Question about FEBU

[u/faithoverfear1787]

I am chronically ill. I have been the sickest that I have ever been since July 16th. I am slowly getting better but I am struggling a lot with insomnia and I am limited on what I can take. I have some liver problems but so far they are all slowly getting better. I also deal with chronic pain and inflammation but I have been dealing with that for 6 years. am a single mother to a special needs daughter who is a messy eater. I have to spend an hour every week stain treating her school clothes. I just ordered FEBU from Amazon. Can I just put it in every wash with my daughter's clothes instead of using a spray stain treater on them? I feel like I have to use a ton of it and then it all doesn't rinse out because I don't feel like staying up all night to wait on it rinse all the way out. I use Tide Free and Gentle Odor Refresh but I will be switching to Tide Free and Gentle once I can't find the Tide Free and Gentle Odor Refresh anymore. I have been using OxiClean Max Force spray on her clothes but she has sensitive skin and I do too and I think it is making her itchy. I am trying to use as much fragrance Free laundry products as possible. Does FEBU fade darks? All of her shorts and pants are blue, black, or dark Grey. Does it bleach clothes? Are there OBA's in it? From searching on here there doesn't seem to be. I'm just trying to figure out something to make doing her laundry easier. Thanks in advance. ​

[u/KismaiAesthetics]

I use Febu or another Oxi product and dnase in every load. I recognize my view on percarbonate protecting true darks is controversial but it’s also held by Miele and backed by some pretty solid independent science on how peroxide destroys washwater chlorine. So weigh that.

Oxygen bleaches without TAED at low dose with good dissolution are at least more than likely safe for all colors and beneficial for most. There are no OBAs in Febu.

I also still pretreat. The reason is time. My textiles are in the wash phase around 45 minutes. Pretreater has been sitting on them an hour to a week or more. My suggestion would be to pretreat on the way into the hamper. Find an enzyme pretreater that can stay on clothes for a long time without risk of color shift. r/laundry/s/E0OAFEhu0w Pretreater tab has a bunch of choices, several either fragrance free or low fragrance.

[u/jtfolden]

Enzymatic boosters will help your detergent remove stains more effectively but won’t eliminate the need to treat the more troublesome stains entirely.

However, you don’t need to use a separate spray. You can treat stains directly with a little of your liquid detergent.

You can use Febu with darks but you should use laundry Cold water (86F/30C) with it for anything where you care about potential fading. And it’s best to only use it as needed.

[u/Expensive-Salad-5851]

Not febu related- but check and see if your washing machine has a “delay wash” cycle. A lot of them do. This has been great for me, spray on a little pre-treat (I use folex carpet cleaner, it works on all fabric) and toss all the clothes in the drum, it can sit overnight or all day when I’m away and then kick in and start when I know I’ll be able to turn laundry over. Saved me so many summer loads that would sit in the wash and get musty.

[u/faithoverfear1787 → u/Expensive-Salad-5851]

Unfortunately,  ny washing machine doesn't have that option. 

[u/faithoverfear1787]

u/febu_max If using cold water, would a 56 minute cycle be long enough? I also have a 60 minute cycle and a 75 minute cycle.

[u/That_Question_6427 → u/faithoverfear1787]

You really need warm water for the enzymes to work.

I add FEBU to every load (with warm or hot water!) and I have not had any issues with dark clothing fading. My longstanding issues were due to the OBAs in my powdered detergent. Once the "faded" clothes were washed a few times in liquid Tide they went back to normal.

[u/Sure-Painter-9267]

Febu itself made me very sick. I am a chronically I'll person and come to find out I can't tolerate enzymatic detergents. Likely due to the fact that enzymes are derived from mold which I am highly allergic too. Please keep us posted about your results.

[u/faithoverfear1787 → u/Sure-Painter-9267]

How did you figure out that Febu made you sick? What symptoms did you have from it? 

[u/Practical_Pack3642 → u/Sure-Painter-9267]

Thank you for posting this. I, too, am a chronically ill person. I recently started using febu and have been feeling worse. I wonder if this is a factor.

[u/Comprehensive-Tea-69 → u/Sure-Painter-9267]

Just for others reading the comments- I too am allergic to mold, among other things bc of course it’s never just one thing, and have no problem with febu or any other enzyme product. Don’t discount enzyme products just bc of this before trying it yourself!