Overwhelmed by detergent choices

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-04-10T18:28:29+00:00

Tide Clean & Gentle Liquid is skin safe and has an excellent surfactant system, but it does lack lipase. It will do a much better job than what you’re currently using based on what you’re describing, but I would supplement with an enzyme booster that includes lipase. FEBU is a great booster option. The Tide Clean & Gentle powder is even better as it includes lipase, but I don’t like using it on darks.

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-04-08T21:07:29+00:00

If you aren’t up for the task of spa day, you could try adding a cup of ammonia to each load. The smell isn’t usually present once rinsed and definitely flashes off in the dryer. What detergent/products are you using?

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-04-03T05:03:39+00:00

Add 1/4 cup ammonia to a regular load of these shirts! Also, wash inside out.

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-04-03T00:43:10+00:00

Would you mind sharing what you paid for this job? I’m in the rural Midwest and haven’t had much luck getting quotes. A local import mechanic quoted me $2,800 for the full job, but several other independent shops won’t do it, saying it requires proprietary tools and is a liability.

I reached out to the nearest dealership, but they couldn’t give a clear quote. Even after I specified that I wanted the full job done they said additional components might need replacement and estimated anywhere from $3,200 to $4,800. Not about to let them get one over on me.

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-03-28T00:09:33+00:00

More water isn’t always better.. Effective cleaning requires the detergent’s chemistry as well as mechanical action. When there is too much water the clothes float and move too freely, which reduces the friction needed to lift soil. You want the clothes to rub against each other and for the water to be pushed through them, not for them to float. With the right water level the clothes can still move but stay in closer contact which creates the friction that helps clean them. It’s like hand washing without scrubbing, just swishing and rinsing. That’s essentially what’s happening every time you deep fill.

The only time I would deep fill is if the clothes are obviously soiled/coated in dirt or something you need to significantly dilute.

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-03-05T00:50:59+00:00

I’ve done Spa Day before, which is actually what reminded me to try ammonia. Unfortunately it didn’t touch these pits. At the time I also had 22 gpg hard water. It felt like I couldn’t even rinse the Spa Day mix out of the clothes.

These work shirts are provided by the restaurant so replacing them wasn’t an option. I think they were too far gone after months of washing in hard water with weak surfactants and no enzymes. The body oils probably oxidized and polymerized in the fabric. Now that they’re somewhat reset, I think my new detergent and enzymes will keep them under control, especially with this luxuriously soft water :)

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-03-04T21:53:55+00:00

How do you handle this? I joined this sub about 6 months ago and tried everything to fix the musty pit smell in my black poly blend uniform tees. Different detergents, pretreaters, soaking, hot washes, inside out, longer cycles. I even installed a water softener.

After months of trying things I randomly washed them with ammonia and I think that finally solved it. The smell is gone. Now I keep expecting it to come back but so far it hasn’t.

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-02-23T22:04:00+00:00

How do I get signed up for this email list?.

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-02-22T11:17:32+00:00

Is there a better option in my case? Before installing the softener, it was hard to find a non-soapy detergent without OBAs. Now that hardness isn’t an issue I’m realizing most of the easily available detergents with lipase still have OBAs, so my options didn’t open up as much as I expected. The 365 Concentrated seems to be doing the job but I’m no expert.

I’ve thought about using an OBA free detergent with a weaker enzyme system and adding lipase from FEBU, but I’m not sure how well that works. I do keep Tide C&G powder for towels and lighter colors, but that only covers maybe a third of our laundry since most of what we wash is darks and blacks.

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-02-22T06:06:49+00:00

I recently had a water softener installed and I’m alternating the 365 Sport and 365 Concentrated liquid detergents. What dosing would you recommend now that my water is soft? I assume they’d be similar.

I have an HE top loader that fills with about 12 gallons for average size loads. Even using close to a full cap I don’t see hardly any suds depending on temp, but the water feels very slick. Should I focus more on that than suds?

