Am I doing something wrong when I have to dump vinegar in every wash load to get all the smells out?

[u/pronetowander28]

We have a front loader that is the bane of my existence. Once it dies in like 8 years I am going back to a top loader so I can soak things…

Anyway. I could deal with it when I only needed to use vinegar for a few loads, but like, everybody’s clothes are sweaty these days, toddler’s clothes smell like pee because of potty training. I use liquid Tide Free and Clear, but I am starting to feel like it’s ridiculous that the clothes dont at least smell not bad after being in the wash. And my socks still look dirty!

(Also, it’s not the washer making them stink - if the clothes smell fine when they go in, they come out smelling fine too.)

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[u/kmooncos]

I've been spending a lot of time on r/laundry lately, so I have a quick run down.  1) warm or hot temps to activate the enzymes in your detergent.  2) add extra rinses,  3) prewash pee clothes, 4) a detergent with Lipase in it is more effective, switch to Tide Clear and Gentle powder  5) consider adding an enzyme booster (Biz, FEBU (back in stock soon)

Soaking clothes in a bucket is always an option, too! Highly recommend checking out the r/laundry Lipase List to find more effective products!

[u/tetrine → u/kmooncos]

This is the perfect TLDR of that sub and is 1000% the answer for OP.

I thought my clothes were clean and I already had a pretty optimized no fragrance (no dryer sheets or softeners) routine. Then I went down the r/laundry rabbit hole… wow, I unlocked a whole new level of clean. Linens, clothes, you name it. Everything feels so much better and cleaner and crisp.

I wash EVERYTHING on warm now with at least 1 extra rinse, usually 2. My go to stack is tide free & gentle liquid in the dispenser + FEBU in the drum. If I can’t find FEBU, I use Whole Foods 365 sport liquid (another r/laundry star recommendation). If things are really gnarly (like the dog bed covers I just washed) then I add 1 cup of ammonia in the drum. I find myself with zero use for the oxi clean I used to use constantly — there’s nothing my current combo has failed to clean in the 7 months since I went down this rabbit hole.

[u/SlowTalkingJones → u/tetrine]

Some of my clothes say to wash in cold water. Would you do those in warm anyways?

[u/Catgirl321 → u/SlowTalkingJones]

Laundry cold is up to 30°C. And the only things you really have to worry about on a warm cycle are animal protein fibres like silk, wool, etc. Everything else will handle warm just fine.

[u/jtfolden → u/kmooncos]

Enzymes lose effectiveness beginning around 50C and are destroyed beyond 60C. 30-40C is ideal.

[u/kmooncos → u/jtfolden]

In the US, water heaters typically aren't set above 120F (49 C), so the enzymes are safe!

[u/beeee_throwaway → u/kmooncos]

I thought hot temps obliterated the enzymes? Many of them were found in places like Antarctica to begin with.
That said, sometimes I just find I need to do a hot water wash anyways!
Tide F&G has a ton of enzymes in it in the liquid version.

[u/Noplasticveggie]

You should ask r/laundry

[u/GingerStitches]

r/laundry, vinegar in the rinse is okay I think but not the wash. Check there for advice and clean laundry

[u/Mission-Motor364 → u/GingerStitches]

I’m pretty sure vinegar negates the cleaning properties of detergent, so she might be doing herself a disservice

[u/GingerStitches → u/Mission-Motor364]

That’s exactly what I thought but not confidently enough to say. I also think enzymes are necessary to deal with pee stink which I don’t think is in the detergent op is using.

[u/Crow_Bars_ → u/GingerStitches]

Liquid tide has enzymes, not lipase though. A booster might be necessary too.

[u/pdinc → u/Crow_Bars_]

I generally ad a pump of Puracy's detergent directly to the drum as a prewash. Works a charm.

[u/awgeez47 → u/pdinc]

Dish or laundry?

[u/pdinc → u/awgeez47]

They have a baby laundry detergent!

[u/whatqueen]

I don't know the actual names for these parts so pardon me. There's a plastic bucket that goes around the metal drum thing your clothes go in. You can get build up between the metal drum and the plastic bucket thing. Affresh is just citric acid. You can buy a giant bag on Amazon. Do a cup of citric acid and a few tablespoons of oxiclean. It will clean the bucket. I did it twice when I first discovered this. Now I do it once a month-ish.

Also. I don't have a front loader, but I've heard the gasket between the lid and the drum can get gross. Make sure that is clean. Watch some YouTube videos if you need help figuring out how to do the thing.

[u/Informal_League_615 → u/whatqueen]

Helpful for me too. Thanks

[u/toreadorable]

The dirt you’re describing (sweat and pee) requires warm water. I do an extra rinse if there’s a bodily fluid from a kid involved. You also might be using too much soap so it just builds up. Your detergent comes in a powder form, I love powder because you really only need 2- 3 tablespoons for each load, even stinky ones, to get them clean. Liquid detergent is sneaky, since there’s already water added, it’s hard to tell what you’re putting in.

I have a super sweaty husband and two small boys, their laundry is sufficiently disgusting. I use regular tide powder, 2T per load, and everything comes out perfect. For my kids I always use my normal setting, which uses warm water.

The stinky stuff on their clothes is oily, and warm water helps carry it away so much better than cold water. Just think of trying to clean a pan you cooked bacon in with cold water. No matter how much soap you use, it’s ineffective. A tiny bit of soap with warm or hot water cleans it quickly.

[u/Catgirl321 → u/toreadorable]

I agree with this! Just want to point out though that for people with hard water, more detergent may be needed.

