Wash with Wally

By Wally Makowsky | Apr 27, 2009

What type of detergent would you recommend for washing Kevlar gloves? Some of the gloves have oil stains on them.

Any type of a neutral-based detergent – a non-alkali product – is probably best, because of the certain resins that are used in Kevlar.

First, however, I would recommend that you try simple dishwashing detergent with warm water. Dishwashing detergents feature some oil-removing properties. They won’t remove heavy oil, but they’re quite effective at removing some lighter oils that haven’t set.

So, start with dishwashing detergent. If that doesn’t help, any type of neutral detergent will work fine.

I have a question about fragrances and scents. Is there any way to add something different to the wash to get it smelling fresh, aside from the normal scented detergents or fabric softeners? Sometimes I wish there was something to add for customers with pets who need a boost of fragrance in their blankets or comforters. Any suggestions?

There are certain odor-removing and fragrance-adding products that your local distributor likely has available. Some of these items are sold frequently to drycleaners and even veterinarians’ offices. Therefore, I would suggest first calling your distributor to see what types of commercial-level products he carries.

On the retail shelf at your local supermarket, there are a couple of odor-neutralizing products that leave a pleasant after-scent, include Febreze. If you add a product like that to the last rinse of your wash cycle, you not only remove certain odors but you infuse a little fresh fragrance into whatever you’re washing.

Of course, the retail products are on the lighter level. To tackle stronger odors, talk to your local distributor about the many commercial products that are available.

I have a commercial service that cleans towels for beauty salons and barber shops. The most difficult towels to clean have hair glue on them. What can I use to remove this glue from the cotton towels?

There are different types of glues that are used. Some can be washed out with an alcohol-based product. However, I strongly recommend against using any type of alcohol-based item unless you are extremely familiar with how to use it in conjunction with the washing process – because these types of products do have a flash point.

However, some other types of glue can be removed by hand using mineral oil. But, as far as removing that glue during the actual wash cycle, about the only thing that might work is a product called Laundry Wetspo, which has oil- and grease-removing properties.

I recently washed a load of white garments, which came out with several yellowish-brown spots. I used standard products – detergent, bleach and softener. And the spots won’t come out. What can we do?

Most likely, those spots have been created either by iron deposits in the water, or by fruit, tea or coffee stains. Try using a product called Iron Out, which you can get at your local supermarket. Test the spots. If they disappear, they are obviously iron stains – and you can use Iron Out in your wash cycle to remove the rest of the spots.

If the spots remain after testing them, more than likely they are fruit, tea or coffee stains. At this point, call your local distributor and see if he carries either Tannin Remover or YellowGo. One of those products should work on the stains.

When it comes to iron and fruit stains, the red flag is the yellow-brownish color. Unfortunately, when stains get into the darker brown shades, then they can be almost anything.