Washing White Bedding with Ariel - Still stained! :(

[zanussi_lover]

Whites at 40

Yes the whites wash was traditionally a boil wash, but those days are over, and we have the technology in detergents to wash at lower temperatures and get great results. I feel a 95 degree wash isn't necessary, unless you are using it to boil out the machine to clean it out.

In terms of powders, I still use bio powder at 60 degrees for the towels and tea towels wash (use Daz or Surf powder, Persil Powder makes me itch for some reason)

but for my every day laundry (my clothes), which is light to average soil, some occasional staining from dropping something down me. I feel like 40 degrees does the job on whites and colours with a liquid detergent (Persil Bio or Surf Small and Mighty Liquid)

It doesn't fade my darks, gets my whites pristine, it dissolves quickly in cool washes (30-40 degrees), gets to work fast, and i can pretreat with the ball before I wash

I don't own many whites, I have a few white t-shirts which I have spilt pasta sauce and curry down once or twice, and I've found powders don't remove them well enough, but have washed with liquid detergent and it gets rid of it straight away

All my washing smells fresh, and doesn't smell mouldy and my machine smells fresh as I do boil the machine out with white vinegar occasionally.

Each to their own, if you use Powder or Liquid its your own personal choice, but I prefer liquids

 

[BoschExxcel]

I use Ariel powder, both bio and colour. They both get out stains and smell lovely. I use around 100ml for a full load.

 

[launderess]

One, do not pretreat any stain with undiluted chlorine bleach, ever. Well you can but the area will likely become weakened.

Two, am surprised how quickly a simple query turned into a debate on the merits of hot versus cold water washing.

Three, we have all been sold a bill of goods about modern washing machines especially cold fill to boiling will erase all stains. That may or may not be true but often old ways are better. If not why are there still so many pre-treatment products on the market?

Both ketchup and the cough medicine contain dyes. The former are natural but can also be man made, and the latter are often synthetic. Either way in such cases often merely laundering even with a prolong wash starting at cold to very hot/boiling will not shift.

Rather than subject an entire garment/textile to the harsh business of high temperatures and plenty of chemicals it is best to attack certain stains by pre-treating. You can use either liquid detergent or a product designed for such use; just apply and allow to sit for a certain period, then launder.

You can also simply pre-soak items in cool water using a liquid detergent designed for cold or such temperatures. Have said this before and indeed did so this past weekend; when one has loads of badly stained table linens simply add some Tide Coldwater liquid to a wash tub full of cold water, stir, add washing, agitate, then allow to soak. If one has the time will come back and "stir" every so often. Ninety-Nine point Nine percent of the time after soaking *all* stains are removed. What remains are traces or really stubborn stains that do not respond to enzymes alone such as lipstick or turmeric bases stains such as curry. For the former a quick rub of vintage Fel's soap does the trick. Latter one applies a liquid pre-treatment, work in and allow to soak a bit longer.

In the end the lot is wrung out of the soaking water, bunged into either the Miele or OKO-Lavamat for a short wash cycle using a small amount of detergent (with or without oxygen bleach depending upon the colour of textiles and or stains remaining) with temps no higher than 120F, and viola, that is that. Clean and stain free laundry without subjecting my wash to long wash cycles, boiling water, and powerful chemicals.

Now both the Miele and Lavamat have dedicated soak cycles. Prefer to use a wash tub or even the Hoover TT because one can examine the results and see when things are "clean" before ending soak cycle. With a front loader you would have to discharge the water, spin then remove the washing to examine results. If they aren't up to standard a new soak cycle must be commenced with fresh product.

Contrary to popular belief enzymes can "bleach" stains. They do so by breaking up substances which make up marks and in the process give them color. Bleaches either add oxygen or remove oxygen to remove the colour of stains, but often traces remain. In fact the process depending upon what type of bleach used is not stable and stains can return. If you hold up an item that has stains removed by bleach to light you can often see the outlines of the mark.

Chlorine bleach by the way has the highest reversion level for stains versus oxygen and other types of bleaches. The stuff is cheap, works in all temperatures (even cold water), and can provide disinfection at same (depending upon formulation) which made it popular. But chlorine bleach is corrosive and can injure fabrics which is why many European laundries and households long shunned "eau de Javel" for wash day use.

