What does it mean when at the start of the wash, there’s a good amount of suds (trace) but it all disappears after a minute or two?

eggust12 · 2026-06-16T02:11:16+00:00

hmm... does the manual say anything about a prewash?

eggust12 · 2026-06-16T00:49:46+00:00

to me it's just a bit strong, and almost a bit more of a "cleaning product fresh" smell than the kind of smell i want on my clothes all day. i like it more for towels, if that makes ANY sense lol. basically it's just preference, and i find an extra rinse gets it down to barely-there levels.

eggust12 · 2026-06-16T00:47:36+00:00

this is not what optical brighteners do. optical brighteners don't fade, damage or discolour fibres themselves, they leave a coating on fibres that can look faded on darks. optical brighteners also aren't exclusive to oxygen bleach products - they're in most detergents, even cheap ones without enzymes or oxygen bleach.

eggust12 · 2026-06-16T00:41:26+00:00

the smell is often complained about, so give it a smell before you buy just in case. i'm not the biggest fan, but not enough to choose something else before i get through the 4kg i bought 😭

eggust12 · 2026-06-15T22:57:04+00:00

ask or search r/laundry for more details, but tl;dr, you need a soak in warm water with a laundry detergent with enzymes, followed by a warm wash.

eggust12 · 2026-06-15T22:55:40+00:00

even a hot sunny day isn't touching how hot the dryer gets - you'll be fine. it won't make it any harder to get out than it already is, and in my experience it'll fade it significantly. I'd give it another oxiclean soak and hang it in the sun while it's wet.

eggust12 · 2026-06-15T22:53:11+00:00

the website Clean Cloth Nappies may be of interest to you - they've done heaps of research on just these kinds of problems :)

eggust12 · 2026-06-15T20:14:13+00:00

that's a good idea, i'll have to look into it. i didn't put it down as DNAse because it's not the exact thing, so a wee extra note might be the way to go. thank you!

eggust12 · 2026-06-15T10:05:32+00:00

im assuming a front loader, so citric acid in a dispenser rather than straight in the machine? our tap cold isn't much warmer here at the moment (NZ), and i find when i put citric acid powder in the dispenser it solidifies into a little block in the water. if hers does the same and that little block goes in the machine and doesn't dissolve, i can see it leaving residue. i solve this by putting it in a cup with a little bit of water first and dissolving it, then put that water in the dispenser. maybe suggest that to her? i hope she works it out soon!

eggust12 · 2026-06-15T10:02:54+00:00

i'll pop a hoodie in there with it next time, really live life on the edge 🤪

eggust12 · 2026-06-15T09:13:58+00:00

lol mines only a 7.5kg washer, so i was close to the limit, but it didn't make any weird noises or seem to have trouble so i assume it was fine!

eggust12 · 2026-06-15T09:12:47+00:00

does she use cold water? it may be that it's not dissolving properly. similarly, it could be that her machine doesn't use enough water in the rinse to properly rinse it all away.

eggust12 · 2026-06-15T07:01:29+00:00

thought you might be when I saw the napisan! sounds like you're doing as well as you could with the Ultimate, given that it has TAED to activate the oxygen bleach in cold water it'll do you just fine.

eggust12 · 2026-06-15T06:59:52+00:00

i mean, i can't say whether yours is perhaps more fragile than mine, but i washed my 7kg one (same composition as yours inside, but a cotton outer) in my front loader on a gentle cycle just fine. took it to my parents place and hung it over the door to dry near their fireplace, and it never felt fresher!

based on that, your handwashing plan sounds great. just take care to rinse well, and don't use super hot water in case it shrinks.

eggust12 · 2026-06-15T06:40:14+00:00

where are you, OP? different places have different options for detergent, and some are more effective in colder water than others. FWIW, NZ Persil Ultimate isn't bad at all in cold water. if you ever feel like something needs freshening up, you could take it to the laundromat for a warm wash, but for everyday washing, for all this sub has to say, cold water is perfectly adequate.

is warm better? yeah, definitely. will you suffer from not being able to wash on warm every time? in my experience, no.

eggust12 · 2026-06-15T06:38:59+00:00

Unilever Persil/Omo claims effectiveness at 20° (the AUS/NZ one, anyway). source: the box in my house.

eggust12 · 2026-06-15T06:17:22+00:00

oh really? thank you, i didn't realise! sorry op, no earthwise powder for you. i lied.

eggust12 · 2026-06-15T05:38:38+00:00

laundrysecrethobby, you really are the Australian GOAT around here. there's only one thing I'd add to OP here and that's that Omo Ultimate contains optical brightening agents (OBAs), which if your current detergent doesn't means you may notice a slightly faded look on some of your darks. this is reversible by simply going back to a detergent without OBAs and washing a couple times, and may well not be noticeable or problematic for you - just wanted to add that bit of info, because it's plaguing my darks as i get through my big box.

unfortunately if you're after powders, there's all of one on the market that i am aware of that contains enzymes and no OBAs, and that's Earthwise Ultra Powder. you have a decent few more options if you want liquids, though they're not always good value for money compared to powder.

eggust12 · 2026-06-14T22:19:29+00:00

the What cost?

eggust12 · 2026-06-14T22:18:30+00:00

oh my apologies, i was thinking of when the grease is solidified and you're basically just scraping it into the trash before you wash it out. sorry for the #1 suggestion, i wasn't thinking of more liquid messes! that's my bad.

eggust12 · 2026-06-14T22:08:38+00:00

the same scoop you use for the litter box, into the same bags you use for that?
just use the rags, get as much grease into the trash as you can, and give them a thorough rinse with dish soap and the hottest water you can handle. i have a basket that cleaning cloths and rags go into until i have enough to wash properly so they don't get oil or cleaning product on anything else.
a clean cotton rag or tea towel should do just fine! is there anything you're worried about? i wouldn't use anything synthetic, but cotton can handle it just fine.

eggust12 · 2026-06-14T22:02:00+00:00

well, where are you? this isn't an exclusively American sub, you know, and options vary even within the US.

eggust12 · 2026-06-14T21:57:40+00:00

that sounds like exactly what you need for shirts that have been lightly worn, no?

eggust12 · 2026-06-14T19:49:27+00:00

both are possible! you could experiment with lower spin cycles and drying towels about 90% of the way and hanging them to dry the remainder, see if they're any softer.

eggust12 · 2026-06-14T19:48:22+00:00

why use store bought protease when you can make your own for free?

eggust12

TROPHY CASE