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--- cleanit:reddit-non-reddit-links [2026/10/08 13:30] – greatwhitebuffalo41
+++ cleanit:reddit-non-reddit-links [2026/10/08 15:17] (current) – [- Scrud: The Dirtiest Word In Laundry] greatwhitebuffalo41
@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
+====== Laundry ======
+===== - Laundry 101 with u/KismaiAesthetics =====
+[[https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/comments/1qeqmng/laundry_101_with_ukismaiaesthetics/|Original Link]] All credit is due to the OP on Reddit u/KismaiAesthetics. It was only brought here due to some people not having access to Reddit.
-===== Laundry 101 with u/KismaiAesthetics =====
+[[https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/|r/laundry]] is filled with tales of woe - smelly armpits, mystery stains, socks the color of cream of mushroom soup - complete with mysterious embedded dark chunks.  I personally love solving these problems (and the reactions when people post the process and results of disaster recovery are extremely popular there).
-[[:https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/comments/1qeqmng/laundry_101_with_ukismaiaesthetics/|Original Link]] All credit is due to the OP on Reddit u/KismaiAesthetics. It was only brought here due to some people not having access to Reddit.
-[[:https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/|r/laundry]] is filled with tales of woe - smelly armpits, mystery stains, socks the color of cream of mushroom soup - complete with mysterious embedded dark chunks.  I personally love solving these problems (and the reactions when people post the process and results of disaster recovery are extremely popular there).
 But what of people who just have normal laundry and want a little tune-up?  Or have never done their own laundry before?  How about some love and guidance for the non-smelly, non-stained, non-crusty? Here's something for them. How I do normal laundry day-to-day.
@@ Line 66: / Line 66: @@
 This is the most common cause of stains on my laundry.   It’s like I never learned to use cutlery as a toddler.    It’s also the most common cause of spots on most textiles for most people.
-My not-so-secret weapon against these stains?  Enzyme pretreater.  They’re safe on the listed fabrics regardless of color, they’re not smelly or environmentally sketchy, they work extremely well and there are many to choose from.  There’s a list on the spreadsheet linked at [[:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oHWzZ1Sth0Y0J2ynmXFl7M4mGZe-T_MJ_m_Y39pfBug/edit?gid=0#gid=0|The Lipase List]] (google drive link) on the Pretreater tab.   Pick whichever one sounds good - they all work about the same because their formulae are about the same.
+My not-so-secret weapon against these stains?  Enzyme pretreater.  They’re safe on the listed fabrics regardless of color, they’re not smelly or environmentally sketchy, they work extremely well and there are many to choose from.  There’s a list on the spreadsheet linked at [[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oHWzZ1Sth0Y0J2ynmXFl7M4mGZe-T_MJ_m_Y39pfBug/edit?gid=0#gid=0|The Lipase List]] (google drive link) on the Pretreater tab.   Pick whichever one sounds good - they all work about the same because their formulae are about the same.
 I've got a stockpile of old-formula Tide Rescue that I'm emotionally attached to in a less-than-healthy way, but I've also been happy with Whole Foods and Open Nature. I'll pick up a bottle of the President's Choice next time I'm in Canada.
@@ Line 83: / Line 83: @@
 Ink merits special consideration.   While many inks and markers and crayons will come out with standard wash, many will not.  If I see an ink mark on something, I pretreat it with a specialist product, either Amodex or Carbona Stain Devil 3, Ink, Marker & Crayon, following the label directions carefully.
-These three categories cover 99% of my laundry woes.  Ask [[:https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/|r/laundry]] or [[:https://www.reddit.com/user/KismaiAesthetics/|DM me]] for advice if you have something else on your textiles.  Don’t dump v1negar on it as a default.
+These three categories cover 99% of my laundry woes.  Ask [[https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/|r/laundry]] or [[https://www.reddit.com/user/KismaiAesthetics/|DM me]] for advice if you have something else on your textiles.  Don’t dump v1negar on it as a default.
@@ Line 104: / Line 104: @@
 === Chemistry:  ===
-I’m a sweaty greasy mess who drops food.  So obviously I use an enzyme detergent.   I maintain a list at [[:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oHWzZ1Sth0Y0J2ynmXFl7M4mGZe-T_MJ_m_Y39pfBug/edit?gid=0#gid=0|The Lipase List]] (google drive link) where you can find something you like that works with your water.   I don’t care about the presence or absence of fragrance one way or the other, but if the product is fragranced it has to be unobtrusive.  From an olfactory perspective, I really don’t want $5 of my perfume overpowered by $0.02 worth of laundry fragrance.
+I’m a sweaty greasy mess who drops food.  So obviously I use an enzyme detergent.   I maintain a list at [[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oHWzZ1Sth0Y0J2ynmXFl7M4mGZe-T_MJ_m_Y39pfBug/edit?gid=0#gid=0|The Lipase List]] (google drive link) where you can find something you like that works with your water.   I don’t care about the presence or absence of fragrance one way or the other, but if the product is fragranced it has to be unobtrusive.  From an olfactory perspective, I really don’t want $5 of my perfume overpowered by $0.02 worth of laundry fragrance.
 As of this writing, I’m doing 60+% of my loads with 1.5 oz of Wegmans Free & Clear liquid “with stainfighting enzymes”, and either a label dose of Febu or an ounce of 365 Sport detergent plus a dose of an oxi booster of the Biz/OxiClean/Kirkland Signature/365 types. The Wegmans liquids all have optical brightener in them.
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 Automotive loads get 3 oz / 90ml of Tide/Persil liquid and a cup/ 250mL of ammonia.  You can’t beat the cleaning of a high-performance conventional-surfactant liquid on petrochemical soils.  Ammonia helps the grease removal.
-I am a massive fan of citric acid rinsing.  It leaves my cottons cottonier, my polyesters slicker and my animal fibers softer and smoother.    I use a shade over 2 tsp / 10g citric acid crystals right in the softener dispenser.  My machine likes the dry just fine and I don’t get residual crunchies after the wash.  YMMV.   Details of the Why of citric rinsing [[:https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/comments/1nhdr0r/|here]] (reddit link).
+I am a massive fan of citric acid rinsing.  It leaves my cottons cottonier, my polyesters slicker and my animal fibers softer and smoother.    I use a shade over 2 tsp / 10g citric acid crystals right in the softener dispenser.  My machine likes the dry just fine and I don’t get residual crunchies after the wash.  YMMV.   Details of the Why of citric rinsing [[https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/comments/1nhdr0r/|here]] (reddit link).
@@ Line 169: / Line 169: @@
-===== Sunscreen stains- what cause them, how to prevent & remove them =====
+===== - Sunscreen stains- what cause them, how to prevent & remove them by u/Fair-Shift1962 =====
-[[:https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/comments/1pma9og/sunscreen_stains_what_cause_them_how_to_prevent/|Original Link]] by Reddit u/Fair-Shift-1962 **Editors Note:** This will include a fair amount of images that apparently refuse to load. I also fixed some formatting from the original post.
+[[https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/comments/1pma9og/sunscreen_stains_what_cause_them_how_to_prevent/|Original Link]] by Reddit u/Fair-Shift-1962 **Editors Note:** This will include a fair amount of images that apparently refuse to load. I also fixed some formatting from the original post.
@@ Line 196: / Line 196: @@
 === so first thing- uv filters ===
-''//<Image of a traditional color wheel here>//'' (similar to [[:https://us2-browse.startpage.com/av/anon-image?piurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2F8d%2Fca%2Fbb%2F8dcabb1daf04c9cb840b0838085a9e7f.jpg&sp=1791464209T418ac9b82f42d34cda3c22f039919bf4cef680819f5d89249f7ae33d4a4189c0|This one]] with image text: color pallete- as u see yellow counteracts violet/purple
+''//<Image of a traditional color wheel here>//'' (similar to [[https://us2-browse.startpage.com/av/anon-image?piurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2F8d%2Fca%2Fbb%2F8dcabb1daf04c9cb840b0838085a9e7f.jpg&sp=1791464209T418ac9b82f42d34cda3c22f039919bf4cef680819f5d89249f7ae33d4a4189c0|This one]] with image text: color pallete- as u see yellow counteracts violet/purple
 almost all chemical/ organic filters are yellow becouse they need to absorb ultra violet rays, and as u see- yellow absorbs violete color (the only organic filters i know to have white color are: tinosorb m - white powder which works like in-organic (mineral) & organic filter in the same time, second organic uv filter i know to have white color is HAA299 - aka basf competitor to loreal's mexoryl 400 / mce, and the third one is uvinul a2b)
@@ Line 228: / Line 228: @@
 and polyquats are very well known to cause stains
-i reccomend look into [[:https://www.reddit.com/user/KismaiAesthetics/|u/KismaiAesthetics]] post about polyquats https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/comments/1m8r0lv/polyquat_spots/
+i reccomend look into [[https://www.reddit.com/user/KismaiAesthetics/|u/KismaiAesthetics]] post about polyquats https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/comments/1m8r0lv/polyquat_spots/
 (korean sunscreens due less resistant film formers are not resistant to sweat& water are more appopriate to city use, not beach use. And if u gonna use them on beach u must to reapply every 2 h)
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-===== When The Rinse Washes You Clean, You'll Know - Citric Acid Rinses =====
+===== - When The Rinse Washes You Clean, You'll Know - Citric Acid Rinses by u/KismaiAesthetics =====
+**Original Post:** [[https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/comments/1nhdr0r/when_the_rinse_washes_you_clean_youll_know_citric/|Here]] by u/KismaiAesthetics
+ Revised by [[https://www.reddit.com/user/KismaiAesthetics/|u/KismaiAesthetics]] 9/07/2026
+=== Why Add Something To The Rinse? ===
+There’s a Goldilocks point of how much detergent a particular load needs.  Not enough, the soils in clothing don’t get removed.  Too much, and you’re not only wasting detergent, but you can get buildup in the textiles due to modern laundry equipment being really good at washing and sort of crap at rinsing, as well as buildup in the machine because there are nooks and crannies that don’t regularly get exposed to much more than a splash of water.    In a perfectly-dosed load of laundry, the detergent all rinses away and the final rinse water is indistinguishable from tap.
