Hard water ruining laundry?

jk0

emily_jackson wrote: »

Can you actually install a water softener in the machine? Also, how do I know which cycle a boil wash is? Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll buy some white vinegar today

I don't think so. The softeners I use are these ones from Harvey's that fit under a sink: https://www.harveywatersofteners.co.uk/water-softeners

The boil wash will be the Cotton 95 C cycle.

oystercatcher

I am wondering if your clothes are being bleached because they are in contact with undissolved tablets? Dark fabric often goes a reddish colour when in contact with bleach.
The solution would be to either use a 'colour' formula detergent or switch to liquid for the darks as I am pretty sure the liquid detergent doesn't have the bleaching agents in.

thriftwizard

I live in a hard water area, and I too have had reddish-brown stains/bleached-out areas appear on our dark blues & blacks particularly. It was always when I used a certain powder, reputed to be very gentle, or so I thought, but I was actually using the "professional" grade stuff aimed at hotel laundries, without realising it was quite a lot stronger. Although I was using a big machine, I should have cut down the amount recommended by quite a bit, as although it was a big machine, the wash cycle was a lot slower than in an industrial machine. So the dissolved powder was in contact with our clothes for too long, essentially. Goes to show how powerful these chemicals actually are, and how washing our clothes too often probably isn't doing them much good.

I switched to using home-made laundry gloop, which solved the bleaching but wasn't terribly good at getting stuff clean - in that particular machine! I do still use a big machine (and will be heartbroken when it dies as no-one now makes one that big for the domestic market) but it's a different one & much more efficient. Now I use a combination of soap nuts & vinegar, when stuff's not very dirty, and L!DL's laundry liquid, which I find effective and inexpensive, when it is, and haven't had any similar problems for years.