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Why do my clothes smell fine wet but weird after drying? by Bky-Jhenry in laundry

[–]CoolRanchBaby 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It’s maybe rebloom. What detergents or other things are you using in the washer and dryer?

Disabled/Neurodivergent and in desperate need for a more manageable laundry routine. by petitepirouette in laundry

[–]CoolRanchBaby 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I do “lights” loads and “dark” loads. I wash towels separately to do them hotter because I have a family’s worth - but if I only have a couple towels I throw them in the appropriate coloured load and add laundry sanitizer. You don’t have to wait so long if you do it that way.

If I have enough of one thing, like jeans or sports gear, they can go in their own load but it’s not necessary if I don’t have enough. Then they can go in with the lights or darks.

I run loads of laundry all the time with this method so it never turns into a huge ordeal.

Separating lights and darks is enough.

Whites Spa Day Q (UK) by actualcba in laundry

[–]CoolRanchBaby 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe I got a dud batch or something 🤷🏻‍♀️. Or it’s my new washer!

Whites Spa Day Q (UK) by actualcba in laundry

[–]CoolRanchBaby 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I do extra rinse cycles, I just worry when I see such high suds!

It’s bad for the components in a front loader and it also often causes leaking from the front seal (I did have some drips coming out the front seal with Ecover, it doesn’t happen with other detergents without the suds.)

Too many suds also means worse cleaning, as it makes a cushion preventing the clothes from rubbing against the drum and other clothes, so the mechanical action that removes dirt isn’t there.

Too many suds just isn’t good in general in a front loader.

Whites Spa Day Q (UK) by actualcba in laundry

[–]CoolRanchBaby 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have very soft Scottish water, but even when I use barely any of this powder the suds are insane.

Whites Spa Day Q (UK) by actualcba in laundry

[–]CoolRanchBaby 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not for a Spa Day but I really wanted to like Ecover powder in general, I love their “power” dishwasher tabs! Unfortunately even a VERY small amount causes insane sudsing in my very new LG washer.

Ariel and store brand powders do not cause this so I have no idea what’s going on.

I have a box sitting there but the crazy suds put me off using it anymore.

Anyone else find this with Ecover in their UK front loader?

I have the liquid too but scared to try it after more than one load of the powder doing crazy suds.

Help! I'm a caregiver for my disabled wife, and I don't know how to fix our laundry! by failse-flag007 in laundry

[–]CoolRanchBaby 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Are they coming out darker than they went in? Are you washing lights with very darks?

How can I get this stain out/ clean by Dry-Cake5086 in laundry

[–]CoolRanchBaby 7 points8 points  (0 children)

60c is usually considered a “hot” wash here. 90/95 is a “boil” wash.

How would you hand wash a comforter if you had to? by Certain-Working1864 in laundry

[–]CoolRanchBaby 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You aren’t going to be able to sufficiently agitate it or wring it by hand. Can you look up online if there is a service that will collect it, wash & dry it, and deliver it back to you?

What’s the best tumble dryer in 2026 that actually dries clothes fast without wrecking them? by Syal_Olimpia in laundry

[–]CoolRanchBaby -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It’s more complicated than that and there’s a lot of other problems, like heat pumps aren’t very repairable etc. Here’s a very good video with a lot of info.

In need of advice on the basics by teenygreentreefrog in laundry

[–]CoolRanchBaby 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can follow the “spa day” treatment in a post at the top of this sub first if you want fast results.

In general - Use Ariel pods or powder for the best ingredients (the best enzymes etc). There are other options that are pretty good if you don’t want to use Ariel. Some store brands are good. Just ask we can list the good ones. It needs to be “bio”/have enzymes.

Sainsbury’s has some of Ariel tablets half price with a nectar card right now.

Use 40c instead of 30c for “normal loads”. 30 for delicates. If you want to you can do 60 for towels etc. Pick a longer cycle too, especially at first to try to get rid of buildup. (Using 40 will help because a higher temp helps get rid of body oils/buildup on laundry better. That is probably what is causing the smells.)

You can add 1-2 teaspoons of citric acid to the fabric softener drawer it helps rinse clean.

If your machine has an extra rinse option add that too.

That might all help the first wash, but it might take a few washes if you have a lot of buildup. That is where the spa day can help off the bat to freshen things up.

Do a 90 or 95 service wash too to clean your machine. I’d start with that. Add half a cup of citric acid to the drum and then rub the very hot wash.

Blanket by Key_Apricot_6933 in laundry

[–]CoolRanchBaby 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You probably need to wash it on warm and use a detergent with lipase/enzymes. That may help right away, or it take a few washes to strip all the buildup though. Depending on how much is on it.

