It stripped the paint off of the freaking floor! What are we doing to the land, people?

[Skidmore]

Next week, I was planning to buy dryer balls with my next shopping trip. Now I'm sure of it. I had a part of a bottle of Downy fabric softener left and it slipped off behind the washer and upended this morning, spilling the remainder out on the floor. Now my laundry room floor is painted with that heavy duty porch paint. Where that stuff pooled, in the time it took me to get the washer pulled out and grab a bucket of water and a rag, that porch paint bubbled up and stripped to the floor. What is is that crap? Why are we allowing ourselves to be told that it is safe to put on our clothing and next to our skin and to pump out in to the aquafers and leach into the soil. I'm very freaked out by what I saw this morning. And very pissed at our laziness as a people because we would rather buy these items of convenience to begin with.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. You could

hang your wash outside or on a drying rack. Just a suggestion.

[Skidmore]

5. I know. We have to dig up the misplaced pole buried in

a ton of concrete by the last owner's and line it up with something. Current spring project. However, I will not be hanging clothes on it in subzero weather.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

13. That's when you get a clothes drying rack

and put it up in your living room and dry clothes there. Great to add humidity to the house.

[KittyWampus]

41. Did you know some communities disallow clothing lines outside. What smells as good

as clothing dried in the fresh air and sunshine.

I also loathe these room and furniture sprays used for "freshners".

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

45. I know

I wouldn't live in any community like that.

[peacebird]

2. good grief! That is nasty... and to think I use Downy, what is it doing to my septic field?

Thanks for posting this - I had absolutely no idea.....

[katmondoo]

3. The same thing happened to me, spilled on top of a freezer

took off all the paint. I never used it again

[Crazy Dave]

4. Off Insect Repellent

I saw it eat the paint off the mirror frame on a work truck and people spray that all their bodies and their kids. The bugs must be a lot smarter than we think they are as they avoid it while most people (I don't use it anymore) saturate themselves in it.

[Canuckistanian]

8. Deet can lterally destroy plastics

DEET can damage some plastics, rayon, spandex, other synthetic fabrics, leather, and painted or varnished surfaces; it does not damage natural fibers, such as cotton or wool, and has no effect on nylon.

Yet it's safe enough to use on our skin.

Still, it makes us nervous.

[StarryNite]

48. DEET

For adults, Health Canada has now banned products with DEET concentrations
over 30%, citing health risks and evidence that increasing the percentage does not do much more to repel insects. Health Canada has also banned two in one products which combine sunscreen and DEET, saying they create the potential for people be exposed to too much DEET. The ban does not take effect until December 2004, so consumers may want to be careful not to pick up combination products still on store shelves.

Products containing DEET are now required to carry labels which specify:

-Do not apply over cuts, wounds, or irritated skin.
-Do not apply to hands or near eyes and mouth of young children.
-Do not allow young children to apply this product.
-After returning indoors, wash treated skin with soap and water.
-Do not use under clothing.
-Do not spray in enclosed areas.
Experts recommend that if using DEET, its best to wear long sleeves and long pants, when possible, and apply repellent to clothing rather than skin to reduce exposure. They state DEET based products should only be applied sparingly; saturation does not increase efficiency. DEET repellents should not be inhaled. Repellent-treated clothes should be washed, or kept outside living areas to reduce exposure. Following all these precautions reduces risk, but does not eliminate it.

http://www.environmentalhealth.ca/spring03hazards.html

[Canuckistanian]

53. Thanks, I didn't know that

The stuff was always nasty on scraped skin as I remember.

I didn't realize it was noxious to breathe as well.

[BrainRants]

6. Fabric softener is a well know dissolvant

It's the best wallpaper remover.

[slackmaster]

18. Wow - I was wondering how to strip the paint off my old range hood

I'll give Downy a try, right now, and follow up with results later today.

[slackmaster]

30. In 35 minutes, it didn't seem to hurt the baked-on enamal, but

It did a great job softening the accumulated grease. A little 409 and the spot is clean.

I plan to ditch the hood and replace it with a nice stainless one.

[Retrograde]

44. cat piss also makes a fine paint remover

although I wouldn't recommend it in the kitchen. Or any place else, for that matter. I suspect it's the concentrated ammonia. Cat vomit, OTOH, will remove 60+ year old flooring adhesive, but it's hard to get in quantities to do a whole kitchen.