+Nobody’s load of laundry is perfectly dosed.  We either tolerate some residual detergent or we don’t have clean clothes.  Further, alkali residues in laundry contribute to skin irritation and texture problems in fabrics.  You could rinse and rinse and rinse, but that’s a waste of drinking water.  There’s a better answer than dilution:  neutralization.
+=== Souring On pH Imbalances ===
+Commercial laundries have known about the importance of wash and rinse pH since the dawn of automatic laundry.  They use extremely alkaline processes to get off oily soils and then they use automatically dosed acids called “laundry sours” to neutralize the alkali.     That’s why hotel towels get so white and so fluffy - they blast the dirt and oil off at ph 12+, neutralize it to slightly acidic (pH 6 is optimal) and dry.  High pH also helps  dry cleaners get starched shirts free of things like that floozy from accounting’s lipstick on the collar of a shirt that is very much not her husband’s.
+The problem with these highly acidic and alkaline commercial chemistries is that they’re incredibly corrosive to skin and machines if splashed or overdosed.  Commercial users monitor the pH of the final rinse water and subtly adjust the dose of these acids to get it right, and humans never touch the raw material.  Home launderers do not have that luxury.
+=== Acid, In MY HOUSE? -It’s Not Just A Problem Faced By Concerned Mothers Of Teenagers In The 1960s! ===
+Big Laundry has figured out that they can get in this game for home launderers with acidic products that neutralize overdosed detergent, improve texture, and optionally add a final hit of fragrance.   Selling you another thirty to fifty cents of product is good for their bottom lines, and keeps you from trying to dial down the detergent they’re selling you to the bare minimum to avoid residue.  Win/Win.
+There’s a bunch of these products out there.  P&G was the innovator with Downy Rinse Out Odor (née Rinse & Refresh) / Tide Clean Boost / Gain Rinse & Renew.    They’re all identical save the fragrance package -  mixtures of citric acid, sodium citrate, a glycol to give it some thickness / reduce splashing, and some preservatives so it lasts forever on the shelf.     The concentration is designed so that a fabric softener dispenser holds the right amount for a given machine’s capacity, and the pH is buffered so that it’s more friendly to skin and eyes if it’s splashed on full-strength and won’t be particularly harmful if swallowed.
+r/laundry - Downy Rinse Out Odor, née Rinse & Refresh
+**//<Image of: Downy Rinse Out Odor, née Rinse & Refresh>//**
+I can’t overstate how much of a laundry advance these products are:  they’re probably the biggest thing to hit home laundry since Liquid Tide in 1985.   They are remarkably effective at neutralizing detergent and alkaline residues in laundry.   They’re safe to handle, they smell nice if you want them to, and they very much improve laundry texture and fragrance.   They incidentally keep machines cleaner and reduce the risk of hard water residue on textiles, even with perfectly dosed detergent.
+What's even more interesting about these products is their role in reducing odor rebloom - the citrate ions help remove transition metal cations from laundry. These include copper, iron and manganese. Copper is near-ubiquitous in tap water, iron and manganese aren't exactly rare. Transition metals have been found to catalyze rancidity in oil components. Trace oil left on fabrics is a major cause of odor rebloom - chelating these metals out of the rinse water and off of the oily residues directly reduces rancidity, which prevents malodor. V1negar can't do that either.
+If you like the fragrance and don’t mind the money, use them.  The store brand and dollar store knockoffs work about as well - you may need to adjust dosing a little.
+=== Martha Stewart Meets Mister Wizard ===
+If you don’t care about April Fresh fragrance or the 401(k)s of P&G execs, you can just replace the active ingredient in these water-clear rinse products,  citric acid.    Because it comes in a convenient powdered form, you can make it fresh for every load of laundry and save some money.  There’s no worry about spills because it’s a dry powder.
+Citric acid powders or crystals are available where home food canning or soap making supplies are sold, in Middle Eastern and Eastern European speciality food markets or online.  If you’re buying it by the ton, buy technical grade and save 10%, but food grade is fine in this application and is generally cheaper in small quantities - more competition.    It has an indefinite shelf life as a dry product, and if it clumps up due to atmospheric moisture, a whack of the bag will separate it again.   Literally any brand is fine - $5/pound or so, delivered, is a reasonable price.  One pound should do approximately 90 loads of laundry in a front loader or HE top-loader, 40 or so in a conventional top-loader.
+**//<Image of: Spcy Wrold 2lb Bag! Citric Acid>//** with text: This happened to be the cheapest 2# bag of citric acid on Amazon with fast delivery the last time I needed a new one. They're all the same.
