First - I no longer have sticky skin after returning home and using our water from the treated hot water tank. I have not had to re-treat it since I first reported doing it and all is well. First soak removed 80% of the stickies and the second, another day, removed the rest of my Florida stickies. I still have my tan though!
As we can see from the Mr B's post there are different reasons for variations on sticky. In my case I get sticky skin as soon as I hit the contaminated water, without any contact with towels or washcloths. It is not a problem with being itchy - my skin just feels like fly paper (some of you may not know what that is!) My skin also will get itchy if there is soap residue left in the laundry. Some soaps are worse than others and I have to be careful which ones we use. However I won't expand as this is a topic for a different thread in my case since it gets away from the sticky skin problem. If anyone wants I can expand on this later. I had to solve this skin problem also and did not have to add anything to cure it.
The comment of salt softened water being slimy may be true in some cases however we have used this method for the last forty years and have never had that feeling from it. It must depend on the source water. Soft or hard water does seem to have a very definite effect on the ease of fighting the sticky skin. One thing I found in Florida was that the bath water was clear, though hard, and nothing formed on the bathtub ring area until I got in and soaked some. Then a waxy residue would build up in place of scum ring expected in the hard water. Seems the scum would not bond to the waxy residue. Scraping off the wax just showed more would rapidly take its place. I believe the skin produces the wax like substance to protect itself from something it does not like in the water. If you scrub it off it just forms more if the irritant is still there. There are some drugs and diseases that trigger the same skin reaction leaving the skin sticky also. I am sticky after, even if I do not towel off and just air dry. Return to sticky if re-wetted from sweat or water.
For those with sticky skin and sticky washing machine here is a thought. When we dry off on a towel or get damp from sweat etc in our clothes the waxy skin residue migrates to the fabric. Washing the clothes releases the residue, and just as it does in the bath tub it plates out on the inside surfaces of the washing machine tub. As noted in the post titled 'This is my theory' : Using Calgon softens the water and naphtha based product will cut wax. The anti fungicide may even help protect later on since some will be left in towels and clothes fighting whatever is attacking our skin and making it sticky. I cannot prove it since I was able to get rid of sticky skin fairly quickly and it did not progress to effect the washing machine.
Remember that anything you add to the washing machine needs to be skin safe. Due to the law of diminishing returns, some of what you put in will always remain in the clothes and then be in contact with your skin, no mater how many times you rinse them.
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Edward here. Yup another male.
First - I no longer have sticky skin after returning home and using our water from the treated hot water tank. I have not had to re-treat it since I first reported doing it and all is well. First soak removed 80% of the stickies and the second, another day, removed the rest of my Florida stickies. I still have my tan though!
As we can see from the Mr B's post there are different reasons for variations on sticky. In my case I get sticky skin as soon as I hit the contaminated water, without any contact with towels or washcloths. It is not a problem with being itchy - my skin just feels like fly paper (some of you may not know what that is!) My skin also will get itchy if there is soap residue left in the laundry. Some soaps are worse than others and I have to be careful which ones we use. However I won't expand as this is a topic for a different thread in my case since it gets away from the sticky skin problem. If anyone wants I can expand on this later. I had to solve this skin problem also and did not have to add anything to cure it.
The comment of salt softened water being slimy may be true in some cases however we have used this method for the last forty years and have never had that feeling from it. It must depend on the source water. Soft or hard water does seem to have a very definite effect on the ease of fighting the sticky skin. One thing I found in Florida was that the bath water was clear, though hard, and nothing formed on the bathtub ring area until I got in and soaked some. Then a waxy residue would build up in place of scum ring expected in the hard water. Seems the scum would not bond to the waxy residue. Scraping off the wax just showed more would rapidly take its place. I believe the skin produces the wax like substance to protect itself from something it does not like in the water. If you scrub it off it just forms more if the irritant is still there. There are some drugs and diseases that trigger the same skin reaction leaving the skin sticky also. I am sticky after, even if I do not towel off and just air dry. Return to sticky if re-wetted from sweat or water.
For those with sticky skin and sticky washing machine here is a thought. When we dry off on a towel or get damp from sweat etc in our clothes the waxy skin residue migrates to the fabric. Washing the clothes releases the residue, and just as it does in the bath tub it plates out on the inside surfaces of the washing machine tub. As noted in the post titled 'This is my theory' : Using Calgon softens the water and naphtha based product will cut wax. The anti fungicide may even help protect later on since some will be left in towels and clothes fighting whatever is attacking our skin and making it sticky. I cannot prove it since I was able to get rid of sticky skin fairly quickly and it did not progress to effect the washing machine.
Remember that anything you add to the washing machine needs to be skin safe. Due to the law of diminishing returns, some of what you put in will always remain in the clothes and then be in contact with your skin, no mater how many times you rinse them.
Edward.
February 5, 2012 - 6:36pmThis Comment
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