Why do you hang your washing outside when it always ends up smelling like damp?

[lilybit2025]

Apart from the obvious cost savings compared to using a tumble dryer, I don’t understand why people hang their washing outside because no matter what I do, mine always ends up smelling damp and completely unpleasant!

If it takes too long to dry outside i.e. if it's not that warm or sunny then it could end up smelling of damp just as if you'd dried them inside and they didn't dry quick enough. But clothes dried in the sun 100% smell fresher than any other form of drying.

My XH perceived the smell of 'line dried freshness' as smelling slightly like sour milk. I could only smell lovely clean sheets while he thought the bedding smelled wrong and had a slightly sour smell.

Everything was clean and properly dried and smelled great to me, but his perception was different. I suppose it's not wrong, just a different way of smelling. My eldest daughter can't stand strawberries as she says they smell like sour milk to her...

Yes, outside definitely has an air of "sour" about it. Cut grass/ trees and lined dried clothes. It's acidic smelling boarding on sour.

It's possible I'm a super smeller - I can often smell things others can't. My parents genuinely thought I was slightly crazy.

I hang my washing out until it’s 90% dry then put it in the tumble dryer for 15 minutes and it smells lovely, and keeps it soft and means I don’t have to iron.

I have never had problem unless I've hung it up to dry inside. It always smells fresh if I have dried it outside and it smells fine from the tumble dryer. I did notice it smelled a bit musty when i lived in a flat with know outside drying space and no tumble dryer.

oooh I love a washing line thread. Team Hang Out here - outside dried washing is one of my favourite smells.

People do smell things differently though, eg I love the smell of paperwhites but DS thinks they smell fecal.

I think I know the smell you're talking about. It's putrid. It's not line dried clothes though it's clothes that have been left in a washing machine for far too long before being dried.

Thank you! My DH has line dried my clothes, and put them in the airing cupboard, and both ways have resulted in the most disgusting smell that mirrors the smell I've smelt in public.

I've had to insist he stops doing it because it smells so disgusting and I wouldn't be caught dead smelling like that in public!

Now, it makes sense why! Naughty DH!

That is absolutely brilliant. Poster spent all morning going on about how she gags every time someone in line dried clothes walks past, and angrily accusing everyone who said she obviously didn't of being smelly and defensive and all that...

...and it turns out it was her clothes that stank all along. And she didn't even know why.

I am NEVER leaving this site. Fabulous.

Gosh I was wondering what was wrong with the woman hacking and gagging and boking yesterday in the shopping centre.

Line Dried Washing Syndrome

So delibating, felt so sorry as everyone was side eyeing her

You are literally the most bizarre MN person I've ever run across.

Do you have stalker tendencies IRL or do you reserve that for here?

Again, I sense your dryer envy. You can rent mine but I probably won't want it back given your lack of concern regarding personal hygiene and the impact to others.

It's a terrible affliction. I mean, really.

Again, I sense your dryer envy.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂

DryerEnvy is a brilliant username. If I can ever remember my password... Or if anyone's got kids who need a band name?

SmellyCat would suit better. Ode from Phoebe on Friends. It sums things up nicely:

Smelly Cat, Smelly cat what are they feeding you?
Smelly Cat, smelly cat it's not your fault...
They won't take you to the vet.
You're obviously not their favourite pet.
You may not be a bed of roses, And you're no friend to those with noses.
Smelly cat, smelly cat what are they feeding you?
Smelly cat, smelly cat it's not your fault!

So long as smellycat isn't put in the dryer or hung on the line we can all sleep easy in our beds.

Nothing more boke inducing than a line dried cat.

Mine smells incredible when line dried! It’s your machine!

😳

Agree with that response. We are fucking doomed.

Absolutely and of course people eyeroll and sneer
Public transport is unbearable, I wear a mask

Btw its associated strongly with ND as well
Im NT though

I feel for you.
Are there any upsides? Are you/could you be, for example, a highly sought-after 'nose' for creating perfumes, or something like that?

Haha No!

Washing and smelly people are my worst and I deal with it by TD for a few minutes and wearing a mask
Its not really an issue
All my family nembers are clean thankfully

It's the opposite for me. It's more likely to smell damp if I dry it inside or in the tumble dryer. I love it when it's warm enough to get washing outside.

There's no better smell than washing that's been dried outside. So clean and fresh.

I brought mine in about an hour ago and it smells yummy. I well remember threads in here about washing being left out all night and the spiders rubbing their willies on it😅

The drama with the gagging was class to read earlier so thanks thread for cheering me up on a particularly crap day.

I know what you mean. There was a similar thread on this a while ago and I mentioned that I thought it smelled odd when outside, a bit like damp pennies?