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Housekeeping

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Original poster

The Fabric Conditioner Myth

62 replies

Ooopsadaisy · 11/05/2011 11:35

Last week I ran out of fabric conditioner and forgot to buy any when I went shopping.

It was only when I was faced with the end of week bed/towels change and all the school/work uniform piles that I realised.

So I did all the washing without fabric conditioner for the first time in .... I have no idea how long ...... 20 years?? I expected the worst. Horrible smells, scratchy fabrics, creases and folds, hours of extra ironing ......

It was only after I'd finished the ironing and it was all put away that I realised that I hadn't even noticed the difference.

What a bloody waste of money all these years!

No-one else in the house had noticed the difference in smell, texture, comfort etc.

What else could I be wasting money on?

OP posts:
aliceliddell · 11/05/2011 13:01

dp and I both think fab cond is good. our water is so hard it comes out of the tap waving a knife (Lily Savage)

expatinscotland · 11/05/2011 13:02

I like smelly laundry.

Cutiecat · 11/05/2011 13:03

I agree. I ditched the FC about 3 months ago and haven't looked back. I find the smell of them so overpowering now. I can't sleep in a bed when the sheets have a cloying 'comfort' smell.

belgo · 11/05/2011 13:03

Total waste of money, bad for the environment and bad for my children's skin. And they all stink of chemicals.

halfcaff · 11/05/2011 13:10

Bamboo thanks for reminding me about soapnuts. I found them pretty effective but never got round to re-ordering after I stopped doing my little Suma buying group. I also use a lot less product and often a cheaper eco brand for dark washes, add a bit of eco laundry bleach and use a bit more for whites/lights.

I think lots of people are wasting money on just washing too much! I can't believe some of the schedules I have read on here, or the instructions on the wall at my neighbour's house for her dh and mum when she went into hospital for her cs for 3rd child. More than one load a day for a family of four? Can't understand why people change sheets so often, wash and iron school uniforms every day (sponge off yogurty blobs in the evening, almost good as new by morning! They are kids fgs!)

I wash 2-3 loads a week and line/airer dry all of it, have never owned a tumble drier.

A (washing-obsessed) friend was saying how much the good weather and line-drying had saved her - she has a meter key so can monitor pretty closely how much she is using - and her bill was down 50% in April from not using the td!

You will soon get used to having more natural-smelling clothing imo. It's just chemicals after all, not something we should be striving to smell of!

Original poster
Ooopsadaisy · 11/05/2011 13:27

halfcaff - I agree with everything you've said.

I try to keep the washing down to a manageable level and economise on the products I do buy. I wouldn't give a tumble dryer house-room.

I do 5/6 loads a week. DC's are teens to it's 4 adults in terms of clothes size and DS has a double bed.

I also do odd bits by hand.

Very interested in this soapnuts idea .....

OP posts:
GetOrfMoiCase · 11/05/2011 13:29

I wash bloody everything. About 3 washes a day, sometimes 4.

Hardly use the tumble drier except in the deepest winter.

COCKadoodledooo · 11/05/2011 13:33

Dh has a (favourite) jumper that he wears for work. It's acrylic. Unless it's washed in FC you can literally see the sparks when he takes it off! That's the only thing we use it for though (well, the wash that it's in).

Buda · 11/05/2011 13:41

I stopped using FC a couple of years ago for a while. Then DS started complaining that his clothes were hard and rough. So am back to the FC again.

Liking the sound of soapnuts. May try them when we get back to UK.

I am in Hungary and whenever possible I hang my washing out on the rotary line. In this weather it is dry in a couple of hours. I do notice that I am in the minority though. Maybe 50% of people don't seem to dry outside.

I have a TD but feel so guilty when I use it. I bought it because there is a period of time in Autumn and again in Spring here where it is hard to get stuff dry. In winter it;s not an issue as the heating is on so the boiler room is warm and I dry stuff there on rails. If the heating is not on though it takes ages for stuff to dry down there and it is often too wet to put outside.

