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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:
AuntyPasta · 14/10/2020 12:27

I had eczema as a child so I grew up with non bio powder and no fabric softener. The eczema eased as I grew up but I never got into the habit of using softener.

candycane222 · 14/10/2020 12:27

EEeew I fell you pain! I've had this on oliday too, "conditionered" towels that feel a bit cool and heavy, as though the accommodation is a bit damp Envy - Yuk! And no, they don't dry you properly

And also hate the smell. We live in the countryside and it's so weird passing people on a beautiful country track and smelling their laundry products in a kind of trail, hanging tens of yards behind them in the country air. I mean, are their homes a bit smelly perhaps? Do they feel the need to cover something up?

Original poster
BrazenlyDefying · 14/10/2020 12:28

washing is soft and has a faint hint of fresh fragrance

The problem is that the fragrance isn't "fresh". It's really artificial. Floral, cloying, nasty. It's as far from fresh as can be!

OP posts:
Pangwin · 14/10/2020 12:29

I love it. Growing up my mum didn't use it and our clothes smelt of nothing. I was always jealous of my friends for having flowery smelling clothes. So as an adult I do use fabric conditioner as I like the smell of it on my clothes. It makes me feel clean and fresh.

AuntyPasta · 14/10/2020 12:29

It’s personal preference isn’t it. Each to their own.

Strugglingtodomybest · 14/10/2020 12:33

What we need to know is the correlation between the 2 - are all the non-conditioner using people the same ones who don't have toilet brushes??

I'm not sure that I'm seeing the link here, but for reference I hate fabric conditioner but I do have a toilet brush Smile

tectonicplates · 14/10/2020 12:35

@AuntyPasta

It’s personal preference isn’t it. Each to their own.
It has an effect on other people. When it's used in holiday lets it can make customers feel unwell. I've met people whose smell gave me a headache.
ppeatfruit · 14/10/2020 12:35

Crunchy I should hope by now that people who shower so many times have thought about the environment and changed their habits.

We humans are so arrogant .

Fromage · 14/10/2020 12:35

I live in a hard water area and use about a third of the recommended amount. I like my clothes a bit softer and I've noticed there's static in some things if I don't use it.

BUT

Lenor. It's Godawful. It's just vile. I wonder if some of you who hate the smell and never use it, but find it stinky on others, are actually smelling Lenor Autumn Puke or perhaps Lenor Men's Toilets.

I use supermarket own brands and I've found the sensitive type are the least smelly.

But Lenor is just wrong.

Ginfordinner · 14/10/2020 12:35

@AuntyPasta

It’s personal preference isn’t it. Each to their own.
Indeed.

Most mumsnetters must live in soft water areas. We don't, and I can really tell when I haven't used it. I use Fairy, and use a lot less than the recommended amount.

cultkid · 14/10/2020 12:36

I love it and use lenor on every wash I love the smell of clean laundry

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland · 14/10/2020 12:37

I use comfort pure but use far less than it suggests on the bottle.

We live in a very hard water area and without it everything is stiff. I don't use it on towels though as it prevents them absorbing.

My mum also has hard water but doesnt use conditioner. Her towels are hard as rocks but she is so used to it she doesn't notice.

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland · 14/10/2020 12:38

floral, cloying and nasty

Some people like floral scents.

AuntyPasta · 14/10/2020 12:39

In a holiday let it’s not a great idea to use something with a strong smell because it will be too much for some people. Generally, it’s personal preference.

ppeatfruit · 14/10/2020 12:40

tectonic Yes AuntyPasta's argument was used by smokers and funny they don't say it any more.

Sorry Aunty that muck does affect our health and the environment's health

TableFlowerss · 14/10/2020 12:41

I can think of worse smells than fabric conditioner

Marmalade414 · 14/10/2020 12:41

I'm a strawberry and lily comfort fan. I love the smell. Or lenor gold. But I wouldn't want to overpower everything. I also use smol. They soften towels without it. Great stuff.

Thehollyandtheirony · 14/10/2020 12:42

YANBU it’s horrible stuff.
I once washed my sheets right before going on holiday but didn’t have time to make the bed so just left them on top of it. When I came back my cleaner had washed them for me. It was very kind of her as she obviously thought they were dirty but I had to wash them three times to get rid of the awful artificial perfume smell.

ppeatfruit · 14/10/2020 12:43

cultkid If it was 'clean' it wouldn't leave all that fatty residue in your machine.
Real animal fat too Yeuch Shock

Mummyoflittledragon · 14/10/2020 12:45

@ppeatfruit

I took our duvet to be machine washed at a dry cleaners who asked if we wanted softener I nearly shrieked, No, No thank you. Well they washed in something so smelly I had to hang it up for more than a month before the stink went.

God knows what it was.

Oh and a toilet brush does the job without stinking of chemically produced 'perfumes' . Just keep it washed.

Eww. I wash our duvet in the bath. Get dh to hang it on an airer in the bath. Next day it is dry enough to dry in the house.
AuntyPasta · 14/10/2020 12:47

I’m sure a more environmentally friendly version would be popular but some people like their clothes to be scented, so even if fabric softener disappeared from shelves overnight there would be a demand for scented ironing water or stronger smelling washing powders instead.

MJMG2015 · 14/10/2020 12:47

I can't stand it either. It gives me a headache (along with other chemical smells)

My neighbours is getting stronger & stronger and even with the doors & windows closed it gives me a headache.

I like my washing line dried, but sometimes I have to rewash it if she has hers hung out at the same time.

We live in a hard water area. I have a Harvey Water softner now. They're expensive, but worth it. The lack of limescale is brilliant. Personally haven't noticed any change in the washing though?!

ppeatfruit · 14/10/2020 12:48

NoIDon't Just use a softener. I live in a very hard water area As I said upthread we have a softener on the house and use specific 'softening' reusable plastic balls in the machine. They really work and save you money on Calgon etc.

MJMG2015 · 14/10/2020 12:48

@TableFlowerss

I can think of worse smells than fabric conditioner
Yes, but I don't out dog poo in with my washing either.
ppeatfruit · 14/10/2020 12:50

MJM That's terrible about your neighbour's washing. Try the balls from Health food shops.