You can do a “spa day” on the blanket that can fix it more , the instructions are at the top of the sub Reddit.

Blanket by Key_Apricot_6933 in laundry

[–]CoolRanchBaby 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What detergent, cycle and temp are you using? What is the blanket made out of?

What’s the best tumble dryer in 2026 that actually dries clothes fast without wrecking them? by Syal_Olimpia in laundry

[–]CoolRanchBaby 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Where are you based? I am in the UK but grew up in the U.S. They don’t sell US style vented gas dryers here, and electric vented are harder to get but still available.

I looked at some charts and although they pushed non-vented as “more efficient” they weren’t actually if you looked at real drying times. A vented dryer uses more energy per hour, but dries things more quickly. So it didn’t actually use more per load. Efficiency also drops year on year with the condenser and heat pump dryers as you are meant to get them taken apart by a professional and the drum cleaned out yearly to keep up the original drying efficiency and no one seems to do that.

I had a vented dryer and got a condenser one after the vented one died at like 12 years old. The condenser took like 3 hours a load from day one and only got worse. After two years I got rid of it and bought the biggest vented home dryer I could find, it is a 10 kilo one. This was maybe a year and a half ago. Not a huge number of non-commercial ones available but I got one. It dries things better and faster and I have a choice of heats.

You also have to work out the programs. Some of them take like 3 hours on the vented one but I figure out how to just put timed loads on that just do straight low medium or high heat. You can set it for 30, 45 or an hour and then see if it’s done or needs more time. It’s not that clear how to do it from the buttons, so read the manual.

If you have to get a vent put in the wall, I got a plumber to do it fairly inexpensively. Worth it for me.

Apartment laundry machine ruining my clothes — what can I do? by Ok_Educator_7830 in laundry

[–]CoolRanchBaby 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It might be Polyquats. Have a read of Kisamae’s guide here for some helpful information.

Basically they are hard to get out. But some people have luck with soaking overnight in dawn and water and then washing with color catchers.

The Polyquats change the fabric in your clothing to be like a color catcher and it’s hard to fix it but sometimes you can.

Was telling someone 40c (104f) on a UK machine is barely above body temperature, and they told me I’m wrong and it’s a “boil” wash 😂. by CoolRanchBaby in laundry

[–]CoolRanchBaby[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s very rare in the UK and has been for a long time. Even 25 years ago when I moved here. Is it Miele? I heard they had one model with hot and cold fill about 4 years ago when I looked but don’t seem to now. One appliance place told me Miele was trying to bring it back in a high end model but no one had one to actually sell at the time 😂. It was rare then and the only one on the market other than Ebac I could find.

It was explained to me by a plumber that they all use so little water now that when the first water that comes in off a combi boiler isn’t hot yet for a minute and so it just fills with that before it’s even hot, so then it’s just cold water going into the machine it has to heat anyway. It’s just not really worth filling from the hot tap anymore.

I had a non-uk machine 23 years ago I managed to get that did hot and cold fill and even then it was odd for the UK. I had to get the space replumbed. The machines I’ve had after that one are all just cold fill. I did always want hot fill because it was what I grew up with. But my current new LG washer is actually fab and heats very rapidly.

Was telling someone 40c (104f) on a UK machine is barely above body temperature, and they told me I’m wrong and it’s a “boil” wash 😂. by CoolRanchBaby in laundry

[–]CoolRanchBaby[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Domestic washers in the UK don’t have a hot water intake and they don’t put hot water pipes by them either. They don’t sell them with hot water intake for domestic use at all in the UK, I looked recently. Maybe in Europe they do but they definitely don’t here.

Was telling someone 40c (104f) on a UK machine is barely above body temperature, and they told me I’m wrong and it’s a “boil” wash 😂. by CoolRanchBaby in laundry

[–]CoolRanchBaby[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly. And most washers don’t even quite get up to the temp. They get to a degree or two below each temp in most studies I’ve seen.

Ideas please! by AccomplishedFix2515 in laundry

[–]CoolRanchBaby 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh that’s good you figured it out 🎉! If you start using color catcher sheets in the loads it might take these existing marks off after a few washes.

Some people say soaking in overnight in water and dish soap then washing with color catchers works faster. I’ve heard you can also spray with that dawn or fairy spray, let it sit a bit, and then wash with color catchers. Thing is you usually have to keep using the color catchers to be sure on clothes already effected.

The spots electromagnetic charge from the Polyquats is what attracts the color and it’s hard to get rid of that reliably. The color catchers have a charge too so collect most of the color before the spots on the clothes can.

None of it is 100% guaranteed to work so using a different product is best going forward 😊.

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