Why is it that clothes have no smell when taken out of the dryer?

[norgechef]

Every time my clothes are done washing they smell nice and fresh like the detergent I washed them in but after they come out of the dryer they don't really smell like much of anything...even after adding 3 dryer sheets per load! why is that??

 

[maytagbear]

I would say...

"you are lucky."

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[launderess]

I'd Watch Excessive Use Of Dryer Fabric Softener Sheets

The wax and silicones they deposit can and often will coat much more than textile fibers. In short everything from the dryer's drum to lint filter and everywhere else the treated air goes.

If it is scented laundry you are after try going for the more fragrant fabric softeners (hint: anything by P&G, *LOL*) and or detergents (ditto).

P&G holds patents for the various chemicals developed to impart scent onto laundry in both the wash and rinse that will linger long, long and often very long after laundry is put away.

Have some bottles of Gain "Lavender/Mint" laundry liquid and am here to tell you the scent lingers not only after the five rinses my Miele gives, but after tumble drying as well. Items used days or weeks afterwards still retain much of the scent.

As to why the scent is leaving your laundry after tumble drying one can only put it down to the air flow carrying off the scent.

 

[norgechef]

So youre saying dryer sheets are bad for your clothes?

I heard somewhere that it was always better if you use fabric softener or dryer sheets than just detergent and nothing else...? probably not true but it kind of made sense to me how it might be good for your clothes...as for Gain i try not to use it very much or not at all...i was looking at an environmental protection research site that had information about household cleaners and i read gain has allot of carcinogen and cancer causing ingredients, which is probably why their detergents smell so good. I shouldn't badmouth Gain either as i love using Fab and Dynamo which also have quite a bit of cancer causing ingredients... but oh well, at least its not as bad as allot of other household cleaners.

 

[polkanut]

Yes, avoid using dryer sheets because they can cause a wax buildup to form on your dryer drum and potentially a fire hazard.  We haven't used dyer sheets in years, and have no problems with static, and our clothes smell nice when removed from the dryer.  Why would you want your clothes to smell like cheap perfume in the first place?  Don't believe everything you read on some of those environmental websites.  Quite often their test methods are skewed so they can get the results they're seeking.

 

[jmm63]

So if we're not supposed to use dryer sheets because they ruin the dryer, and we're not supposed to use liquid fabric softner because it ruins the washer, what is suggested that we do use. Detergent alone in my front loader leaves clothes that resemble sand paper.

 

[superelectronic]

Too much heat

Tumble drying doesn't tend to make for pleasantly pefumed laundry at the best of times, but the higher the heat setting you use, the less perfume will remain.

It's my understanding that American dryers use pretty fierce heat - probably similar to launderette dryers here - and all you get out of them is clothes that smell almost scorched. Try drying on the lowest heat setting if you wish to retain some of the fragrance.

Personally I dislike the sickly scented candle-like smell and waxy deposit dryer sheets leave; I certainly don't think they do a dryer any good. At least if you use conditioner in your washer there's more chance of the residue in the machine being taken care of by the following wash cycle.

 

[tomturbomatic]

If you launder clothes properly using hot or warm water as required, the moderate use of fabric softener in the final rinse is not a problem. The dryer sheets clog the lint screen of a dryer so that even water will not pass through it and make it necessary to wash the screen with detergent, hot water and a gentle brushing action. This is followed by at least a warm water rinse. Dry as much as possible with a towel, then reinstall it in the dryer and give it 5 or 10 minutes on heat.

In dryers with a door plug, like GEs and WH after 1965 and the lint trap below the door, the fabric softener sheet was often sucked under the plug so it landed in the lint screen instead of tumbling with the load and softening the fabrics.

Another disadvantage of the sheets is that if the dryer is too hot, they can leave patches of softener residue on fabrics which require washing out.

If you are using comercial equipment where rinsing is now considered a waste of water, go ahead and use the dryer sheets since you don't want to to anything to lessen the rinsing process, such as it is, and adding softener certainly does not enhance rinsing. Softener will kill suds, but combines with detergent to create a film on fabrics.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

I've recently been quite surprised by Tide w/Downy...

