Pristine! Nice job :)

CLEAN :)

mamapinky0, My skin is fine. No HORRIBLE rashes! I do NOT stick to my bed sheet. And I repeat my textiles are; Whites, Towels & Bedding. I also have the LG Top load Megacapacity Washer and Dryer set, In short do whatever works for you.

. In short do what works for you.

Gracian, That much of the products you listed and my clothes would be filthy. No way anyone can use that much of those products and have clean clothes.

So mama, I have brought home some very dingey white towels of my daughters to try to restore to white. I just ran them through hot with tide powder, a tide boost with bleach pod and ammonia. Presoak and triple rinse. I don't notice any difference. What do you recommend? Can i get them white again?

I Live in Florida where towels can sour quickly along with any damp laundry. To freshen towels and rid them of that musty smell I presoak them with 1/2 cup ammonia in the washer, rinse and then wash as normal with out adding any bleach, great for colored towels where bleach is not an option.

Ammonia is very caustic. Use it if you like but I wouldn't put it in laundry.

I get things white with a cold water oxiclean presoak for 24 to 48 hours, followed by a cold prewash and hot wash with Persil megaperls. My whites are very bright, even difficult microfiber towels.

I use a mixture of 1-1-1 ammonia, dawn dish soap, and water. I store it in a spray bottle and nothing I've found gets out perspiration odors better out of clothing. I use it specifically as a pretreatment for that only and have never noticed any premature breakdown of the fibers in clothing.

I haven't gone back and read all the posts again, but am wondering if there is any reason to believe ammonia would damage my Duet? I'm trying to clean the major yuck out of a vintage twin size duvet cover, its the worse case I've delt with so far. Tag has been removed but I think it may be a linen/cotton blend but I'm not 100% sure. I'm not even sure its a duvet cover. It looks twin sized made like a standard pillowcase but has no closures...it does have tassles on the open end the whole way around but they don't look designed to be tied. Even yellowed with filth it feels like a lovely fabric. I soaked it last night in the tub, the water was yellowed and had that odd scent I've run across before like old tea. I know tea used to be used to dye textiles but this doesn't look dyed it just looks deeply soiled.

1/2c ammonia in your Duet should be just fine, MamaP. Nothing chemically about ammonia that would damage your machine. It's a wonderful cleaner, as you know.

THanks Alex..I usedit frequently in the past and I remember you used it in your beloved Miele so I figured it was just fine. I am just airing on the side of....overly cautious lol

I have often used it in my lovely Maytag, lol without issue. I think ammonia is a great tool, for grungy greasy things, like farm clothes. I rarely use it, but once in a while.

Enduring I have gotton 60 years worth of built up body oils turned to wax out of old sheets using ammonia and very hot to boiling water..amazing how this stuff sucks the oil out of fabric. I'd imagine it does well on the farm clothes. It also deodorizes.

Same. I've rescued a few things that had deep, dried-in oil based stains with ammonia and a boil wash. If it's going to the trash anyway, it's worth a shot.

Adding ammonia to a load of towels brought back the fluffy and got rid of the musty. I highly recommend it!

Shriv..I'll give it a try as my white towels suddenly arnt so soft in my FL.

I have a vintage duvet cover and a few beautiful pillowcases in now..Persil Pearls and Ammonia 150+ F..I have high hopes for the pillowcases but the duvet cover is proving to be the most stubborn vintage cotton textile I've worked with.

Sshrivastava...nice to see you back.

New to using ammonia in my laundry but with 3 dogs, a 3 1/2 yr old boy and his father who is a msintence supervisor of a small upscale community of rental cottages I have tons of tough laundry to contend with! I have used vinegar and baking soda for years but my fiancé can't stand the thought or smell of vinegar even though it doesn't smell of it in the laundry is finished. I welcome any suggestions that any of you may have! I use peroxide for any type of blood stains whether in the carpet, blankets or rags etc.! I'm wondering what you guys think of liquid versus powdered detergent?

I'm no expert, but I think ammonia is really only needed for oil stains. I use hot water for my wash and US Persil powder on my husbands farm clothes. I have used Tide too. I add STPP to each load too. I doubt there could be anything worse then these clothes - soil, manure, grease, vegetation. It all comes out. I use 120f or 140f temps on his clothes.

I just added ammonia to a load of towels this past weekend. I added one ounce of sudsy ammonia about four minutes after wash agitation started. Cannot believe how fluffy they came out of the dryer. Going to try it with bed sheets this weekend.

MRB

I am a new convert to Ammonia. I add 1/2 cup of lemon Ammonia (a gallon was less than $2 at our local restaurant supply store). Very little sudsing, even though the ingredients say surfactants, ammonia and lemon fragrance.