+You don’t need much.  It’s pretty much a factor of your washer’s water use.  Most HE machines need about 6-8 grams - which is about 1.5 -2 measuring teaspoons.  I sort of eyeball it with a fat heaped teaspoonful right in the softener drawer of my LG washer, dry.   Most top loaders need at least double - somewhere between a level and heaping Tablespoon - 15-20 grams would be a good starting point.  If your water is known to be hard, use more.  Increase by about 50% of the base dose for every 100ppm of hardness past 150 in your tap water.
+Your machine adds the water if it’s an HE machine with a drawer or compartment-type dispenser.  You add the water to the fill line if it’s a conventional top-loader with an agitator-top dispenser or if you use [[https://www.nehemiahmfg.com/?portfolio=downy-ball|The Downy Ball]] because you don’t have a dispenser.  Most HE machines tolerate the dry powder in the dispenser just fine.   If you find residue in yours, just top off the dispenser with tap water after adding the acid.
+=== How To Tell It's Working: ===
+You’ll feel the difference in the first wash. Whether homemade or prerolled, this is not a subtle difference.  Towels are fluffier, cotton knits are drape-ier, sheets are smoother.      It's not the greasy slick feel of liquid softener or dryer sheets - rather, a cottony-soft slightly fluffy feel.  Synthetics have a slicker smoother feel without any hint of greasiness.
+=== Liquid Assets: ===
+If you have a dispensing system that takes an entire jug of softener at a time, or don’t have a water source close by, and want to use a DIY liquid form, you can just dissolve the right amount of citric acid in water in advance.   It’s VERY unlikely you’ll get microbial growth in a pH 3.5 solution like this (in fact, citric acid solutions are an EPA-registered limited disinfectant against many microorganisms) , but it still behooves you to not mix up more than you’ll use in a month or two.    Use room temperature tap water and dissolve the citric acid in the water (always add acid to water, not water to acid!), and store in a labeled glass or plastic container out of the reach of children.
+The question becomes “how much”?  And that’s left as an exercise to the reader.  It’s easier for conventional top-loader / Downy Ball users:  measure how much liquid the dispenser holds to the fill line.  Put that much water time how many doses you want to make in the glass or plastic container.    Now add enough acid for each dose times the number of doses.
+An example:  if your top-loader agitator-top dispenser holds 4 fl oz / 125 mL  to the fill line, and you’re making 32 doses, fill up a gallon jug with 120 oz of water, add 512 grams of powder, and top off with water until the jug is full.  Use 4 oz in each load and you’ll get 16 grams of acid in each load, no measuring required.  Sorry for mixing metric and freedom units.  Die mad about it.
+For drawer type dispensers, measure how much water it takes to the fill line, multiply that by how many doses you want to make, and add six to eight grams of powder to the water.
+For a fancy tank dispenser, Read The Fine Manual and see how much it expects to dose in each load.  Six to eight grams of acid per load times the dispensed volume in water per load, multiplied by the number of doses the tank holds .
+If you want to add some fragrance to these liquids, you can.  Essential oils generally tolerate some acid well, but maybe make a little up and see how it smells after it sits awhile.  You’ll also want to shake the jug well before each use as the oils will tend to behave as oils do and float on top of the watery component.
+Congratulations:  you’ve done what took P&G an approximate eternity to figure out, for a fraction of the money.  Get yourself a little sweet treat as a reward.
+=== V1negar Is For Salads ===
+The Salad Dressing Mafia dumps white v1negar into the rinse cycle to neutralize the detergent.   And it works for that.   But it smells like an Italian sub sandwich while it’s wet and it takes a lot of mass to do a good job because household distilled white v1negar is only 5% acid.    Moreover, acetic acid neutralizes one hydroxide ion for every molecule of acid.    So one cup of v1inegar can neutralize about a teaspoon of a strong alkali.  Readers, know that your laundry is generally much more alkaline than that.    One teaspoon of citric acid powder neutralizes more alkali than that same cup of v1negar, without the weight, the smell or the endless plastic jugs. And again, acetate ions are not effective chelators of calcium or the transition metals. You're only getting modest pH reduction - not the calcium removal or the rancidity protection.
+=== But What About The Seals? ===
+There's a persistent belief that citric acid is bad for the seals.  I don't know what aquatic mammals have to do with laundry aside from being cute on the bag of Foca detergent.  But know that this chemistry doesn't actually leave the machine or the rinse water strongly acidic.  It leaves it within the range of normal tap water instead of strongly alkaline like unneutralized detergent residues do.
+=== Cautions: ===
+**Last One In Is A Rotten Egg:**
+If your water has sulfur in it, the lowered pH can cause a faint rotten egg smell.   This will usually flash off when the textiles are dried.  You may want to use a commercial product with fragrance in it if this is a sustained issue.  Bummer about your water.
