AIBU, My clothes stink and I blame DH?

[Jojimoji]

DH took early retirement and as such is now responsible for almost all household tasks as I still have to work.

This is mostly marvellous, as I come home to clean house, dinners made, dogs walked .......and clothes washed. Herein lies the problem.

I workout almost every day. Intense workouts and I sweat a lot and my gym wear ends up pretty wet. I did the washing for almost 30 years in this family and never had a problem, but DH insists on not doing a load until there is enough dirty laundry to fill the machine stuffed to the gills. No half or three quarter loads permitted on his watch. And worst of all, he washes everything at 30 degrees. This just doesn't cut the mustard with my gym clothes.. often they've been rotting in the basket for a couple of days and then they are put through a coldish wash, bacteria remains, I put them on again, start to sweat and then I STINK. Or rather the clothes stink.

I've told him they need washing at a higher temperature. I've no problem separating my washing and doing my own. DH says that this is completely unreasonable. He pointed out the label on the clothes ( which does inexplicably actually advise to wash at 30!! ) says that it's unreasonable to separate my clothes for separate washes as the machine won't be full and then he reckons washing at 40 is worse for the clothes, and even reckons 30 degrees is more environmentally friendly and he is saving the planet.

YABU..let him wash the stuff at 30 and just put up with stinking out the gym

YANBU ..those clothes need washing at least 40 degrees. DH is wrong and you must wrestle the responsibility for the laundry away from this mad man.

For me I've just not been happy with things like t-shirts and underwear on a 30 wash and they've gone back in which counteracts any eco benefits.

The detergent will be doing a lot of the hard work on killing bacteria and getting out dirt. Bio detergent and 40 is sufficient for killing bacteria, if you use non-bio you need to go up to 60. That would be for bedding, underwear, towels and things. For most outer clothes that aren’t stained washing at 20 with a decent liquid detergent will do the same job and saves a huge amount of energy over 40.

gym gear will be fine at 40 or even 30 with some dettol.

This is very eye opening. My husband is 6 years older than me and I was thinking I didn’t fancy continuing working once he retired but if he does all the housework and cooking it might not be so bad. Smelly gym kit aside - I mostly swim so don’t think that will upset me.

My husband and I are early 40s, he works full time and is the laundry person in our house. I just chuck it in a basket and it’s returned neatly folded ready for me to put away. He spends a happy Sunday evening with our 12 year old watching Netflix and sorting and folding and getting the kids to put their laundry away.

Get a bucket by the washing machine with Dettol Antibacterial Laundry Sanitiser in it... it kills the germs which cause the smell.

Sounds like he's got too much time on his hands.
Find him a hobby.
And just wash your own clothes.

But probably not if she'd refused him access to the washing machine on the grounds that only she knew the correct and acceptable way to use it!

Yup first post nails it again.

Just wash your own gym kit. It's not like he isn't doing the rest.

Just "break out and be wild" op! Run a laundry cycle without permission from your resident male.

YANBU. Our gym/running gear gets washed after every wear, on the day it's worn, whether there's one person's worth or five people's worth.

It's true you could wash it yourself, but if your agreed division of labour is that your DH does the laundry, then he shouldn't be leaving you to decide between smelly clothes or having to do them yourself.

But honestly a few items of gym kit is no big deal. It doesn't require ironing or even folding really. It's literally pushing a button.

It's all the ironing and folding that makes laundry onerous.

Agreed - it's the easiest of all the things that need washed! Plus it's dry in no time

@Calliopespa I still don't think that means the OP's DH shouldn't bother though - if laundry is his job then he should do it accordingly.

I couldn’t be having my husband tell me when and what I’m allowed to wash in my own home. Personally, I’d stick my own gym gear in the wash as soon as I got home from he gym, if he can’t follow basic instructions about preventing laundry from stinking.

Me too.

I don't see it's worth a battle.

Well, he's right about 30deg and the environment ...
BUT yep, I'd wash them separately, personally, for regularity of use, and avoidance of stinkiness. Tell him it's non-negotiable, basically.

Overstuffing the machine will ensure the clothes are not clean!

It has little to do with the temperature or the fact it's non bio. I am allergic to biological powder so I've been using non bio my whole life. I currently use an EcoEgg which is brilliant and saves a lot of money (and the environment if hubby is interested!)

I have only ever had problems when other people have either overfilled the machine, not added adequate detergent or softener, or put the clothes on an innapropriately short wash cycle for the garment.

Most of my clothes need to be washed at 30 or 40 max as per the labels, and we tend to wash everything except towels at 30.

I suffer with hyperhydrosa (excessive sweating) and I get super sweaty and stinky when I work out, so I feel you!
You can't mess around with our laundry!

I don't know why @calliopespa revived this thread - it's a zombie from three months ago.

But I am now wondering whether the OP (@jojimoji) ever sorted the issue out with her husband? Did he succumb to logical arguments?

Zombie thread

Sorry, didn’t realise it was a zombie post

as you were

Get a big bottle of distilled vinegar. Spray gym clothes with it liberally before every wash, wash on 30 degrees. Stink gone, problem solved 👍

Do you know if he adds fabric softener? That can really make synthetic sports wear stink.

Do your own washing, then your clothes won’t smell.

I wash most stuff at 30. I think the secret is using the right amount of detergent and the machine should be only 75% full.

I use some dettol in the wash it seems to help with the sports wear smells.

Put your gym gear in a separate laundry bag, then put it in the machine yourself.