I add the 1/2 cup with whatever detergent I am using. Clothes/towels/sheets look, feel and smell amazing. NO ammonia scent at all, after 3 rinses and drying. I LOVE ammonia in my laundry!

I would have never, ever thought to add it to laundry. Our Laundry Room Forum is amazing!!

My husband pours concrete for a living, ammonia is a life saver. Not only does it get rid of stains it gets rid of laundry odors...Ever have towels that get a funny smell, use 1 cup ammonia in the wash...no more odor, works great for cigarette smell too. An amazing simple product.

Dee I agree. Ammonia used with oxygen bleach will also give much better whitening results.

I just bought more today. I've been using it since I started this post. But I have to get it at the dollar store - they don't sell it at the Kroger I go to. I've never seen any suds from using it. Obviously never mix it with bleach. I use bleach when I do whites, but ammonia with colors or lights.

Are you adding an actual full cup using a FL he washer? Just wondering. I usually add 1/2 of cup ( I eyeball it though ) I don't measure.

Mark I don't measure the ammonia either. I pour it in and chase it with a quart of hot water. I guess I use 1/2 cup or close enough. I don't get suds from it but there used to be two kinds of ammonia one was labled low sudsing on the front of the bottle. I haven't seen it in a long time so maybe its all low suds now.

I work in animal rescue. I have just found out that I need to start washing all of the animal bedding with ammonia as it is the only thing that will kill coccidia. Reading all of the posts 9ne says to use clear only but one user said she used lemon scent, which is what I have on hand at the moment. Is it just because it can discolor fabric that it's recommended not to use it?

My next question is rinsing. I saw 1 for sure that did multiple rinses. Is this necessary for the odor? I have babies on this bedding so I want to make sure there's no strong smell.

Thank you.

I use the lemon or the clear. My front load washer does 3 rinses.....but even with 2 rinses, I have never ever smelled any traces of ammonia. I've also never had the lemon scented yellow ammonia discolor anything. I think the chances of that happening are slight......but I'm not saying it could not happen - it's just never happened to me and I've used lemon a lot over the years.

Thank you. I have a basic top load. I'll just give it a good sniff. If I still smell anything I'll rinse again :)

Ammonia rremoves fabric softener buildup on towels, making then absorbant again,. No fumes remain after rinsing.i use about a cup of the non sudsy.

"The University of Massachusetts fact sheet ‘Recycling Grey Water for Home Gardens’: 'When doing household cleaning, use ammonia, or products that contain ammonia, instead of chlorine as the cleaning agent.' (Environment Agency (UK) University of Massachusetts factsheet on grey water)

Ammonia is a natural part of the ‘nitrogen cycle’ and is produced in soil from normal bacterial processes, so it is commonly found in soil even when fertilizer hasn’t been applied ... at levels you use in laundry, it breaks down quickly...."

http://sustainablesuburbia.net/is-ammonia-good-or-evil/

More from above website: "Ammonia reacts with oils and fats to form soap. The water in household ammonia then washes the soap away, so it’s good for cleaning things that are oily, whether that’s a window or an item of clothing. When it comes to windows and tiles, it leaves a streak-free surface, because what’s left after the reaction is ammonium hydroxide, which will completely evaporate....Ammonia also neutralizes acids, which is why it is effective against acid-based stains like tea, coffee and juice." Hope they don't mind my sharing their 'tougher' stain remover for a spray bottle [don't let it dry on the item]:

2/3 cup of your favourite dishwashing liquid
2/3 cup ammonia
6 Tbsp baking soda
2 cups warm water

I read on here a person that worked for a cleaners told the way they whiten clothes is by using oxygen bleach and ammonia together in with your detergent. I have used it and it cleans/ whitens very well. Give that a try for whites/ lights. And NO ammonia smell.

How does ammonia compare with sodium hydroxide (pH of 14) on the pH level? I use sodium for laundry @ 3grams/12-15 lb laundry load. Excellent, and this amount costs me 3c. why do you mix up weight with volume when speaking about adding a solution to whatever? I get confused. volume is not weight, and weight is not volume.

3 grams of NaOH flakes in a standard washing machine would result in extremely alkaline wash water! Possibly ok for some fabrics, not for other?

My mother was a great fan of Red Devil Lye (sodium hydroxide) for all sorts of cleaning. I have a whole series of memories of the results, some good, some not. IIRC, the can said to use something like a teaspoon (maybe less?) in the washer. That would have been fine in our washer which was an old-fashioned big tub of water with a wringer. She was also the sort of person who thought that if a little was good, a lot was better. Rather than measure she shook some lye out of the can into the tub. When she took the washed sheet out to the clothes line, I observed that we had the whitest sheets on the block. What was left of them. I could have walked through some of the holes! On the plus side, we never had clogged plumbing.

