Prewash..prewash...prewash...I can't recommend it more..lol....when the wash water becomes laden with muck..sweat, oils, ect...no amount of heat or TOL detergent is going to help. Some of the muck needs removed or you will be left with soiled clothing...I know someone that couldn't understand why her whites are dingy dirty looking even though she uses a good whites detergent and very hot water..once I took a look at her machine in motion with a load of whites it was easy to figure out..the water was dirty..soils in the dirty water was just being left in the fibers. You can use cool water for the prewash, actually better so as not to set stains....prewash..your best friend when it comes to heavy soils.

I don't know about the ALL powder seems to me its enzyme free but that may have changed. I have a few boxes quite old but haven't used them. Yes I agree you need 3 ALL pods in a full fill and 4 for heavy soils...not cost effective.

Considering your husbands heavily soiled laundry I'd use either a liquid Persil on colors & Pearls on whites or Tide powders or liquids These are the two TOL heavy duty detergents in the US.

The back of the ALL detergent box will state enzymes if its in there if not I'd stear clear of it for your hubs needs.

What kind of man smell? If it is in the arm pits, put some vinegar in a spray bottle and spray under the arms of the clothes before they go into the wash. Smelling like BO is horrible.

Thanks Mama. I'm studying your processes and following them. It's been a revolution over here! My stores don't have powder All and the amazon vendor doesn't list if it has enzymes. I went to the ALL website (should have done that first) and it does list enzymes, but not which ones or how many.

Jody,

It's funny because it's not underarm odor. He has none. Simply perplexing! I need to wear deodorant sometimes, but he doesn't! lol It's hard to describe, but best I can relay is what I've read when MamaP talks about old sheets and the sebum smell. DH is oily. He'll look great in his old age, but it's a hard substance to get out of clothing. The underarms are fine though! Plus all the years I used liquid Tide in a front loader with no heater...there was significant build up. The borax, soaking and powder detergent is helping very much with getting the stank out. I think I might have not communicated properly in my post above, but it is getting better since I've studied so hard here on Laundry Room. I just don't want to buy a detergent that won't lift out his man smell from the clothes. So far, 3 ALL pods with borax are working nicely, but I can't continue with them.

Thank you Greeny. Very nice of you to find and share the list of ALL ingredients. I appreciate it. I do have a Costco membership. Next trip, and I'll look to see if my warehouse has it.

Thanks again!

Except for the Costco item, liquid All does not have enzymes. Wish I had a Costco membership. SEA SEA, do consider any Tide product, prewash, and hot water to get that grime out.

Thanks Pat. The powder ALL arrived today. The detergent smells wonderful! Very old-timey. Like detergent of years gone past. I'm excited to use it in a few days. I got completely caught up with our laundry before the UPS man arrived so I have to wait to use it and evaluate how a pre-wash, borax, powdered ALL and soak work on DH's dirty laundry. I'm still dealing with water guilt regarding the pre-wash on a full fill top loader and living in CA. ...A lifetime of water restrictions, not to mention threat of a nasty-gram from the water company should I exceed our allotment. I'm going for the pre-wash though. The drought is officially over here in CA, but usage restrictions remain in place in our region.

P.S. The STPP arrived too. MamaP, is it ok if I use STPP in the same load as borax for DH's laundry? Does it cause an unwanted chemical reaction if I use both along with powder detergent? I'm making such good progress with shifting the odors and I feel like if I can get just 'that' much better with this adding in the STPP, I'll be thrilled, as long as it's safe of course.

Pat, actually liquid All Oxi does contain enzymes. And I'll save Mama from having to say it, All Oxi does not contain oxygen bleach. It contains more surfactants and enzymes compared to the regular formula. Most All with Stainlifters in the blue bottles also contain enzymes.

i knew that ^_^

Yes you can use the STPP with whatever laundry supply you want...have you used it before? First you have to find out how much is needed with your water chemistry and amount of water..easy to do..start a full load of laundry. .don't add any detergent or boosters, but add 3T STPP let it agitate to mix it up than feel the water it should feel slippery if its not add more remembering how much you added, agitate and feel again. Once the water feel slippery that's the amount you need ..it means the STPP conditioned the water and is ready to do its job. .than add detergent but reduce the amount start off with 1/2 the amount of detergent you normally use and see how that works, you can always add more detergent if needed. The STPP does much more than soften water it will sequester hard water minerals and hold them in suspension preventing them from being deposited onto clothing. ..does the same with soils keeps them from redepositing onto clothing and aids in rinsing by making sure detergent residue is removed. I love STPP

Thanks for the reply Mama. I'm glad I can use STPP with borax. This will be my first time using STPP. I'll be following your directions above. I'm really excited! DH is still over the moon happy his laundry is coming out so much cleaner. It's cute. I'm thrilled. I also turned down the cold water faucet to the washer so that more hot goes in for the warm cycles. I was filling the tub 1/4 full with straight tap hot, then switch it over to warm for the rest of the fill up. One time I forgot to come back and switch back to warm and I washed all his colored clothes in hot. I figured it would be better to adjust the taps than to rely on my memory lol.

Forgot to mention use the STPP in the main wash no need to use it in the prewash as this stuff is like gold now days. I used to buy 20 pounds for 40 dollars with free shipping..those days are gone. I found a place about an hour from me that sells food grade at 3.85$ a pound..walk in and out with it. I have to check reliable online sources and compare prices.

Ok Mama. Sounds good.

I'm envious you can get STPP at a good price like that! I got mine from Dafna online. I got the five pound bag. $19 with free shipping. I put it in a sealed plastic container. I figured that was a good starting point size for me. If it works well here, I can buy a larger and more economical size later.