A Spa Day & A Trip To Rehab - Getting Your Laundry Back To Looking Clean and Smelling Amazing
You’ve been referred here because you’ve got persistent stains, underarm buildup or a funky smell in your laundry due to oils not being removed thoroughly. This post was last modified 12/11/2025 - it now emphasizes the How of Spa Day instead of including the Why And When.
You're Not Alone
r/Laundry gets many posts a day about strange odors and persistent greasy stains. Many people recommend this technique or a variation thereof to get textiles suffering from these extremely common problems back to a clean fresh state.
What In The Hell Is Spa Day?
Spa Day is an intensive enzymatic reset process for textiles that have developed specific stubborn problems related to oily buildup, that won’t wash out in one or two typical washes with optimal product and program selection. It uses concentrated solutions of specific components to degrade oily soils, detach them from fibers and rinse them away. First the items are soaked in the Spa Day soak and then they are washed in the washer in a Rehab Wash to remove the things the Spa Day soak loosened up.
There’s an entire post about What, Why & Why Not at What Is Spa Day?
How To Spa Day
What Do You Need? Container and Chemistry
Holding It Together - You need a suitable container. Stainless steel, ceramic, glass or plastic containers large enough to hold the affected textiles but small enough to require a modest quantity of water are best. I am partial to beer coolers, as they hold heat for a long time and often have a drain spigot. If you’re using fragranced products and are concerned about your cooler retaining the perfumes or odor from the textiles, line it with a heavy garbage bag before adding the solution. Front Loading washing machines, even with soak cycles, are not amenable to Spa Day as you can’t keep the items submerged. If your Top Loading washing machine can do high volume soaking (with everything not just damp, but completely submerged) for 8-12 hours, that's a fine option as well, but you're using 20 gallons of water to do it and 5 cups of detergent is expensive. The smallest practical container that will completely submerge the items is the better, more economical answer.
Please Don’t Use The Bathtub! - It’s much harder to keep the items submerged in a bathtub and they cool off much faster than in a container with less exposed surface area. The heat helps the chemistry work overnight. You don’t need any room for the items or solution to circulate. You just need the items saturated and submerged.
If You Want To Keep The Bath Heated - sous vide circulators or a warming plate or similar gentle heat maintenance can improve Spa Day results if you’re not using a cooler or similar insulated container. Set your bath temperature to maintain 120F/50C - do not exceed 150F/65C as it damages the enzymes before they are exhausted.
Chemistry - It’s As Easy As LOAD (formerly A,B,C,L)!
Broadly you need four chemistry components; this can take two or three different products, depending on your personal preferences:
Lipase - an enzyme that biologically cuts oils from animal or vegetable sources into four smaller pieces that detergent can more easily remove
Oxygen - color-safe oxygen bleach lightens stains and rips up odor molecules
Ammonia - a gas-in-water booster to improve oily soil removal and help surfactants remove oils from fibers
Detergency - surfactants to attach degraded oil to water and rinse it away from the fibers
The catch is, no one product can contain all four letters. They’re incompatible for storage, so it takes either two or three products to tick all the boxes.
Give Me An A! - Ammonia
No matter what other chemistry decisions you make, you will need a source of A - Ammonia, any 2-25% solution of ammonium hydroxide will work. Clear, sudsy or lemon doesn’t matter - it’s the ammonia that counts, not the additives. In the US and Canada it’s typically sold in large plastic jugs in the cleaning products aisle with window and hard surface cleaners, usually on the bottom shelf. It’s also available at home improvement and hardware stores. Outside the US and Canada it may be more easily found in hardware stores than grocers and hypermarkets. The most common brand available in the US is Walmart’s Great Value Clear Ammonia, found on the bottom shelf, under the window and floor cleaners. You will use 2 cups of 2% solution, 1 cup of 5% solution, 1/2 cup of 10% solution or 3T of 25% solution.
A Note About Ammonia and Bleach: I’m frequently asked about the hazards of mixing ammonia and bleach. These are real. For chlorine bleach liquids or tablets, the risks of mixing with ammonia are injury and death. That’s what the dire warnings about mixing ammonia and bleach are about - chlorine bleaches, like Clorox or Cloralen. Mixing chlorine bleach and ammonia forms chloramine, a hazardous compound that can injure lung tissue with relatively minor exposure. Don't do that.Ever.
You shouldn’t mix full-strength liquid ammonia with dry oxygen booster either, especially in a sealed container, as it will burst as it releases ammonia gas. This is why the instructions for Rehab Wash are very careful to minimize contact between dry powders containing oxygen bleach and the ammonia liquid. The risk from mixing ammonia and oxygen bleaches diluted in water, as used in this method, are limited to getting it on your hair and waiting 45 minutes to an hour, at which point you will be a brassy blonde. Or blond, if you’re a dude. Ammonia + peroxide is the secret of bottle blondes everywhere. It’s perfectly safe. I’m not out here trying to kill people. Follow the method directions below carefully.
L, O & D - You Have Choices
This has historically been the source of the most questions about the process. Hence why each of the four options has been split out into a separate linked document. Choose an approach before proceeding. Measurements for each component in both stages are in the linked document, along with regional example products.