+**It’s A Laundry Product, Not A Beverage or Eyewash:**
+This is slightly more acidic than lime juice, but if it gets on your skin, or in your eyes, rinse thoroughly with tap water.   If swallowed, contact poison control for guidance.
+**Counteroffers:**
+Don’t let the liquid or powder remain on stone or concrete countertops or floors.  Citric acid dissolves calcium.  Stone and concrete surfaces contain calcium.  Rinse promptly.
+**Financial/AI Disclosures:**
+None of the links are affiliate links.  Nobody is paying me to write these posts.   I don't make a dime from any of this. This is all 100% produced by a semi-sentient actual human.
+----
+===== - Polyquat Spots by u/KismaiAesthetics =====
+**Original Post:** [[https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/comments/1m8r0lv/polyquat_spots/|here by u/KismaiAesthetics]] **Editors Note:** there are images in here that will not transfer over. I did my best to include descriptions.
+You’ve been sent here because it’s likely the mystery stains on your clothes that develop in the wash and won’t come out are Polyquat Spots.
+This document was last updated on 07/25/25 (on reddit by [[https://www.reddit.com/user/KismaiAesthetics/|u/KismaeAesthetics]])
+**//< An image of: Child's Ivory-Colored Cotton Sweatshirt Displaying Characteristic Polyquat Spots With Blue-Violet Polyquat Stains>//**
+=== What are Polyquat Spots? ===
+**Polyquat Spots** are areas on fabric that attract dirt and soil in the wash, caused by exposure to a class of clear flexible polymers called polyquaterniums, referred to in the rest of the document as **polyquat**. **Polyquat Spots**  should be suspected when garments develop stains after wet washing processes that don’t come out with standard stain removal treatments.   Polyquat Spots and their associated **Polyquat Stains** often have a distinctive look and feel - slightly shiny, transparent to translucent, not raised or rough.  They are never lighter in color than the fabric underneath.   They typically do not penetrate the fabric completely unless the textile is very lightweight and the contamination was direct (like from a conditioner bottle leaking in a suitcase). They cannot generally spread from one garment to another unless there's enough concentrated wet polyquat in direct contact with a second item.
+=== What are Polyquats? ===
+There are currently 116 registered polyquat compounds - while not all are known to cause staining, many do.  The common characteristic is structural - there is a quarternary ammonium compound in the center of the molecule with various moieties hanging off it.   While this framework is structurally and chemically similar to the quaternary ammonium compounds used in laundry sanitizers, disinfectants and antibacterial skin preparations, they impart no direct antibacterial benefit in polyquat polymers.   The diagram below represents Polyquaternum-7, one of the most notorious of the class for causing stains.
+**//<An image of: A Chemical Structure Diagram Of Polyquaternium-7, A Notorious Source Of Polyquat Spots>//**
+Functionally, polyquats are used when a product needs to form a thin, smooth layer upon application to the skin or hair.  They’re also used to ensure good foaming performance by strengthening bubble walls.  This latter capability is exploited by manufacturers of commercial bubble solution in children’s toys and for use in bubble machines.  Polyquat-enriched bubbles are often large, long-lasting and pleasantly iridescent in color.  This film forming capability can deliver conditioning, moisturizing and product feel benefits in personal care products that last throughout the expected period of use.  Importantly, they are positively charged (cationic) and seek out negative charges, frequently found in damaged hair or dry skin.
+**//<An image of: Pure Polyquaternium-7 Before It Destroys Clothing in a petri dish>//**
+=== Where Is The Polyquat Coming From? ===
+The most common offenders are:
+  * Shampoos (especially 2-in-1 formulae)
+  * Conditioners
+  * Heat Protection Sera
+  * Anti-Frizz/Anti-Static Sera
+  * Liquid Hand Soaps Including Softsoap Brand
+  * Bubble Bath
+  * Hair Mousse
+  * Gel
+  * Hairsprays
+  * Beard Smoothing Serum
+  * Conditioning / Moisturizing Bar Soaps and Shampoo Bars
+  * Sunscreens
+  * Personal Lubricants For Adult Purposes
+And, most notorious in r/Laundry,
+  * Commercial bubble solutions for bubble guns, wands and machines
+=== How Do Polyquats Get On Fabric? ===
+They get on fabrics by direct contact, by diluted drips or rubs off hair or skin, from contaminated hands, or by indirect contact with drops on a bathroom floor, counter or other hard surface.
+=== What Happens When Polyquats Touch Fabric? ===
+These polymers electrically bond to negatively-charged regions of fibers (especially cotton and semi-synthetics like rayon, viscose, acetate, “bamboo”, modal, Tencel and Lyocell).  They then leave an invisible layer with a residual positive charge  that is electrically attracted to dirt and dye in the wash water.  These clear **Polyquat Spots** then become “color catchers”, attracting and bonding a color layer to the clear spot, making them visible as a **Polyquat Stain**.  They often appear “wet” or “greasy” but can be any shade found in the wash water.   Thus, a light-colored garment with clear **Polyquat Spots** might pick up blue-grey color when washed with black and blue items, resulting in a dull blue-grey stain layer.  A red item with clear **Polyquat Spots** washed with a green item that is contributing fugitive dye may appear to have dark grey or black **Polyquat Stains**.  A white item with **Polyquat Spots** washed with an item soiled with red clay may get a P**olyquat Stain** that looks like rust or red clay.
