Thread Number: 28162
Help me achieve softer towels |
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Post# 430778 , Reply# 1   4/23/2010 at 23:09 (5,088 days old) by Supersuds (Knoxville, Tenn.)   |   | |
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Post# 430797 , Reply# 4   4/24/2010 at 08:59 (5,087 days old) by suburbanmd (Maryland, USA)   |   | |
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STPP makes my towels softer. |
Post# 430903 , Reply# 5   4/24/2010 at 23:14 (5,087 days old) by toggleswitch (New York City, NY)   |   | |
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Stated: ~I never had this issue when I had a toploading washer, but problem started when I got a GE frontloader.
Two words: INADEQUATE RINSING. Detergent should be added proportionately to the WATER present in the washer (not the amount of clothing). If a front-load washer uses only 1/3 to 1/4 of the water in the drum/cylinder that the older washer had in the tub, then it stands to reason that the detergent should only be 1/3 to 1/4 of prior dose. I'd say re-set the machine after your usual cycle to get additional rinses. Use your machine's short /quick / rapid cycle. On my FridGeMore that would be the "Short" cycle that is W-R-R being just three water-changes! ALso, I use a cheap, watery, gallon-jug sized supermarket brand softener (ok this one is smaller but you get the idea) to kill suds in the first rinse of the normla cycle --beore the additonal rinses are tacked on! Remember, a top-loader uses 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of this softener, so a front-loader needs half of that(or less!) No waxy build-up and absorption-killing with this stuff and no stink either; it has a very mild scent! CLICK HERE TO GO TO toggleswitch's LINK |
Post# 430907 , Reply# 6   4/24/2010 at 23:24 (5,087 days old) by toggleswitch (New York City, NY)   |   | |
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Today's detergents are TOO effective and strip the natural oils out of cottons and other natural fibers making htem feel rough. Waxy / greasy softeners just put the grease/oil back in. Just use less detergent for far better results. And please, no cold water on towels; warm only. They need at least 98.6*F / 37*C to dissolve body-oils/sebum. Waxy/greasy stinky softeners are an attempt at times to cover stink with stink that cold water washing will cause over time! Again lacking PORCELAIN inner and outer drums/cylinders/tubs bakets in their washer, one can use white vinegar for better rinsing INSTEAD of or AFTER usng the cheap suds-killing softener. |
Post# 430935 , Reply# 9   4/25/2010 at 01:34 (5,087 days old) by hcj1440 ()   |   | |
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Do I still need STPP if I start using Persil universal powder on the towels? |
Post# 430977 , Reply# 12   4/25/2010 at 05:57 (5,086 days old) by favorit ()   |   | |
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zeolites are listed as "Na silicates" CLICK HERE TO GO TO favorit's LINK |
Post# 431078 , Reply# 14   4/25/2010 at 14:46 (5,086 days old) by mrboilwash (Munich,Germany)   |   | |
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Usually scratchy towels result from hard water mineral deposits like calcium and magnesium. Even soft water contains some minerals. Sometimes it can be just because of poor quality of the towels.
In both cases they cannot be saved. Get new ones and change your laundry habits. High temperature washing, hard water, too little detergent for the water hardness, high pH from powder detergents, this all may account to the problem. I have had excellent results without giving up my beloved boilwashes with the following routine. - switch to liquids, they are usually milder in pH and don`t have washing soda in them. - Use plenty of detergent, less is not more, you want to keep all minerals of the water in check. - Use the highes spin speed to save on the dryer, but it may be necessary to give every single towel a quick shake before putting it in the dryer. (Flexes the fibers) - Dry on high if you like. |
Post# 431079 , Reply# 15   4/25/2010 at 15:12 (5,086 days old) by Toggleswitch (New York City, NY)   |   | |
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1- Toggle: Can you tell me more about using softener to kill the suds in the first rinse... I've never heard of doing that, what does killing the suds do? Does that mean a cleaner rinse? Yes the waxless softener I use gets rid of suds and hopefully detergent residue. I see it as making subsequent rinses more effective. 2-And how do you control when the softener goes in -- do you have to stand there and pour it in through the dispenser at just the right time? In my machine, a Frigidaire, engineered by European designers, the mentality is a European one where the bleach normally goes in the first rinse. This is intelligent on two levels. In a front-loader, washing results would be even worse by adding bleach to detergent. Secondly, according to our Hyacinth... er....our very own Launderess, I mean....... *LOL* one must first wash out the organic matter, THEN bleach for sanitation/ disinfection. So in my machine I just put softener in the bleach dispenser. Worse comes to worse it gives me fresh-water rinses after the softener to ensure more "pure" rinses and fabrics,meaning with fewer residual chemicals. |
Post# 431112 , Reply# 16   4/25/2010 at 18:29 (5,086 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)   |   | |
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Don't know how "European" the bleach method mentioned above is, as most homes on that side of the pond use oxygen bleach. *LOL*
However the standard commercial laundry method or anyplace else where LCB is used that washing is done in the "wash" cycle and bleaching in either the first rinse or a dedicated bleach cycle. Commcercial laundries normally use a special bleach cycle where water temperature and pH levels are controlled not only to provide the best stain removal, whitening, and sanitation of laundry, but so that the chlorine will activate and evaporate off, leaving less rinsing and souring to be done. Otherwise the stuff stays in laundry and continues to work on textiles, breaking them down. In General: Normally laundry that is washed at too high a pH and not adjusted down properly (sour rinse), will feel rough and scratchy. Also there might be a build up of detergent and mineral residue as well. Instead of rewashing with detergent, I'd try "stripping" the towels by washing them again with a good dose of phosphates (STPP), and nothing else. If you see froth in the water, then you have tackled problem number one. The add some white vinegar to the second to final rinse, then rinse again to help remove any remaining traces of build-up. Finally spin towels on the highest speed possible. Don't know how it works, but whenever I bung my towels into the Hoover TT spin drier for several minutes, they dry much softer. Can also see traces of froth and residue coming out of the towels, even after using a good high quality European commercial laundry detergent, and several deep rinses in my old Miele. Methinks there is something about the uber-fast spinning that forces residues out of textiles. Even when a detergent has left scent in my wash, several minutes in the spinner and the scent is gone. Zeolites: Can't stand the stuff, and is one of the reasons do not use Persil as much as one should, despite having purchased a case of the stuff. The commercial European laundry product I've latched onto does not contain Zeolites, and find myself using that much more often. If your towels aren't that dirty, I've had good sucess with either "Vaska" laundry liquid, or "Linen Wash". The former was on sale at local shop, and with a coupon only cost $1, the later got off eBay as a case lot. |
Post# 431252 , Reply# 17   4/26/2010 at 02:31 (5,086 days old) by rudin1969 (Italy)   |   | |
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Launderess, Le Blanc also produces a dedicated detergent for towels: Towel wash CLICK HERE TO GO TO rudin1969's LINK |
Post# 431343 , Reply# 19   4/26/2010 at 14:03 (5,085 days old) by Somonica ()   |   | |
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OMG... and you told us you got soft water right? I personally won't do this to my Miele even if I can get Persil for free..... |
Post# 431350 , Reply# 21   4/26/2010 at 14:23 (5,085 days old) by paulc (Edinburgh, Scotland)   |   | |
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