AIBU to never use fabric conditioner?

[Greysparkles]

After a very random boring conversation with a friend she thinks I'm some sort of slattern for never using it. I say it smells awful and no one's ever complained so why would I bother
Who is BU?

I used to use it all the time. Then my sons allergies meant I stripped back to bare necessities to work out what he was allergic to and never went back to using any so I'm not sure if he is allergic to any.

Stayed with the in-laws till our new house was ready for a month and they use it. Never realised how horrible the stuff is. Overly perfumed and oh my god everything was so slimy!! If either of them out a wash on I would turn it off and start it again after rinsing the load because it was so disgusting. Even my husband noticed and he is the type that doesn't notice things unless it's neon flashing lights screaming his name and kicking him in the balls.

I do use the scent booster stuff on my bedding but that doesn't leave a greasy slime on anything and nothing in the kids clothes.

I’ve seen “laundry fragrance boosters” in the supermarket. What the actual f?

Liquid fabric softener makes your clothing more flammable. (So do drier sheets)
Most have a warning against the use on children’s clothing.

Never have used it, don't see the point.

Fabric conditioner makes towels feel weird, and they don't dry as well.

I once bought a shirt from ebay that had been washed with fabric conditioner so strong I had to put it in every wash I did for about a month before it was wearable.

Paying cash money to rinse your clothes in slime after washing them, to make them feel and smell worse is so weird to me. YANBU, OP!

I’ve seen “laundry fragrance boosters” in the supermarket

I didn't know such a thing existed. What is the point of them? I don't want to 'boost laundry fragrance', I want my laundry to be fragrance free, like my soap is fragrance free and my anti-perspirant is fragrance free. I don't get the obsession with adding artificial smells to everything. They are horrible.

It smells too strong and is useless. Our plumber told us it blocked our pipes so we gave it up and don't miss it one bit.

I used to love fabric conditioner - Lenor gold was the only one I’d use and I loved that smell! I’m a teacher and could tell if pupils were wearing clothes that had been washed in it - I’d always take a sly huff near them because it reminded me of my own kids!

Never washed towels in it though, it does make towels less absorbent. (I once had a bf who worked in a towel concession in Debenhams and he put me right on fab con on towels. )

In the interests of saving money and being able to combine towels with regular loads, I stopped using it a couple of years ago and my clothes are fine. I now find the smell of fab con quite cloying. Also, I’m pleased to be using less chemicals and less plastic bottles. I think our water is quite soft and I tumble most things anyway. I still have a bottle and I put a tiny splash in wool loads because for some reason the only wool detergent I can find seems oddly harsh and not very pleasant smelling. I don’t tumble the wool stuff obviously so it’s also quite crispy once dry so the fab con sorts that out.

It’s useless for towels, it clogs the fibres and they don’t dry properly. I detest the small and stopped using it years ago. Nobody noticed.

I hate them and never use them. People are always telling me they smell lovely (they don't, the smell reminds me of that awful 'scent' they are putting in sanitary towels these days) and I dry all my clothes outdoors on the washing line. I prefer the smell of fresh air rather than artificial flowers.

Although I admit to loving the smell of clothes that have been washed with fabric conditioner, I don’t use it anymore for the following reasons:

• It makes dd’s eczema much worse
• The slow release fragrance makes her asthma worse
• it’s very toxic to aquatic life
• most have them have formaldehyde in as a preservative
• it clogs my machine up and encourages mould to grow in the dispenser drawer.

Oh and it’s cheaper not to use any.

We do not have to buy products just because they exist

Absolutely this.

Oh and it also strips the waterproofing from running jackets.

Found this out the hard way when my DD accidentally washed my running gear (she uses the stuff by the bucketload, I could find her blindfold in a crowd).

Awful stuff.

Never used it. Can't bear all these fake scents. I live in a very hard water area and we all survive.

It's marketing nonsense and totally unnecessary.

A dermatologist told me to never, ever use it. Artificial fragrance is one of the commonest allergies, and it' full of the stuff.

I don't use it because OH has sensitive skin and comes out in weals if I do. I also don't like the smell - far too artificial.

Interesting that people say it stops towels absorbing - I had thought of using some on towels once in a while to make them softer, but apparently that would be a backward step.

I haven't used it for a long time and I don't think my washing smells any worse without it. Cheaper, surely? Why use something that is unnecessary?

Too many nasty chemicals in fabric conditioner, even the sensitive skin ones. We have a household of eczema sufferers so never use fabric conditioner. Putting the clothes through the tumble dryer leaves them lovely and soft in our soft water area.

I don’t use it!

The clothes here are washing in Ariel Washing powder and the scent of that stays on our clothes, no need for softener.

Never used it

I stopped using it about 25 years ago, and I live in a hard water area and line dry/hang up indoors. I probably noticed the difference the first couple of washes, but now I don't.
My favourite way of drying washing is outside on a sunny and windy day, that gives them a lovely fresh smell and nice soft feeling, I don't think you can beat it with chemicals.

To whom would you be being unreasonable? Clean clothes are enough.

Since having kids I've always used fairy powder & conditioner. Eldest has sensitive skin and no problems with these. Clothes are towels are always lovely and soft and I just really really love that fairy smell . Ex-MIL washed my kids clothes in a "super concentrated" one in a gold bottle she always gets last weekend and I've had to re-wash them all, they all stank like she'd sprayed them with cheap vanilla bodyspray!

Those that use white vinegar, would I put it in the compartment that I'd normally put the fabric conditioner?

I always use it.. it protects the fibres in my clothing, obviously there are certain fabrics that are not suitable for it to be used on, the obvious one is Towels... but all my clothes feel wonderful. It's personal choice.

I use it to try and reduce creasing. Our new washing machine, top brand which recommended etc etc, seems to brutalise the clothes in it!

Never on towels, I was taught that. Towels are the one thing that always get tumble dried, if they're line dried they feel like sandpaper. Everything else is line or airer dried if possible because tumble drying is bloody expensive.

But maybe I should stop if it's bad for the machine. Use liquid detergent too because someone else insists on it, I'd choose powder myself.