+=== Great Explanation, Nerd - What Can Be Done? ===
+This is where the bad news starts.
+**Polyquat Spots** and the associated colored **Polyquat Stains** are some of the hardest to address at home or by professional dry cleaners.   [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Laundry/|r/Laundry]] contributors have tried everything known to mankind to remove these, and there’s no practical one-shot treatment that consistently removes the Polyquat Spot and keeps it from returning.
+What you can do sometimes is remove the color a Polyquat Spot has acquired and then be very careful on subsequent washes to keep it from picking up color again.  Eventually, with normal laundering, the polyquat can fall off or become less attractive to fugitive dye and soils in the wash, and the garment may then be laundered with progressively decreasing risk of recurrence.  This requires on the order of 12-20 perfect washes.
+=== Decoloring Polyquat Stains: ===
+**//<Image of: Sodium Dithionite Powder in a jar - The Path To Turn Polyquat Stains Back To Polyquat Spots//**
+The recommended method of decoloring Polyquat Stains is with a class of chemicals known as reduction bleaches.  They are commonly sold as color run or dye removers.   There’s an extensive document with brand recommendations from around the world at [[https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/s/QaKkCN3faz/|r/laundry/s/QaKkCN3faz]] along with comprehensive instructions.  You’ll basically soak the affected garments in a warm solution of this color run remover just long enough to remove the surface color and turn the Stains back to clear Spots, then stop the action by soaking in cold water.   This method does not work if the dye forming the stain color layer is an indigo or other leuco dye such as vat dye, common in denim and garment-dyed cottons.  Finally, you’ll wash using detergents with specific ingredients and color catcher sheets to complete the neutralization and hopefully keep color off the stains.
+=== Relapse Prevention: ===
+The decoloring process only removes the color layer off the stained top of the clear Polyquat Spot.  It does not remove the polyquat entirely (although there’s some rational basis that it may help make it less attractive to dye and soil from wash water).  After the decoloring process, it’s imperative that your wash process not expose the contaminated garments to new color sources.
+**Step 1:  Sorting Aggressively**
+Garments that have Polyquat Spots need to be washed with like colors only.  An example sort would be:
+  * Blacks, charcoals, navy blues and dark browns
+  * Dark blues and greens
+  * Dark reds and purples
+  * Light blues and greens
+  * Light reds and purples
+  * Neutrals like khaki, tan, ecru, light grey and taupe
+  * Whites with stripes / embellishments
+  * Absolute plain whites
+Less stringent sorting raises the risk of making the clear Polyquat Spot become colored and visible again.
+New clothing should always be washed separately the first time, but it's especially important to avoid washing new items with items with treated or untreated Polyquat Spots.
+It's also important to avoid washing garments with Polyquat Spots in loads with high levels of particulate soils like clay, dirt, dust, automotive grime and soot.
+**Step 2:  Using The Right Detergent**
+Garments with clear Polyquat Spots need to be washed with detergents that contain anti-redeposition agents - these are surfactants and polymers that keep removed dirt and fugitive dye up in the wash water and unavailable to the clear spots.    Most top-tier detergents contain one or more antiredeposition agents such as carboxymethylcellulose, anionic polyesters and polyacrylic acids.  They may be described as “cleaning aids” or "antiredeposition agents" on labels.   Many discount or plant-based products omit antiredeposition agents.  The omission makes washing with them more likely to allow fugitive dye and removed soils to recolor the clear Polyquat Spots.  An alternative method is to use a small amount of a dye-suspending detergent called Synthrapol, available at art supply stores, speciality quilt and yarn shops and online, to each load of laundry.  One tablespoon per front loader or HE wash or two tablespoons per conventional top loader should be sufficient.
+Detergents with anionic surfactants may help reduce the color-attractiveness of the clear spots with consistent use.  These will be described on the label as either “anionic surfactants” generally, or will have names with sulfate, sulfonate, and gluconate high in the ingredient list.
+**Step 3:  Using Color Catchers**
+**//<Image of: Shout, A Popular Brand Of Color Catcher Sheet. 1 unused white, 1 used dark gray with image text: New And After Exposure To A Load Of Darks//**
+The most important adjunct to keeping Polyquat Spots from recoloring while the polyquat washes and wears out are disposable color catchers.  These are usually white non-woven textile sheets, like a dryer sheet, that go in the wash with the laundry and are themselves coated with polyquats or similar positively-charged polymers to provide a more attractive target for the negatively-charged dye or dirt in the wash water.   You should use one per light or white load and two per colored load if the load contains a garment with a suspected or treated clear Polyquat Spot.   Whatever color they turn in the wash water is the color that the Polyquat Spot would have taken had the color catcher not been used, and the used sheets can be useful to identify which items in a load are giving up color to the wash water.  There are several brands including Shout Color Catcher, Carbona Color Grabber and many others including store brands and generics.  They all work about the same - buy whatever’s cheap and available to you.  If you have a front-loading washer, as a precaution, it’s a good practice to put the color catcher sheets in a mesh delicates bag.  This keeps them from slipping out of the wash and getting between the basket and drum, or ending up in the filter or pump or down the drain.