Back to topic: I've never felt any need to use a fabric softener and don't seem to have any problems with towels or other laundry. Maybe I just have a different standard of what's acceptable.

[54anickel]

7. I don't know what's in it, but I have a friend who uses it to remove wallpaper.

She puts it in a spray bottle with a bit of water to thin it enough to pump out. Spritz it on, wait about 20 minutes and it peels right off. She swears by it, even for really old wallpaper. :shrug:

[Rosemary2205]

22. Yep. works great.

all you need is about 1/4 cup softener per gallon of water for wallpaper removal.

[54anickel]

28. Thanks. I didn't realize you could dilute it down that much. I haven't

had the need to try it yet, but was planning on it in the near future.

[slackmaster]

24. Label on Kirkland (Costco) brand warns it contains cationic surfactant

A powerful detergent, really bad on the eyes. That could soften latex-based paints at least (their base includes cationic surfactants).

[Blue State Blues]

9. Practical laundry tips

A little bit of white vinegar in the final rinse -- helps soften fabrics and washes out with no scent so clothes smell like, well fabric. If you like scent, you can try adding a few drops of an essential oil like lavender.

The main thing you can do to keep fabrics soft, is make sure all of the detergent rinses out -- use the right amount for you water (unless your water is very, very hard, you don't need to use as much as it says on the bottle or box), and rinse until there are no soap bubbles in the water. You may have a good bit of build-up from past washes and from fabric softener, so it may take a while to get the detergent out of your clothes, but once they are REALLY clean (and not stiffened with chemical residues), they will be softer.

[buzzard]

10. Here is an alternative to fabric softener FYI I have used these since they became available.

http://www.staticeliminator.ca/page/page/363949.htm

[jilln]

26. Here are some alternatives

<http://housekeeping.about.com/cs/environment/a/alternateclean.htm>


<http://www.grinningplanet.com/2004/04-29/stop-static-cling-fabric-softener-article.htm>

Apparently baking soda works too. Or, you could just stop using fabric softener. I havent' used it in years and it's fine.

You can clean pretty much the entire house with vinegar/lemon juice, baking soda and vegetable-based liquid soap.

[aquart]

29. White vinegar and baking soda!

When my dying cat pissed all over my mattress, I was frantic. I thought I'd never get the smell out. I googled CAT PISS MATTRESS and found the miracle of vinegar and baking soda. It saved the mattress.

Never without that stuff now.

[jilln]

37. LOL Cat piss mattress!

Sorry about the cat, though!

[buzzard]

54. Thanks for the links, I have used baking soda and vinegar for most everything for many years.

[Divernan]

31. Yes, I've been using these reusable dryer sheets for nearly a year.

And I get a kind of all natural detergent at Trader Joe's. They are made out of cloth - not the papery kind I used to get.

[Ilsa]

11. My husband said that dryer sheets make towels less absorbent.

I won't hang out colored clothing because it fades in the summer sun. I save money this way.

[Raven]

12. Dryer sheets also clog up your lint filter and the clog

is almost invisible so you think you've got a clean filter but you don't. Can cause a fire. Actually, I think I read about this here on DU a while ago.

[Rosemary2205]

25. yes this is true.

scrubbing it lightly once a month with dish soap and a soft brush will get out the scum left on the lint filter. Just make sure to rinse really well.

[conscious evolution]

19. He is right

Some fabric softeners even say right on the bottle that it screws up absorbency

[MadHound]

14. All you need for your laundry is a good, biodegradable, enviromentally friendly soap

I've not used softening agents since I was a kid and my mother used Downy. I have never felt the lack, and never really saw the point. Wash the clothes, hang them on a line, and let them dry.

Sometimes the old ways are best. Besides, there is nothing like the smell of clothes dried on a clothesline in the sun.

[Ilsa]

32. As long as you don't live near a chemical plant or refinery! LOL and

sometimes it stinks around here really early in the morning. I think the plants that are 25 miles away release junk in the wee hours while were sleeping. I sometimes forget to bring in the clothes and they'll have a mild funky odor in the morning.

[MadHound]

35. LOL, true that,

I'm fortunate enough to live out in the middle of nowhere, and the worst smells that we have drifting around are the barnyard smells from the small farmers around. Those are pretty localized smells and don't effect our laundry.

[snappyturtle]

15. Especially since it's Earth Day I had to K&R this! n/t

[merh]

16. I bought the dryer balls and they are great.

I intend to get them for family and friends for christmas gifts.