TheProvincialLady · 11/05/2011 13:54

I tried soapnuts and found that they did absolutely nothing. I put on a load of newborn pooey nappies (not heavily soiled, just a couple of yellow ones) with soapnuts and the whole frigging lot got stained yellow. I was really cheesed off and went back to my usual eco detergent.

I am currently using up some Co-op eco friendly detergent liquid and by goodness, it stinks. I am using less than half the recommended amount and it still makes the clothes reek but they are clean. I can't wait to finish the bottle, but at least it shows as others have said that you don't need as much as the manufacturers would like us to.

hardcolin · 11/05/2011 14:05

I haven't bought fabric conditioner in years. The powder I use has built-in conditioners - so they say - but I can tell the difference compared to powders without, so I figure they must add something to it.

Dunoon · 11/05/2011 14:06

I used to use ecover but found it didn't get children's clothes clean.
Anyway I am in a hard water area so do use fabric conditioner and love some of the smells although I do not know what Black Diamonds are meant to smell of.

As I am trying to get my machine to stop over-foaming I am thinking of not using FC for a while. Come to it if it continues to foam with no detergent in I could save a fortune by not using any anymore.

halfcaff · 11/05/2011 14:30

GetOrf that is your prerogative, but clearly you have priorities other than saving money, time or the environment! Wink

PigeonPie · 11/05/2011 14:46

Dunoon, I would say that you are putting in far too much of the wrong detergent if it is foaming that much. There really is no need to put much in. In fact I have found putting in too much leaves white streaks on the dark load.

GetOrfMoiCase · 11/05/2011 14:46

I know half, I am mad.

I never have a bath, don't have a dishwasher and have solar panels on the roof, so I am not all bad Grin

PigeonPie · 11/05/2011 14:47

Also, another eco detergent is the BioD washing powder - which I have found is great.

peachybums · 11/05/2011 14:47

Get free sample of soap nuts here We used them for a while they were pretty good on normal soiled washing but useless on cloth nappies or grubby cricket stuff of DSs. They last a few washes so defo save you cash. I put a few drops of lemon oil in mine as this makes them smell (smell of nothing otherwise)

I never use fabric softner as its a waste of money, no difference IMO but we live in a soft water area so this maybe why.

belgo · 11/05/2011 14:49

Showers are not necessarily better then baths, it totally depends on how much time you spend in the shower compared to how much water you would put in the bath.

PinotGrigiosKittens · 11/05/2011 14:56

GetOrf you never have a bath Grin [whiff] Grin

bamboobutton · 11/05/2011 15:08

i've never had any probs with soapnuts on my cloth nappies, i have some in the wash now and it's foaming up nicely.

i give mine a couple of cold rinses first though so i don't know if that makes a difference.

GetOrfMoiCase · 11/05/2011 15:10

Love the idea of soapnuts.

I am in and out the shower very quickly

KaraStarbuckThrace · 11/05/2011 15:13

Totally agree - my mother uses it on everything including towels!!
I keep telling her she shouldn't use them on towels.
I am certain DSS's mother uses half a bottle a time when she does the washing because DSS's clothes always reeks of FB. I suppose it is to disguise the smell of smoke - personally I think I would prefer the fag smell Grin

KaraStarbuckThrace · 11/05/2011 15:13

I use soap nuts too.
I use them for DS's nappies, but I also put some BioD in the wash as well.

ClaireDeLoon · 11/05/2011 15:19

People who use white vinegar, can I just ask - how much do you use and does it leave a whiff at all? I'm really off the fake smells of FC but live in a very hard water area, but I wouldn't want clothes that smelt of vinegar.

aquavit · 11/05/2011 15:30

I stopped using the stuff when I had dd to avoid hurting her ickle pritty skin with the chemicals

I've just started using it again because I noticed how much softer her clothes were when they were new, before I washed them - and it makes a HUGE difference (very hard water area).

Never use on towels though; nor on bed linen, I like that to be cotton-crisp. Come to think of it, I only really like to use it on cotton jersey.