Why do my clothes smell like they’ve been drying at the chip shop?

[squeakandbubble]

Mundane but it’s plaguing me

When my clothes are dry they smell like they’ve been drying around cooking. They are no where near the kitchen so it’s not that and it’s always the same smell

Things take forever to dry here so generally I leave them on the rack for the week. No where to dry them outside and no tumble dryer

I’ve tried changing washing stuff. Bio and non bio, different fabric softeners

The machine has been cleaned with vinegar and bicarb on a hot wash

Tried changing the room they dry in

Any ideas??

Oops I turned off my notifications and forgot about the thread!

Thank you for the suggestions, genuine question though, how is them being on the rack for a week any different from them being folded up in the drawer for weeks?

They don’t have the damp smell it’s different to that and it’s only recently so will look at all the suggestions and see what I can do

No salt, just vinegar thanks 😁😅

They would be dry if they had been put in the drawer. They are not drying fully on the rack, that’s the difference.

I’ve found that if I leave clothes made in a particular fabric in the washing machine for a few hours after the cycle finished then hung them up, it has given them a fusty smell that stayed until I staged an intervention and washed at 60 degrees. Vinegar doesn’t make things smell of chip shops.

I always double spin to reduce drying time, and spread things over two rails on the airer to help them dry quicker - and not smell.

Thank you! 🙏

I leave my washing in soak with a dettol laundry sanitiser and then dry quickly with a Meaco dehumidifier in the laundry room. The soak with the sanitiser is the only thing that gets the smell out of my very active teenagers’ stinky clothes!

Get the Meaco 20L if you can. Much better in a larger house/for more laundry.