Comments on: Ridiculous laundry posting: The Perils of Fabric Softener http://talesacrossthesea.net/singblog/266/ridiculous-laundry-posting/ Life really close to the Equator Fri, 15 Oct 2021 01:10:14 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.38 By: Lara http://talesacrossthesea.net/singblog/266/ridiculous-laundry-posting/comment-page-1/#comment-35 Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:42:55 +0000 http://talesacrossthesea.net/singblog/?p=266#comment-35 Our laundry stiffened mightily on the line in New Zealand, as well. And in Santa Clara it tends to get stiff, despite going through the dryer, because the calcium in the water supply builds up in the fibers of the clothes. Makes them gray, scratchy, and stiff. But in that case I think the solution is to put vinegar in the wash (to dissolve the calcium) or install a water softener. Fabric softener probably just puts a layer of nice-smelling oil on top of the calcium layer. (Oil, calcium salt, vinegar – this is beginning to sound like salad.)

I have never seen fabric softener in this solid form, though. Maybe because the water in the washer is never heated it has a chance to build and clog. Not that the water is cold, of course – nothing here is ever below 78 degrees – but maybe at about 130 Fahrenheit (50 Celsius) it’s liquid enough to just flow down the drain instead of hanging around in the pipes.

]]> By: Mei http://talesacrossthesea.net/singblog/266/ridiculous-laundry-posting/comment-page-1/#comment-33 Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:41:00 +0000 http://talesacrossthesea.net/singblog/?p=266#comment-33 If I could understand half of the fancy writing, my comments would be more coherent … but I do remember collecting clothes line-dried after washing with cheap detergent (this would be 30 years ago in Beijing), and they all stayed exactly the same shape after taken down from the line, and one had to rub all of them vigorously to make them fold-able. Soft and malleable fabric fresh out of a drier seemed so un-natural …

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