Stench of fabric softeners

[dj-gabriele]

Hi guys, I wanted to know your opinion on the always new, changing and improved stench formulas of concentrated fabric softeners! My rant comes from the fact that I unpacked my winter wardrobe and discovered that the smell of Coccolino (Unilever's Snuggle) was still as strong as the day I put the stuff away! And the clothes weren't sealed at all, simply put in the high shelf and forgotten. I was a big fan of brand softeners as they actually did a better job in keeping cottons soft even when air dried inside but since the advent of these stench improved formulas I completely switched to cheaper no-name brands that I discovered do a good job and lose the smell quickly so I can actually wear perfume without puking every three seconds.
What is your opinion about them? I even tried to contact Unilever about this and I've been told that there are no plans in making a unscented version as there wouldn't be any market share as the smellier the better!

 

[aquarius1984]

Well personally speaking I much prefer a stronger softener. I dont like the fact that at the end of the day when your aftershave has worn off and the environmental scents have permeated my clothes one smells unfresh.

I often put clothes that are needing washing into the clothes basket only to cme to put them in the machine to still get a whiff of the softener.

I tend to not wear aftershaves/scents on a daily basis due to them costing a fortune these days unless im really in the mood to wear one. I get far more comments about smelling nice from my work colleagues when Im heavy on the softener than I do when wearing EDT's. Most even ask what EDT im wearing.

Usually get "well I use conditoner but my clothes dont smell as nice as that" to which one usually responds the brand and scent which again prompts response of "oh I just use XXXX" which is usually shop label or a cheapie.

There is plenty of choice on supermarket shelves now as you say for consumers to have their preference.

I think its nice how the big brands are giving us a choice in fragrances and some unusual ones at that.

its all about trying them out

 

[jeffg]

The only softener we ever use is Downy Free (unscented). Our clothes smell great with just a bit of residual scent from our laundry detergent.

I'd like to see the numbers, but I bet scented fabric softeners are more heavily used in counties where front-loading washing machines are more prevalent.

 

[panthera]

I remember the advice of a lady:

If someone can smell your scent when they're too far away to touch, it's too strong.

And that is the problem with all these laundry products right now.

Honestly, when did we turn into cheap smelling two-bit whores who just escaped from a Marseilles cat house?

I know these things are cultural, but strong detergent and laundry softener scents smell like cheap white-trash to me. Ick.

I now steer clear of all products in Germany which I can smell through the sealed plastic wrapper or in the bottle! Hypo-Allergenic products seem to be the only solution until this craze passes.

 

[toggleswitch2]

I remember a comediennes say: no man living alone would tolerate such stink on their clothes. Their wives / girlfriends do it to mark their territory and as such other women know he is taken from a mile away.

 

[dj-gabriele]

@jeffg

Please don't turn this into a frontloader/toploader discussion, here top loading simply never existed. And besides, if you want I can wash for you the dirtiest load you can manage and send back so you can see for yourself. Said once I won't repeat.

@panthera: you're so right! I can't stand the strong smell, I started opening all the bottles to "taste" them and I stopped buying P&G altogether because Dash become unbearable strong scented, so strong that you can smell the tablets in a package double wrapped! First plastic/aluminum foil and then cardboard!

 

[petek]

I don't use them anymore since the smell of them became almost nauseating. Especially the ones with "Febreeze" scents. Same with the detergent, only non scented varieties now.

What I don't "get" is that more and more people are claiming to be allergic to all these scents, hospitals don't allow staff and ask visitors to refrain from wearing them blah blah blah yet laundry products are getting stinkier and stinkier. Plus all the Glade type air fresheners being advertized incessentaly on tv.

 

[danemodsandy]

I Second That, petek!

It absolutely mystifies me what is going on in the minds of the people who create laundry products. Detergent and softener are getting stinkier and stinkier and stinkier. When you find something that isn't downright vile, it's a matter of months before the manufacturer changes it to something only Paris Hilton could love. You then have to go find something else.

You would think that with the vast numbers of men employed by these companies, that a line would be drawn somewhere - can the guys who help create and market this stuff actually want to smell like these products?

The one that gets me is "Original Scent" Tide - the original scent didn't smell a damn thing like the perfume counter at Woolworth's.

 

[jeffg]

Sandy, have you tried Gain powder? It doesn't clean quite as well as Tide, but it's fine for lightly soiled loads and the original scent smells pretty good.

 

[iheartmaytag]

I rarely use softner

and then only on my Perm Press clothes, never my towels or sheets.

I like Downey April Sent, or Snuggle Vanilla. Then I use half of the recommended amount and water it down in the despenser.

I have found that it is best to not use softner on items you are going to store as the softner could attract pest that could feed on the fibers, as well as sometimes the softner tends to go rancid in storage and your clothes end up smelling like day old meat.

 

[danemodsandy]

JeffG:

For the moment, I'm good with Oxydol, in the "Smells SOOOOOO Good" (silly name, but there it is) scent. CR Brands has managed to make this scent a little reminiscent of the old P&G Oxydol, yet updated.

