Home-makers, I need laundry help. :(

Dishwashing has killed all of Alex's work shirts.  Around the gut area there's a huge, thick, kind of sticky area that we're assuming is soap scum building up on his shirts.  I've washed these things, I've soaked them, I've scrubbed them with a tooth brush, and I've googled like hell to figure out how to get soap scum out of shirts.

Does anyone have nifty laundry tricks?  Some of these shirts are over a year old and some of them are my old workshirts that aren't as bad, but they're still pretty yucky.

His shirts are dark green, maroon, and navy blue so we can't really bleach them.  :\

And hey, while I've got your attention, how the hell do you make boy socks SOFT?  Every time I wash Alex's socks, they come out of the dryer kind of crusty and it scares me.  My socks turn out just fine. 

Have you tried Zout?  It gets EVERYTHING Out even Blood!!!  That is what I use for all my dirty jobs.  As far as the socks I have no clue I don't have that problem with hubbies socks.

I use plain old DAWN dish soap...it gets out grease from my boyfriends work pants among other stains that my kids get on their clothes...its always handy for me because thats what I use for my dishes-lol! Put it on the stained/dirty area, rub it in and let it set overnight...then wash normally....as for the socks, I have no idea...maybe use liquid fabric softner instead of the sheets...let me know how it turns out.

Wow I was thinking you were putting them in a dishwasher for laundry...maybe I should stay off CC when I'm tired.

I've never seen that problem before, is he filling the sink too much?

As for softness I dunno, fabric softener might work?

I've never heard of Zout, nor have I ever had a problem with blood staining.  I use peroxide and saline for that.

Can you find Zout at like, a WalMart or do I have to find a different store with it?  I'm thinking I'll give that a try if Dawn fails me, 'cause I've got Dawn downstairs. :D

Original Post by cellulitedelight:

I've never heard of Zout, nor have I ever had a problem with blood staining. I use peroxide and saline for that.

What about for stains that have been in for awhile? I had a TOM accident with my favourite jeans and didn't take care of it asap, peroxide not taking it out. I'm thinking it's a lost cause since they aren't dark. I've always used Borax for that but didn't have any :/

Tide now has a detergent with Dawn in it so that might be worth a try.  I am thinking maybe soak it with some vinegar.  Vinegar makes a real good fabric softner too for his stiff socks.  I'm also thinking maybe some CLR or Lime Away- but that might ruin the fabric so test it first on some other fabric. 

Good luck and let us know what if anything does work!!

If you've already washed the pants, you're really stuck trying to continuously wash them.  I got blood on my lab coat a few times and didn't get the opportunity to wash it until it was crusted over and brown, but peroxide and salt water still did the trick.

I used to have blood on a pair of jeans and it took about six months of washing them to finally get the blood out.  :\

Vinegar and a can of coke.  Coke will take any acid off of your clothes and vinegar works better than fabric softener.  Baking soda will help as well.

Original Post by cellulitedelight:

If you've already washed the pants, you're really stuck trying to continuously wash them. I got blood on my lab coat a few times and didn't get the opportunity to wash it until it was crusted over and brown, but peroxide and salt water still did the trick.

I used to have blood on a pair of jeans and it took about six months of washing them to finally get the blood out. :\

Well I did the peroxide before washing, neither got it out. I'll try salt water too next time. Maybe I'll just devise some kind of patch :/

I use Lescol for EVERY stain!  It takes out permanet pen, blood, grass, puke, greese, oil, baby formula, baby poop----EVERYTHING!!!!  You can buy it at walmart and the other "marts"  It's by the other clearners--I'm not sure what it's supposed to really clean--it's not a laundry detergent--but on the bottle it says you can use it for laundry--it's just not in that isle, but by the "other" clearners!!  It kind of stinks when you use it but the smell does not linger on the clothes!  Just pour on the spot and let soak for about an hour (for tough stains) and just pour it on before washing for recent stains, and wash like normal! 

My husband always leaves those fine tip permanet pens in his shirts and used to ruin all my clothes and the kids but now if I don't catch it right away I can pour a capful in the washer and it's gone!  Amazing!  Good Luck!

Melissa