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!

I always put extra fabric softener in on the last rinse . I’m also fussy as to what goes in with what , husbands socks and pants only go in with his t shirts and jeans . I am really sensitive to smells and can tell if he’s done any washing and put his in with mine . I also have a bubble soak button on my machine which adds extra time to the wash . If I just throw everything in on a typical hour wash and not add extra conditioner I can tell . I’m ADHD and pick up on everything . I have a tumble dryer and line , if washed properly I don’t get a musty smell on the line

Do you use a nice smelling fabric softener?

I don't like hanging my washing outside either. The only way I can describe it is that is smells like outside! And it's crunchy.

How long do you leave your washing in the machine once the cycle has finished? If it is hours on end it will smell musty.

If something is hung out to dry immediately after washing then it's neither been left damp nor grown mildew, so it can't possibly smell of damp or mildew.

It may be that some strange people don't like the smell of outdoor dried clothes, but it's wrong to say it's damp or mildew.

Personally I think all the unnecessary, environment-wrecking utter chemical shite from plastic tubs and bottles that people add to their washing is what smells gross. So unnecessary.
A scoop of powder from a cardboard box, then out on the line - clean and lovely!

Liquid tends to build up. You need to do maintenance washes. Using powder on occasion can get rid of any gunk.

A handful of Epson salts straight in the drum with some old towels sterilises the machine.

No such thing! They're all cloying, chemical shite that produce a mountain of plastic.

Try adding white vinegar to your wash

The only way I can describe it is that is smells like outside!

That's exactly how it smells! That's why those of us who do it, do so 😁

Washing smells lovely when it’s been dried outside. But I hate artificial scents, use unscented washing powder and never use fabric softener. Also me (and most people I know) don’t have a tumble dryer. It’s either hang outside in lovely fresh air or clutter my house up with washing drying everywhere!

Too much washing gel/powder, too much in the machine, wrong wash can all attribute to your question.
The best drying weather is with a light breeze, not necessarily hot and sunny.

I was horrified to see my DIL ramming my machine with all her wash, not sorted into whites, colours or material (her jeans and bra together).
This explained why her and my son’s clothes were grey and smelt under rinsed (musty).

They were given a washer/dryer as a wedding present (very generous guest) and the first thing they did was read the manual and for a while my DIL weighed her washes before hand to make sure she wasn’t accidentally overloading the machine to get the load to dry. She actually prefers a line dry but hasn’t anywhere for it with no garden space.

I hate the way washing smells when it’s dried outside. I use a clothes horse inside and run a dehumidifier. My clothes smell fine when I do that.

Get over what? Something that patently doesn't happen?

Someone having an experience and view that differs from your experience or perception. Is this the first time you've come across such phenomena? Happy to walk you through it if it helps.

Where on earth do you live for your clothes to smell like that? Mine don’t. Do you think the smell of them when drying inside is normal, when what you actually smell is chemicals from detergent and fabric softener?

There is a small amount of people who sometimes has notoceably musty smelling clothes but generally these will be people drying inside with little or no ventilation or living in over crowded, damp homes, not people using outside lines to dry their clothes (as the vast amounts of the UK population do)

I never understand people who say they put the laundry outside because it smells nice and fresh. I think it's only fine when the weather is really hot in the summer and clothes dry really quickly without losing the nice laundry detergent smell.

Absolutely howling at the supposed superiority of people with rank washing machines on here😂

You quite obviously don't gag every time someone with line dried clothes walks past, or even experience anything that could justify claiming it as simply silly hyperbole. You know it, we know it, everyone knows it.

You can keep saying it if you want to, we can't stop you, but that doesn't make it true. Like the woman who claims she can't maintain consciousness in McDonald's because of the smell of the oil.

I suppose ridiculous claims about smells are the modern version of the princess and the pea? I don't know, but it's definitely a thing. Wonder where it comes from.

Do you not like the smell of the air when you are in the garden? Perhaps you have local pollution that makes the washing smell off. Otherwise it's the washing machine the washing powder/tabs or fabric conditioner. The tumble dryer will be quite hot compared to average outside drying weather so may 'heat out' any lingering smells from the wash. I don't really like the 'hot' smell when things are dried in a tumble dryer.

I'd say you're not using a hot enough wash. Mine has a lovely chalky mineral smell when I've lined-dried it.

A detergent smell isn't "fresh" though: it's chemical and artificial.
Fresh air IS actually, literally, fresh!

Hmm... I'm beginning to realise, though, that smelling fresh has nothing to do with actual freshness for some people.

I’ll leave towels sports clothes and uniform out till it’s dry often rained on never had any smell issues

does giving a quick blast in dryer do it’s bone dry make any difference

It is, except when the weather outside is rarely above 20 degrees and stuff dries slowly, it doesn't smell fresh, it smells slightly musty. I'd rather have the soap smell than that. Now drying laundry in hot weather is a completely different business, but that happens like twice a year in the UK.

We are in Scotland so we don’t get to hang it out as often as we would like but I love the smell of outside dried washing. Even when we lived in a council flat with a small balcony I was always drying it outside on there.