However, I'll remember Gain in case Oxydol gets tampered with; they already make something called "Bingo Bango Mango," so I have to wonder if they'll eventually do something to the scent I am happy with.

 

[nmassman44]

I tried Gain and I even went as far as the matching softener...does that scent reek! And it stays in everything..the clothes ,the washer,dryer and well you get the idea...The Mexican softener like Sauvitel...my gawd that hurts the snout. My fave is Tide Original...I do agree its nothing what it used to smell like when I was growing up. I use the powder and i couple that with Downy April Fresh. Not too strong and the scent we like. When I try something new Scott will say to me...what did you use on the towels..they dont smell fresh. So I stick with what works for us. But with Gain I have to give it a big P U!

 

[rayjay]

I agree with everyone. The detergents and fabric softeners stink. Tide liguid HE also stinks. Most of the fabric softeners make the clothes smell like candy especially the ones with Febreze. The Cheer HE also stinks. I really only like the Tide powder HE. I have used the Shaklee powdered detergent called Fresh. It has a really nice light clean soap smell ,(like from years ago). The softner has a very light smell also. The detergent cleans very well, and they also have a all fabric bleach. i am a distributor and buy it from time to time, but with the way the new ones smell I may make this my daily driver. If you want to know more about it, let me know.

Ray

 

[golittlesport]

I think it is a matter of who does the wash in the house. Men probably prefer a more clean scent, women a more perfume.

I've read that even with men doing more domestic chores these days, that laundry remains the women's domain in homes with both sexes. And it seems that many women like their linen closets to smell like lavender vanilla mango gladiola with mega blast permanent pearls of scent burst.

Most of the time I go with Tide, with unscented Downey if I add the softner. I used to use April Fresh Downey, but it seems to have gotten stronger.

 

[mielabor]

Is this a gender issue?

It seems that there are a lot of complaints about the scent of fabric softeners here. I am sure that new products are first evaluated by test panels before they are introduced. Maybe the outcome of these evaluations are biased by female opinions? (I know that my mother loves strongly scented products whereas I usually hate them.)

 

[yogitunes]

I prefer the strong scents of detergents and softners, but you guys have me confused....it doesn't stay or last....maybe once the washer stops and you trasnsfer to thedryer is the only time you can smell it....after the dryer, it's gone....I even put in extra, plus the matching dryer sheets, and nothing in the end....zilch!

even if I line dry the towels and sheets.....after one night it's gone, I wish it would last longer, or be made stronger....

about the only that last for a while is Tide with bleach powder.....but regular tide, gain, and softners just disappear for me

sorry guys....just not strong enough for me!

 

[rayjay]

Hi Yogi. I do know what you mean and agree with you. There is just a light scent when they come out of the dryer. MOre stays in if hung on the line. I think it is the smell when I take the clothes out of the washer. I have tried various fabric softeners, but always go back to Downy APril Fresh. lol

I just want that nice clean detergent/soapy smell from years ago like Oxydol, Tide, Silver Dust, Breeze, Cheer. Back then I did like all the scents of the detergents. Now....very few. Have to say that the Shaklee comes in very close to the detergents of years ago.

Now the SEars detergent cleans very well....but.....I wish it had a litt more scent to it.

 

[hoover1100]

I bet scented fabric softeners are more heavily used in coun

Whenever I've used an american machine, top loading or front loading, I've had to use gallons of the stuff to mask the fact the clothes aren't properly clean.

Besides from experience and from opinions on here, it is actually American detergents and softers which tend to have the more overpowering and putrid stench.

I probably shouldn't stoop to the level of people who feel the need to slag off other's laundry habits when it is entirely uncalled for, but what can I say, I'm rather hot-headed and I don't take kindly to bull****

The only softner I've found to have an overpowering smell personally is some of the Comfort range, having said that I'm currently using Comfort DeoSoft from the cash and carry and I find it has a lovely mild scent, like real flowers, not that artificial floral scent.

Comfort sunshine makes me gag though.

Matt

 

[maytagbear]

I blame

Suavitel!

I had A bottle of one of their blue fragrances two years ago, and it was a good softener, but oh my word! was it ever scented, and it lasted.

That said, I don't mind fabric softener scents too much, as long as they DISSIPATE/decrease a few hours out of the dryer!!!! I want to have to stick my nose right into a garment to tell the scent.

Since we're heading into static cling season, I am using softener more often....my regular supermarket does NOT stock the unscented Downy refill, or I would use that.

Just my opinions.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[toggleswitch2]

.
~I've read that even with men doing more domestic chores these days, that laundry remains the women's domain in homes with both sexes. And it seems that many women like their linen closets to smell like lavender vanilla mango gladiola with mega blast permanent pearls of scent burst.

Funny, no matter how much of that stuff is used it is impossible to mask the smell of the ocean. But anyway...

Maybe it IS a gender thing. Women can tell the differences in colors much better than men, "That doesn't match, dear" she says. But men can see better in dim lighting. So in dim lighting during a "romantic" dinner She proobaly sees very little beyond her table and finds it a turn-on that (in her beleif) he can't see anyone else. "He's into me and me only, I'm so special)" He actually probably sees quite clearly who and what else is going on and feels great that she can't tell what and who he is looking at. No (outward) jealousy, no possesiveness and no clinginess....