+You may be tempted to reuse a color catcher that doesn’t look particularly discolored.  This is fine for a few washes.  They will absorb a finite amount of material, though, and the polymer may come off over several washes, diminishing effectiveness.  Don’t push it too far.
+There are “permanent” or “reusable” color catchers, often based on a surface-treated synthetic fiber.  While they work well in typical wash conditions to prevent frank bleeding from dying victim garments, they aren’t attractive enough to fugitive dye to outcompete a clear Polyquat Spot for the attention of fugitive dye and soils.
+=== Can Polyquat Spots and Stains Be Prevented? ===
+Yes, with an asterisk.  The best prevention is to meticulously avoid contact between polyquats in their wet state and textiles that you care about.  Make sure that containers of polyquat-containing products in suitcases or gym bags are isolated from vulnerable textiles, dry hair thoroughly before it touches fabrics and make bubble solution for kids using dish soap, glycerin and non-quat polymers such as carboxymethylcellulose.
+However, we’re all human and shit happens.
+If you believe that a textile has been exposed to polyquats, there is strong evidence from industry testing that soaking it in a solution of anionic surfactants and water before laundering in a process where it could be exposed to  fugitive dye or suspended soils can neutralize the polyquat charge.   The easiest method would be a tablespoon of dish detergent such as Dawn or a laundry detergent with declared anionic surfactants as described above, per gallon of tepid water, soaked eight to twelve hours before washing.  Wash with color catchers in a well-sorted load or completely separately as a precaution.
+----
+===== - Scrud: The Dirtiest Word In Laundry =====
+**Original Post:** [[https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/comments/1ob2zhh/scrud_the_dirtiest_word_in_laundry/|here by u/KismaiAesthetics]] **Editors Note:** There are a lot of images in this one, the images are very relevant. I'll include the image links and a description. Some are quite gross, click with caution if you have a weak stomach for slimy things.
+=== It’s Time To Talk About An Unpleasant Subject: Scrud ===
+Scrud is a colloquial term for the residue that can build up in washing machines.  While HE machines are most susceptible to Scrud, any machine is capable of developing it.  It’s a combination of mineral, detergent, soap and  fabric softener residues, along with fugitive dye, lint and soils.  Scrud is not generally harmful to human health, but it’s disgusting AF and it can smell - both due to the contents and because Scrud supports bacterial growth including biofilms.  Scrud often has a waxy, flaky texture that “feathers” when compressed.  Other forms can include granules or sheets.
+**Warning:  Sensitive Readers May Be Terminally Grossed Out:**
+Here are some images of Scrud posted here in r/Laundry by other Redditors.
+**You may first notice Scrud on your textiles:**
+  * **//<Image of a prurple fabric with yellow flakes>//** with text: lighter colored scrub on colored knits [[https://preview.redd.it/scrud-the-dirtiest-word-in-laundry-v0-2pdsa3cp65wf1.jpg?width=609&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=af93d8a5748df16212e702e0ad2df847b2489f1a|Reddit Image Link]]
+  * **//<Image of a white fabric with black dots>//** with text: darker Scrud on white cotton blend [[https://preview.redd.it/scrud-the-dirtiest-word-in-laundry-v0-2x2f43cp65wf1.jpg?width=636&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=122b84029bcc983244e889d50eb33b3b0e8c6bf2|Reddit Image Link]]
+  * **//<Image of a light fabric with black and brown dots>//** with text: dScrud on jersey knit [[https://preview.redd.it/scrud-the-dirtiest-word-in-laundry-v0-8bs394cp65wf1.jpg?width=603&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2b5b75375846965201abfb6c840a0368310f4ce8|Reddit Image Link]]
+**Or  in the wash basket:**
+  * **//<Image of a paper towel with brown and black slime>//** with text: Scrud wipe down of drum [[https://preview.redd.it/scrud-the-dirtiest-word-in-laundry-v0-yze4zyio75wf1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e3b6a99c0b4316a9f35185484cdae5cd9979c02e|Reddit Image Link]]
+  * **//<Image of a top load washer full of water with floating brown slime>//** with text: Scrud in rinse water [[https://preview.redd.it/scrud-the-dirtiest-word-in-laundry-v0-siijsxio75wf1.jpg?width=1068&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2ee9b9b41147f7565d93a0a1dca65255507f3b98|Reddit Image Link]]
+  * **//<Image of a chunks of black and brown hard scrud>//** with text: Particularly appaling scrud from abused machine [[https://preview.redd.it/scrud-the-dirtiest-word-in-laundry-v0-sv040zio75wf1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=0a3aaae9a5ec77b0aed4f1bb86d03108c92a72a4|Reddit Image Link]] (trigger warning)
+**Or around things like the tumble vanes:**
