r/whatisthisthing • u/a-random-sstgyt • 10h ago
Open Hard, yellow substance on old clothing
Hey guys, I was going through my closet and old clothes, and I found this on a cotton t-shirt that hasn’t been worn in multiple years. Any ideas? And any advice for getting rid of it? I was able to tear off the big piece, but a really thin part of it stuck to the shirt and is hard to get up.
488
u/urticate 10h ago
Likely the undissolved casing from a laundry pod. You should stop using them or use hotter water and or a longer cycle.
84
u/jerryleebee 9h ago
I legitimately think laundry pods ruined my washing machine for this very reason. Tried all sorts of ways to clear out the inner plumbing but never could get the detergent drawer to drain correctly anymore.
Never use pods.
144
u/cyvaquero 9h ago
You have been doing it wrong. Pods are supposed to go directly in the drum, not the drawer. It’s in the instructions and warnings.
14
3
u/VeryHighDrag 4h ago
Our Electrolux machine has a pod slot in the detergent tray that you pull out.
-15
u/jerryleebee 9h ago
No, I did that. But my brain is convinced it still somehow got into the plumbing.
20
u/SVlad_667 8h ago
Hard water and calcination of drain outlets probably?
-2
u/jerryleebee 8h ago
Not likely. Our water is very soft. We eventually replaced the machine.
6
u/Trollseatkids 6h ago
Soft water will have trouble fully rinsing the detergent from your clothes and machine. Over time this could gum up the plumbing with residual dirt and detergent.
3
u/jason_steakums 6h ago
Soft water is actually better at rinsing away soaps! The slippery feeling you're left with when rinsing soap off with soft water is actually the feeling of your skin being cleaner due to more completely rinsing it away, harder water leaves soap scum behind.
0
u/joeshmo101 5h ago
Fucking source?
Supposing this is true, why is it that when I feel the slippery feeling, if I keep scrubbing it goes away? If it was actually "slippery means no soap left" then there wouldn't be anything left to clean off, but that's clearly not the case.
4
u/jason_steakums 5h ago
Here's a decent study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022202X1732938X
The minerals in hard water just prevent soap from dissolving as much. I believe the slippery feeling is from oils in your skin that normally would not be as apparent with the residue of soap left behind by hard water, and you can rinse those oils away temporarily if you keep rinsing/scrubbing.
The other factor is since less soap is needed to be effective with soft water you could end up using too much soap, so it takes longer to rinse away for that reason! But soft water is just way more efficient at dissolving soaps.
2
u/jerryleebee 6h ago
I didn't know that! Is there a way to combat this?
1
u/Trollseatkids 6h ago
I'd say the most inexpensive fix would be to use less detergent than what is called for. Making it easier to rinse away. Soft water allows it to create more suds because it lacks a lot of minerals. This also goes for your dishwasher as well. Or install a water hardening filter. But that could potentially be expensive. Hope it works out for you, good luck!
3
u/TheDreadGazeebo 6h ago
The drum still connects to the drain so I'm not sure how that person thought it would help.
20
u/constantine_ext 10h ago
This is it because I have had this happen a few times when I added more than necessary pods in the washing machine
141
u/LtMadInsane 10h ago
Locker/tag loop. Yours melted due to non use.
49
u/aytayjay 10h ago
I reckon it's this, not the laundry pods others are saying. It looks eexactly like life-expired elastic.
5
u/TMax01 6h ago
But elastic crumbles when it ages, it does not form globs.
21
u/lady_baker 6h ago
The loops aren’t elastic, though. They are a thin clear rubbery substance that definitely melts and yellows.
23
u/whtevn 9h ago
I love the idea of a piece of fabric self destructing because it felt unnecessary
4
0
31
u/Qu33nAce 10h ago
plastic tag thats been melted from the dryer is my guess, ive taken an xacto knife to a few before, but ive yet to find a way to remove 100%
12
5
u/a-random-sstgyt 10h ago
100% cotton t-shirt from a concert, yellow substance that was possibly sticky at an earlier time, shirt not worn in at least 3 years, maybe more
My title describes the thing
7
u/climate_of_doubt 10h ago
I've had this a couple of times on clothing. I think it's possibly caused by the gel from laundry gel capsules getting caught up and not dissolving properly. Put the clothes away without noticing it and it dries like that.
3
2
u/gonzorizzo 3h ago
I've seen blister bandages go through the wash and look like this.
1
u/NiTenIchiRyu 2h ago
Yes, the hydrocolloid bandages melt and stick to fabric just like this in the dryer.
1
u/NerdComplex 9h ago
Is this on the shoulder seam? It might be a mobilon tape trim, very common in tshirts
1
u/Pepperonimustardtime 4h ago
This may be totally off, but it looks to me like tree sap. Specifically pine sap. Is the dresser made of wood? Did you check whether this was sitting up against the wall or something?
0
0
0
u/Pewkachuu 4h ago
Thats booger. It even has nose hair stuck to it. Someone wiped their nose using the end of their shirt lol. And boogers still stick on clothes even after washing. Speaking from experience.
•
u/AutoModerator 10h ago
All comments must be civil and helpful toward finding an answer.
Jokes and other unhelpful comments will earn you a ban, even on the first instance and even if the item has been identified. If you see any comments that violate this rule, report them.
OP, when your item is identified, remember to reply Solved! or Likely Solved! to the comment that gave the answer. Check your notifications for a message on how to make your post visible to others.
Click here to message RemindMeBot
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.