Thanks to Millennials, We Have a Laundry 'Celebrity'

Reddit may not have Martha Stewart, but it does have a laundry "hero" and "celebrity" whose followers crash Whole Foods detergent shelves. Vox's Alex Abad-Santos profiles user "KismaiAesthetics," a 52-year-old self-described slob whose obsessive posts on r/laundry have quietly reshaped how thousands of people wash their clothes. The user, who doesn't share his real name, has turned the enzyme lipase—great at breaking down grease and body oils—into a cult ingredient. Thanks to his free "Lipase List" spreadsheet cataloging which detergents contain it and other key additives, certain niche products have now sold out.

Kismai has found an audience with millennials who see the importance of sustainability in fashion. His other big contribution is "spa day," an all-day soak using lipase-heavy detergent, oxygen bleach, and other boosters that leaves people staring, horrified and impressed, at buckets of gray, oily "soup" drawn out of their towels and T-shirts, saved from the trash. Abad-Santos digs into the chemistry behind why our clothes continue to smell bad after multiple washes, the magic of lipase, why US liquid detergents tend to lack the enzyme, and even names some of r/laundry's favorite detergents, in the full piece at Vox.