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Post by ohiodreamer on Jul 2, 2019 20:19:22 GMT
DS is now a full time welder. His clothes are nasty. I have made my own laundry soap for 10 or more years, but it's not formulated for THAT level of dirt/grease. Anyone have a suggestion....either an additive or a laundry soap that works. Don't need them "going to town" clean....but not walking themselves to the dryer would be good.
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Post by Jolly on Jul 2, 2019 23:42:06 GMT
Persil or Tide for regular laundry detergents.
For tough stains, my last resort is Ronco lighter fluid.
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Post by Melissa on Jul 3, 2019 0:44:57 GMT
Dawn dish soap works well also. My Dad was a mechanic and his clothes were oily/greasy and dish soap worked the best. You can also fill the washer and let them soak overnight-loosens up the dirt a bit.
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Post by AD in WNC on Jul 3, 2019 1:41:52 GMT
My ex was a welder. I used Xtra detergent and hot water. Any really bad patches of grease I pretreated with dish soap. If he was welding galvanized, it would smell and I put baking soda in the washer.
He stick welded and the slag dripped onto his clothes and they'd catch on fire. He'd burned holes in his clothes past what I could patch. Then I'd replace 6 pairs of jeans and 12-15 flannel shirts every year.
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Post by Tim Horton on Jul 3, 2019 17:57:23 GMT
In many years working in machine shops, like said, I replaced a lot of clothes. Also doing a lot of welding in the shop, also all clothes were all cotton. Or as much cotton as you can. If things got really bad, like the several times I got covered head to toe in a spray of hydraulic fluid, clothes went to the laundromat first before washing at home. I also used denim aprons which helped to save clothes. Problem was metal chips sticking to clothes and ending up in the car, house, and washer.
Now when I come in all sweaty, dirty from mowing pasture or such, we have an old front loader washer on the back porch, called Elvis, who we use to pre wash extra dirty stuff. The discharge from Elvis goes to the rhubarb patch out by the crab apple tree. The soap Sweetie gets to use in Elvis won't hurt anything.
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Post by Melissa on Jul 3, 2019 18:06:29 GMT
When my son-in-laws first started at the coal mine they had to wash their own uniforms. I showed them how to use the old wringer washer and they washed them in it. Coal dust is hard on an automatic washer.
And yes- as Tim said, wearing something over his clothes will help a lot. Maybe a leather apron or coveralls of some sort.
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Post by AD in WNC on Jul 3, 2019 23:49:53 GMT
Tim Horton when the ex had been grinding (especially single burr),I would hold the cuffs of his pants (and the hem of his shirt) and shake them outside to get the metal bits out of the pockets before I put the clothes in the washer. The poor man was a dirt magnet. He got filthy while wearing leather sleeves and apron.
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Post by Jolly on Jul 4, 2019 0:08:44 GMT
A lot to be said for honest dirt...
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Post by feather on Jul 4, 2019 0:11:16 GMT
DH's clothes didn't get really dirty from work, but he worked in a forging area, and the metal had to be measured, engraved, ground down to specs. He'd bring home little bits of metal, especially in the bottom of his shoes, that would embed in the carpet.
Now that he's retired, he gets dirty metal detecting, kneeling in the dirt, looking like a farmer. He washes them in home made laundry soap, it's just dirt.
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Post by ohiodreamer on Jul 5, 2019 10:26:00 GMT
Thank you all! His clothes are filthy, but in good repair ( for now, lol). I do need to get to Goodwill and get him more pairs of pants.
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Post by farmchix on Jul 5, 2019 11:07:01 GMT
For stain removal, 1 part Dawn blue dish soap to 3 parts vinegar. Otherwise, Hubs' Momma used to put ammonia in the washer when he was a welder.
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Post by AD in WNC on Jul 5, 2019 11:32:39 GMT
ohiodreamer The back to school sales are when I would buy jeans (enough for the year). The flannel shirts would go on sale about a month after that. One year I found flannel shirts for $3/each.
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Post by mountainlover on Jul 19, 2019 19:51:46 GMT
We also found flannel shirts for 2.50 last year at the tail end of summer. Sales vary from state to state. I second using Tide powder the original one. From vomit to other bodily excretions there is nothing Tide hasn't completely washed away for my 4 kids. I always do a cold wash followed with a hot wash for the really heavy-duty cleaning. For grease, soaking clothes in Dawn dish soap is a great idea as well. That's what they use to bathe waterbirds caught in oil spills. Again original Dawn is best.
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Post by Ozarks Tom on Jul 20, 2019 14:58:19 GMT
ohiodreamer, Several years ago the EPA mandated all detergents eliminate phosphates from their formula. Phosphate was the ingredient that cuts grease/oil. We add one or two tablespoons of TSP (Tri-sodium Phosphate to each load along with our usual detergent. It makes a remarkable difference in the whiteness and stain removal. TSP can be bought an most any hardware or paint store, it's what painters use to clean film off walls before painting.
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Post by ohiodreamer on Jul 25, 2019 12:38:41 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2019 23:00:40 GMT
Looks like someone beat me to the TSP. If you can't find that, then there's Ajax or Dawn dish liquid, with ammonia or vinegar (also mentioned already). Oh! And OxyClean is decent.
There have been times when I boiled some of Nick's stinky dirty shirts in borax water.
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Post by Melissa on Jul 26, 2019 0:30:54 GMT
ohiodreamer, Did you try anything that worked well for you?
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Post by ohiodreamer on Aug 6, 2019 15:08:18 GMT
ohiodreamer , Did you try anything that worked well for you? The dish soap in hot water pre wash seems to be doing the job. We do it in a plastic tubs next the the sump pump (I have a front end washer and honestly I don't want the first layer of oil IN my washer, lol) After is soaks a bit we hit it with a plunger a few times. Dish soap never even crossed my mind.....which is odd because I use it on food stains on clothes. Haven't found the TSP, yet. Again, another item that hadn't crossed my mind. Grew up using that to clean stuff.
They don't come out "date clean", but they are reasonable looking for work.
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