AIBU? To think that a lot of people aren't drying their washing properly these days?

[Oobiedoobiedo]

I notice a lot when I'm out and about people who haven't dried their washing properly *, and so it has that sour musty smell washing gets when it's wet too long or isn't getting enough air. To me it's a really "loud" smell, and I just wonder if people don't notice it? Or maybe don't care?

*disclaimer: I'm not critiquing people whose circumstances mean they can't dry them any other way, I have been there myself, but the people who could dry it correctly but don't.

It just puzzles me.

It's ridiculous. Literally a row of 12 houses all with washing out and my empty garden

I get why they did it so the apartments further down which is a block, don't hang over the balcony etc but they should have altered it for me with a garden. I tried, and they won't
The lease is like something from 1950, apparently the place is meant to be decorated internally every 7 years in "approved colours"
My dad "I've never wanted to paint a room black but I think we should for you"

Heated airers and dehumidifiers cost money to buy and run. Surely, in today's economy, most people can understand that these things are out of reach for a lot of people?

Ditto running hotter, longer washes.

I think some people are more sensitive to the smell than others tbh

My mum can smell damp clothes before I do

Yes. I sit next to somebody at work who smells exactly like this

I found that powder causes my clothes to fade and get holes in so I use biological liquid or colour liquid, which is bio but without optical brighteners, in a plastic ball in the drum. I have Dreft Black for black clothes, it's also bio but is formulated to keep black clothes black.

I do bed linen and towels at 95C, the heat kills bacteria and fungi on the fabric and (importantly) in the machine. Labels say 40C but these are cotton, they will be fine. Most other things are washed at 40C because my machine is too old to offer cold or 30C for cotton or synthetic cycles. 40C is the best temperature for the enzymes in biological detergents to work.

For specialist cycles like the silk and handwash cycles that are 30C or cold, or where I would never use enzymes to protect wool or silk fabric, I use laundry cleanser instead of conditioner. Laundry cleanser is a special disinfectant that you put in the conditioner bay of the powder drawer to kill bacteria and fungi during the final rinse. Dettol make one and some of the supermarkets do their own-brand. The laundry cleanser is also useful if a single item comes back from a 40C wash not smelling quite right (e.g. lingering armpit smell), put some in a bucket of water and soak the item for half-an-hour before spinning and drying, it kills the bacteria and fungi that make the smell.

Yes, my laundry cupboard has more bottles in it than an off-licence fridge.

I consider myself very lucky to have a garage that isn't at all airtight. I have put retractable lines and a Sheila Maid in it, so I can put the car out in the rain and dry my sheets and clothes in there and the lack of airtightness means that the moisture isn't trapped. For those less lucky, the dryers at Revolution outdoor launderettes are your friend for your sheets and towels on rainy days, and those DrySoon airers will sort your smaller items out. I line-dry outdoors as much as I can.

Once you have that smell though, how do you get rid?!

Someone handed down a lovely coat to DS, but despite washing it twice at 40 degrees I can still smell it strongly - am loathed to get rid of it.. is there a way to fix it?!

Wearing clean, dry clothes is a 'necessity' for work and school, not least because it is used as a subjective measure of parenting and/or 'ability'.

And generally it's best not to smell of anything other than what the receiving nostrils can 'tolerate' - an academic subject indeed.

However, although I always ensured my ds was clean and well turned out (in DM's own critical words) it didn't stop him from being permanently excluded by the age of 7.

In the end being clean and dry and well turned out meant naught. But nearly 20 years later we are both fine despite any 'judgy pants'.

@BettyOBarley Put a bit of Zoflora in with your softener. Our washer broke a few days ago and DDs washing was left in until it was fixed. This sorted out the smell both on her clothes and in the washer.

I have literally never noticed this.

If you’ve noticed it more recently I’m guessing it’s partly to do with the cost of energy - people can’t afford to run tumble driers or have their heating on.

Not sure how you differentiate people’s circumstances just from smelling them though.