+  * **//<Image of inside of top load washer with black chunky slime>//** with text: Scrud in tub [[https://preview.redd.it/scrud-the-dirtiest-word-in-laundry-v0-4lcvyf4q75wf1.jpg?width=867&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=058d05e66de8ad0a6b3a06bb204256eded5c81b3|Reddit Image Link]] (trigger warning)
+  * **//<Image of the back side of a top load washer's impeller>//** with text: Scrud behind impeller [[https://preview.redd.it/scrud-the-dirtiest-word-in-laundry-v0-hpioil5q75wf1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=f29273ee31413aa35d125c5c58ae3798494a651f|Reddit Image Link]] (trigger warning)
+=== What Causes Scrud? ===
+The biggest contributor to Scrud is naturally-occurring minerals in tap water.   The higher the calcium and total alkalinity of wash water, the more Scrud forming potential.   When minerals start to build up, it’s usually not in isolation, though, especially in North American machines without boost heaters.  There’s usually a soap or detergent component.  Soaps (made from alkali-treated fats and oils) are especially notorious for causing Scrud, and soaps are now found in many mainstream washing products such as All Free & Clear as well as “green” products and boutique fragranced products.    Fabric softener can also contribute to Scrud formation.  As the Scrud forms, it traps dye, soils and lint in the layers, and any oils or fats can turn rancid.   Bacteria can feed on these trapped soils and oils.
+=== What Can I Do To Prevent Scrud? ===
+  * Wash on hot periodically.  Scrud is more soluble in high wash temperatures.
+  * Avoid soapy products and ingredients - anything with cocoate/oleate/palmate/sunflowerate ingredients = bad news if you have water prone to Scrud formation.  Same with liquid castile soaps.  This rule especially pertains to homemade “detergent” hacks that use hard soaps like Fels-Naptha, Zote or Ivory - these are fine as spot treaters, but don’t rinse away in automatic laundry machines.
+  * Don’t use liquid fabric softener you can’t see through or scent beads that promise to soften
+  * Consider a citric acid rinse product as discussed at [[https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/comments/1nhdr0r//|r/laundry/comments/1nhdr0r/]] - these work to remove the minerals that are required for Scrud formation and help rinse away excess detergent.  They also make your laundry feel and smell great.
+=== How to get rid of Scrud: ===
+Citric acid is the best way to clean Scrud from your machine, and various companies sell it to do just that, at a premium price.  One has the audacity to tell you not to use citric acid for machine cleaning and descaling, and then literally has a link on the same page to sell you their $15/dose descaling product.  Which is 85% citric acid.  The brass ones on some marketing departments.
+/2 cup / 125 mL of cheap citric acid powder right in the drum, and either the machine clean cycle (preferred) or the hottest / longest possible wash cycle (with “Sanitize” enabled, if your machine has it) will get your machine clean and Scrud-free by dissolving mineral and soap/detergent buildup.     If you have a top loader without a machine clean cycle, use a high-fill hot wash setting, and once agitation starts, pause the machine for an hour to allow the citrate to do the work, then allow the cycle to finish.  Follow your machine’s instructions for filters and strainers that may need cleaning after this treatment.    Check the drum for chunks after the clean cycle and wipe them out before repeating if they’re present.  No sense trying to dissolve something you can wipe away.
+Machines that haven’t been cleaned regularly, have been exposed to the bullshit that is “homemade detergent” or have had other soap-containing products used in them may have a severe layer of Scrud buildup.   The telltale sign is that they will foam during a cleaning cycle with citric acid.  I cannot be emphatic enough - citric acid does not foam.  You can shake and shake and shake a citric acid solution, and the bubbles disappear instantly.  If there’s foam in the machine at any point in the cleaning cycle, there’s still retained Scrud getting removed.  The absolute worst machines can take 8-12 cleaning cycles to get completely clean and suds-free.  Be patient.  The anti-Scrud chemistry works as inevitably as Jennifer Lopez ruins a feature film.
+Once your machine has achieved a clean, suds-free state, a  final cleaning cycle with just household chlorine bleach, in the dose recommended by your machine’s manual will provide some additional disinfection coverage to those shiny clean parts.  It’s a bonus round, but worthwhile.
+Starting from a new or cleaned machine, you should run a citric acid cleaning cycle somewhere between every 30-75 cycles, depending on your water hardness (harder, towards the more frequent softer to the less-frequent)
+There's more information about sourcing citric acid and discussion of the various price and purity options at r/laundry/comments/1nhdr0r/.
+**Editors Note:** See your washing machine manual for machine maintenance, how to clean your machine, if you have a filter that needs to be cleaned, and what type of product to use to best clean your machine.
+----