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[Laundry question] Anyone with hard water get waxy patches on their clean shirts?
(piefed.blahaj.zone)
this post was submitted on 04 Jan 2026
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Try citric acid in the softener rinse. Will rinse out any leftover detergent.
Yeah, was gonna be my suggestion, too. I get small white stains on specific fabrics and one of my shirts' colors looked completely washed-out. And yeah, I can get rid of that with citric acid in what my washing machine calls "pre-wash".
I'm not sure, it was just leftover detergent for me, though, because while I could wash out some of it by hand-washing the clothes with water afterwards, a lot of it stayed. So, my assumption was that it's actually just calcium build-up, which of course also goes away with acid.
Ty!! Will try this.
Use it in the “fabric softener” cycle, not the pre wash. Citric acid neutralizes detergent.
Does it make a difference, though, if I only put acid into the pre-wash, so no detergent? I was hoping, it would get flushed out before the proper wash cycle.
I mean, I will check, if my washing machine has a separate hole to put fabric softener in. It does sound like the more appropriate place for it.
It does not do a rinse after the prewash, so any detergent added during the main wash will get neutralised and won’t really wash anything.
It also helps prevent a soap buildup in the machine.
If you don’t have a fabric softener spot, can always get a “downy ball” which will release during the spin cycle.
How much do you typically use?
I use pure citric acid powder, and use a full tablespoon per load. Just put the powder directly in the fabric softener dispenser.
It is also makes a cheap, toxic chemical free, perfect rinse aid for the dishwasher.
Literally a chemical.
It's a common one found in lots of natural foods and such, nothing particularly scary or unusual, but you are presumably buying a purified, concentrated chemical and not just squeezing a lemon into your washing machine as a natural source of that chemical.
I use acetylsalicylic acid whenever I want a chemical free painkiller.
Do you consider vinegar a chemical as well?
No it's at least 2 chemicals- acetic acid and water.
And quite a few others if we're talking about something besides distilled white vinegar.
Thanks. This is exactly the kind of tip i was looking for.