Does sulfuric acid in snow damage fabric?

Question

Had to do an emergency work in deep snow, in results my black cotton clothes were soaked in it. To my basic knowledge “regular” snow may contain not only salts but also sulfuric acid.

Will snow-covered clothes contaminate a washer and dryer with sulfuric acid, causing all next loads to be faded or degraded..? If so, what can be done after the fact.

According to channels, there was 1 or <1ppb of sulfur dioxide in the air at that time. Chart from 2023 for sulfur + nitrogen wet deposition shows 324-402 eq/ha, hydrogen about 5.4 pH in approximated area.

Air pollution data for Northeast US:

Area: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/reference-maps/us-climate-regions

Annual acid rain data (up to 2023): https://nadp.slh.wisc.edu/maps-data/ntn-gradient-maps/

Hydrogen ion concentration data (between 5.7-5.3-5.4): https://nadp.slh.wisc.edu/filelib/maps/NTN/pdfs/2023/pH_2023.pdf

Sulfur + Nitrogen wet deposition data (between 402-324-537) https://nadp.slh.wisc.edu/filelib/maps/NTN/pdfs/2023/SplusN_dep_2023.pdf

Sulfur dioxide (last year data): https://gaftp.epa.gov/castnet/tdep/CURRENT_images/so2_dw-20212023.png

PA Department of Environmental Protection - current Air Quality Index Report (my area had the SO2_01 (1) and SO2_24 (2) fields left blank): https://www.dep.pa.gov/Business/Air/BAQ/MonitoringTopics/AirQualityIndex/pages/default.aspx https://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/aq/aqm/psinw.htm

Weather apps daily data: 1 or <1ppb of sulfur dioxide in the air

Water - moderately hard to hard, with levels ranging from 110-130 ppm.

Answer 1

That is a wrong question.

A better question would be:

"Does snow contain enough sulfuric acid to be concerned about it?"

And the answer would be:

"No, it does not, unless you live near a chemical plant releasing sulfur oxides, or near a coal power plants without filtering of those oxides, or near active volcanos. But then, you could smell it in the air."

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Typical rain water with background level pollution may contain $\pu{E-5 mol L-1}\ \ce{H2SO4}$.

Rather hard tap water may contain about $\pu{2 mmol L-1}$ of $\ce{Ca(HCO3)2}$.

As the reaction is in ratio 1 : 1
( $\ce{H2SO4 + Ca(HCO3) -> CaSO4 + 2 H2O + 2 CO2}$),
it gives the ratio rain water:tap water 200 : 1.

Imagine that your clothes are soaked by $\ce{1 L}$ of rain water or water from melted snow.

Then, for the neutralization of the trace sulfuric acid in clothes is needed $\pu{5 mL}$ of tap water. And much less of the washing detergent formula.

Additionally, the clothes would very like still contain traces of alkalic washing detergents for last washing, so neutralizing the traces of acid even on their own., by other words, the acid traces help to neutralize the alkalic residues in clothes.

The typical residual alkalinity after washing cotton fabric is reportedly $\pu{0.5-3 mmol kg-1}$ of dry fabric, what would be equivalent to acid of $\pu{25-150 L}$ of rain/snow water.