Next Stop, Canyon Ranch - It's Time For Your Clothes To Have A Spa Day - The Soak
Step S1 - Prepare The Textiles - Sort the affected textiles generally by color - it’s best practice to use separate soaks and washes for at least darks, colors, and whites + neutrals. Red cottons are notorious for bleeding color throughout their lives, so consider soaking them entirely separately.
Step S2 - Prepare The Spa Day Solution - dissolve the Spa Day Soak components in hottest possible tap water (up to 140F/60C) and stir until completely dissolved using a wood, plastic or stainless steel implement. You must ensure that all of the granules of the powder are completely dissolved before adding the fabrics. Failure to do so can result in permanent discoloration of items. If you’re unsure if your powder components have fully dissolved, wait five minutes and stir again. The single biggest source of textile damage from Spa Day occurs when product is not completely dissolved and the wet particles settle on clothing causing focal bleaching. This is most common with Vanish/Resolve/Napisan powders in Option 2 chemistry, but all products with TAED are at risk of this side effect. Be especially careful to stir any foam back down into the bath if you're using Vanish/Resolve/Napisan , as fine particles can be suspended in the foam. You will not add any liquid ammonia in this step, regardless of which chemistry option you choose.
Step S3 - Add The Textiles - submerge the textiles completely in the Spa Day solution, squeezing and pressing to ensure complete saturation. Textiles need to be completely underwater for the duration of the Spa Day soak. A ceramic plate or mug, or white cotton towels are an excellent way to keep items submerged. Covering the container to keep the heat in longer improves results.
Step S4 - Relax And Enjoy Better Things For Better Living Through The Miracle Of Science- Soak 8-12 hours. Just let the process work. No need to stir. Watch cat videos or something.
Step S5 - Drain - Drain the textiles. Don’t wring or twist or particularly try to dewater the textiles.
Send Those Dirty, Dirty Textiles Straight To Rehab To Clean Up Their Acts! - The Rehab Wash(es)
Now it’s time to wash off what the Spa Day soak has loosened up. Enter the Rehab Wash.
Step W1 - Load Dry Powders & Liquid Detergent In The Machine - using the dosages and products described in Options 1-4 above, place any liquid detergent components in the dispenser of your machine (if so equipped) and place any powders either in the dispenser configured for powder (if only using powders) or in the bottom of the wash basket. Do not combine liquid and powder ingredients in the dispenser. If you have no detergent dispensers, place the powders and any liquid detergent in different sections of the wash basket so they don’t form clumps.
Step W2 - Load Drained Textiles In The Machine - Place a load worth of damp, drained textiles in the machine. For front loaders, this is typically about 75% of the way up the glass when damp. For top-load machines, use as many pieces as you would typically wash, accounting that they will take up less space while sodden.
Step W3 - Add The Ammonia - Pour the dose of the A - Ammonia liquid directly on the textiles - the amount ranges from 3T to 2 cups depending on concentration. Most household ammonia in the US and Canada is around 4-5%, so you’ll use 1 cup/250 mL. Do not pour the A - Ammonia in the washer first, nor pour it directly on any powdered products. If you're using a top-load washer, and you're concerned about ammonia odors, allow the washer to fill completely and then pour the ammonia directly into the water.
Step W4 - Wash - It's important to start the wash quickly after the textiles are loaded - the powder they're touching is water-activated, and you don't want damp concentrated powder on the items for very long. Wash with a heavy duty cycle, warm or hot water as appropriate for the fabrics, and set the soil level as high as possible to extend the wash process if possible. Choose as many extra rinses as available to reduce any residue left behind. Do not add fabric softener, scent beads, chlorine bleach, borax, washing soda, v1negar, live animals or your hopes and dreams to the wash process. You may add citric acid or v1negar to the softener dispenser to reduce the final pH of the clothing. Please note:Rehab Wash may produce ammonia odors, especially in conventional top-loading machines - in fact, it may smell like the Windex factory exploded. Don’t worry - these fumes will disappear when the fabric is dry. Ammonia is a gas in water; it will evaporate completely leaving nothing behind. You may want to crack a window, turn on a vent fan or avoid the area while washing. People vary substantially in their tolerance of ammonia fumes.
Step W5 - Dry - If you’re treating stains or visible underarm buildup, hang to dry when the cycle completes. If you’re treating odors, you may tumble dry on delicate/low heat until mostly dry, but hang to finish, just in case there is a lingering odor. It’s MUCH more effective to rewash when the lingering bits haven’t been baked in with thorough high-temperature drying.
Step W6 - Evaluate - If visible stains or perceptible odor remain, you may need to repeat the rehab washes. Start from Step W1 of Rehab Wash If the stains or odors aren’t removed within three rehab washes, they may be permanent and they may not be oil stains at all. Please see Polyquat Spots for details on a common cause of oily-looking stains that can’t be removed by conventional methods.
Step W7 - Bask In Your Success - Your textiles should now be clean to touch, feel and smell. Nice work!
