If I passed you on a narrow path, would I be able to smell fabric softener down wind? 

[Anndalouzier]

Just been on a walk and struck by how many people you pass don't smell of perfume, instead they smell of eau de lenor
is there something that you do/aspire to? How much of the stuff do you use to make it so strong?
I don't mind it in laundry. Just not my signature scent™️

You wouldn’t smell fabric conditioner on me, nor perfume or body spray. I find all of those things too strongly scented.

I don’t like it. Want as few chemicals next to my skin as possible and anyway, the smell of fresh laundry is lovely and doesn’t need added perfumes.

@JLou08 @500daysofspring , I think that it's one of those smells that people either love or hate.

I really dislike it. It smells of chemicals.

There's also the issue of what is it, and where does it go?
I mean what is a cationic surfactant and once it is in the washing machine, does it get discharged into the sewer system? Does it break down? What is polydimethylsiloxane? What are quaternary ammonium cations?

Poor dog having to smell that.

Fair enough, if you want your towels to smell nice when you rub your face with them, but your whole body to smell of it as you walked past people?

From my experience people with ASD dislike strong smell

What is the point of buying expensive perfumes if one just smells of Lenor?
Or is the laundry smell something to be aspired to?

Probably, either that or perfume, or both mixed.

I never use fabric softener. Nothing to do with MN, I’ve just never used it. Probably because when I first left home as a teenager it was an expense that I couldn’t afford. Fast forward 30 years and I still don’t buy it. Since working from home I hardly ever wear deodorant or perfume either. I only wear them if I go out 😜😆🙈 Saves a fortune!

Why do MN-ers hate fabric conditioner/perfume so much? It’s almost like a bandwagon that’s been leapt upon 🤦‍♀️

I don’t understand your reasoning here. Would make sense if posters were saying they don’t wash their clothes at all or don’t use laundry detergent, but adding softener brings no additional cleanliness just an artificial chemical smell. Some like the artificial scent and others don’t , doesn’t mean those who don’t stink, that’s a bit of a reach!

I haven’t used fabric conditioner for about 15 years, long before I found mumsnet. I stopped using it because I couldn’t stand the smell, it seemed to build up in the washing machine and we couldn’t get rid of the stink no matter how much we cleaned the machine. The stink faded quickly when we stopped using the conditioner, and our clothes smelt and felt better. Certainly haven’t noticed the clothes being stiff without the conditioner.

However, I do think smell is the most subjective of all the senses and I’m sure fabric conditioner lovers must smell something very different to what I’m smelling (a bit like the coriander divide, maybe?).

And those who DO buy fabric softeners haven’t jumped on a bandwagon at all. No way.

Eh? Those of us who find strong smells unpleasant are the least likely to smell ourselves. I think people covering their clothes in fabric conditioner are more likely to be hiding a smell.

Never use it

The first time I was aware of this was when I did jury service. there was a massive room at the Old Bailey where jurors congregate. Lord, most people don't wash their bodies or their clothes. I remember chatting to one woman, who had BO, stale grubby clothes and almost black teeth. She told me she was a life coach!

It’s beautiful, finally a way for the nice smell to stay instead of fading off.

Because many of us find it much more appealing, we’re all different. I like wearing different perfumes, deodorants, hand creams etc.

Everyone I know in real life uses it, MN is yet again opposite to that

i love when people smell of clean laundry. Much prefer it to the bag of dog poo in their hand, the old cigarette or cooking smells, cheap perfume, damp or general mustiness of most people I walk past.

Because they are better than everyone else.

Not me, I don’t use fabric softener. Probably because I am unused to it, but on the rare occasions I’ve decided to try it, I find it makes my washing feel horrible

Possibly, but I'm slightly paranoid that I smell of my dog so it's preferable 😅

@ToriMounj , It's probably because smells affect people differently.

@changedusernameforthis1 , your poor dog probably would prefer you to smell of you than of chemicals.

Why do people think the only alternative to honking of Lenor is stinking of BO/arse/piss etc? I don’t use fabric softener but I do wash my body daily, keep my hair clean, wear clean clothes, use deodorant and a squirt of perfume. I don’t stink. I just don’t like fabric softener

From my own observations the chemicals stay firmly fixed to the fabric. Can't get the smell out even after several washes. But yes, very valid point.