I thought you were supposed to use dehumidifiers with the windows shut for maximum effect?

I tumble dry some stuff, at the moment it’s nice enough to hang on the line then transfer to the airing cupboard.

I am fortunate that I do have a garden, and am able to plan doing laundry according to the weather forecast. If I have to dry stuff indoors, hanging it on an airer, or on coat hangers and putting a fan on (cold) helps to dry clothing quicker.
I, too, think that some clothing/bedding/towels etc., need more than a 30 deg wash to thoroughly clean.

Really, to be puzzled about this you must not be able to imagine any way of living except your own. People are trying to save energy for lots of reasons. Maybe smelling a bit of musty washing isn’t a top priority for them.

When drying inside I make sure that the clothes are hung appropriately- lightweight item in the middle (socks, underwear, bibs) heavy bits on the outside and tops/trousers etc are hung over two of the rails instead of one. If the rack is stuffed full of clothes it will never dry if it’s not summer. My partner always piles in the clothes and then wonders why they don’t dry.

Our new tumble drier has a vast number of programmes which seem cmopletlyh pointless. Why would you want to dry clothes so they are not dry? The only setting I use is "cupboard dry". It seems silly anyone would want anything other than that - ie you want the things dry!

I am struggling to dry mine
Too wet out and too warm for heating
Even with a dehumidifier they only reach just off dry (even after a few days)

We use a heated airer and a dehumidifier. I realise not everyone has the space for them or the money to buy and run them. I think it's cheaper than a tumble dryer though, and you can't tumble dry everything.

Disclaimer - I haven't read all the thread and it may have already been mentioned - white vinegar in the fabric conditioner drawer both cleans the machine and kills the bacteria in clothes that cause the smell. Clothes don't smell like vinegar (if you are worried, few drops of essential oil is enough to scent them) but I do find them softer!

Its the time of year.

October and March are the worst months for drying clothes.

But I now have a super amazing airing cupboard which is amazing.

We converted the old cupboard which just had shelves in (no boiler anymore) and stuck a drying rack and dehumidifier in there. Works a treat.

Funny that you mention this because I’ve noticed this in my own washing the last few months.

I’ve put it down to not being able to hang washing outside because of the shit weather and not having the heating on. A few days ago there was a thread on here mentioning that the gel pods might also be a culprit so I bought some powder today.

It’s really annoying. I’ll only tumble dry towels and socks/underwear and leave the big clothes, like jeans and jogging bottom to dry on hangers in the utility. I’ve turned on the heating the last few weeks because I end up tossing the clothes back in the wash because of the smell. Definitely not what I should be doing during this energy crisis and ironically something I never did before 🤷‍♀️

You say you're not critiquing people who don't have the facilities to dry, but how do you know the circumstances of all these random people whose clothes you're smelling. You may not have noticed but there's a cost of living crisis, energy costs have massively increased, drying clothes in a dryer is prohibitively expensive. People don't tend to have an airing cupboard anymore, as most people will have combi boilers. How do you dry your clothes OP? In a dryer? Then you're lucky you have the money for that. Outside? You're lucky you have a garden, and/or you're home when it rains so can bring the washing in. Inside? You're lucky you have the space, so as not to riddle a small home with damp. Don't be so judgemental.

A dehumidifier if you can’t dry outside. Very cheap to run.

Cold washes are fine - that’s what everyone does in Australia for example.

Don’t use fabric softener.

if you think something is a bit smelly, put some dettol into the wash.

When it's been damp and miserable I've really struggled to dry DH's favourite shirts, which are a sort of flannel and can't go in the tumble dryer, along with other things like woolly socks (or they come out able to fit the dog). So the shirts stink and I have to rinse them in Zoflora and try again. But there's been some interesting tips on this thread. I shall be washing my sheets hotter in future!

1. people are trying to use less energy (dryers and central heating) for environmental and financial reasons.

2. fewer houses have airing cupboards, as more houses have combi boilers and no hot water tank.