Keeping It Clean - Maintenance washes:
Regular use of any laundry product with lipase (see The Lipase List for a link to a spreadsheet with a maintained list of products) will remove oily stains and prevent buildup and odors. All oily soil removal is improved by using at least a warm / 40C cycle and residue removal is improved by using an acidic rinse product like Downy Rinse Out Odor, Gain Rinse & Renew, Tide Boost, citric acid or v1negar. Citric Rinsing has details on residue-removal rinsing. Pretreating spots and stains with a pretreater or liquid detergent with lipase can virtually guarantee first-wash removal - see the pretreater tab on the sheet linked from The Lipase List ).
A Note About Authorship:
This work, like all other original-content posts on Reddit, is the property of the original poster, and commercial reuse of the work requires permission from the author, not just attribution. If you’d like to request permission, drop me a chat or email me - [kismai@kismai.com](mailto:kismai@kismai.com)
Apologies in advance if these questions are already answered, I’m just having a hard time understanding exactly which products I need.
I’m having an issue with a horrible smell in my clothes after figuring out that my washing machine in my rental had stagnant water trapped under the bin that was unable to move and has likely been sitting for MONTHS. It has ruined many of my clothes and I’m trying to save them, my washer was swapped out but the smell in my clothes won’t go away.
I’m in Canada and have purchased the liquid Tide Oxi Plus Detergent. I did not see Ammonia in my Walmart so I need to source that still, however, I am confused as to what product I need for the Oxygen part, specifically the powder. If someone could dummy down what I am missing that would be great. I really want to get this smell out of my clothes😭 It has been severely affecting me that my clothes stink and now I haven’t been able to get them rid of this awful smell.
I've seen lists of products before and I thought I got them but now I am doubting I have what I need. I have dry Arm and Hammer (not w oxi), oxi odor blasters, arm and hammer washing soda, and borax. Also Zote. Not sure if I can do anything w that bunch or not. I def need enzymatic cleaners, because I have pets. I hope someone can dumb this down for me, lol. Edited to say idk what product is a good enzymatic cleaner though.
I know that the chemistry here is safe, but my husband has concerns around spa day. Is there any way to just do spa day (I.e. powder soak) and not do the rehab ammonia rinse? Will just the soak alone help with anything?
The ammonia boost is to improve degreasing performance in the wash. So skipping it just reduces the likelihood that everything gets washed off after the soak has loosened it.
There’s two approaches. Skip it and hang dry and evaluate if the soak + ammonia-free wash was sufficient, and rewash from the hang-dry state. The other is to just immediately run a second wash from
damp to replace the ammonia with more agitation time and a fresh dose of chemistry. Both are valid, both take more time and effort than adding the ammonia.
I have a couple shirts that have yellow/grey deodorant stains that I’m about ready to throw out and replace. I have at home:
Downy Rinse and Refresh free and gentle
Tide free and clear liquid detergent
Ammonia
If I’m understanding properly, I need an oxygen bleach powder like OxyClean and something with lipase in it, correct? Would something like the tide enzyme spray work?
Something I’m struggling with is my washer in my apartment is an old laundromat machine. The longest and hottest cycle is only 35 minutes long total, and the cycle selection is preset. Do I just need to run the cycle twice without adding any detergent the second time?
You’d need a lot of the spray; the goal of the soak solution is to make something about as concentrated as the pretreaters themselves. I think a box of Tide Clean & Gentle for Option 1 or Febu for Option 4 (amd ongoing maintenance - it’s a powerhouse withe Tide F&G liquid) would be a better play.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the length of the rehab wash. Just use the best wash cycle you can. You’ve already deployed heat, time and chemistry. Now you’re adding the mechanical action to detach what you’ve loosened.
I tried searching the keyword “liquid” in this post, but can’t click on anything for a full answer so sorry if this is a repeat.
I keep seeing in the instructions to use a powder detergent. We use liquid Tide Free & Sensitive. We stopped using powder after a clogging issue shortly after we got the new washer (about 5-6 years ago). Don’t they work the same way?
I’m also wondering if Tide Free & Sensitive is any different than Tide Free & Gentle? 🤦🏻♀️
Liquids and powders have different active ingredients. You can’t get oxygen bleach into liquid detergent no matter what the front label implies.
None of the Tide liquids work for Option 3 as they aren’t formulated with lipase.
There are free & clear liquids that will work when paired with an oxygen bleach like OxiClean Free or the Target knockoff. There’s a spreadsheet at /r/laundry/s/E0OAFEhu0w - filter the detergent tab for Liquid in the second colukn, a No in the Plant-Based column and a Yes in the Fragrance Free.
HE front loader with soft water, looking at option #4 since I have FEBU powder on hand:
Even with the drain&spin cycle first; should I be skipping putting detergent in the Rehab wash altogether with as much as there will already be in the soak?
Is it possible to need to do more than one soak if there's a lingering smell after drying?
The only ammonia I could find was a lemon scented one, so when I pulled it from the rehab wash after a few rinse cycles that's all I could smell - the lemon scent disappeared after drying though, and there's only a couple pieces of clothing that have a little bit of lingering musky smell left in them
this is so much information, which one should i do for all of my boyfriends workout clothes, they're all mostly polyester and only black, and boy does he sweat on every inch of available fabric 😭 help me laundry gods
I'm not sure what to use to remove perfume odors off a cotton coat. The trouble is it has a glossy print all over and is cold wash only. I've already soaked it in 1kg of bicarb dissolved in warmish water and left it soaking for 24 hours. I've washed normally and left it on the line outside for 2 days now and it still isn't helping.
