I developed laundry detergents AMA

[LapinR0se]

For many years I was responsible for innovation for one of the biggest laundry brands in the UK.
Any questions you have on stains, wash cycles, laundry products etc you can ask me.

Microfiber and Fabric Conditioner?

I know its not recommended for towels..
but I've used it on microfiber fleeces and cloths and it's just ruined them.

Is that because I've used too much or should I just not use it at all.

Great thread. Sending the White Tees advice re suncream stains to my DC. I often get a laundry-related phonecall 😀

@DuckbilledSplatterPuff this is a zombie thread!

@BIWI
Oh No! I should have checked!
Thanks tho.

It’s ok I’m still here, probably a zombie myself at this stage. I wouldn’t use fabric conditioner on those type of cleaning cloths. You want them as stripped clean as possible with detergent only and the microfibre doesn’t benefit from conditioner.

Why not vinegar?

@LapinR0sei love this thread that was linked on another recent thread. I’ve been using washing liquid or gel for years but now I’ve just bought washing powder again for my whites and starting using fabric conditioner again too instead of distilled white vinegar (which can corrode parts of the machine) My whites are so much whiter. I use Ariel fast dissolving powder because I found that washing powder was clumping up in my drain for some reason so switched to liquid and gel and the powder is working well so far.

But yes this definitely a Zombie thread but was linked to recently. So I’m happy to post on here because it’s so bloody useful

@KittenPause glad the info is helping!

@LapinR0se
yes it’s made a noticeable difference. So thank you for your OG 2018 post.

Thank you for this thread @LapinR0se

Can I ask the village idiot question?

I have three drawers in my washing machine and I don't know where to put the liquid fabric conditioner. I end up just splashing it in all three. In which one should it go?

Needless to say, I don't have the machine handbook.

there usually is a flower symbol on the softener drawer. it also has an extra plastic bit for the syphoning mechanism

drawer with number 1 or | for prewash cycle

drawer with number 2 or || fof main wash

google your machine, manuals are usually online.

You don’t know how often I think about this thread. It must be at least weekly. Long live the zombie resurrection.

I still wonder why the OP wouldn’t address colour catchers. My mind has wandered to many places as why they were never to be discussed….

@bluerunningshoes

yes, I have heard this about the flower symbol but there isn't one and I have really looked! 😃

There is a blue plastic bit though!

@OrangePerfume pls post a pic and pls do not splash fabric conditioner about indiscriminately in all compartments 😅😅

Thank you. I will when I get home.

You should be able to Google the instructions for your make & model

Long live the best thread ever.

Why have supermarkets got rid of the own brand powder ‘tablets’ (two discs of compressed powder in a plastic packet)?

All they want to sell now are the ‘dissolvable’ gel pouch things, but they don’t dissolve! And they get trapped in the door of the washing machine! 😠

Asda still do the tablet discs but only in non-bio. They’ve stopped the bio ones. Whyyyy?! I’d love to know…

they sell compressed powder products as sheets and 'sticks' now where I am for €€

And no powder for colours now. Occasionally in Aldi & I stock up. I hate those slimy little pouches.

i literally think this everytime I put a colour catcher in 😀

also, i have a Siemems washing machine with the iDOS automatic dispensing system and 3 drawers - so Drawer 1 you fill up with washing liquid every 40 or so washes, Drawer 2 you fill up with conditioner every 30 or so washes and then I use the 3rd drawer, which I think is a pre wash drawer, and isnt part of the iDOs system, for vanish powder, bleach and the like.

The liquid makes the drawers so slimy and hard to clean. But if I wanted to switch to washing powder - which drawer would I put it in? 1 or 3? Do I turm iDOS off?

after MUCH thought I came to the conclusion that the OP doesn't like colour catchers because either 1) they're not very enviro friendly as one per wash and/or 2) they can easily get trapped in the drum and cause a blockage. So now I put them in a mesh bag to prevent 2) and try and use a reusable one sometimes and only use for mixed colour washes, not darks or whites, becasue of 1)

just put the powder directly into the drum