Getting out the built up detergent

15 years ago

After reading some posts here about how liquid he detergent builds up, doesn't rinse thoroughly, etc. I thought that may be the reason my towels never seem soft.

I read that some of you have washed your towels without adding any detergent and still got lots of suds out of them.

I couldn't imagine washing towels without any detergent, so I used some of my new powdered Sears Advanced Formula for He machines, BUT only used a tablespoon.

Then I sat and waited for my washer to go through it's cycles. My Neptune doesn't have a window, so I had to wait and watch the rinses and see what would come out.

After the first complete wash and rinse was done there was still LOTS of suds, so I ran another cycle without any detergent at all and there was still suds after that one too! So I ran it one more time, I couldn't believe what I was doing, but after the third wash there was a far less amount of soap visable in the rinse water, so I left it at that for today.

Now I am a believer that there is a HUGE amount of build up on my clothes, towels, sheets etc. and am on a mission to reduce this. I know I have probably been using WAY too much of the liquid detergent and it was not rinsing completely.

I will be using the Sears and only a very small amount, I even have very hard water here, but I hope in time this will help all of my laundry loose the build up and start to look and feel cleaner that before. I can't spend every day sitting by my washer watching to see if it rinsing thoroughly, but I hope by using a very small amount of the new powdered detergent I will be able to start seeing or feeling a difference in the clothing.

Those of you that have done this, how long did it take before you began to notice a difference and the build up was being removed?

I never would have believed this if I didn't see it myself!

Janet

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mc58

15 years ago

When I noticed I had a suds problem I quit using any soap in my towels on April 1st, I wash them on sanatize cycle. I had been using Tide HE liquid 1/2 Tbl. After 3 months of no soap, I bought some Charlies the first of July and used 1/2 tbl on a load of towels a few times and they were getting stiff again which tells me they are soapy again and watching the wash they were, so I went back to sanatize and no soap. I also use 1/2 cup vinegar in the rinse. I am still using no soap on them and still see suds, and they are still stiff.
So I dont know what to think, other than using liquid soap and not enough water in the FL washer has to be the problem.
I just did 2 loads of towels yesterday with only 1/2 cup vinegar and they still have suds and are very stiff. It doesnt make any sense, I even have a water softner and that isnt even helping.
With all my other clothes I started to use 1/2 Tbl Gain powder the first of Aug. and they dont have suds in the rinse.
I am saving to purchase a Speed Queen washer and get rid of the FL Whirlpool 9200.

If you find a way to get the soap out please let me know.

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Comments (9)

housekeeping
15 years ago
Good for you to watch your drain water to determine what's going on in your machine.

If you consistently use smaller amounts of detergent you will gradually lower the build-up from now on. You needn't try to get back to zero before using any detergent, especially for towels.

Although I don't find it the best everyday cleaning product that many do, one thing that Charlie's Soap does is a good job of stripping out buildup. For instance, I use it when I've bought a batch of towels at GoodWill to use as pet bedding. These invariably are loaded with detergent (and f/s). So I wash them in a pre-wash, extra long cycle in the machine with a stiffish dose of CS. I think CS All-purpose Cleaner is probably also an effective stripper.

If you're concerned about build-up that is something you might try. CS is more expensive than regular detergent, but for the special use of stripping old detergent it might be worthwhile to you in order to avoid multiple wash cycles.

And, remember, if you occasionally wash stuff from other people's household's (guests, kids home from college, stuff you buy on eBay), you can get an unexpected surge of detergent overload - and suds- all over again. I often forget this point!

The "use-no-detergent-in-the-first-loads" was first claimed (as far as I know) by Asko brand machines and then was later applied to other European Fls. It's a famous FL party trick, but in most cases it is true.

If you have been using fabric softener, you may also have that built up, too.