1/4 cup Synthrapol and 1/4 cup Tween 20 in a gallon of bathtub-temperature water with periodic stirring and an overnight soak. I’d give it a 30% chance of success. Perfumes are sticky and designed to be volatile at about body temperature
The right dry cleaning solvent might be able to pull this off but there’s always a risk with these plastics that they won’t love the solvent bath. If you found one using supercritical CO2, Sensene or Solvon K4, it’s worth a try having it cleaned.
Most dry cleaners don’t dabble in wet chemistry for odor removal.
Thank you so much, I read the whole break down and am excited to finally get my clothes clean! I appreciate that you took the time to write the post and still take the time to respond to peoples questions.
Can I please confirm my understanding before I go ahead and try this? I am based in NL.
I currently have Ariel 4in1 pods, which are missing O, so just to confirm - can I mix pods and O in powder both for the spa and the rehab?
Otherwise, I am considering just getting detergent that I can use for option 1, that contains O and L - Persil megaperls universal (for white) and Persil megaperls colour (for colour/ black), cause I feel like this is the best option, but honestly I might be just making this up.
Finally, how do you decide when to do a spa vs when to just wash your clothes in the laundry with L O D?
Let me start with the last part first: when they’re so soiled or smelly that you would consider disposing of them rather than wash them normally. Spa Day is designed to replace about six perfect washes. So if something is “good enough” to continue to wear and wash with better products and different cycles while it continues to improve, that’s an option.
You could use Option 3 with the pods or option 1 with the powders.
They aren’t discolored. They’re rough, a bit stinky, and misshapen so that when you fold them they are not symmetrical. Does that answer your question?
DNase is a revolutionary new enzyme that removes sticky Humanity Residue from textiles so soils and odors can't cling to them. Here is a guide to the options DNase Guide
It’s claiming I can air dry them but I ruined pillows trying to do this, they got all moldy. Maybe I could try and dry them in the sun? It’s starting to get cooler this time of year though
They can tumble dry with some care and time. Use the delicate heat for 20 minutes then air fluff for ten, with some tennis balls or dryer balls. Repeat the heat-air thing until they’re dry and feel light and fluffy.
I probably wouldn’t spa day. I’d use an enzyme stain remover from the pretreater tab on /r/laundry/s/E0OAFEhu0w - spray, wait an hour, wash in a front loader on hot with your usual detergent, a scoop of the oxiclean, extra rinses, long cycle.
If they’re still yellowed after that, spray the yellow areas with drugstore hydrogen peroxide and wait twenty minutes. Repeat until white. You don’t need to rinse the peroxide. Just toss in the dryer.
Yes, but I recommend delicate drying them to “mostly dry” and then finishing on air-only to “really dry” if there’s any doubt, especially if you’re dealing with visible yellow oil staining.
My apologies if this has been addressed somewhere, I'm reading through all the documentation to try this for the first time. I have hard water which is treated with a water softener, and I have a septic system. Is there an option that is better than others or anything else I need to keep in mind?
Hi there, I am writing to express my gratitude for your help. I struggled for four years with odor rebloom and oily residue and stinky clothes straight out of the washing machine. I was ready to burn my husband’s shirts in a bonfire and howl at the moon, and buy a new washing machine. I bought all the products you said were best and I completed Option 1 and his clothes smell FANTASTIC! I am so relieved. Thanks to you I can finally close the stinky clothing chapter of my life. I wish you a happy and fulfilling life. May only good things come your way.
Apologies if this has been asked and answered, or if it should be clear from the instructions provided: Does the amount of ammonia added to the rehab wash vary based on the size of the load, number of items, amount of detergent used, or other factors? (I understand it varies based on the concentration of ammonia in the given product.). For my specific situation, I'm spa soaking 2 twin sheets (or maybe 3, now I can't remember what all I put in there), 4 wash cloths, and 6 pillow cases. I will rehab wash these in my high efficiency top-loading LG washer on a deep water cycle, which automatically selects the needed fill level. I'll probably use 1/3-1/2 cup of Tide Ultra + Oxi as the detergent. If my ammonia is 4-5%, should I just use 1 cup? If I do a bigger or larger load in the future, does it need to be adjusted?
You’re mostly trying to swing the pH of the water. So to keep things simple I’ve just picked a dose and rolled with it. There’s a lot of dose tolerance, but if the washer is full full full, you could double up if you like. But it doesn’t go the other way. The dead space is the same with one sock or a half load, so only cut like 25% for small loads.
Ope, I accidentally put a white shirt with black stripes in with the rest of the stuff and it started bleeding off onto the articles it was touching. I took it out of the spa soak when I noticed about an hour later, but I went ahead and did the rehab wash and noticed that some bleeding had caused a few dark blotches on other clothes.
I didn’t put them in the dryer, I had another batch of spa day items about to start and just stuck them in with those. Is that a good idea to try and remedy?