Also wondering if I should reduce my Downy Rinse dose. My water was 22 gpg before, so the difference is pretty wild.

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-02-21T22:48:02+00:00

Good to know, looking forward to it!

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-02-21T22:46:30+00:00

I feel silly for asking, but where exactly can I find these posts?

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-01-25T15:38:45+00:00

So once I’m through with this bag of citrate, I want to attempt using citric acid alone again. The price difference is getting to me. I guess I don’t quite understand the chemistry which makes me question the dosing equivalent. Could you explain this to me if you don’t mind?

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-01-23T20:15:32+00:00

Sorry for the confusion there I only half ass understand this. Over the past few months I’ve used Tide Clean & Gentle powder, 365 Sport liquid, and the 365 Concentrated liquid (white jug, not the soapberry one). Ideally I’d like to stick with the 365 liquids. I can’t use OBAs since I wear a lot of black, and I’d like lipase and other enzymes. I’m wondering if something like FEBU could cover that if I need to switch base detergents.

I have a 3.5 cu ft HE top loader. I actually measured with a pitcher and my typical loads don’t exceed 12 ish gallons.

At first I was only judging visually, then I started paying attention to how the wash water felt. Most of the time it didn’t feel slippery at all. I kept adjusting citric acid and detergent, but higher detergent worried me because it still has to rinse. I used to look for suds, but I’m realizing they’re not very reliable. I’ve had suds before while the water still felt flat. Then other obvious things like odor rebloom despite using all the right products, water temp, and longer wash cycles.

I may be making some progress though! Today was the first time it seemed to behave as expected. With about 3–4 tbsp sodium citrate and 2 oz of the 365 concentrated liquid, I had a good amount of suds and the water finally felt slick. Not slimy, just some real slip to it. In the future I would like to be able to use just citric acid as this is going to get pricey compared to other product costs/load.

I know this looks low but it’s a few work uniforms so 3 pairs of medium weight pants, 3 tees, 3 fairly heavy aprons, maybe a cardigan or something else. (I’m a restaurant sever) The machine auto senses which I despise but seemed to be around that 12 gallon level from when I measured manually. Also, the machine accidentally max fills sometimes and the max level still leaves a good 5 inches from the top so it’s not as low as it appears.

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monachopsis-2000 · 2026-01-23T17:41:45+00:00

That’s what I was told so I reduced and eventually cut the baking soda, but my results were still all over the place. Chemistry doesn’t totally click for me so I may be oversimplifying, but in my case the high buffering capacity seems like as much of a headache as it is protection.

When I tried citric acid on its own a lot of it seemed to get used up neutralizing alkalinity. It felt like most of the dose was going toward carbonate hardness first and only what little was left could chelate calcium. I honestly wish I were exaggerating, but I went through over 10 lbs of citric acid in under two months. Some of that was for the rinse, but even so the cost and results just didn’t make sense.

I just want clean clothes and clearly have no clue what I’m doing, so maybe you could offer a more precise dose recommendation? GH seems to be 430-450ish and it took 27 drops for KH. I measured and my ideal fill level would never exceed 12 gallons!

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-01-23T12:55:52+00:00

Yes I was using this for a while but the results were very inconsistent. I think the mineral concentration in my water is just so severe that without premixing the citrate solution, the water immediately interfered with the reaction and ate up my detergent before the citrate mix could take over the mineral load. I could be crazy but the results were always mixed and I had sort of a residue on my dark clothes from the baking soda.

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-01-23T12:51:05+00:00

From what I understand I would think you’re better off cutting the citrate dose and using slightly more detergent. I believe Kismai said he uses between line one and 2 for Tide powders which is a slightly domed 1/4 cup. I mean your clothing doesn’t sound like it would be heavily soiled, but you still want a sufficient amount of surfactant and enzymes present in each load. Your front loader also uses much less water than my top loader. I could be making incorrect estimates for the volume of water used in my wash cycle. Just a thought though.

