Is detergent harmful to clothes if not quickly washed out?

December 26, 2015 5:05 PM

I placed a load of laundry in the washing machine and poured some detergent onto it, only to discover that the machine had broken and wouldn't start. Is it ok to wait a day or two for the machine to be fixed, while some of the (still dry) clothes have been splashed with detergent? Or should I rush out to a laundromat?

The clothing is regular cotton men's clothing, t-shirts and underwear and the like; nothing woolen or delicate. The detergent is unscented "7th generation" - no bleach or fabric softener or anything like that.

posted by kickingtheground to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (11 answers total)

No it's fine.

What you should be concerned about, though, is damp. Lay anything that got wet out so it can air dry. Old soap will rinse out; mildew will ruin everything.
posted by phunniemee at 5:08 PM on December 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

So it's a liquid soap? I'd take them off to a laundromat, tbh. I'd rather be slightly inconvenienced than ruin some of my clothes. It's PROBABLY fine, but I am risk-averse.
posted by clone boulevard at 5:17 PM on December 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

Laundry detergent isn't really meant to be left on clothes even overnight. That's why they include the cup, in part, so you can add the detergent but not get it on the clothes. Even a "natural" detergent still has acids and enzymes to eat away at stains. I would probably transfer the load to my sink and finish it by hand.
posted by wnissen at 5:37 PM on December 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

You would be better off rinsing the detergent out.
Simpler modern detergents are largely surfactants (to decrease the surface tension of water and allow saturation), and enzymes to break down fats. I think your 7th generation unscented would fall in this category.

however, the simple presence of moistyre could cause colors to migrate, or the modified pH could make the fabric mottled.

Commercial detergents like Tide have oxidising and color-brightening ingredients-- they would definitely leave your solid colors looking like camouflage.
posted by ohshenandoah at 5:57 PM on December 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'd rinse them at least. You may get uber clean spots on the clothes, especially if they've gotten dingy over time. So where the soap is sitting will get really really clean and be noticeable in comparison.
posted by Crystalinne at 6:14 PM on December 26, 2015

Personally, I'd be rushing the load over to a laundromat, as I'd be out of clean clothes and need them. Otherwise, take out the clothes which have detergent on and put them in a sink, fill and drain; since detergent's so concentrated, damage may result, as explained upthread.
posted by Rash at 6:35 PM on December 26, 2015

Just squeeze the clothes out and rinse them in your kitchen sink. Squeeze them out again and hang them in the bathtub area. When convenient and they are drier, then go to the laundromat.
posted by Oyéah at 6:42 PM on December 26, 2015

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone - since there wasn't a consensus that it was safe to leave them, I ended up taking my clothes to the laundromat.
posted by kickingtheground at 7:55 PM on December 26, 2015

As a lazy launderer, sometimes I just use the detergent to treat a stain and then forget to do the load for a while leaving it to dry and be washed a few days later. This has so far never done harm, though I might be a little more careful with dark colors.
posted by cecic at 10:48 PM on December 26, 2015

For next time, you could always wash them by hand in the sink, at least enough to dispurse the detergent evenly.
posted by flimflam at 11:00 PM on December 26, 2015

For future reference, I pour detergent directly on stations on my clothes and lace overnight regularly with no problems. I find out a useful way to get greasy cooking stains out.
posted by wwax at 7:51 AM on December 27, 2015