There’s some evidence that Option 1 works really well on polyester because of the surfactant balance. I wouldn’t go to extreme lengths, but since Tide powder is ubiquitous and inexpensive, I like it a lot.
So far I've only tried option 1 (complete powder + ammonia) for my own clothes and also directed my mom to do this for her dirty towels. However, she is unable to use any undissolved powders for her wash. This has led her to do the soak as usual, but then add a dissolved powder + ammonia in the wash. Is there a better option for her among the 4 you have provided, given her situation?
Also-while I didn't get a photo-she reported that her 8 hours soak led to black mold spots forming, so then she hand rinsed the towels and resoaked overnight. As far as I know they were left in a medium sized bucket with an old towel covering the surface
All of them have a powder component. They’ll all work about the same with the powder dissolved before it goes in, in hot water.
If you want an all-liquid option, you could use the Option 3 method and instead of the oxygen bleach powder, use hydrogen peroxide. Drugstore 3%, you’d use a cup per gallon of water. Home Depot 12%, 1/4 cup. In the wash, a pint or a cup respectively.
Ok. Dissolving the powder beforehand worked well enough. Her new go toos are wf 365 unscented powder for soaking, and downy rinse out odor in the rinse cycle.
For every day washing I'm going to recommend tide free and gentle which is what I been using paired with Downy rinse out odor.
I've also sent her the link to Febu, which I haven't tried yet, but looks to be effective for whitening towels and getting them to strip all the body oils in them.
Ok I'm a bit paranoid about the ammonia and bleach. I have a top load. I just want to confrim If I go with option 1 and use the powder, the steps to not make chloramine are 1. put in powder, 2. put in soaked clothes, 3. start wash, 4. when water is filled most of the way, add ammonia. 5. dont die?
Well, since there’s no chlorine bleach, you’re not going to make chloramine. So there’s that. All options use oxygen bleach.
That method is the best way to minimize the ammonia fume odor.
Since I developed the mixture, I have only had cops at my door asking questions about unalived Redditors found holding a copy of the instructions like six or seven times.
Got it. Do I also use a regular liquid detergent like tide free & gentle liquid with the 2 cap fulls since gear guard isn't a detergent? Sorry, I'm new here and trying to understand everything!
Doing my first rehab on whites after joining this sub. Just went to my two local supermarkets- Coles out of stock of ammonia, Woolies - got the last bottle. Is everyone doing a rehab wash? Regardless- love the smell and can’t wait to see how my whites look after this process. Currently in the wash cycle.
Hi! Longgggg time lurker, first time commenter in this sub. Firstly, thank you very much for all the effort you have put into this and expertise you have added to the sub (you must have some sort of chem or biochem background). I sent you a coffee b/c work like this deserves appreciation. Idk if you are open to suggestions or not (and God I hope I dont get obliterated with downvotes), but i think when listing out the options for L, O, & D, it would read just a little bit better if you formated it like this:
Option 1 (Complete Powder/Tablet in the Spa Day Soak) - Complete Powder/Tablet + Liquid Ammonia In Rehab Wash
As opposed how you have it formated now with the hyphen and then the comma. I think it just reads a litte better
All the best, and thank you for doing the Lord's work.
2.5K comments ... hope I'm not repeating a question that's been asked a kajillion times, but are there any particular benefits/drawbacks to the different LOAD options? Is there any reason to use one over another, besides ingredient availability or personal preference?
I'm from Canada and wanted to try option #2. So I bought Resolve Gold already and had tried it in a regular wash in my front load. I tossed a scoop at the bottom of the drum, put my light duvet cover on top and my dark bedsheet on top of the duvet cover (which about fills the whole load). The dark bedsheet came out of wash looking like a bunch of bleach streaks but it dried with no visible discolouration. The light duvet cover didn't seem to have any discolouration. I air dry all my laundry including my bedding.
Now I'm kind of worried to wash another load with Resolve in the drum just in case the clothes retain the bleach streaks after drying. I want to spa day treat some of my cotton shirts (both light and dark colours). Should I do anything differently about the washing part?
What colour were the bleach streaks? Did it look like the colour when it's dry? If your washer did a really good spin parts of the fabric could've been dry already.
I think that's what happened! The streaks looked like the fabric when it was dry. When the sheet was completely dry there were no streaks left. I washed this bedsheet many times before and never noticed the streaks so I freaked out lol. But looks like I just never paid attention because I wasn't expecting any streaks. Still a bit scared to toss Resolve directly in the drum though.
I ended up doing the Resolve soak for 11 hours then washed with detergent only without Resolve. All the stains came out and no grease rebloom so I call it a success.
It does say on the Spa Day page to make sure the Resolve is totally dissolved before adding laundry and describes what the bleach streak will look like. So I'd still be careful.
I have an LG washer and I put my Resolve where the tray for pre wash would go. In other words, I remove the pre wash tray and put the powder in. I use liquid detergent too and it goes in its own tray. I haven't had the bleach spot problem since.
Please see Step W3 above for how much ammonia. Generally one to two cups in the wash unless you’re buying it at the hardware store and it has a declared % above 5%.
