Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

that fabric conditioner is VILE?

362 replies

BrazenlyDefying · 14/10/2020 10:44

We are staying in a (very nice and modern) holiday let this week. No complaints apart from one. The entire house REEKS of fabric conditioner. The owners have obviously splashed out on nice white cotton bedding and thick, expensive towels, but it's all ruined by the stench. You get into bed and all you can smell is the chemical reek. You can't dry yourself with the chemical reeking towels because they're so "conditioned" that they slip all over you without actually absorbing anything.

Why do people do this? It doesn't smell clean, or laundered. It smells artificial and nasty. Just don't. At home we don't use conditioner at all, the water is soft and it's totally unnecessary. Laundry straight in off the line smells wonderfully fresh, the fab con stuff doesn't.

Should be banned!

OP posts:
whyareyoulying · 14/10/2020 11:11

I love it
I love the smell
I love the feel
I love the little pearls and add them to my towels and bedding

I love fabric conditioner

BoulangerieBabs · 14/10/2020 11:12

I've gone back to using it but not the stuff you buy in supermarkets, I buy Smol now.

Nenevalleysigns · 14/10/2020 11:13

Agreed.

My prior DV relationship meant he banned me from using anything chemical with fragrance, so I developed an over sensitive nose to smells over the years.

Baking soda works as a fabcon and is non smelly.

Youngatheart00 · 14/10/2020 11:14

I think it depends what kind of a water area you live in! I’m in London, v hard water, and if I don’t use a bit of conditioner my clothes are literally like scratchy cardboard!!! DH doesn’t use it when he puts a load of washing on and I can always tell which is which.

I think people much be using way too much of it for it to be so offensive??!

MikeUniformMike · 14/10/2020 11:14

I don't use it and I hate the smell. Agree with pp about 2nd hand clothing reeking of it and it needing several washes to get rid of.

MooChops89 · 14/10/2020 11:14

I personally like the smell of some fabric conditioners but I've been thinking of buying some of those Eco Balls you use in the washing machine and dryer to keep clothes soft because I do a lot of washing with a toddler and a baby and the cost adds up. You don't need to use detergent or softener with them, and they cost about £13 for something like 1500 washes!

Graciebobcat · 14/10/2020 11:15

I do find that clothes get too stiff if I don't use it for a while, but it is required every now and then.

IwishIwasyoda · 14/10/2020 11:15

I don't use it. I find it overpowering and unnecessary

Graciebobcat · 14/10/2020 11:15

And I like the smell.

SirVixofVixHall · 14/10/2020 11:16

Uggh I hate this too. It is my main issue with holiday places, the horribly scented sheets and towels, and scented stick things dotted around. Can be an allergy and asthma trigger too for so many people.
Ditto febreze on curtains and sofas.

WingBingo · 14/10/2020 11:18

Distilled white vinegar is a fab substitute

I’m not a fan of fabric conditioner either. Horrible stuff.

Noitjustwontdo · 14/10/2020 11:18

I personally like it, I use a Shea butter one and love the smell when the tumble dryer is on. To each their own though I suppose...

Poppyismyfavourite · 14/10/2020 11:18

Eugh I hate it too
The people who sold us our house obviously loved it though, as I was still finding the little beads of it months later, mostly between the floorboards in the airing cupboard... the woodwork smells of it :S

Xiaoxiong · 14/10/2020 11:19

They probably added far too much, so they could smell it. I do think you get used to these smells over time and feel like you have to use more and more for it to be noticeable.

Just at the beginning of lockdown we got a huge box of Daz powder as everything else was out of stock. I remember thinking it smelled pretty strong and the clothes had a new smell - quite a nice smell, but strong. All these months later the Daz is almost gone so I bought Persil bio again - I can smell the Persil down the hall in its unopened box it's so strong, but the Daz is practically unscented to me now!

Xyzzzzz · 14/10/2020 11:20

I use fairy non bio and love the smell

stillfeelingmad · 14/10/2020 11:23

Fuck me imagine being this aggravated by fabric conditioner Grin I'm exhausted just reading about VILE it is and everything REEKS of the STENCH!

I don't know anyone who stinks of chemical, we use it occasionally (when I remember) and I know family and friends use it but can't recall ever noticing a strong
Smell on them. The child who made a pp sick just by being in the car must have been dowsed in the stuff

ancientgran · 14/10/2020 11:23

I use white vinegar, it is great for softness and gets rid of any smells.

Foxyloxy1plus1 · 14/10/2020 11:24

Is it easy to cancel or change Smol. It seems they sign you up to a regular delivery and I don’t want to be faffing about changing it, although I like the concept.

ReviewingTheSituation · 14/10/2020 11:27

It's very easy to change smol. They send you an email about a week before your next delivery is due. If you need to delay it, you just click a new date.
I don't know about cancelling as I love them (both dishwasher and washing liquid) and definitely don't want to cancel!

I bought into them because they have (next to) no smell. So if you like a strong fragrance, they're not for you. I don't know what the conditioner smells like though.

BoulangerieBabs · 14/10/2020 11:28

@Foxyloxy1plus1

Is it easy to cancel or change Smol. It seems they sign you up to a regular delivery and I don’t want to be faffing about changing it, although I like the concept.
If you work out how many washes a week you do on average and multiply by 4.5 you'll get your average monthly needs. I've only ever had to change mine once with the washing pods when I just didn't need the next delivery as soon.

The fabric softener is over I think a six month period. They sent me two bottles to cover that timeframe.

TheDuchessofMalfy · 14/10/2020 11:28

Yanbu

I agree, nearly all fabric softener / conditioner is absolutely vile. And people use far too much of it. It’s an artificial, horrible smell, especially cheap stuff from most supermarkets.

I live in a hard water area too and no problem not using it. I use ecover fabric softener from time to time which smells fine - it doesn’t have that strong, artificial smell about it.

I agree that second hand clothes for kids always need washing and washing to get it out.

SunShinesStill · 14/10/2020 11:28

I hate it. I think some holiday homes actually dilute the shit in water and spray it around the place and carpet and furniture to make it smell “clean”. Maybe it’s a hinch thing? But I hate going away for that reason and try to get to places early enough to leave the windows open to blast air through which then ends up costing them more in re heating it.

ThePluckOfTheCoward · 14/10/2020 11:29

Terrible stuff, completely unnecessary. It creates more plastic waste and puts more chemical gunk into the water system. A triumph of marketing over need.

Abraid2 · 14/10/2020 11:29

Fabric conditioner to me is like Zoflora: synethic and I dislike it.

SunShinesStill · 14/10/2020 11:29

Oh, and going to friends/relatives houses you can smell it as soon as you walk in the door, or they hand you their coat etc. They can no longer smell it. I can guess who’s been in my house by the smell!