 

[stan]

Hello dear

Who's said "undiluted" bleach. LOL

 

[foraloysius]

Soaking

I couldn't agree more with what Launderess has said here. Make sure you always have Biotex around, best thing for soaking!

http://www.bio-tex.co.uk/products

 

[stan]

Yes I'm

Glad she stopped by too.
She said everything I wanted to.
Just couldn't understand how this was going to be laundered over and over, without trying to pre treat just the spots in question first.
I'd thought of presoaking...but I am unfamiliar with top loading machines. (If they fill up enough to keep fabrics submerged) Or products on that side if the pond. Since these stains have been washed and dried, and since red dyes are in question.. My last resort idea was "diluted" chlorine bleach, Applied with a cotton ball to just the stain, when lightened enough, stop, or slow the action with vinegar and water. And re wash on normal cycle. Thought of the Fels Napths soap too, but don't know what if any the Equivalent would be there.







































































k. there is no profitable potence in this product to benefit her, she can do that herself.

 

[launderess]

@stan

Just wanted to point out the obvious about using chlorine bleach for pre-treating stains. Would never suggest that you made such a recommendation. *LOL*

In general:

Pre-treatment products are still needed and used for domestic laundry for same reasons in commercial, they have a place. Better laundries like dry cleaners attend to spots before and or after the cleaning process. Lower quality places do not and you can often see the results. Sending an order of badly stained laundry to the former likely means it will return in various states from totally stain free to looking like something the cat dragged in.

Pre-treatment products often contain surfactants and or lubricants which help ease stains out of fabrics. Glycerin, Banana Oil, and so forth are employed for this purpose.

Why we pre-soak:

In early days soaking was done (usually in water make alkaline by various substances) to help break soils from fabrics and thus lessen the work of doing wash by hand. It also helped loosen soils/stains that would be set by routine use of soaps and hot to boiling water laundering of the day.

As mechanical washing machines became more common pre-soaking became less necessary. Pre-washing in cold or warm water for a short period of time would achieve the same results with less work than soaking.

Then came enzymes...

Enzymes are the only "living" part of modern laundry products. Once activated the little guys will continue to act upon (digest) whatever their food (protein, lipids, starches, fruits, etc...) happen to be until there is nothing left. Better still they will make more of themselves to continue that process long as conditions are optimal. For this reason products contain only small amounts of enzymes in relation to other substances in a formula.

Beauty of enzyme soaks is that the action continues for as long as one wishes. This is why again soaking items that are badly stained will get you where you need to go if done properly and goes on long enough.

Soaking with oxygen bleach;

All oxygen bleaches will work in cooler water temps, it just that the contact time must be lengthened. However we can make that gentleness work to our favor. Fine linen tablecloth of lace that could be damaged by boil washing with oxygen bleach can be soaked to whiten and remove stains using hydrogen peroxide (liquid) or powdered oxygen bleaches.

Key here is two things. First never, ever, ever soak for prolonged periods of time with oxygen bleaches using a metal container. Just don't do it. The released oxygen reacts with metal to form small bubbles which is all fine and well as that enhances cleaning/stain removal. However if it goes on too long and in one area you will get textile damage. That is holes and rents/weakened areas. In a washing machine water and textiles are in motion which dilutes this reaction even though the tubs are metal.

Plastic tubs are fine for such soaking as enamel over metal as long as there aren't any chips exposing the base metal. I have several NOS large diaper pails used for soaking and nothing else. This way one can keep them from developing chips or gouges.

 

[stan]

Dear

Funny you mentioned Glycerin, I'd thought of it as well, but figured it was too old school, and would sound crazy to most
I've used it for mustard stains, wasn't sure it wold work for ketchup ?

AlwaysI keep some on my spotting board

 

[jetcone]

Never heard of

glycerine used as a laundering aid - gotta try that. 

 

Interesting thread !

 

[richardc1983]

Thanks for all the replies I think I will order some borax substitute when the other stuff I hsve got runs out. Gonna see how I get on now I am using more powder.

 

[launderess]

Glycerin

Is used as a spotting lubricant by professional dry cleaners/laundries. It helps to loosen a stain and give whatever chemical/substance one is using afterwards better chance of working. Many domestic laundry spot treatments also contain glycerin.

Common Clothing Stains and How to Remove Them

How to remove common clothing stains from various types of fabric.

www.artofmanliness.com