:)

I didn't realize that Downy had dual purposes, fabric softner and paint stripper. :wow:

[SmokingJacket]

17. Fabric softener is just a thing people get used to, then think is

necessary -- like sweeteners in beverages or constant AC in moderate climates.

After I moved out of the house, I put fabric softener on my clothes because my mom did it and because otherwise everything felt stiff and terrible. Then I got too poor to buy it, and tolerated "scratchy" clothing to save a few bucks. Soon I didn't notice it -- haven't used the stuff in years.

In fact, now when I visit people who use the stuff I find it smells overwhelmingly perfumely and the towels don't absorb water.

[htuttle]

20. "Biz" detergent literally dissolves flesh

A coroner once told me (long story...) that it can be used to clean skulls by boiling them in Biz and water.

[BreweryYardRat]

40. Boiling water will do that on its own.

Biz must just be an accelerant.

And your title's a bit misleading, since I'd bet the detergent has to be heated to act as an accelerant.

[htuttle]

42. The Biz speeds it up a LOT. It's the enzymes.

[baldguy]

21. Peanut butter does the same thing.

[donsu]

23. I've never used the softeners cause I didn't want the stuff on my

clothes to be absorbed when I sweat.

never could understand the softness fad.

[enki23]

27. liquid detergent would probably do the same thing

fabric softeners are very similar to the detergents you use in the wash, except the detergents tend to be anionic (negatively charged) surfactants, whereas most fabric softeners are, essentially, cationic (positively charged) surfactants. you can't put them in at the same time because they would precipitate out of the wash water. the cationic end of the softener molecules is attracted to many clothing fibers, and so they tend to stay stuck on the clothing, where their long oily chains provide a thin sheen of "oilyness" which lubricates the clothing and makes it feel "soft." so what you're really doing with fabric softener is, essentially, lightly oiling your laundry.

there's nothing chemically harsh about most fabric softeners. but, like soap, they would be pretty good at dissolving some other nonpolar (oil-like) substances. like, for instance, an oil-based paint.

[Skidmore]

33. Thanks for the lesson of the chemistry behind this.

Painting the laundry room floor is the last thing I had planned to do this spring. We did it last year.

[Rosemary2205]

36. Great explanation!! thanks nt

[WhiteTara]

34. I have discovered that if you use a non phosphate

laundry soap, no dryer sheets are necessary. I am chemically sensitive and haven't used any of that for several years. Someone suggested using a dab of laundry soap on a cloth and toss it into the dryer to discourage static cling.

I like Eco soap...but look for soaps with no phospates.

[KoKo]

38. I use "Tide Free" and don't have to use any dryer sheets for towels or clothes..

I found that if you put less detergent than the instructions say...you don't get that "stiff" thing with clothes or towels. I use about 3/4's of what they say.

Try it and see if it works for you.

[Little Wing]

39. How soft do your clothes need to be?

[Lex]

43. Water carved out the Grand Canyon! And we drink it!

:rofl: Just kiddin' you, Skidmore!

[BlackVelvet04]

46. My mom found out that baking soda is a very good

fabric softener. She puts some in the final rinse of the wash cycle just as you would downey. Much better for the environment.

[catmandu57]

47. My wife overuses that crap

We have one of those softner balls, she'll fill it to the top, and dump in a couple of caps of liquid detergent, I try to keep the laundry caught up just so she keeps her fingers away from it.
She doesn't know how to load the washer either, the damn thing about shakes the house apart when she uses it.
I knew about softner reducing absorbancy, I won't use it on towels and washcloths, i didn't know it was caustic though.

[tjwash]

49. I stopped using that shit, and my clothes stopped falling apart.

Go figure...

[karlrschneider]

50. I keep mine dry with baby powder...

don't even have to buy new ones!
:rofl:

Sorry, couldn't resist...

[barb162]

51. I had no idea that stuff was so strong

[blues90]

52. I am a elbow grease and dish soap kind of guy .

I won't use and never did use stuff like 409 or anything else to clean things . I read lables and if there is a list of warnings that seem long or refer to avoid breathing fumes I stay clear of it . Many of these products destroy plastic and remove paint , I wonder what they do when absorbed through your skin or what they do while they sit wet in a sponge under the sink .

Yet we are told our drinking water is safe when all sorts of chemicals go down our drains and all this crap is sold by guess who , huge chemical corporations who have gathered together to control the masses while they silently kill us and make these tv adds to look like you world smells and looks so much better .