July 26, 2024, 8:00 am | Read time: 2 minutes
Have you ever heard of “fat lice”? These small pellets are often found on freshly washed laundry. What can be done about them?
“Fat lice” aren’t actually lice. They are small gray fat pellets that appear on freshly washed laundry–even though they weren’t there before. These pellets form under certain conditions during washing and can be quite persistent. This article explains how they form and what you can do if you find these pellets.
How Do “Fat Lice” Form?
The Forum Waschen explains their formation: If skin and kitchen fats or the residue from creams and ointments are not properly washed out and removed with the wastewater, they can redeposit as pellets on the laundry. This happens when too little detergent is used.
Also of interest: Why the last minute of the washing machine cycle takes so long
How Can They Be Removed?
The fat pellets disappear with another wash cycle at the highest possible temperature for these textiles. You should also add as much detergent as the manufacturer recommends for heavily soiled laundry.
It may also be that fat residues have accumulated inside the washing machine. If you notice “fat lice” repeatedly despite using enough detergent, you should clean the machine itself. The Forum Waschen recommends running an empty cycle at 95 degrees Celsius with a generous amount of detergent.
With material from dpa