Laundry Issues

[KLS52]

I use rapid cycle which is 30 minutes and add an additional 7 minutes for an extra rinse.

 

[Mischief]

Unfortunately, my washing machine does not have a soak/wash cycle. It's my understanding that this is a premium feature on washing machines. Also, from what I've read, these soak/wash cycles can run from an hour and fifteen minutes to over two hours. I think if I were faced with a situation that would need this, I would just wash the same load twice.

Well, before the current washing machine (which was the cheapest one available at Lowe's), I would just fill the machine, then turn it off, and then on again later to run through its cycle.

 

[shyvas]

I use rapid cycle which is 30 minutes and add an additional 7 minutes for an extra rinse.

Same here. I only ever use the eco cycle with cold water. I also use a bit of savon de Marseille on stains and everything comes out spotless. I think that a lot of people overdo their washing and use far too many aggressive chemicals and electricity for clothes that aren't really dirty or soiled.

 

[Joe]

I am embarrassed to talk about this, but I often have problems with diarrhea. This has resulted in many white cotton briefs with stains that do not come out in the wash.

I have tried using chlorine bleach. This often removes the stains. But the bleach damages the elestic in the briefs, making them kind of useless (they no longer cling to my waist and are "stretched out.")

There is another product I have not tried yet called OxiClean White Revive. Has anyone tried this? Is it any good? Does it damage elastic?

 

[Mischief]

Not human diarrhea, but...one of my cats has chronic diarrhea which we have 't been able to resolve, and he tends to "leak."

He sleeps with me, so I end up washing my bedding every day. I use the soak cycle, my regular Aldi laundry detergent, and cold water, and that has always done the trick - no stains. Of course, since I wash the bedding daily, stains don't have time to set. (That's really the secret with stains - washing promptly.)

I use the soak cycle on almost all my laundry. I get pretty grubby, and the soak cycle dies a good job. The only things on which I use special treatment are kitchen dishcloths, which I wash hot and with bleach; blood stains, which I pre-treat with hydrogen peroxide; ink stains, which I pre-treat with hairspray; and oil stains, which I pre-treat with a stain remover.

 

[KLS52]

I like the pre-soak idea. Don’t know why I never thought of that. I have a thing about a second rinse which I always do, because it seems like no matter how little detergent I use, I like to feel that it's rinsed our really well. I don’t normally have stains to deal with. It’s more cat pee, every couple of months and I find that laundry needs to be put through the wash twice.

I rarely use bleach.

 

[Mischief]

I like the pre-soak idea. Don’t know why I never thought of that. I have a thing about a second rinse which I always do, because it seems like no matter how little detergent I use, I like to feel that it's rinsed our really well. I don’t normally have stains to deal with. It’s more cat pee, every couple of months and I find that laundry needs to be put through the wash twice.

I rarely use bleach.

Yeah, if there's cat pee, I run it through twice also; the first time with the soak cycle, the second time generally without. I want to make sure that no whiff of smell detectable by cats remains, because that would just encourage more peeing.

 

[Joe]

I don't think my washing machine has a soak cycle.

The OxiClean White Revive has various instructions, but one is to soak the stqined clothing in one gallon of warm/hot water and one capful of White Revive for 6 hours.