Hey, so I am not best pleased with the results that I get from my laundry at the moment, for a couple of reasons:
I think that my laundry isn’t washing well enough as I’d like it to, it smells okay and comes out looking clean and stain free, but sometimes they still have a bit of a funk around the usual areas, as well as older garments just constantly smell like damp, I think that they could do with a stronger scent because after it dries it’s not that noticeable, and also at this moment in time we recently have moved from a house to a flat (not exactly our first choice) and so one of our cats keeps… offending some things be it blankets and throws or the odd bath mat or laundry pile, and at this point the carpet cleaner is a daily ritual. We’re working on that, but in the meantime I want to use some products I seriously know are working to remove any traces of… that, and as well hopefully improve the laundry results overall.

So, I currently use a couple of different laundry detergents, usually Ariel Colour & Style liquid, Persil/Surf Wonder Wash, or DAZ powder. I use the DAZ powder on things that have been offended by the cat, because I am led to believe that it has good enzymes that break down any pet urine traces etc. and I then soak in any general disinfecting liquid like Astonish disinfectant just to make sure that any bacteria is gone, before I wring out and wash as normal. Then it’s washed with one of the liquid detergents listed above, and fabric conditioner. I use fabric conditioner on everything except bathroom textiles due to effects on absorbency. I know there’s some strong opinions on fabric conditioner, I clean my machine regularly enough for it to not affect that, and I like the scent and softening it does, but I wonder if it’s actually also making any trapped odours worse. The other thing is that I’ve tried Ariel Odour and that stuff works, but is way more expensive, what is the difference really?

So, apparently, or so I have seen elsewhere here that lipase is a good cleaning enzyme, for everything, removing body oils and sweat, and stains. And I also believe that Ariel Platinum PODs or Gel contain lipase. I don’t mind using PODs as an alternative to liquid in the ezDispense drawer, but I don’t want to be dosing Gel or powder, doing powder was just inconvenient for me. So, does anyone know if it does contain lipase, if what I have already contains it, or if it’s worth switching?

The other thing is a fabric conditioner alternative. I think if it’s making any trapped smells worse, what can I use that softens the fabrics, but equally doesn’t leave a smell? I have seen people raving about citric acid, but also some say if your water has sulphur it smells eggy and ours does so I’m not interested in that, and it’s also a powder, and I don’t have a normal additives dispenser, I’m not waiting around each wash cycle to add it manually. Another being distilled white vinegar, tried and do not like, despite people saying it doesn’t smell, it did, even with a reduced amount and it’s one of my most hated smells. I also don’t like that acid is known to damage the rubber in the machine, which is fine for the door seal only being a quick in and out job, but to sit in the ezDispense reservoir for prolonged periods of time would not be a good idea. I want to try Dettol Laundry Sanitiser, since it kills bacteria, odour causing bacteria and sanitises items that have been peed on by the cat from time to time, it’s a fabric conditioner substitute, and it smells nice too, meanwhile not affecting absorbency of towels etc. what are your thoughts? Is there anything I have wrong or anything I should change or improve, ideally I kind of want it to work best with my ezDispense or just in a capsule form. I was also considering Calgon liquid in the drawer to increase detergent performance since I live in a hard water area, but that stuff is expensive! 

Thank you in advance if you take the time to read this and to respond.

Okay, so I want to up my laundry game, and I need some help: