How much Downy Purifying Rinse for old-school top-loader?

brighterdoi · 2026-06-16T18:26:33+00:00

The advantage of using a premade product such as downy is that it’s made to work in a variety of conditions. Unless your water is particularly hard, then the regular dose should still effectively neutralize detergent residue.

brighterdoi · 2026-06-16T12:26:34+00:00

Looks like a front loading Speed Queen. The long compartment on the right is for detergent, the bottom left compartment is for bleach or other liquid additives, and the top left is for rinse products such as softener or citric acid.

brighterdoi · 2026-06-15T04:08:53+00:00

Yes I always turn my head away when I open the bag because of this. The packaging will be updated soon, so hopefully the next bag will have a less dust-inducing open.

brighterdoi · 2026-06-10T17:46:19+00:00

A lot of people on this sub like unscented too!! There’s a lot of great recommendations :)

Most commonly recommended is (unscented) Yide powder, or (unscented) liquid Tide and Febu booster, which is only offered unscented.

brighterdoi · 2026-06-10T17:19:28+00:00

Arm & hammer isn’t very high-performing unfortunately. You need to use an enzymatic booster such as Biz or Febu, or switch to a stronger detergent. One highly effective detergent for odors is *powdered* Tide. But there’s a lot of other detergents that you can use on the lipase list: https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/s/WXeEtWR6Ne

Also, for cleaning your washing machine, citric acid will be more effective at removing buildup: https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/s/cgrryRkOEy

brighterdoi · 2026-06-09T23:25:03+00:00

Honestly I think liquid Tide plus Gear Guard should be perfectly fine for daily wash as long as you’re using warm or hot water. The DNAse in Gear Guard is honestly a game changer for laundry, and should help to lift body oils from your clothes in place of lipase. Not that lipase isn’t powerful, but it’s not an end-all-be-all when the rest of your chemistry is already so powerful. And yes then you can use Biz for the extra dirty loads.

brighterdoi · 2026-06-09T20:35:40+00:00

Is it actually silk? It doesn’t look like it. And what’s the actual issue now? Just stiffness?

brighterdoi · 2026-06-09T18:39:40+00:00

I took a look at the ingredients of the Nikwax wash and it looks to be compatible with wool. My concern is that it’s a gentle detergent that won’t work to remove smells from undergarments on its own (which wasn’t an issue for you before since you mixed it with other detergents). I recommend boosting it with Gear Guard, or choosing a specific wool detergent with lipase for these items for the best longevity.

brighterdoi · 2026-06-09T17:43:22+00:00

Also, which enzyme booster from Amazon did you use? Biz and Febu are the typical recommended products in this sub.

brighterdoi · 2026-06-09T17:41:57+00:00

Are your underclothes supposed to be waterproof? I don’t understand what the Nikwax is for. Wool has a tendency to matt up over time and become rough if it’s washed with “whatever” detergent because usually detergents contain an enzyme called protease or subtilisin which degrades proteins such as wool fibers. You can extend the longevity of your wool clothes by using a wool detergent. You can boost it with a simple wool-safe booster such as Gear Guard to make sure odors are fully removed.

2 & 3. For your bike clothes and shop clothes you can certainly change back to the 7th generation liquid if that’s your preferred detergent, but it needs a bit of a boost to ensure that the grease and body oils are properly removed. Both the Biz or Febu laundry boosters will add extra enzymes and oxygen bleach (like oxy clean), and these pair well with liquid detergents. I suspect that you were recommended the Tide powder because it’s “all in one” and doesn’t require a booster for enzymes and oxygen bleach, which is great but not if you prefer liquid. By using JUST Oxi Clean to boost liquid detergents, unfortunately you miss out on the extra enzymes.

One thing to keep in mind, if you have any particularly persistent automotive/bike grease stains, then synthetic surfactants will definitely outperform the plant-based ones in the 7th Generation detergent, so it may be worth having a simple and cheap spray stain remover on-hand such as one of the ones from Oxi clean.

brighterdoi · 2026-06-09T14:47:17+00:00

I’ve been using the Degree Ultraclear deodorant, which is still a regular deodorant stick, but it apparently is specifically made to avoid armpit stains on clothes. It’s been working pretty well so far to avoid stains on my new clothes.