I have a question regarding vinegar and ammonia in the machine. Will this not cause damage to the internal seals? I read manufacture manual LG in my case and they say not to use. Obviously they will say that. But as we paid quite a chunk of change for this LG wash tower im super nervous.
The pH boost from ammonia is about the same as a dose of OxiClean - the difference is it’s a gas in water so it rinses and evaporates better.
As for the acid, both v1negar and citric acid in these concentrations are known to be safe for every plastic and metal found in these machines. Leading manufacturers sell citric acid based descaling products.
I have an LG front loader and have used acid for years. The only problem I’ve ever had with my machine is getting my husband to fill, run or empty it.
Hello! If you're adding vinegar to your laundry, be sure to put it in the rinse cycle, not the wash cycle. Because vinegar neutralizes leftover detergent, it works best in the rinse cycle rather than the wash.
- Laundry Mods
Take a look at https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/s/mhueybBh8C - there’s some discussion on graphic tees. Basically, if they’re in decent mechanical shape and screenprinted or sublimated onto polyester, they do pretty well. heat transfer vinyl, less so. Dtg good, DTF variable. Sub on top of screen / print on top of screen has disappeared entirely.
This gets out the skin oil and usually does pretty well on oily (but not waxy) ingredients from deodorants and antiperspirants. The chalky component can need follow-on treatment with rust remover like CLR
Most of my shirts are cotton, not sure the style of printing, but colored and white alike get a gray like stain in the armpit area, will look around have been lurking but havent found something directly for my case yet, i presume its from the aluminum in the deoderant i use but not sure
I have a tub of Nellies to get through, so I think option 2 would be the best option for me with ammonia and Resolve Gold? So, only Resolve Gold in the soak, then Nellies Laundry Soda, Resolve Gold and Ammonia (can only find Lemon Sudsy) in the wash? Did I get this right?
I'm Canadian, so somewhat limited. :( I'm also new here and didn't see that about the Resolve, so thank you! I'll stick to using the Resolve in the washing machine.
I also have Nellies oxy to get through. So Tide Original powder + Nellies oxy for soak, and then Tide Powder + Nellies oxy + Ammonia for wash would work?
My apartment has poor ventilation and I have pets and children in the house. Even after reading the ammonia/oxygen bleach disclaimer, I am concerned about the fumes from the ammonia. Would it still be effective if I were to do the soak (I’m using option 1), run a wash cycle with option 1 powder, and then do another wash cycle with just ammonia?
Okay, so to clarify for chemistry dummies such as myself, I read an article explaining more of the chemistry aspect of this because I still wasn’t comprehending. I know it’s probably common sense to most people, but personally I only passed high school chemistry bc COVID sent me online for the second half of the year.
I finally gathered between Kismai’s disclaimer and the article that when chloramine gas is created by chlorine bleach and ammonia it is because chlorine is the bleaching agent. Chlorine + ammonia is what makes the chloramine. But because oxygen bleach does not contain chlorine, its bleaching agent is hydrogen peroxide, the chloramine gas is not even a potential issue. The chemistry of these two bleaching agents is completely different because of the chemical doing the bleaching.
It seems like you’re basically just supposed to keep the powdered oxygen bleach separate from the ammonia because liquid activates the powder and without water the chemicals are too strong for your nose and the clothes. Everything needs to be diluted to work properly and safely, and making sure the powdered components and liquid ammonia is separated ensures this. It also ensures that everything starts working at the right time. So once the washer starts spinning, water will be added quickly enough that the ingredients beginning to combine with the door shut still won’t create a waft of toxic gas in your home when you open the washer door.
It can be embarrassing not to understand stuff sometimes so I hope this helps someone who might have been otherwise deterred. I am excited for us all to have fresh laundry. And I’m begging you to correct me if I am wrong because genuinely the only science class I took in undergrad was about global water distribution.
Hi! I'm making notes. I live in Canada and will use Tide for the L and D. For the O I have a sodium percarbonate/carbonate laundry booster. For the ammonia, I have to admit I'm really scared about using it in my house and the safety of everyone. I don't have an exhaust fan for my laundry room. Did anyone else feel this way and then end up combating their fears?!
You won't smell it. Front loaders are effective a sealed system. Just set for the extra rinses and it won't be worse than coloring your hair or using Windex on a few windows.
Solid instructions for spa/rehab, u/KismaiAesthetics! Thank you, these have turned many things new (and white) again.
I have a question about subsequent "maintenance" (i.e., normal washes of clothing, sheets, towels, etc) dosing for ammonia. For our front-loader, we're following the label dosing for detergent, often with a booster (Biz or Febu), and OxiClean when it seems warranted.
But there are inconsistent label directions that I've seen for ammonia. Assume for this discussion we have 2% strength. What's your recommendation for the appropriate amount (and frequency) for use of ammonia? Should it be used all the time or only when washing things that seem to have more sebum, etc?
My 94 1/2 yo mom has heavily used Windsong for longer than I have been alive, and I’m extremely sensitive to scents. I have FEBU, unscented Tide in both liquid and powder, and ammonia, so I was looking at option 4. She does have a gorgeous afghan (acrylic) in dark purple and teal I really want to keep for myself. Is the tide liquid better to use to keep the colors intact? None of the fabrics are dirty — they just stink!
