Laundry detergent reaction...again

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Dewey:
So I've been at college for the last month or so, and I've been managing it really well so far! My dining hall is really good about food allergies so I've been pretty lucky in that regard. I mentioned earlier that I was a little concerned about using a communal laundry room because I react to a lot of different laundry detergents. I worked out a system with a friend in my dorm - she uses a detergent that I'm not allergic to, and we figure out a schedule and try to work it out so I can go and do my laundry right afterwards so her laundry load kind of rinses out other detergent residue. For the most part, that's been working out.

However, I think there was a miscommunication or something - either I didn't make it down to the laundry room immediately after my friend, or I put my laundry in the wrong machine. For whatever reason, I am currently covered in hives everywhere my clothes touched, so pretty much shoulders down. I took a shower and put on clothes that I know hadn't been washed with the current load, but I am itchy and extremely frustrated about being allergic to just about every laundry detergent in the world. :banghead:

rebekahc:
Oh, I'm so sorry you're miserable! Hopefully this is a one time deal and things will go more smoothly from now on.

nameless:
that stinks!

For solution suggestions:

- do a load of empty wash yourself before your load --- put a cup of vinegar in to help clean it out

- or -

I'm wondering if putting half a cup of vinegar in your load will help clean out the residue from other detergents? It doesn't make your laundry smell, but it's really great at getting rid of odors...which are a type of residue...so it might work...I don't know.

Good luck,
Adrienne

maeve:
I wonder if the school machines have an extra rinse cycle. If they do, can you try that. Good luck at finding a solution.

Mookie86:
How awful! Can you talk to the administration about this issue? You shouldn't need to pay to run an empty load before yours, but clearly you can't risk this happening again. Maybe there's a different laundry machine you can use that they can make sure is safe for you?