they feel so ‘chemical-y’ and their texture goes from soft to uncomfy idfk?
Uh I think that’s a you thing?
- Use like half the recommend amount of laundry detergent. Unless your clothes are filthy, it’s plenty, it’ll save you money, and it’s better for the environment.
- Add 1/4 cup white vinegar as if it were liquid fabric softener (the food grade stuff, not the house cleaning stuff). This aids the detergent and acts as a mild fabric softener. It rinces completely in the wash and doesn’t leave an odor.
- Use dryer balls - 2 ot 3 balls of felted wool about the size of a tennis ball - in place of dryer sheets. They do almost as well at killing static and softening clothes without the chemical residue.
And, finally…
- Wash your clothes less often. Generally speaking, unless they’re visibly dirty or smell, they don’t need to be washed. This doesn’t apply to socks or undergarments - those should typically be washed, or at least rinced out, with every wear.
Edit: clarification, with thanks to antimidas who pointed it out!
Just in case someone misreads this, add the vinegar as the softener, so it’s not in the first load that contains the detergent. The detergent is a base, and relies upon that fact to get rid of some of the stains, and vinegar as an acid will neutralize that. Vinegar is meant to be in the rinse cycle when washing laundry, where it can help get rid of any extra detergent by neutralizing it and do any other magic it does.
Also, though I don’t usually encounter them often, do note that vinegar can wash away zinc and silver oxides used for some sterile clothing, and can supposedly damage lyocell.
But overall I second these suggestions. Most times the amounts listed for detergent are far too big, and you can often get by with less.
It’s the reverse for me. New clothes feel uncomfortable, sometimes. Then, the more I wear it, they keep getting comfortable.
Maybe, look up tye ingredients of your detergent? Also, consider using treated-soft water for washing clothes. Hard water (water with minerals) can damage the fabric.
Should be like that, they may look worse but feel more comfortable with washes.
Natural fibers trend to get softer and thus more comfortable. I’m not sure this is true of synthetics. What kind of materials are your clothes, OP?
Skill issue. My clothes get comfier and comfier as they go through the wash
Possible solutions:
- Check if you’re not using too much detergent.
- Skip the fabric softner.
- Google using vinegar to clean clothes.
Won’t vinegar ruin rubber sealings?
You need to dilute it. That’s why I recommended googling it.
It’s not as simple as chucking in loads of vinegar.
I use white vinegar as a pretty low impact, residue free softening agent which also cleans the washing machine at the same time.
Try a residue free detergent like Atsko Sport-Wash Laundry Detergent.
If you’re using powdered detergent, make sure yours doesn’t have zeolite as the water softening agent. It will deposit in the machine, and starts eventually covering the fabrics with a talcum-like powdery substance. It gets especially bad if you either have to use a lot of detergent because of hard water, or are overusing the detergent.
Zeolite was brought in to replace phosphates due to environmental concerns, but it has its own problems with the washing results.
One other thing that often ruins the freshness of clothes for me is overly scented/perfumed detergent. The smell can get quite overwhelming, and contribute to a chemical-y smell and feel.