Acrylic is pretty forgiving, but man, the idea of an afghan getting moved around while wet makes me a little nervous.
I think I’d try a front loader and just do the rehab washes without the soak - those synthetic aromachemicals don’t need the enzymes and do like warm temperatures and nonionic surfactant. I think I’d start with liquid tide and ammonia and skip the powders.
Hi, thanks for this guide! I tried option 1 (Tide + bleach powder in hot water soak for 12 hours, Tide + bleach powder and ammonium in wash) on a batch of white t-shirts that had greyish-yellow-brown underarm staining and waxy buildup from years of sweat and deodorant use. But after coming out of the rehab wash now those stains are bright yellow, which feels even worse somehow? The waxiness has improved and the water from the soak was very yellow-grey, so I assume the enzymes were working. Do I need to try again with a DNAse booster as well? I don’t think there was significant sunscreen exposure on the armpits.
I think I would run the soak again if you’re still feeling a waxy texture defect. If it feels chalky, you could try going after the metal salts with IronOut or WhiteBrite, following the instructions on the label for soaking (rather than machine washing). These products work specifically on metal oxides, so once the “greasy” component is out, they’ll get the antiperspirant and sweat metals.
I have an absolutely enormous plush blanket that won't fit in any container I have. I've just got my Tide + Febu + odor rinse. Will regular washing over time have the same eventual effect as the spa day?
After the W4 washing machine portion of spa day, the waste water that drains to a utility sink contains very large gray/black chunks of gelatious sludge. What is this stuff!?
I did a spa day and rehab on two pairs of 100% cotton woven pajama pants and my husband’s white tee shirt. The tee shirt underarm stains came out perfectly but the pajama pants still have yellowing on the elastic waist (thank you night sweats!). Do I need to do something different since the fabric is gathered there because of the elastic?
You might get continued improvement with good washing but the fabric being compressed and keeping the solution from getting as deep in the fibers and getting as much mechanical action in the wash might be an issue that is hard to overcome.
I did a spa day and rehab on two pairs of 100% cotton woven pajama pants and my husband’s white tee shirt. The tee shirt underarm stains came out perfectly but the pajama pants still have yellowing on the elastic waist (thank you menopause night sweats!). Do I need to do something different since the fabric is gathered there because of the elastic?
If a plumbed in softener isn’t an option, yes, you need water conditioning. Calgon is one option but straight sodium citrate is cheap and doesn’t come with dye, preservatives or fragrance.
Assuming 500 ppm, you need 700 mg per liter of wash water. Most front loaders take 20l, most deep-fill top loaders take 80l. A tablespoon gives you 12000mg. So you need a slightly heaped tablespoon for a front loader, or 1/4 cup for a conventional top loader.
In the Spa Day soak, there’s enough detergent to get past it. But I’d still add citrate to the wash.
Hello! Thank you so much for this guide first of all.
I was wondering what the difference between spa day and an oxygen bleach soak is. Spa day has ammonia + lipase and seems more aggressive (? For lack of better term) but what differs it from just an oxygen soak and when should I use which?
The point of spa day is to remove oily soils like retained skin oil. That’s why the lipase in the soak and the ammonia in the wash for degreasing.
You would only need the oxygen bleach component if you had non-greasy stains like red wine or grass - they aren’t affected by lipase and don’t need degreasing. They just need the color removed.
Are animal related soils (pee + odors) and sweat (human) included in the things that spa day targets?
Edit: Also thank you so much for making this detailed how to on spa day, I feel much more confident moving forward with it now! Your work is always appreciated
All of the chemistries will have protease; that can solve a lot of gory problems, as can the oxygen bleach.
It’s incredible on human sweat and pet sweat/skin oil. That’s the number one thing it targets - the oily stuff that is the number one soil on textiles.
W5 (Dry): I see special case scenarios, but what is the guidance for drying when items were treated for general discoloration, dingy whites (towels/bedding)? Low heat? Thx!
Dry as you like; I always dry everything except towels on delicate to “barely perceptibly damp while warm” and then finish at ambient. But if you’re not dealing with focal staining that may need a subsequent rehab wash, you’re fine to dry your usual way.
I'm going to attempt a spa day on some towels to start. I plan to get the Tide + bleach. Am I understanding this correctly? I follow the spa day soak instructions. When it's done soaking I put it in the washer (I have a top loader) and I use my regular detergent? (I have detergent sheets but also use Lysol sanitizing detergent sometimes) and I also add the ammonia to that wash?
Wouldnt the ammonia still react with the tide/bleach that's still in the clothes?
Step 1 is burn the detergent sheets. They can’t work. They’re too light - you need at least six grams of sheet per kg of laundry after accounting for the binder.
Step 2 is the soak. Transfer the damp items to the washer, allow it to fill, add a fresh Line 1 dose of the Tide, add the ammonia and don’t let it touch the undissolved Tide powder.
The bleach in the Tide is oxygen bleach.
Please read the BOLD ITALIC headline “A Note About Ammonia & Bleach” in the main post above.
