Why is it bad to soak clothes in water?

[kenny1999]

I always thought that it was good to soak dirty clothes in water for hours before washing but recently I happen to find a lot of advice saying that it is not good to do that. What's the possible problem of soaking clothes in water? Would it weaken the fabric?

[geordief]

26 minutes ago, kenny1999 said:

I always thought that it was good to soak dirty clothes in water for hours before washing but recently I happen to find a lot of advice saying that it is not good to do that. What's the possible problem of soaking clothes in water? Would it weaken the fabric?

My guess is that it might make them lose their shape...

Edit:I was wrong.

Edited March 21 by geordief

[swansont]

25 minutes ago, kenny1999 said:

I always thought that it was good to soak dirty clothes in water for hours before washing but recently I happen to find a lot of advice saying that it is not good to do that. What's the possible problem of soaking clothes in water? Would it weaken the fabric?

Can you provide links to this advice?

[Phi for All]

15 minutes ago, kenny1999 said:

I always thought that it was good to soak dirty clothes in water for hours before washing but recently I happen to find a lot of advice saying that it is not good to do that. What's the possible problem of soaking clothes in water? Would it weaken the fabric?

Not sure you're doing anything more than thoroughly saturating the fibers before you wash the garment, if it's only water and for that long. If the clothes are heavily dirty, I'd pre-soak using some kind of detergent, but only for about half an hour. That's plenty of time for the surfactants to break up any oils or ground-in grime, and then hold on to both water and  dirt so it's washed away. Modern detergents are designed to work with fibers and their colors.

Why are you listening to anyone who just tells you it's "not good to do that" without explaining why?

[kenny1999]

1 hour ago, Phi for All said:

Not sure you're doing anything more than thoroughly saturating the fibers before you wash the garment, if it's only water and for that long. If the clothes are heavily dirty, I'd pre-soak using some kind of detergent, but only for about half an hour. That's plenty of time for the surfactants to break up any oils or ground-in grime, and then hold on to both water and  dirt so it's washed away. Modern detergents are designed to work with fibers and their colors.

Why are you listening to anyone who just tells you it's "not good to do that" without explaining why?

It's because they did not explain why so I am asking why here....

[iNow]

IF this is true, then two things come to mind:

1) It will dilute the dyes in the fabric and thus cause the colors to fade / become more muddy / less bright and not as saturated and clear. 

2) Hydrogen is corrosive (at least it is with metals) and water molecules have two hydrogens so it might weaken and fray the fabric if submerged for extended periods of time. 

I defer to our respected chemist members though

[exchemist]

8 hours ago, iNow said:

IF this is true, then two things come to mind:

1) It will dilute the dyes in the fabric and thus cause the colors to fade / become more muddy / less bright and not as saturated and clear. 

2) Hydrogen is corrosive (at least it is with metals) and water molecules have two hydrogens so it might weaken and fray the fabric if submerged for extended periods of time. 

I defer to our respected chemist members though

As far as I know cellulose, e.g. cotton, is hydrolysed by acid, so by H+ rather than H2O per se.

Wool is keratin, which is a fibrous protein. The amide links in this can also be hydrolysed under acid conditions.

I don't know whether in neutral water either of the these processes occurs at a perceptible rate, but I suppose it is conceivable over very long periods of time. Maybe someone else here knows more about it. 

[MigL]

I hate doing laundry, so I take the least amount of time possible, IOW, no pre-soaking; it's a waste of time.
Have three different hampers for colors, whites, and 'it doesn't matter'.
Dump one of them into the washer with appropriate liquid detergent.
Transfer them to the dryer with softener sheet for an appropriate time.
You are done; and if a stain doesn't come out, toss that garment, and learn to be more careful next time.

After the washing/drying comes the part I hate even more; folding and putting away.

[exchemist]

1 hour ago, MigL said:

I hate doing laundry, so I take the least amount of time possible, IOW, no pre-soaking; it's a waste of time.
Have three different hampers for colors, whites, and 'it doesn't matter'.
Dump one of them into the washer with appropriate liquid detergent.
Transfer them to the dryer with softener sheet for an appropriate time.
You are done; and if a stain doesn't come out, toss that garment, and learn to be more careful next time.

After the washing/drying comes the part I hate even more; folding and putting away.

You've left out the ironing......... 

[iNow]

If it requires ironing then IMO it actually requires dry cleaning