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).

@BashfulClam - thanks-

[off to have a sniff of Lenor Gold…]

It's so disgusting, sets my teeth on edge. I'm so glad others feel the same way. I've bought lovely second hand clothes that you can actually smell through the parcel! 😩

Mrs Hinch has previously pushed spraying fabric softener mixed with water onto upholstery etc as a freshener. They have probably done that.

I don’t use fabric conditioner at all as I have sensitive skin andI use bio liquid after some nice person on here told me that bio stuff is less highly perfumed than bio. My skin feels so much better for it.

I think these scents are stronger when the person uses a tumble dryer, it must be something to do with the heat. One of my relatives occasionally washes my DCs clothes and I have to rewash them. They use so much fabric softener the items sometimes have a greasy feel.

Well, it beats the smell of sweat or poo.

My DM uses Ariel Pods and the whole house smells of laundry day, permanently. I suppose that there are worse things to smell of, but I find that her laundry smells very strong when clean & dry, especially compared to my low-tech own-brand laundry gel and "sensitive" fabric conditioner. Maybe its a "pods" thing?

Ironically, DM brought us up in a virtually non-perfumed household as strong scents brought on migraines for her, so I prefer the faint clean smell of freshly laundered clothes dried outside on the line, while she appears to have gone noseblind.

The recommended amount in the bottle is too much. I always at least half/quarter it. Obviously they want you using it up faster.

The recommended amount in the bottle is too much. I always at least half/quarter it. Obviously they want you using it up faster.

@BashfulClam this is one of my objections to pods/tablets - it's a fixed amount of detergent whether you have a small capacity machine in a soft water area vs a large capacity machine in a hard water area. Has no flexibility for size of load or whether you're doing a quick freshen up or a heavy duty/heavy stained wash. I suspect that's why my DM's laundry always smells so strong as she falls into the soft water/small machine category, and it's too much detergent. But she's elderly and liked the simplicity of pods.

I love fairy non bio and the matching fabric softener. I started using it when my LG was born and now it just smells like her to me I just think it smells fresh and clean, and if it came as a perfume I'd probably wear it

Febreeze is awful, though! A good 10 years ago I lived in an apartment with a shared hallway that smelled of damp so I went mad with Febreeze and now I can't stand the stuff!

I love a strong laundry smell! I never achieve it because I don't like the feel of clothes washed with fabric conditioner, but if I could I would.

I love laundry smells! I even have a CLEAN perfume called Fresh Laundry 😆

There are so many people who stink in this world, I wouldn’t get my knickers in a twist about someone who smells of Lenor.

We had a neighbour like this when I was a child/teenager. We used to go round her house quite often, and her house had a really pungent, distinctive smell. Not a BAD smell, it was perfectly fine. Just a LOT of smell.
When she passed away, I was given a Christmas ornament (a soft toy) of hers, because she'd been nuts about Christmas, and we'd always admired her decs. This soft toy smelt of her house for at least 3 years post-arriving in my house!

Those little scented pellet things have an unbelievably strong smell. I had a sample of some with my shopping once, and was amazed by how much stronger they were that a normal fabric conditioner.

I can't stand it. I'm another who gave up on Vinted after purchasing items that could not be de-stinked.

I knew a guy like this when I was at Uni, I actually went out with him for a while and he was lovely actually but he used masses of some kind of scented washing powder like surf or bold and you could always tell he was in the library or something because you could smell the washing powder. I kind of like it but it probably is a bit over powering and scented biological powders give me eczema so wouldn't follow suit myself. I do use the unstoppables but less than half the amount they say to and you can still smell it on clothes but not too strongly.

Yeah they say to use quite a lot but I just use less than a table spoon amount for a full wash and you still smell it. I only use it in winter too when I can't dry things outside.

I use just a small amount too. Enough ti cover the bottom of the lid dispenser.

@BashfulClam Yep thats all you need they last ages if you just use that amount too!

Maybe for you but I have a friend who cannot stay in any house with those scents

@Coyoacan I literally gag if people have bad body odour / perspiration smell.

There’s a thousand miles of middle ground between BO and sickly sweet fabric conditioner though!

And this isn’t just a fresh smell, it’s really strong and unnatural.

Me too, also I find the tumble dryer neutralises any nice smell I have achieved with the little pods which I only use on bedding.

I'm trying to convince DP to stop using fabric conditioner, and now I feel even more like I need to! He hugely overdoes it. I've switched us to "pure" or something but I'd rather not.

He also likes Febreze. And shake and vac 😐

I use something called ‘crease release’ on my work uniform if I’ve not had time to iron it
every single time I get comments about how nice I smell but if I’ve ironed it,I never get comments (unless it’s about my perfume)
I honestly cannot smell it at all once it’s dried