To Whomever it may concern. Yes ammonia can be used for laundry cleaning as it is a base, same as soap/detergent. The problem? How much? I do not know. Yes, sodium hydroxide, (sodium, #11 on the chemistry chart, Na) this I know well, (cost for sodium is 1 cent/gr) can also be used but there are cautions: use only cold water to dissolve, hot water for wash and cold for rinse. Measure! About 3 gr per 12-15 lb load is alright diluting in plenty of water before adding to washing machine. Use 4 gr of powder detergent (cheaper than liquids and better) of Tide or Gain or any cheap detergent as the sodium drives up the pH of cheap laundry detergent and the pH is what makes it work. There will be no suds but visibly dirty wash water. It also removes all body oil. For rinse a nice touch, add 1/4 gr sodium in the rinse water. Do not get sloppy with sodium. It can damage clothes and the washer if it contacts internal bearings. If not sure, use LESS sodium. FYI there are many uses for sodium and it's not just for washing any more! All uses of sodium requires very accurate measurements (weight) which is very small amounts: mouthwash: 250mg/liter makes superb mouth wash that works! Removes mouth/teeth bacteria and perhaps mild tooth pain, and rebuilds tooth re-mineralizing for strong teeth. Do not worry, one cannot swallow this mouthwash as it is base and one will vomit. The so called mouth wash available in the store you most likely can swallow and does not work, it's acid based. And does nothing for your teeth but empty your wallet. You will not be popular with your dentist, beware!

Stuart, I’m a bit confused about what you are trying to explain. I am a very detailed type of person and I always want to make sure I’m doing things correctly. i have a front loader washing machine and I was simply looking to see how much ammonia to use and if I should put it in the detergent dispenser or right in the drum with the towels? And WHEN should I add the ammonia? Do I put it in the dispenser like I normally do when using laundry detergent? And finally, I’m really confused about whether or not to use anything along with the ammonia! i hope you’ll see my questions as this post was from 2 years ago! Thanks and God Bless!

Mary - when I use ammonia with colors and mixed loads....In my FL washer I put the detergent/fab softener in the dispenser as normal and I just pour some ammonia in the drum with the clothes and immediately start the machine. Never had any issues.

Yes! Ammonia can be used for laundry. This is due to the fact ammonia is base. It is not commonly used and I suspect cost/load. I use either sodium carbonate (15 gram load, no detergent or soap and no bleach as this is covered by the sodium) or I switched over to sodium hydroxide, 5 gram per load, (no bleach or detergent required). Sodium hydroxide is dangerous, get educated in its use FIRST before using. Dissolve in cold water only in large glass first before adding to hot water wash. and stainless steel stir spoon to dissolve, use it as this is a water based lubricant and lubricates the bottom bearing and seals of a top loader washing machine, extending its life. If one knows, will hear the difference this lubricant makes on the washer bearing. Sodium carbonate is easier to use and is much less dangerous than Lye. and gives good results, but not as good as sodium hydroxide. Add to hot water wash anytime, no precautions required Costs? A 3 Kg bottle of sodium hydroxide costs about $30.00. Do not expose to air, keep lid tightly capped or you will end up with nothing. Use at the moment of use; do not let it lay around. For sodiuim carbonate, I get a 30 lb tub for $22.00. Same precautions with exposure to air as Lye. Change the tub to plastic containers with proper tight fitting lids. Lye has a pH of 14.0 and is extremely dangerous and one must follow directions. Sodium Carbonate has a pH of 12.0, no directions required but add to wash water. Final notice: get a weight scale for measuring especially the Lye. Too much Lye and one will destroy the clothes, follow the quantity I give, no more! No similar problem with sodium carbonate. The end results are excellent and no smell from the clothes and there is no perfume smell added to laundry detergent. This is added to cover up the smell of dirty laundered clothes, From where? Unremoved body oil in the clothes, which laundry soap does not remove well. Sodium removes this body oil by converting it to soap! Not so with laundry detergent, hence perfume is added to cover the sins of the detergent! HFE detergent is only detergent with less suds, that is all. As a gift, for washing dishes by hand, use a good quality powdered (only) detergent and a couple grams of sodium carbonate to same water. Watch the results! Costs per laundry load (12-15 lbs.) of sodium carbonate, 2 cents. Lye, about 4 cents. Don't bother with laundy softners, not really necessary. Before I forget, when doing laundry with either Lye or sodium carbonate, there is no suds except when dumping dirty laundry water, in the initial washer load. It looks like plain water only: it is not. If you do see suds, this is soap that was made from laundry body oil converted to soap. The above info. is secret from today's public, but your mama and grandmother used sodium and are well acquainted with such. Today's public knows nothing. Sodium carbonate was finally made in a production run in the late 1890's. This is not new. Lye? Forever...from burned wood.