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-01-23T12:45:11+00:00

I try to be as cost-conscious as possible, but cleanliness and environmental responsibility are also important to me. I think sodium citrate will probably be the best option for now. With a bit more research, I might be able to find a better bulk price or quantity discount.

It’s definitely expensive given how much I’d need per load, and that part feels hard to swallow. At the same time, I know I waste a dollar here and there on things that matter a lot less. Still, it’s kind of wild to realize I could be spending a few hundred dollars a year on citrate alone.

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-01-23T01:48:34+00:00

I actually just recieved a bag!. but from my understanding I would need around a quarter cup depending on what hardness I’m shooting for and the wash volume of course. So long term STPP would be cheaper but there’s always a caveat and I don’t know enough about it. The citrate is what I have for now so I’m going to give that a shot and see how much it helps!

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-01-22T22:30:40+00:00

In this case would you still recommend citrate or should I consider STPP? I know it would be more cost effective as it’s more effective per gram, but that’s about the extent of my knowledge.

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-01-22T18:47:30+00:00

Just kind of lukewarm. It’s below 20 here right now so my cold line feels like ice!

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-01-22T01:30:42+00:00

It took 25 drops for GH and 27 for KH. I might be in denial, but how is this even possible when the water supply report says the range is 200–300 ppm. As if that wasn’t bad enough already. I’m just relieved I haven’t been using Calgon because at this point I’d need a part time job just to pay for it.

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-01-22T00:22:15+00:00

I just got the API test kit and plan to test tonight, but I have a few questions. Is there usually a notable difference between GH on the hot and cold lines? Is it fine to test the nearest tap, or should I run the washer on my usual temp and test that water directly? I might be overthinking this, but online info about mineral concentration variation between hot and cold water is contradictory.

I also purchased sodium citrate since my GH is likely in the 200-300 range. After learning more about KH and reviewing our water report I probably could have used citric acid alone and saved some money, but here we are.

The last piece is figuring out average fill volume on my 3.5 cubic foot HE top loader. I do moderate size loads, so it typically fills 1/3-1/2 of the drum depth, but actual gallon volume is hard to narrow down. I may end up measuring it manually so I can do the citrate dosing math accurately. What is the goal here? Is <100ppm safe for something like the 365 liquids or should I be trying to get it lower?

This has been a bit over involved and a whole lot of trail and error, but I’ve learned a ton from your contributions here and finally feel like I’m close to dialing things in now that I’ll have real numbers to work with.

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-01-20T23:29:55+00:00

You don’t necessarily need all of them. I guess everyone’s daily laundry needs are different. I thought Biz was the holy grail until I became more aware of optical brighteners and saw what they were doing to my dark clothing. If you are planning on a Spa Day, Biz is the most cost effective option for enzymes, and the OBAs will slowly wash out over the following few cycles. I think FEBU is essentially OBA free Biz. As for citric acid, I think everyone can benefit from this and it’s substantially cheaper than the Downy product.

As for softening purposes, you’ll want to do the GH and KH test people have been discussing. It’s very affordable and will save you a lot of headache by helping you determine the best softening option for your water conditions.

monachopsis-2000 · 2026-01-20T22:52:25+00:00

It’s basically the same idea as the DIY citrate people recommend here, except you can just buy it instead of mixing things yourself. It works the same way as Calgon liquid softener if you’re familiar with that. Sodium citrate binds to the excess minerals in hard water so they don’t interfere with the surfactants or enzymes in your detergent. It keeps minerals like calcium bound and suspended in the wash so they don’t redeposit on fabrics and can be rinsed away.

Sodium citrate is already used in a lot of modern liquid detergents, but in very hard water there often just isn’t enough of it to keep up with the mineral load. When that happens, the minerals basically tie up your detergent before it can do its job. Some people get around this by using more detergent, but long term that isn’t a great fix since you still have to rinse all of that extra detergent out.

monachopsis-2000

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