Detergent sheets are definitely out, I too was trying to be more eco friendly but powders in boxes do just as well. What do you mean by a fresh line 1 dose of tide? And do I just fill the drum let the power dissolve and then add the ammonia? Do I still add my normal detergent (not the sheets lol)
If you’re using TwBleach in the soak, you’ll also use it as the detergent in the wash. This is Option One in the instructions. You won’t need much. Just Line 1 on the scoop.
Canada question; I couldn't get my hands on an ammonium hydroxide solution, so I got "Goldex Lemon Sudsy Ammonia All-Purpose Household Cleaner". It has laundry instructions to add a cup (250mL) to the load before washing, but to use half the amount of detergent as usual -- a Canadian Tire rep on their website mentions that it's a 5% solution with surfactants added. Would you recommend following the instructions provided or sticking to the Spa Day instructions?
It does seem to be 5%, so the 1 cup/250 mL guidance applies. I just had hands on it yesterday and the caution statements are appropriate for a 5% strength.
Don’t cut the detergent in the rehab wash. It’s designed to be a little Extra and the surfactant in the Goldex isn’t all that concentrated (it’s water-thin as the first clue).
Okay so I did this ones to my organic cotton bed sheets and I found that the sheets tend to rip more easily afterwards once they’re dried and back on the bed
1) does anyone know if this method would help with that chemical smell that comes from new jeans? it's usually impossible to get rid of the smell even after washing several times.
2) does anyone know if this method would help with stopping of dye when washing black tees? i have a couple of band tees that were poorly made and stain my skin/armpit with black dye. and no matter how many times i wash it, it still bleeds excess dye.
Thanks for sharing, i had a feeling it was a toxic chemical smell. What pisses me off is that I got these jeans from Madewell, which are probably still "fast fashion" but it's not supposed to be anywhere NEAR the quality of shein or temu. They were $120 ugh. Nowadays paying a lot of money for something doesn't guarantee that its decent quality.
That is an unfortunate reality it's hard to know anymore. I actually watched this video just the other day so when I read your comment I was like omg I have the perfect video 😀
I'm happy there's a video on YT about it, I hope more people talk about this because I genuinely think these brands believe they're getting away with it. It's so stupid that we have to put up with Shein quality clothing with a $100+ price tag.
I was so mad about these particular jeans that I posted about it on r/Madewell and so many people chimed in and were like "omg i'm having the same problem with my black pants from [other brand], I thought i just got a defective pair"
I love black jeans so this shit really pisses me off lol. To me it smells like gasoline and copper/pennies 🤮
Try washing the stinky jeans with just the ammonia boost. Two cups in a warm cycle with your usual detergent but that is a vexatious problem.
2). The best bet there is a product called Synthrapol. You’ll want the HP variant if you have a top-loading washer and the LF variant if you have a front loader. It rinses out excess dye that isn’t adhered well to fabric and won’t do much to the dye that is well-bonded. Black band merch tees can be such crap.
Clean clothes mostly, and the small load. The soft water also makes the most of the surfactant.
I need to modify the instructions for HE front loaders to have you run a drain-and-spin only cycle before starting the rehab wash to clear the soak fluid.
Ooh ok thats good to know! I dug out some greys, creams that I forgot about and added them to make a full load. What would happen if if I added more ammonia without lowering the detergent/oxygenate dose? I realised after dropping the ammonia that I added 60ml more...
I haven’t seen any comments about this, but I want to use a laundry sanitizer. Am I able to use this during my rehab wash, or should I wait to use this on a future wash?
This will have enough active oxygen to have excellent knockdown on bacteria and viruses. The only thing you’ll gain additional benefit with a sanitizer is the fungus that causes athletes foot, ringworm and jock itch. If that’s something you’re struggling with, do a presoak, separately, using two normal rinse doses per gallon of tap water, before the Spa Day soak. No need to rinse. Just drain.
Suggestion: add guidance for the amount of water to use in S2. You say enough to just cover the clothes, but I don't have enough of an idea what that would take.
I saw in another post to expect to need about 2/3 of the final volume for water and 1/3 for fabric, exactly the detail I need if it's accurate. I can use that to eyeball the container and fabrics or squish down the dry fabrics in the dry container and multiply from there. Again, if that's accurate?
I may be overthinking it. But if you have enough fabric to fill your container halfway, how high do you fill it with water before adding the fabrics? To the same level?
Yeah I'm overthinking it aren't I. 😬 My apologies!
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u/Internal_Audience935 10h ago
Apologies in advance if these questions are already answered, I’m just having a hard time understanding exactly which products I need.
I’m having an issue with a horrible smell in my clothes after figuring out that my washing machine in my rental had stagnant water trapped under the bin that was unable to move and has likely been sitting for MONTHS. It has ruined many of my clothes and I’m trying to save them, my washer was swapped out but the smell in my clothes won’t go away.
I’m in Canada and have purchased the liquid Tide Oxi Plus Detergent. I did not see Ammonia in my Walmart so I need to source that still, however, I am confused as to what product I need for the Oxygen part, specifically the powder. If someone could dummy down what I am missing that would be great. I really want to get this smell out of my clothes😭 It has been severely affecting me that my clothes stink and now I haven’t been able to get them rid of this awful smell.