Molly~
alldaylaundry
15 years ago
I just got a FL and have been amazed at the amount of suds coming out of things. I don't really have the time to strip everything, so I've just been using a reduced amount of product as Molly mentioned. This is working great as things we use all the time feel great, especially towels. I've also switched to a natural fabric softner and use very little of that. Only when I am washing something separately (like large blankets) do I use no soap to get the build-up out. I am currently using half the recommended amount of Cheer liquid for darks in cold water, and half the recommended amount of powder Tide for whites and colours in hot and warm water. Both detergents are HE. I am just using the Tide up though, as I don't like it and plan to switch to Sunlight powder HE when it's gone (Sunlight in a canadian brand, I think instead of all?).
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joe_in_philly
15 years ago
mc58,

I know this has been discussed on this board before, but my theory is that if you have soft water, then you are adding soap to your towels when you dry off from the shower. It is my experience that it is actually difficult to rinse off soap with soft water. That is where I believe the soap in your towels is coming from.

I also believe that some of that soap rubs off on clothing as it it worn.

I am sure others will disagree. :-)

Joe
mc58
15 years ago
Joe,

The thing is I didnt have this problem with my older Frigidaire FL and I had soft water then, but I used reg "non HE" powder. I still think it is the combination of the the liquid that I quit using in April and the low water level! the Frigidaire put alittle more water to rinse with, this one doesnt, even when I do loads on heavy or casual cycle I always have to do extra rinse and do another rinse and spin cycle. I have noticed that the delicate cycle " sometimes" puts more water in to rinse, but not always.

Im sorry that I keep repeating myself, but I think that there are always new people that I might could help.
joe_in_philly
15 years ago
mc58,

Clearly this is a very frustrating issue. I do think that more FL washers should have an option to add more water, at least to the rinses. There are so many factors that effect laundry results ...water, machine, detergent, soil level, to name a few... that it seems machines should be more flexible to accommodate a wider range of conditions.

One more thought...

You mentioned that you have a whirlpool. I think it is probably similar to my 5 year old HE3t. On my machine, the Normal/Casual cycle has significantly shorter and slower intermediate spins than the more aggressive heavy duty/whitest whites/sanitary cycles. I feel the faster and longer intermediate spins of the more aggressive cycles lead to better rinsing. On the other hand, on the normal/casual cycle, my washer does add water to the wash prior to draining to cool the load to 77F. So in the summer, when my incoming water is sometimes 77F or higher, it will add water for 2 minutes at the end of the wash cycle prior timing out and then draining. This dilutes the wash solution and results in better rinsing as well...at least in the summer. In the winter, when my incoming water is closer to 38F, it doesn't need to add much before it reaches 77F and the drain starts.

Also, my delicate cycle does not have any intermediate spins at all. Even though it added more water, I don't feel like that makes up for the lack of spins.

So in summary, perhaps a more aggressive cycle will result in better rinsing.

I do always add an extra rinse, resulting in 3 rinses.

Hopefully you will find a solution to your problem and won't have to replace your machine!

Good Luck,

Joe
michelle_phxaz
15 years ago
My best suggestion is to use vinegar in your fabric softener cup. You have it right on about using very little detergent, that is key, but I have found that instead of using fabric softner every time I use vinegar every few weeks. It seems to really soften the clothes and it helps clean your hoses and internal workings of the machine. You won't smell any vinegar on the clothes themselves, they will smell very fresh. This is a great way to get the smoke or sweat smells out of laundry too.
olympiceagle
15 years ago
I agree with the suggestion by michelle phxaz to use white vinegar instead of fabric softener. We use fs about half the time and vinegar the other half, especially with towels. We also routinely run the extra water and the extra rinse cycles with each load.
mara_2008
15 years ago
I don't understand the comment that "you are adding soap to your towels when you dry off from the shower". When I dry off, I've rinsed first, and there is no soap on me. I'm assuming this is true for others as well. And those who use body wash don't wash with soap.

Getting out the built up detergent

mc58

Comments (9)

housekeeping

alldaylaundry

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