Overpowering laundry smell

[EmpressOfTheSofa]

What would cause this? Is my SIL just using epic amounts of washing powder or something?

BIL has just been round and even though I was in a different room it’s all I could smell (which prompted me to post this now). And it’s lingered after he’s gone.

SIL is fond of handing down clothes and I’ve found they still smell of her/them after they’ve been washed. Christmas presents even smell of them. It’s in everything. The kids call it the ‘Auntie X smell’.

I mean, it’s not the most unpleasant thing to smell of but it is irritating. I don’t visit them except once in a blue moon but their house obviously smells overpowering as well.

I would never ever say anything (and my house probably smells weird to them, we have dogs) but but AIBU to think she must be doing something extra with her laundry routine to get this level of lingering aroma?

(oh and just to head off any remarks; it’s definitely SIL who does 100% of housework in their set up, it’s not me being sexist and assuming).

I use fabric conditioner which I find can linger. My kids will add the scented beads on top, with ALL of their washing - I only use them for sheets and towels - and they reek. It can be overpowering.

It could be one of those febreze plug-in fragrance things. They do a linen one which I received as a substitution with my shopping and it smells just like laundry that’s just been washed but much stronger.

Same

If you find out please tell me!! I would love my laundry to smell clean and scented but it often just smells of nothing. When we go to stay with SIL and wash stuff in her machine, it smells lovely for ages but I can't get the same effect at home.

It's got better since I started using pods rather than separate powder and softener, and using a tumble dryer (not sure whether it's the tumble dryer itself, the fact the airer was overloaded, or the fact I am less likely to procrastinate over swapping the washing over because it's no effort).

Our neighbours are the same! The sickly pong that wafts over the fence when they hang their washing out is awful. I was once in the garden with my elderly aunt having a cuppa and chat when we caught a whiff, presumably as the washing was being pegged on the line. My aunt said (very loudly), 'What in God's name is that awful smell?' There's no way the neighbour didn't hear what she'd said, but they obviously like it as they're still using it to this day. Like other posters, I have always assumed that it's from highly perfumed conditioner. Their house must reek of it.

Some of it is mega strong. A guy I know comes round for an hour and his washing powder can still be smelt in the air several hours later. Takes until the next day to fade.

a friend of dd’s who is bigger than her gives hand me downs. I always wash the items on their own as they are absolutely impregnated with strong smelling washing stuff.dd has a sleepover there, obv in washed sheets, and comes back with her pjs and hair smelling of the stuff.

another friend who has a large family and lives in quite a large house (must have mega laundry) - her entire house, every room smells of strong laundry stuff. I even smelled it outside a couple of times!! Possible tumble dryer vent.

sometimes in a shop queue I can smell it on random people.

im not sure why this doesn’t irritate more people. It gives me a headache and I can almost taste it.

It's better smelling of cleaning products than of dogs though...

You’ll need to wash the item on its own, probably 3 times. I do this with stuff received for my dd. Sometimes I’ll soak it in water as well.

It's grim. Last few times I've bought things on eBay or Vinted I couldn't wash the smell out. People are dowsing their clothes in chemicals.

This is the worst part of buying from vinted, why everyone feels the need to douse everything in febreeze, just wash it before sending. So unnecessary.

I always wash everything I buy second hand or new from a shop anyway but I hate the smell lingering while I wait for a full load.

@BashfulClam oooooo - which one is it?

[#missing point of thread]

* lighthearted *
One of my adult daughters (25 still at home) is exactly the same. Insists on washing her stuff separately with about 15 different potions. You could be blindfolded and still tell that they’re her clothes left scattered over the house.

My Mum is like this and it drives me mad.

I really hate the smell of her clothes and yes, it lingers like perfume!

You tend to get nose blind to the smell of your own soap powder because you use the same 9ne until 8ts gone. If other people use a completely different brand you will notice it a lot more than you usually would your own because you haven't become nose blind to the smell of theirs as you're not exposed to it daily.

I do think you can smell which home clothes comes from even without an overpowering laundry smell though. If any of the kids’ friends leave clothes here I always know where they’ve come from by smelling them - each home has its own smell so that isn’t unusual - it’s usually a bit of laundry powder/softener plus something else.

Rubbish typing sorry

It will be mothballs. They often have a 'fresh linen' perfume to hide their smell.

To get rid of it wash again using unscented stuff with white vinegar in the fabric conditioner bit.

You might find you're allergic to something in her washing powder, and that is why you (and some other people) notice it more than her.

Or add a cup of bicarbonate of soda. That should sort it.

I have a relative like this. Even her homemade cakes and even packet goods that we eat at her house taste like floral bouquet or whatever the scent is. The problem is when it's 'your' scent, you become so accustomed to it, you can't smell it anymore. So you increase the use of the fragrance to everyone else's detriment.

Ugh. My ex-mil used to douse things in blue lenor and the smell makes me boak.

lately I’ve had every single thing from Vinted stink to high heaven of “laundry additives” and the smell is just beyond vile.

I love smells and have a ridiculous number of perfumes - but stinking clothes? Yuck. Common too.

Lol it’s the lenor gold one. It’s changed names a few times, or was Lavish, Gold Orchid and Chic. I would buy a perfume in it if I could. I sat in the sofa once just sniffing the bottle as it’s so nice. I even bought wax melts because they smelled of it.

Some Bio powders / liquids smell extremely strong. Non bill much less so

The scented Ecover products are pretty pongy, they became so when they were owned for a while by one of the big multinationals. Prior to that they had a very faint, pleasant scent.
The Zero (non-scented) one is OK though.