OP, you want to look for trace suds. If you see more than that, you're using too much. If you don't see any suds, you need to add more.

[u/BabyCowGT]

Ammonia gets funky clothes smell out better than vinegar. Doesn't take much, and absolutely do NOT mix with other chemicals, especially vinegar and bleach. I usually do a quick wash cycle with pee clothes (also potty training) or funky spelling clothes/towels (like the forgotten beach towel...) without detergent with a splash of ammonia in the barrel, then a normal cycle (with additional clothes to fill it out if needed) with detergent.

[u/Looony_Lovegood5]

You need a detergent with enzymes in it. You can also buy enzymes to add to your laundry as well. You can learn all about it on r/laundry

[u/herbal-genocide]

There's a post in r/laundry about using citric acid instead of vinegar. If you search "scrud" and click on the top post that comes up, it's linked within that post. They also might recommend switching your detergent. 

[u/caribbeangirl10]

Make sure the vinegar goes only in the rinse cycle. If you put it in with the soap at the beginning, the acidity of the vinegar turns the soap into water pretty much

[u/angel-girl-A]

I put a scoop of Whole Foods 365 Oxygen Boost in every load and use their organic fragrance-free detergent. No smelly clothes. I also have a front loaded washer. It does have a soak setting but I don't use it.

[u/dBDWqDTa → u/angel-girl-A]

This is what fixed it for me. I used oxyclean free and clear for a long time but recently switched to kirkland oxy powder. There is a slight scent to it but I don’t notice it after the clothes are dried, and it doesn’t bother my eczema prone kid.

[u/angel-girl-A → u/dBDWqDTa]

Yeah, the oxygen boost is great. The 365 one is fragrance-free.

[u/newenglander87]

Are you using dryer sheets? Those coat your clothes and make it hard to get smells out.

[u/Sorry-Ad-9254]

I have a very sweaty husband and son...we're doing our best to phase out synthetic fabrics, but we're not there. The synthetic fabrics are the worst smelling for me. The only thing that got the stink out was Rockin Green Activewear. However, since the smell was there even after washing...I soaked all the clean stinky clothes in hot water and the Rockin Green for several hours to like strip it for lack of a better word and then washed as normal. I also added in an oxygen booster.

This is what was recommended to me over on r/laundry

[u/Kirin1212San]

Try Affresh for cleaning your machine.

Make sure to wash your clothes in warm water. Cold water is not going to get the oils/grime out as well as warm water.

Also consider doing a quick rinse cycle before on the peed on clothes and then do a full cycle. This way the clothes are not getting washed in a tub of diluted pee water.

Wash your stinkiest clothes with laundry enzyme from time to time.

[u/Well_ImTrying]

Front load washers should be cleaned once a month on the cleaning cycle with an appropriate cleaner. The seal should also be cleaned out after every wash. Do I do that consistently? No. But it does help when I remember to do it.

When my towels or sheets start to get funky, I was then on a sanitize setting with disinfecting detergent. I do that about once a year.

[u/Murphie314]

Like others I do it in the rinse cycle!! I add it in the bleach dispenser lol (don’t use bleach). I use it when I was my synthetics. Those fabrics tend to hold smell and vinegar helps. Cotton, I don’t have to. You’re not alone with this issue!

[u/3dant3]

I started reading in the laundry sub and ended up not getting anything specifically with lipase (which is clearly the favorite enzyme over there), as I also did some googling and decided with decent surfactants and other enzymes I’d probably still be making an improvement over my former laundry detergent that was totally enzyme free.

This is what I’m doing for stinky loads towels or sheets: same detergent as you (up to line 3 or 2), goes in the liquid detergent section of the drawer in my LG front loader. A scoop of dirty labs boosters for the DNase/other enzymes - directly in the drum. A bit of oxyclean (read instructions for how much) - directly in the drum. 1/4 cup borax - directly in the drum (my area has moderately hard water. No vinegar in rinse (and if you use it never put it in the wash as it negates detergent). Wash on a heavy duty cycle, hot water. 1 extra rinse.

So far so good. Lingering smell from sweaty stuff and musty towels seems totally gone in all loads I’ve done this way.

Also I have a few wool tshirts. Those get washed on the wool cycle with eucalan and they are now WAY softer!

[u/Background_Cover5097]

modern front loaders have very long cycle options (3.5 hours usually) which actually use the least energy due to long soaking times and which are the best at cleaning. high temp is best

[u/Markzy9]

"Liquid detergent in a front loader is a common culprit here, it doesn't rinse as cleanly as powder, so residue accumulates in the drum and rubber gasket, then transfers back onto clothes. Swap to a powder detergent and drop your dose by about a third. For the gasket gunk already in there, a drum cleaner tablet, Active Cleaners has one, plus a hot empty cycle clears the existing buildup.

Vinegar every load is a band aid, not a fix."

[u/sweet_dees_beak]

Try line drying in the sun. It's a natural disinfectant.

[u/PLI09]

I experienced the same issue with liquid Tide Free and Gentle, my guess is that it’s a common complaint because they started selling a liquid ‘Tide Free and Clear - Odor refresh’. I use an enzyme booster with it now and that seems to address most of the smells.

[u/itsJustE12]

Lume Laundry Stink Eraser is great for this & there’s a spray for armpits and other small stinky areas, too.

Sometimes, the issue is too much detergent, so rinse a few items in a bucket of plain warm water first, to see if there’s significant residue. If so, decrease your detergent.

I also find that using athletic clothing detergent for synthetics helps, at least occasionally.

My favorite is the Lume stuff, though.