Your Detergent Is Smooth On Your Clothes Not Your Skin | Resource Centre by Reliance Digital

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Few months back, I happened to observe redness and itchiness all over my body each time after I wore freshly washed clothes. I would wonder in shock as to why this is happening. Fearing some chemical reaction on my skin I even changed my Deo and my other daily cosmetics but the itching and discomfort still did not seem to subside.

Finally, one day while taking the clothes out of the machine I spotted some bluish white spots on my washed clothes. Oh! Don’t tell me you too have seen such marks on your clothes? Yeah? Then I’m sure you will know what I am talking about. The level of irritation on seeing stubborn powdery stains that give a very sticky and weird damp feeling to the clothes is disgusting. Oh! How can I not mention the half hour to forty five minutes that went into re-washing the entire lot of clothes again!

In fact I even switched over to another laundry detergent thinking that it will do the trick. But, I was wrong. I could still find detergent stains on my clothes. It was maddening. Thinking there is a problem with my washing machine I even ended up called the technician to check if there was some damage. But to my surprise, there wasn’t. This oddity kept infuriating me. Finally I got to know that there are actually many factors behind these detergent stains on clothes which we tend to overlook.

Too Much Detergent:

Though this may seem like an obvious reason, still, many of us pour an extra scoop of detergent for a regular load of clothes thinking that it will clean the clothes much better. I’ m sure some of you’ll may be thinking that it’s alright to pour an extra scoop of detergent in the drum load of clothes. Let me tell you, you‘re not alone. I too use to think the same. Err… here’s where even I went wrong. That’s because, too much detergent does more harm than good! What’s the harm in doing so you may wonder? So listen up buddy, most of the laundry detergent contains a chemical called surfactants which is basically a concoction of certain molecules. One of the molecule in the surfactant pulls the dirt out of the fabric, while the other pushes it into the water. Simply because water alone isn’t sufficient to remove the gunk from the soiled clothes. That’s how the water seems to be murky when it’s pushed out during the rinse cycle.

Excessive detergent was also the reason why I was experiencing itchiness and redness on my body. The surfactant if comes in contact with the skin there are possibilities of experiencing irritation on the skin and itchiness other symptoms may include: Bumps, Dry skin, Swelling, Blisters etc.

Well thankfully, the rashes can be treated with simple remedies for instance; applying anti-itch lotion like; Calamine it soothes the skin and subsides the itchiness. I had actually applied aloe vera on the affected areas of my skin. It’s a natural coolant and works really well. You can even soak a towel in ice cold water and press it lightly on the inflamed skin area this will reduce the burning sensation to quite an extent.

Overloaded Washing Machine:

It wouldn’t be wrong to assume that you too might have dumped all your clothes into the washing machine atleast once if not twice (C’mon, don’t deny that now). Of course, there could be several reasons for doing so. Perhaps, you were running short on time for the movie, or just too lazy to sort (happens with everyone). Whatever it is, cramming in too many of clothes actually is bad for a number of reasons:

#1: When your washing machine is tightly packed with dozens of unwashed clothes, it affects the motion of the drum which actually shakes the dust and muck from your clothes. Obviously, with insufficient space for the clothes to spin freely, the dirt and other soiled substances tend to stick on the clothes in such case, even the clothes that aren’t soiled that much end up looking dull and unclean.

#2: Irrespective of whatever you use powder detergent or liquid detergent, it may not dissolve completely in the water due to lack of space. Which means your clothes won’t be washed properly and will often have detergent stains on them or worse even they could smell.

If you have a machine that senses the load and prompts you of any overload issues then its fine. But, if your washing machine lacks such a feature, it’s advisable that you ensure to check the load.

Hard Water:

Firstly, if you have hard water supply at your place I empathize with you and wouldn’t deny a bit about how difficult it is to wash clothes in hard water. For those of you’ll wondering about the sudden shower of empathy, let me tell why. There are certain minerals present in the hard water which makes it tedious for the detergent to dissolve properly in the water and makes it less efficient. Due to which, many end up adding more scoops of detergent. Hence the detergent stains.

To overcome this, it’s best you lookout for water softeners or water filters to keep the deposits of the hard water at bay. This will also let you use less detergent to wash clothes.

Dirty Drum:

When was the last time you washed your washing machine? Never? Don’t worry we aren’t judging you, if you haven’t. So, is it necessary? To be honest yes, because, there are possibilities that some detergent residue, soil and other grunge are collected in the machine’s drum. And, if you by any chance put your clothes into such a machine, your clothes will not come out clean, Therefore, make sure that you wash your washing machine periodically with water and vinegar to keep it clean for stain free clothes!

How To Get Rid of Detergent Stains?

Now that you’re aware of the potential causes of detergent stains. Here’s how you can easily tackle them that too without causing any further damage to the clothes!

Dish Detergent:

What! Yes, you read it right. Dish detergent are amphiphilic (it is chemical compound possessing both – hydrophilic molecules (water friendly) as well as lipophilic molecule (lipids and fat friendly) and can therefore wash out the detergent stains easily from your clothes! All you need to do is squirt a little on the specific area or on the entire cloth directly and gently scrub it before rinsing it in normal water.

White Vinegar and Water:

Another ghar ka nuska (home remedy) to get rid of the detergent stain is to combine white vinegar with water. Here’s how you need to do it:

Step 1:

Combine one part of vinegar into 4 parts of water and let the clothes stained with detergent residue soak in the solution for about an hour.

Step 2:

After an hour’s time, toss the soaked clothes once again into the washing machine along with the solution (don’t worry your clothes won’t get stained again) and select the full wash cycle of about 15-30 minutes. The combined solution will also remove any build up in the washing machine drum as well.

After learning about this the ‘rash way’, I can be certain about one thing i.e. excessive usage of detergent to clean clothes is a myth! Clearly if you don’t want to end up being in the same situation like me, ensure to keep a tab on the listed possible triggers while you launder the next time. By keeping these small yet crucial things in mind, you can be rest assured that the next time you launder, you’ll find stain free load of freshly washed clothes. And yes smooth skin too!

Dish Detergent:

White Vinegar and Water:

Step 1:

Step 2:

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