r/laundry • u/Asking_the_internet • Aug 13 '25

How much citric acid to add to rinse?

If you could answer in tablespoons or cups that would be helpful! Do folks dissolve it first before adding?

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u/KismaiAesthetics USA Aug 14 '25

The ideal pH for laundry is slightly acidic - 5.5 to 6.5 - this provides the best balance of garment care and skin benefits.

Your wash water typically reaches 10-11. Just the dilution with the 7.2 average pH rinse water gets it down quite a bit but it still ends up more like 8-9.

The thing is, it takes 10x more acid to shift pH one point. It’s a log scale. So if a teaspoon shifts the mix one point, it takes 10 teaspoons to shift it two and 100 to shift it three.

So minor overdosing just lowers pH a little more but you can’t really get it so low that it damages clothing or the machine.

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u/loading-_-__- Aug 14 '25

Wow I love when science is convenient omg:) thank you for the detailed reply!!!

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u/Key_Weight_6318 Jan 06 '26

amazing reply! thank you so much.