allow it to go into agitation and add a cup to a cup and a half of super washing soda, set to longest cycle, allow it to go through a full cycle. If you do this. And your able to see in, and or what drains out, you might be surprised at what was hiding.

 

[gpevas]

I want to say to ESTY when I first started to use STPP it cleaned my washer and cloths I think there might have been old detergents in your washer and it may have been in the rinse water (old detergent that is ) just a thought. I would use the hottest water possible in the wash and STPP and let that goe a cycle. Should clean any old detergent especially if you used cold or even warn water. I am a hot water washing person. I hate cold water rinses but that what our government want us to use. With my wringer I control how hot the rinse water is.

 

[esty]

stan and gary

Thanks so much for the advice. You may have a point there. My washer is fairly new, however there still may be a build up. I am using the unscented arm and hammer as I mentioned above for my kids with sensitive skin. I use tide liquid for the rest and Persil pearls for the whites which is amazing.
I also use warm water washes and rinses. My plumber actually installed an interesting hook up with a "y" brass garden attachment, put onto my hot water inlet and a "y" hose on the cold water side with a back flow preventer which gives me warm water rinses. I once posted a picture of the hook up connection on the delux forum when someone asked about a way to get warm water rinses.
Thanks again.