Is anybody else laundry stripping?

Have you cleaned out the filter thing in the bottom? If not, I’d be willing to bet that is the source of your stink. That little filter thing is supposed to be cleaned out every three months or so, and if you use liquid detergent, fabric softeners, etc. in the washer it’s more prone to collect up gunky stinky goo in that filter. 

On mine there’s a little tube that has to be disconnected (and black, icky water comes out, so I’ve learned to come prepared with a shallow tray to catch it from running all over the floor) as well as a piece that unscrews and is usually covered with stinky, sticky black disgusting goo. You can run all the Affresh you want through your washer but if you’re not cleaning that filter out regularly it’s always going to stink.

ETA: I see that megmc and I were posting at the same time!

I think when people use liquid detergent and fabric softeners especially on towels, it kind of attracts more dust and dirt To them which then gets trapped in there. It also coats the fibers and makes them less absorbent. And then using an HE washer on top of that, the stuff just never gets truly clean, so just washing them more often won’t really help if it’s the laundry products and process itself that is the primary cause of the problem. 

The reason why I think this is because we have a friend with an incontinent pet. She had a small carpet cleaner machine that she used in spots where the pet had accidents. Everywhere she used it, over time there got to be really bad dirty spots on the carpet. Any dust and dirt being tracked through the house by her or the pets collected in those places on the carpet that had been shampooed, even worse than in the other places that hadn’t. (They were dirty too, just not as visibly dirty, if that makes sense.) It’s the soap residue that’s left behind that actually attracts MORE dirt.

I think with laundry and especially the HE machines, a big part of it is not enough water is being used to rinse out all the soap residue. My washer has a water plus setting on it and now when I’m washing towels or other bulkier stuff like that, I use the water plus and the extra rinse/drum clean settings for those loads and I seem to have a lot fewer problems.

I can honestly say I will never be bored enough to experiment with laundry. I literally take it out of the hamper, dump it in the washing machine, into the dryer, fold or hang. Done. No stink, no grossness, no problem.

please come back and update

We are the Peas. Of course we want photos. The thread is useless without photos.

It probably is - but I have done something similar for years on bed sheets, underwear, tshirts, and towels.

My HE top loader is a joke. I have actual dirt left ON the clothes. Granted, I am washing some majorly dirty stuff, but when there is actual reside on the clothes - it's not getting things clean.

My HE washer, which is a few years old, will NOT run a pure hot load. It still mixes in cold water. I tried shutting the cold tap off and it wouldn't finish filling.

I was almost all my stuff in hot SUPER HOT water. For example today, my husband is hauling liquid shit and had to pull a calf. The last time I saw him, about an hour ago, his pants have quite a bit of liquid cow shit on them, with a dose of blood and amniotic fluid on top of that. Plus some colostrum that he spilled filling the tube to tube feed the calf.

This is typical laundry for me! LOL .. and my HE wasn't cutting it. I ended up buying a second machine that is the regular washer. A good old Speed Queen. It does 10X the job of my very expensive HE washer. Washes faster and MUCH MUCH cleaner than my HE does.

I strip using hot water and Borax.

I now use Rockin' Green Activewear to strip. I fill my washer with really hot water, add 3 scoops of this stuff and agitate my wash. I let it sit for a few hours. Finish cycle, then start a new cycle, again in hot and use my regular Persil detergent.



It is amazing what comes out of our bed sheets. You think they are clean - but once you see the soaking water from this - ick.

If you have a teen or young man in your house - and you know that FUNK .. this method gets that funk smell out!

This doesn’t seem like a good thing.

I think you’re just stripping the dye, not doing anything useful.

I’m incredibly gentle with our clothes, so they look nice for a long time. This seems like the opposite of that.

For those that use Rockin Green for your sportswear, how hard is it on the fabrics? We pay good money for some of DH’s triathlon gear and don’t want to prematurely kill the fabric, or fade the colors from his raceday kits. Plus, my husband is weird and his sweat doesn’t stink. No, really. He doesn’t even need deodorant (except on his feet...Blegh). Do I need this for body oil build-up? I haven’t noticed any issues but I haven’t been looking for them either.

I’m not doing the stripping for our clothes, my back wouldn’t allow it even if I wanted. But I can see the possible need for things like bed sheets and kitchen towels. Is it the softener that causes all that build up? Because we only use vinegar. We do wash lol towels and linens on a sanitizer cycle every time. Would this Rockin Green be good for them?

Thanks for the reminder about the washing machine filter, prior to this I think we had done it once in the 12 years we’ve owned it He said barely any water came out and there was nothing in the filter.



Ohhh, the hockey pad funk!    Even my DH’s stunk to high heaven. At the time we didn’t know they could be cleaned and after living in his gym bag for a season it was like something died in there. I don’t envy you that!

It was on whites.

I think it really does well on sweat stink and body oils, and it doesn't seem to be harsh on the fabrics. I know a couple gals here use it on their workout clothes, and they spend some $$ on those clothes!

gale w - I had a calf sh!t down my jeans leg this morning. I had to get it up and standing and as soon as I did, blech..very orange liquid poo down my leg. I came home and undressed in front of the washing machine. Gloves and all went in. I am SO glad I can do a double wash/double rinse on my machine. That has to be the best feature I have ever had in a washing machine! I use it a lot this time of the year.

Hockey gear for teens and adults is god awful. I *hate* going into the rink and getting into one of the locker rooms that a high school team just vacated. There is NOTHING like that stink. It actually made me vomit (multiple times) when I was pregnant with my 4th. Unreal. My husband has a whole process and hooks and fans to hang up his stuff to dry after he plays. It helps.

Lol!!! See, I hate the cold! I really dislike going to watch my kids and my husband play their games because I get so cold in there! I’d much rather sit in the heat and watch them play baseball or something. I do like watching hockey at home though. I like the fighting in adult leagues. 🤣

But yeah, sweaty teens who aren’t great at wearing deodorant plus hockey pads that are rarely washed and kept stuffed in a bag most of the time is just 🤢

iowgirl and gale w w


I want to come stay at your places for awhile. I miss cows.