To find this smell offensive?

[GreenMonkies]

We live in a maisonette which shares a communal garden with about 5 other households, mainly elderly folks. We are an "Ecover" household, we don't use "mainstream" cleaning products or air-fresheners.

I am sitting in the garden whilst the DD's play on thier bikes etc, and two of my neighbours have hung washing out, and the stench of Lenor/Comfort/whatever is all but making me gag, I am seriously thinking of going inside the smell is so strong. Bleurgh!!!!!

And frankly I find it utterly ridiculous that anyone would claim that the smell of fabric conditioner on washing hanging on a line whiffed from a garden away would "make them gag". How utterly pathetic.

The smell of rotting flesh, or shit or vomit might do that but please, get some perspective.

they look good - so they have soap in them! I did wonder how rubbing a bit of bark on clothes was meant to clean them

Though the OP was very smug (which I see the OP has admitted) I do kind of understand. My mum uses so much fabric softener that her clothes have a kind of film on them. Yet DH loves it if we visit and my mum does our washing. I wouldn't use softener at all but DH complains so I use ecover and as little as possible. I would rather just stick a bit of lavender oil in the machine.

Urgh and that's reminded me, at work this week my colleague had apparently put a car air freshener in his coat pocket and forgotten about it. His coat smelt of car air freshener all week and every day I went home with a headache. That smell just reminds me of being car sick

Still, no one likes smuggery

Lavender is right up there with moth balls as far as I'm concerned.

I bloody love bleach, polish, persil and air freshener.

sorry.

Mo too Coolma - I chuck endless bottles of bleach down my loo and plug holes and spray Febreeze and use polish and airfreshers and other household cleaning substances liberally. I stand sniffing them in teh su permarket to make sure I get the ones I like the smell of best and look forward to coming home and using a new one I haven't tried before. (sorry if that makes the eco-warriers go apopleptic and has them looking down their noses and me sneeringly!!)

I always open the car window at the petrol station because I love the smell of petrol too, although I'm sure it make more sensitive mortals "gag"

With you there Gunnerbean, I hate the smell of lavender [retches]. But yes, honestly, no exageration, the smell coming from the two washing lines 10 feet away from me did catch in my throat. That was the only serious part of my OP, if the smell is still that strong when outdoors then how pungent is it when you are wearing it, and if it doesn't smell over-poweringly pungent to the wearer then how dulled and numbed are your nasal receptors if you can't smell it?

I actually am not smug, I don't think I'm better than people who don't use natural/environmentally friendly products, just better educated about it. I think the people who interpret this kind of thing as smug are really only trying to defer thier own guilt for not using the "cleaner" option. As everyone has pointed out when belittling my use of the term "mainstream", Ecover is available in almost all supermarkets, and Tesco (and Sainsburys I think) make thier own brand version of "green" cleaning products. So, if you know really that the perfumes and surfictants etc in "conventional" products are bad for your families skin, the environment and wildlife, how do excuse yourself when you walk past the green option and choose the stinky coloured toxic one? Oh yes, thats right, you call those of us who do use them smug.

Whatever.

I wish that's all I had to bother my head over. How sad your life must be.

Sorry greenmonkies, but it did sound a little smug - you even said so yourself later on , but I'm not feeling guilty, hey, I'm with you on this one. When (on a the rare occasion) I clean I use bicarb of soda, ecover bathroom cleaner, bicarb spray, white vinegar etc.

But I do love the smell of petrol

I am jealous though as I have no garden to hang my washing in

Sorry but you did sound smug,not because you use Ecover, but because of your OP, and I don't feel at all guilty about using 'mainstream' cleaning products.

Off to go and hug my bottle of Comfort now.

I'm really hacked off actually cos all we've got left is tesco's washing powder and that doesn't smell chemically or fake flowery at all. Sulk.

lol @ "internet career"

DS1 was out of nappies 7 years ago ladies, but thanks for trying to help .
Nursery was happy 2 supply the nappysacks & it's what they wanted 2 do so I just went along with it at the time.

I buy cleaning/laundry products that I like the smell of - simple.

Sorry to disappoint/shock/enrage you (delete as applicable) but I feel absolutely no guilt whatsoever over not buyig Eco-cover products or whatever they're called. I'm aware they're on sale in the supermarket, and are stacked next to the things I buy, but it's just not my choice to buy them - same as it's not your choice to buy the ones I do.

Each to their own.

I had loads of washing pegged out and went to take the kids a walk.

DH got home and went and moved the lawn back there.

Now the clothes all smell like grass.

'I don't think I'm better than people who don't use natural/environmentally friendly products, just better educated about it.'

Smugitty smugness from Smugsville!!

YABU - and frankly a bit odd to be so exercised over laundry choices.

Hahahaha at ^^!!

tclanger maybe you need to buy better quality woolens... i've been using eco-ver for almost 10 years and never have had a problem with any garments.

greenmonkies nice work. i wish more people would understand this and not take it so lightly what we send down our drains.

expat i'm going out to get lavender oil today! thanks for the idea. although i won't use evian because it comes to far away for me here on the west coast of canada. we get our water from our friends place... he has a glacial spring running through his property. its lovely water.

anything that is fragranced to mask diaper messes is a joke. i just makes it smell like perfumed shit.

gunnerbean it does make you gag. its great that for you it doesn't, but honestly, i can't stand. i've had to move from my seat on transit because the stench of someone's 'clean' clothes is nauseating. and anyone that has a complete disregard and complacency towards the environment and think those of us who do have a concern and voice that concern are being smug, is a twat. flaunt your chemical dependencies all you want. it comes back to you.

LMAO@chemical dependencies.

...looks at watch. OMG I haven't had my Lenor fix for almost an hour now. BRB.

nice thread, like the old mn days.

of course we should be worried what goes into the water systems, depressing what state our seas are in .

personally i hate any sort of softener, gives me a really bad headache and can smell it a mile off.

OP- troll, or nob. Either, or, makes no difference...

Well that depends Dittany. Are you using Balsamic vinegar? The real thing of course. If so then yes I'd proudly admit to being a vinegar household.

If it's plain old malt vinegar though, well it's rather common and perhaps best kept to yourself.

We are a Lenor household

Just love the stuff My problem is that whenever i hang my washing out my horrible neighbour seems to feel the need to start a bonfire

I can not believe that you can complain about something like the smell of your neighbours washing I don't even complain about the bonfires.......yet

Don't bother with conditioner. Not because I am a lentil weaver but because I am a tight wad.