Clothes washing mystery solved by physicists

Physics World ^ | 3 Apr, 2018 | Michael Allen

[Mears]

Why do you even use fabric softener?

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[Don W]

I have to use the dryer through the winter, and the static build up is reduced a LOT when softener is used.

It smells nice, too.

[Mears]

Thanks-—I never used it so I was curious——I always considered it just another unnecessary product thrown at us to make money for a corporation.

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[RooRoobird20]

In the really olden days, people used to collect urine, let it set around a while, then wash their clothes in it.

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Yes, as far back as the ancient Roman times!! Mr. Roo Roo and I took a guided tour of Pompeii, and we saw the remains of a laundry service that were still in place. There were a couple of large shallow tubs where the laundry and urine would be placed and workers would stomp around on the laundry, much like stomping grapes to make wine. Being a laundry stomper was not considered a desirable job—the urine smelled really bad and was irritating to the stompers’ feet.

According to our guide, the laundry service would accept just about any kind of urine, but supposedly zebra and giraffe urine were greatly coveted. After washing laundry in urine and rinsing, the laundry would be “smoked” to help get rid of the ammonia/urine smell.

[mass55th]

Thanks for the additional info. Hadn’t known that about the zebra and giraffe urine.