January 8, 20080 found this helpful
I've never had it do it, but my girlfriend says it stains white items sometimes... However, I have switched to using vinegar.
Michawn
Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 188 Feedbacks January 9, 20080 found this helpful
Not sure if it stains, but it DOES take the soaking abilities away from the towels. Most people think they make them softer, nope!
By cheryl (Guest Post)
January 10, 20080 found this helpful
Hi! I have used Downy for about 20 years now. The only time liquid fabric softener will stain, is when it is applied directly to fabric and allowed to sit.
My washer comes with an attached dispenser in the machine. When this dispenser is not cleaned every year, the residue of the 'released' softener will gunk up over time in the dispenser where you can NOT see it with the naked eye. You must detach the dispenser and open the case. Mine appeared that it could not be removed. I called the local dealer and he explained how to remove it. In the end it was very simple.
You will definitely see what I mean when you remove it and look at the bottom end. It is so gross. The softener gets gunked up and you can remove it simply with warm water and an old toothbrush in the sink.
What the gunk does, is allow for uneven release of the fresh softener you just put in the dispenser. At times, a portion of the softener will not be released until the machine completely stops--- AFTER the rinse & spin cycle. Thus....you get softener on the wet fabric that just sits there and/or goes into the dryer like that. It will definitely stain.
Quick fix to ensure it never happens, is to just clean the dispenser yearly.
Hope this helps- learned this from my mom years ago when I called her with stains AND 'gunk pieces' found on top of my clothes. :-) Blessings!!!
(if by chance you use a dispenser ball- the stains mean that the ball needs to be replaced. It is not releasing your softener at the proper time. It is releasing it after the rinse and spin cycle.)
January 10, 20080 found this helpful
I used softener for years and never seemed to get soft towels.Have since switched to vinegar(&frac; cup ) instead of fabric softener.You may not see a difference for a couple washings,the vinegar needs to remove all the softener build up on the towels first.
I also tried using a tennis ball in the dryer, that was suggested by someone else on Thrifty Fun and it works great to soften towels.
No softener or dryer sheets needed
