When washing flame retardants out of clothing or fabrics you want to make sure you’re using something that helps remove the chemicals and doesn’t just coat them.
This is also in part a matter of how many times you wash them.
There are different types of flame retardants (FR) added to textiles, some are more bonded into the fabric and some are treatments added. There is more than one chemical FR that is added topically to fabrics, including tents, and there may be different strategies to remove them.
Fabric Softener is often mentioned as being able to remove flame retardant (FR) due to the warning against using it on treated fabrics. However, it does not actually remove the FR chemicals, it only coats the fabric.
Once the fabric is washed again in regular detergent it retains its FR properties. Using soap (as opposed to detergent) also coats the fabric.
The soap and fabric softener coating can be flammable, and that appears to be the reason why it’s not recommended on treated clothing.
One company that makes flame retardant coatings for fabrics says “fabrics that have been treated with a fire retardant are usually certified for one year. If you wash them in your washing machine like any other article of clothing, which you certainly can, the chemicals dissipate over time.”
Two other suppliers of flame-resistance clothing make recommendations on preserving your flame-resistance coating, so if we do the opposite this can help remove the chemicals.
This means, don’t wash your clothes inside out, soak the clothing for longer than usual, use vinegar, use bleach, hydrogen peroxide, or sodium perborate, wash them at high heat, and dry them on high heat.
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