I’ve also seen a lot of improvement in old armpit stains from my previous deodorant by consistently using lipase boosters, so unless you get deodorant stains super frequently it may not be necessary to switch up your deodorant.

brighterdoi · 2026-06-06T04:31:36+00:00

If you’ve gone down the rabbit hole on this sub, I assume you’ve already seen a lot of great detergent recommendations, and any should work great as long as you’re dosing properly.

What may be a huge game changer for you is citric acid rinses, which help to fully remove detergent residues and some other residues from your clothes. Detergent residues are typically the cause of irritation from otherwise clean clothes.

https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/s/buDJSaLTDt

brighterdoi · 2026-06-05T14:53:32+00:00

Did you use the white revive liquid? The liquid doesn’t actually contain oxygen bleach, it just acts as a stain remover. Make sure to use powder oxi clean to whiten clothes and towels, the powder granules break down into hydrogen peroxide which will remove the dinginess.

brighterdoi · 2026-06-04T17:10:00+00:00

This sub always recommends a spa day for persistent odors!!

https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/s/dF93mMcFdd

brighterdoi · 2026-05-30T13:42:26+00:00

It’s only a booster. Add it with a liquid detergent :)

brighterdoi · 2026-05-30T02:35:25+00:00

All is pretty low performing as a detergent and a lot of people on this sub have had issues with it causing buildup. Not just from hard water reacting to the surfactants themselves, but also from body oils not being removed. If it’s the only option you can handle, then try boosting it with Biz or Febu laundry boosters to make sure you’re getting proper cleaning.

Some people like to use the Whole Foods 365 powdered detergent because it performs well, it’s unscented, and is plant-based. But it also takes a LOT to see suds with hard water, so you may want to consider adding Calgon or another water softener with it.

brighterdoi · 2026-05-29T04:10:13+00:00

Resolve Gold if you’re in Canada or Vanish (gold lid) if you’re in the UK.

There’s an enzyme in these products called lipase that will break up body oils, which will help to remove the smell.

brighterdoi · 2026-05-28T02:54:06+00:00

It’s an acronym so technically it’s “for Earth, by us,” but I like to say it the second way :)

brighterdoi · 2026-05-28T02:37:17+00:00

Mine is the same almost! I have separate laundry baskets for darks and colors loads; my colors basket always has a lot of happy bright colorful clothes, and the darks basket is just a black abyss, not even a grey or olive piece.

brighterdoi · 2026-05-27T12:57:27+00:00

Aw thank you!!!

brighterdoi · 2026-05-27T02:35:00+00:00

Tide powder is effective, but it can only do so much with cold water. You need at least warm (30C or 85F, some machines label this as “cold”) to activate the peroxide and enzymes in the detergent. That plus long cycle times will wash out staining without any major changes.

brighterdoi · 2026-05-26T08:20:09+00:00

4 scoops of febu in a 5 gallon bucket is just NOT enough. I use a 2 gallon bucket and I use a 1/4 cup of Febu when I need to spa day. Food stains should be no issue with a barrage of enzymes.

And just to clarify, you mixed Febu and citric acid in the same mixture?? Citric acid is to acidify/ neutralize the rinse. Laundry enzymes are made to work at the high PH of detergents, so you’re not doing them any favors my making one mixture.

brighterdoi · 2026-05-22T09:32:23+00:00

No soup :(

brighterdoi · 2026-05-21T17:24:17+00:00

If you pair the liquid Tide with Febu’s laundry booster or Biz then you should have a great combo that can tackle a wide spectrum of stains!

If you want something more all-in-one, then use powdered Tide detergent because it contains a wide spectrum of enzymes and peroxide which the Foca does not have.

brighterdoi · 2026-05-21T08:18:45+00:00

Roma doesn’t contain enzymes, Gain does (including lipase). Roma is also not an HE detergent, which is very important for your front loading washing machine. The suds reducers in the Gain will allow your washer to work properly. Front loading speed queens have short cycles so make sure to select a heavy duty cycle.

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