Woolite - yes or no?

[OakLeaf]

The older I get the more I want to simplify my life, and extra laundry products are not high on my list of necessities. Especially after reading Pearl Izumi's laundry instructions (use a detergent without added colors or fragrances - which Woolite doesn't make). Plus, lately it seems that Woolite has been really piling on the fragrances, too - does anybody else find that it *doesn't* camouflage the B.O. that it leaves in your jerseys if you don't take time to scrub the armpits?

So... is there really anything special about Woolite? Does it really keep your delicates from shrinking, stretching, fading, getting pilled, getting stolen by the Sock Monster, becoming too small when you gain weight, or any of the other claims they make???

[jobob]

I use Ivory Snow powder when washing my woolies & cycling clothes.

(Rivendell strongly recommends not using Woolite, it's quite harsh actually.)

[bike4ever]

No to Woolite on cycling apparel.

[Eden]

I've been using Biokleen. I like it, its safe, natural, smells only vaugely of citrus (it has grapefruit extracts I think), gets my cycling clothing nice and clean/fresh and you don't have to use much of it. Before that I was using Ecover for delicates

[PinkPilot]

A resounding NO on the Woolite with Pearl Izumi. I have a very meticulous friend in NJ who thought he was doing the best possible thing using Woolite on PI shorts and they fell apart on him in under a year. Fortunately, he wrote to PI and they ended up sending him two brand new pairs, but also pointed out their washing instructions which do not include Woolite.

[Rumblefish]

Woolite is alright...I use it primarily for hand washing stuff if I have to. I do think Woolite has a bloated ego though.....

Otherwise I use Arm and Hammer laundry detergent for sensitive skin on everything (bike and non-bike related). It's free of perfumes and dies and does the job pretty darn well I think.

Plus I figure if I tiny little box of arm & hammer baking soda can take the stink out of a refrigerator the laundry stuff has to mean business too

[ms.etta kitt]

Woolite was invented to care for our Wool items that we hold dear. The reason it is bad for cycling wear that is Not made of wool is this:
Woolite leaves a film on your clothes, making it softer, blah blah blah-- right? well this becomes a problem when you are investing money in these awesome clothes that are quick drying or offer moisture transfer, etc , because that thin film is now preventing the garment from living up to it's original level of awesome. then your jersey that is no longer awesome, starts to smell bad cuz it's holding the sweat in and with that bacteria. not to mention you may find yourself a little overheated or even soaking wet. yuck.

another reason to avoid it:
it makes the waterproofing on garments go bye-bye.

[Irulan]

Woolite was invented to care for our Wool items that we hold dear. The reason it is bad for cycling wear that is Not made of wool is this:
Woolite leaves a film on your clothes, making it softer, blah blah blah-- right? well this becomes a problem when you are investing money in these awesome clothes that are quick drying or offer moisture transfer, etc , because that thin film is now preventing the garment from living up to it's original level of awesome. then your jersey that is no longer awesome, starts to smell bad cuz it's holding the sweat in and with that bacteria. not to mention you may find yourself a little overheated or even soaking wet. yuck.

another reason to avoid it:
it makes the waterproofing on garments go bye-bye.

it's just detergent with conditioners added. Use baby shampoo instead.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

The reason it is bad for cycling wear that is Not made of wool is this:
Woolite leaves a film on your clothes, making it softer, blah blah blah-- right? well this becomes a problem when you are investing money in these awesome clothes that are quick drying or offer moisture transfer, etc , because that thin film is now preventing the garment from living up to it's original level of awesome. then your jersey that is no longer awesome, starts to smell bad cuz it's holding the sweat in and with that bacteria.

Polyester type jerseys get really stinky no matter what soap or detergent you use. The man-made material encourages bacteria under your arms, that's just the nature of the beast. Wool can be worn quite a few times without it getting underarm odor.
I have cycling tops of both kinds that i like, and have used various soaps on them. Polyester gets stinky quickly when you wear it, wool does not. I wear the poly tops once then wash them, and the wool a few times before washing.

[OakLeaf]

Polyester type jerseys get really stinky no matter what soap or detergent you use.

Surely there must be a way to get the B.O. out of them? They can't be made to throw away after ten wearings???

And it's not all polyester. Regular old-fashioned brand name Lycra never retained odors. But I had any number of blouses (some of them pretty expensive) that I *did* have to throw out, because unlike on the bike, clothing that stinks even when it's clean just doesn't cut it at the office.

Anyway, is citric acid any good as a laundry booster? That's what I use for removing lime scale and soap scum. Thorn recommends white vinegar... but don't your clothes smell like vinegar, then?

[Dianyla]

Surely there must be a way to get the B.O. out of them? They can't be made to throw away after ten wearings???

Boy, I dunno. I have this one synthetic shirt that I took traveling and ended up loaning it to my friend for a few days. I've washed it at least a half-dozen times and it still smells like her. It's not the end of the world, but it just freaks me out a little if my clothes don't smell like me.