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!

Do you leave it in the machine too long, so it starts smelling fusty, or do you leave it out overnight so the dew settles on it?

We don't even own a dryer and our washing smells fine!

How ridiculous. Do you live in a polluted city?

OP, it’s not the drying outside that’s the problem. I’m willing to bet it’s because you’re washing at low temperatures, and that isn’t killing the bacteria that are causing the horrible smell.
Try running a test load through at 60 with non bio, getting it out on the line straightaway on a dry, breezy day, and let us know how you get on.

The air around where you live affects the smell. I remember once staying in an air BnB in Wales on a farm and my god the sheets stank of cow shit 😁. Some people are also just averse to the natural scent of outside.

I agree with this. Outside dried washing smells wonderful. I hate the chemical smell and slimy feel of clothes washed with fabric conditioner or those awful drying sheets.

It never smells damp. It cam be out there for 48hrs and it doesn't smell.

I use laundry powder and do an empty hot wash once a month to stop the machine getting gunked up.

Love bedding esp when dried outside - it’s so fresh

but hate a crusty towel @TerfOnATrain you are def weird 😂

Does it never rain where you live?

We had rain every single day in February and nearly every day in Januray this year. Even if I had been able to dry under cover the atmosphere was too humid for washing to dry. Our dehumidifier was used a lot last winter.

The air where we live is clean and never smells except when the farmers are muck spreading, so my line dried washing smells wonderful.

Is it your nasal passages? I have post nasal drip and to me my clothes smell of nothing. No fragrance, no freshness like they show on the tv. To me after washing and line drying they just don't smell smelly but they probably weren't smelly or dirty before being washed anyway.

I love crusty rough towels too. Mine are years old and pretty stiff.

just dont leave it out too long,

sometimes my bedding smells damp, so i have to hang it outside, then bring it in and hang it for aages before i put it away.

i have very little use for a tumble dryer

Mine is the actual opposite. In winter, I use a heated airer and quite often find that I just can’t get rid of the fusty smell, but as soon as it’s spring, everything goes on the line and smells so fresh. I have never had a problem with anything at all smelling of damp when it’s been on the line to dry.

I don’t think it’s a city thing. We live in London and love how our washing smells when we take it in. As others have said, we periodically run a cleaning wash on our washing machine.

Mine doesn't - only if it it gets caught in the rain. Mine smells absolutely wonderful when it's been outside.

As pps have said, is your washing machine working OK?

Likewise as above.

If I bring it in slightly damp after a rain shower I make sure it is thoroughly aired indoors on an airer overnight. Spread out properly, not just flung over the bars.

I don’t have a tumble dryer.

I don’t use fabric softener as a matter of course. Only very very lightly for fleeced etc.

I always use washing powder, Aldi or Sainsburys own brands. Never ever a liquid or a capsule of gel.

Try clearing the sump on your machine. If you don’t have the handbook, Google for it.
Try cleaning the rubber door seal.
Try appropriately hot washes.

That will be because it is taking too long to dry. I use a dehumidifier and hang clothes on hangers on something like this https://www.charlies.co.uk/betterdri-3-arm-iron-tidy/

and the rest of the washing on a clothes horse. I hang the washing in the small spare bedroom and shut the door and window so the dehumidifier doesn't pull the humidity from outside.

It is by far the cheapest and most efficient way to dry washing indoors.

I do use the tumble dryer in winter for bedding and towels though.

Do you find yourself disliking other smells that people around you find pleasant?

this, or you might just not like it. ExH never liked the way line-dried washing smelled.

The sun is really effective for destroying bacteria so it should be smelling fresh. It’s the most hygienic way to dry your clothing

If it's not a problem with your machine, maybe your garden is broken instead 🤔🤣

Just kidding!

I love rough towels too.

I find hanging washing out on the line for around 2 hours and then drying it off indoors is a good compromise.

I used to complain that our new washing machine doesn’t wash well. It has one of those auto liquid dispensers that I never thought was enough so I’d add more myself and stains wouldn’t always come out. Then I started using powder and I’ve barely looked back!

Mine doesn’t smell damp when it’s been on the line. It smells damp if I dry it indoors and put it away still damp, as I don’t have a dryer.

Are you putting it straight away after it’s been outside? And then it smells?

Mine never smells damp. Maybe you are bringing it in too soon.