I do not use ammonia in the wash water. Why? Cost. It costs about $3.50/liter. Sodium hydroxide costs $30.00 for 3Kg or sodium carbonate for about 30 lbs/$22.00. Sodium hydroxide gives one advantage: it lubricates the bottom bearing and seals in your washing machine, at no extra charge for this water based lubricant! This should extend washing machine life!

Hi Stuart. I used to buy ammonia at the Dollar Tree when it was $1. Having knowledge that their prices were escalating to $1.25, I am hoarding a lot of ammonia right now. Once you add it to.your first load of laundry, you will be hooked due to the fresh smell it produces as it deodorizes your clothes. . .

I can't believe I'm having to waste my time on this ancient thread, but a whole lot of stupid is bubbling up from somewhere.

Ammonia water is different from bases like sodium carbonate or sodium hydroxide because it's a stronger reducing agent. Meaning it lowers the ORP of water and partly inactivates the bleach-like disinfectants used in municipal tap water. Whether that actually makes it better to use for laundry is up to other people to decide. But the point is, it's not quite the same; that being said for a given level of pH, will have much the same degreasing effect that other bases do. Whether you make the water ph 9.5 from NaOH or household ammonia wouldn't matter from the grease fighting perspective. It might matter in terms of preventing fading though.

Lastly, no way lye is going to "grease" the seals on a dishwasher. I doubt modern clothes washers are design in a way that grease or lubricants are ever in contact with the clothes and the water they are washing in, under normal circumstances. If they were, if anything, strong bases would help attack and saponify the greases, hastening the demise of the machine! (This is why people talk about uses bases and alkali phosphates to help remove grease and oils from clothes!!! Why would they help REMOVE grease from the clothes, along with detergents, but magically grease the clothes washer!?)

So ammonia is great for removing oil. If you don't use bleach with it I gather that it is safe for any load. If used with oxyclean is it safe for every load, or only on whites?

To David 28. Sorry, sodium hydroxide is a lubricant and does lubricate seals and bearing in a top load washer. It is water soluable. I also read in a student textbook concerning Diesel engine oil, that sodium is or was used as an additional lubricant. Just previously they used carbon in motor oil to reduce friction. It was discontinued decades ago. Why I do not know, I am not in the oil business. Doing laundry is personal and I report what I see and did. Sodium hydroxide is excellent for laundry. No detergent is required and no bleach. I use 5 Gram sodium hydroxide dissolved in cold water before adding to hot water in the washer, before adding clothes. It removes most if not all body oil enbedded in clothes and makes soap. Bleach is not required as the pH of sodium hydroxide at the start with fresh sodium, 14.0 pH and is far above bleach. If one is nervous with this chemical, one can use sodium carbonate that requires 15 gram/laundry load and no detergent or bleach and does almost as well as sodium hdroxide. There is no smell to the laundry after washing with these chemicals, laundry smells like brand new out of your favorite clothing store. What makers of these chemicals FAIL to mention concerning these two chemicals, is storage must be in air right containers or else oxygen in the air will render sodium useless. This also includes HTH powdered bleach, calcium hypochlorate as used in swimming pools. Store in air tight containers! Use about 50 grams of powdered bleach per 4 liter water to make a gallon of bleach. I have done this for years and never had a problem except I failed to store it properly and it did a lot of damage to metal. Keep it stored in air tight containers! The original OEM containers are useless except for shipping. I do not buy bleach any longer. If I do need bleach I use sodium carbonate! Cheaper and excellent! Almost any chemical above a pH of 7.0 can be used in laundry. The current price of detergent makes me shiverrrrr.

I have a fitted sheet that has elastic around it. I am wondering if ammonia will damage the elastic?

I have never had an issue with elastics using a cup of ammonia in top loader on a full cycle. I've used it for decades. A few years ago I read, probably here, about the deodorizing power of borates. (which are added to many commercial laundry formulas, BTW) Athough Borax was great as a deodorizer, apparently doing a better job than my standard amount of ammonia, it seemed to hasten the death of older elastics. Like pairs of boxers I'd had for > 3 years. Presumably something about the chemistry of sodium borate, beyond it's mild alkalinity at the rate I was using it, catalyzes the destruction of whatever polymers clothing elastics are made from these days...presumably a synthetic elastomer and not natural rubber, but I'm not sure.

I still use a small amount, maybe 1/4 cup, because it helps get foot odor out of socks.

I put ammonia in the compartment meant to hold bleach in almost every load I run. I think it helps get things cleaner.

HisOwn, you should investigate the details of your particular washer. Bleach dispensers on many frontloaders release into the first rinse, not the wash period.

Thanks, Dadoes, I'll have to check that out. I thought all machines released from the dispenser just a few minutes after the washing started.

The chlorine bleach dispenser on many toploaders functions only for dilution by immediately sending the bleach into the outer tub where it mixes with the water as the machine fills for the wash.