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.

Ahhh just another thing to be self conscious is about then.... 🙄

This has made me worry i don't dry my clothes properly... always wash on cold and always dry indoors on a clothes horse. I don't think I stink... but I've never noticed anyone else smelling musty. I guess that probably means I'm a stinker.

I'll chalk it down to ignorance and not knowing how to dry clothes properly.

Will I change? Probably not. Not after all these years of smelling musty. Why tinker with a winning formula? At least I'm in good (and growing) company with the COL crisis.

Don’t people use Launderettes any more ? Genuine question, I used them when living in flat , but even now we have a garden , if the weather is poor I will zip round to dry heavy / large items. Although I appreciate this isint an option in rural areas.
You can get loads in Launderette dryer, at least 2 full washing machine loads. I put them on an extra spin after the washing cycle has finished to help speed up the drying time. I

I'm totally naive.

I dry undies and towels in the dryer and in fear of shrinkage everything else is thrown over the back of chairs or onto radiators that are never turned on at this time of year.

Sometimes I even put a very slightly damp tshirt on, but it dries with my body heat soon enough.

Are you telling me I smell and nobody has told me?????

Or is the issue that people are putting damp clothes back in the drawer or wardrobe, which would lead to that fusty smell?

Help!

Dehumidifiers might be cheap to run but you still need the initial outlay and the space to keep them plus space for an airer.

We have a multiroom dehumidifier because DD won't open her window so her room gets damp. It cost £230 second hand and is massive.

I really REALLY doubt 100s of people are walking around high streets and shopping centres with musty stinking clothes because they CBA to dry them properly. What a bizarre thread! 😕

As I said, I have not seen/experienced this at ALL.

We have a couple of days of sunny weather coming up. Time to get washing!

If you do that, how much soda crystals do you use?

Or is it on the packet?
(I don't know yet, you've inspired me to add it to the next supermarket order)

I also wonder if it’s the powder/liquid that people are using? Must admit that I’ve just downgraded to a very cheap brand and I’m worried now that it’s going to make clothes smell like this.

No, it really is the drying. Laundry will get musty if it hangs around for days without air movement, no matter how it was washed. It’s really hard to get things properly dry indoors at this time of year. All you can do is shake and rearrange it a lot, and make use of any heat or draught you have at your disposal.

A lot of people can't dry clothes outside. We live in a flat with our own patio but aren't allowed to dry our clothes outside on it in case, shock horror, people see that we have clothing. We (and several other neighbours) used to dry our clothes outside anyway but another neighbour reported us to the management company during lockdown and we got a ticking off. I was furious. We have a cat though so don't want to piss the management company off too much in case our permission to keep her is revoked. Can't wait until we can buy a house so we own the freehold!

I now have to use an airer by an open window but it's not the same. It's extra infuriating on a good hot day when you should be able to get through all your laundry but now can't.

We have a tumble drier (well a washer dryer) but most clothes can't be tumbled. It's useful for things like towels and bedding in winter. On the plus side, our flat does have a hot water tank and so we do have an airing cupboard, this helps but clothes do still take a while to dry.

Also, washing machines need a regular maintenance wash to keep them clean and smelling fresh. I learned that the hard way at Uni!

It is problematic in this climate. I do sniff all my clothes out of the drawers before I wear them. If they smell in any way funky they get washed again and not worn! I guess if I miss anything at all about Australia where I grew up, it's line drying clothes. Put them out in the hot sun and 30 minutes later they were bone dry!

Dehumidifier was the best money I ever spent. Think it cost about £80 from Argos and its lasted me 8 years and still going strong. I put the clothes on a clothes rack in the smallest room of my house with the door shut and the dehumidifier on. Dries things very well and quickly.

It happens when washing doesn't dry fast enough and once the washing smells it stays unless you wash at 60 degrees in my experience. One thing I have found that really helps if it smells is putting some bicarbonate soda in the washing machine with detergent.

Just a tip, white vinegar added to the wash where conditioner would go, does tend to get rid of the worst musty smells. The clothes don't come out smelling of vinegar either.

I have never been in a launderette. Ever.

I'm in my mid 40s.

I don't know where the nearest one is. It's certainly not within seven miles. So I'm guessing that very few people who live close to me, use one, because there's not enough demand for one locally.

I have a few items of clothes that get this smell no matter how I wash or dry them, but it’s not every wash but always the same items.

I try not to wear them out or spray heavily with perfume when I do.

No, it is to do with whether the clothes dry quickly enough.

Once it is there it is very hard to get rid of unless you do a 60 degree wash which gets rid of the bacteria causing the smell. Sodium bicarbonate is pretty effective though.

I always thought it was overly scented crappy wash powder but it's just occurred to me that smell I detest is badly dried laundry.

I can smell it from across the road. It's hideous.

And yes there is a lot of it around.

For those less lucky, the dryers at Revolution outdoor launderettes are your friend for your sheets and towels on rainy days,
I think they are a bit expensive though. I suspect they also do the moneymaking trick of their washing machines not spinning as much as they should, so that the washing is wetter when it comes out and you have to pay more on their dryers to get it dry! Washers and dryers in laundrettes are usually a bit cheaper and more efficient. Revolution ones often seem to be broken when you turn up too.

A woman working at the only laundrette I came across where the washing also wasn't spun as much as it should have been told me about her boss's similar moneymaking trick. She didn't approve!

I wash my clothes on a cold or 30 degree wash using supermarket basic laundry powder. My clothes don't smell.

It's the improper drying, not the water temp or cheap laundry powder.

I chose the cheap powder as it was the least scented and actually it's as good as anything I've used that cost 4/5 times as much.

I recently stayed in an Airbnb and their bedding hadn’t been dried properly. I had to spray it with body spray. It was awful.

I definitely think some people can smell it more than others. I'm really sensitive to it & constantly going on (to DH) about DS's clothes & hair smelling. DH has no idea what I'm talking about.

Traditional house design was established by somebody unlikely to be doing the laundry.

I get that I am privileged. Garden and clothes line. Plus I work from home. So find drying easy. I hate the tumble dryer but use it in the winter. We have an old damp house and drying laundry inside made the damp worse.

We are a family of 5. I would struggle to dry everything inside with no tumble dryer. I guess it's a cost and space thing. An airing cupboard can be set up without a hot water tank but need heat, space and ventilation. Not easy to retrofit. Even if you have a big house.