We are all limited by our own perceptions and congnitions and tend to project onto ouhers our own stengths and weaknesses

I wonder if smells trigger fond memories more in women than in men. and I'm guessing different smells cause different reactions in the genders.

 

[charbee]

Some folks (like me!) are extremely sensitive to artificial "stank." Scents from laundry smells to (especially) colognes and aftershaves. I get choked, my throat starts to close, and my bronchials start to swell shut.

We went to a restaurant for lunch last week, and made the mistake of sitting in the booth next to a gaggle of "state worker ladies" on their lunchbreak. We had to get up and move, the stank of all their different "floral" perfumes was so strong, I couldn't breathe, much less think about trying to eat.

Laundry shouldn't smell like *anything* but clean! That's why we decided to start making our own homemade powder and using the vinegar in place of softener. Well, the rampaging raccoons drinking all the liquid detergent helped with that decision, but still...!

 

[danemodsandy]

And Then There Are...

...People who think that because they like a scent, everyone else is supposed to like it, too! I still shudder when I remember something that happened about twenty years ago. I went to the Brass Key in Atlanta, at that time a really good restaurant. We were into our first courses when the maitre'd seated a couple next to our foursome. The woman had evidently marinated herself in Jungle Gardenia perfume - she smelled like every gardenia in the world all rolled into one! In case you don't know, the combination of a gardenia scent and food odours is absolutely sick-making. We had to cut our visit very short, tummies a-heave. Fortunately, the restaurant's staff were very understanding, permitting a cancellation of orders - they weren't having any more fun around the stench than we were. It seemed that Our Lady of the Gardenias was a regular, and that this wasn't the first time she'd cleared out the joint, but she was just too socially prominent to mess with.

 

[ptcruiser51]

Suavitel

Is my sister's favorite. Talk about staying power! I recently had to house-and-cat-sit for her and my BIL. I did TWO loads of wash in her Performa using my regular Oxydol (I don't use softener) before the residual scent finally was gone. What does it do, penetrate the enamel?

Once in awhile I use 1/2 cup of vinegar in the dispenser just to cut any residual detergent left behind. It does soften a little, just enough for me.

 

[travlincub321]

I use gains liquid softner and its fine for my tastes... we usualy use the matching detergant as well.. Works just fine for us..
Snuggle, Suavital, Anything abonormally scented (NEW Downy with Ultra Migraine HEadache Scent and Febreeze..I mean Fresh Scent MEdows Rain..Or Downy Simple Pleasure Cat Pee...No wait is that Orchid Allure??)and just most of the ickky scents...

Gain works fine for us

My grandmother uses snuggle.. when i go to her house, a load gets ran and everything gets de snuggled

 

[toggleswitch2]

Why, people why?

Actually it took me months to get the smell of Bounce softener sheets out of a dryer that came with my house.

 

[circlew]

Stopped using softener

Used Downy up until a few months ago, but quit because I no longer liked the way any of it smelled, the increasing cost, and think it was causing me to itch. I always take the clothes out of the dryer as soon as it stops, and I haven't really noticed many more wrinkles. I agree with Iheartmaytag that the odor turns foul after awhile. I was still using softener when I packed away my Winter clothes in April, and a couple weeks ago when I got them out, the garments had a strange odor, like that of varnish or paint, of which I had used neither in the house since putting them away. As for detergent, I've been using Sears Ultra Plus for the past couple years, and am satisfied with it. Smells good and doesn't leave strong fragrance on items. Saw some Tide Institutional formula powder when in GFS, and sniffed at the box, and it seems to have the smell of the old Tide I remember. It's the formula they sell for washing floors, walls and dishes. Have any of you used it? Is is suitable for use in an automatic washer, or just a wringer?

 

[jeffg]

> I probably shouldn't stoop to the level of people who feel the need to slag off other's laundry habits when it is entirely uncalled for, but what can I say, I'm rather hot-headed and I don't take kindly to bull**** <

Wow, sounds like I struck a nerve. Sorry.

LOL

 

[gansky1]

An extremely rare softener user here as well. I can't stand the scent of most products on the market now, the Downy Stupid Pleasures offerings are among the most baffling and offensive IMO. I don't like food-scented anything, except food and cannot tolerate in laundry at all.

I've been using a laundry detergent from my local chemical supply house called "Royal" that has almost no perceptible scent after the wash cycle. It's their own mixture and even has phosphates for added cleaning power. They have a softener product as well called "Fluffo" that works very well and has a very light scent, but I rarely use it. I couldn't resist because of the name - of course ;-)

 

[rayjay]

Gansky, I agree with the Downy simple pleasures. The Lavender vanilla makes me gag. Now WHY could't they just make lavender which is a nice scent????

 

[panthera]

Of course,

There may be something to the strongly held if anecdotal opinion that gay men have better noses than straight me do.

Could that be part of it? What to us smells far too strong is ok for heterosexual men?