If this is of any value to anyone, I have recently been quite pleased with the results from Tide powder with Downy. Using the April Fresh scent version gives you the old Downy scent, not the new one, and the product itself does a nice job of both washing and softening. Its not softened as much as if I had used a liquid softener, but everything has a nice fluff to it, no sand-paper like feel as Jim described, and a nice mild "fresh laundry" scent without smelling like a cheap perfume factory.

I might be worth a try if you can find it in stores. Some have it here, some don't, but I'll be using more of it.

Gordon

 

[matthewza]

We stopped using liquid softener about 4 years ago when w found out what it does to your machine, and in all honesty, I haven't noticed a difference in the softness of my clothes, and most of our clothes get line dried. I have noticed the clothes seem to dry quicker without softener. When my towels and jeans come off the line, I put them in the dryer for 10 mins on air dry, and that cool air and the dryer balls tenderise them to get them soft, moveable and fluffy.
Here, the Unilever Sunlight range of auto and handwash powders are all 2 in 1 and do a great job, however, Omo has recently launched Omo with a touch of Comfort and I prefer that to the Sunlight. It leaves a really nice smell and noticeable softness to everything, even jeans and towels.
So my advice would be to switch to an effective 2 in 1 detergent. We've been using x-pert since October (bought in bulk) but when its finished we switching to the Omo with Comfort

 

[sudsmaster]

There are new liquid fabric softeners that are specifically designed to withstand machine drying, as well as release fragrance as the garment is worn. I avoid them like the plague, and use Downy unscented instead.

Of the more odoriferous ones, Kirkland liquid fabric softener would be on the list. I bought a jug of this years ago, and immediately noticed it left a too strong aroma on clothing. In fact the bed sheets stank so much I had to wash them again. Now I notice that Costco has modified the formula to make it have an even more lasting aroma (something like "releases fragrance as garment is worn") and I refuse to get roped in again and buy that version.

Dryer sheets? Always struck me as kind of pointless. I dislike the waxy feel they have and they don't really seem to soften fabrics much anyway.

I'm careful to use only very small amounts of the Downy unscented. Just enough to take the harsh edge off fabrics. Not enough to make them slimy. I use hot water and good powder detergents boosted with STPP, and haven't had any issues with the front loaders getting gunked up.

 

[launderess]

Should Anyone Wish To See What Damage Fabric Softener Sheets

Can do to tumble dryers, peep inside those used in laundromats.

In such places not only do persons use dryer sheets but customers often use two, three or more (you should see what I see) per load. Multiply that by tens of turns per days and you've got a formula for ruining a dryer.

Drums of such used machines are often coated in waxy build-up and the finish discolored or some way worn. If the machines aren't maintained often and properly there can also be an increased risk of fire.

Only dryer sheets one has in the stash are a NOS vintage box of Downy "April Fresh". These aren't used often and just cracked open the package several weeks ago out of want to experience the "laundry day" scent of one's childhood. Took one sheet out and cut it into strips, using just the one of those. The rest are back in the box sealed in a Zip-Lock bag.

Indeed if one really wants to use dryer sheets Consumer Reports suggested ages ago (when they frist came on the scene) that cutting them into portions was a better way to go.

 

[norgechef]

Well..

My dryer is a 2009 Frigidaire/white Westinghouse branded machine and it it a piece of crap in my opinion, sure it dries the clothes but the only settings it has is timed dry and automatic dry, no sensor dry or heat selection...just always on high i would assume. If fabric softener sheets are going to kill this dryer I really don't care...maybe if I had a new Whirlpool or GE dryer I might take care of it a little better but this one just makes me mad as it is constantly overheating even when i vacuum out the lint filter and fan blower every year or so. I'm eagerly awaiting spring so i can throw the clothes in the dryer for 10 minutes and then hang them on the line again.

 

[norgechef]

And for my White loads...

They always get washed in hot or warm water, usually with powdered detergent and some grocery store brand fabric softener and if its winter and i have to dry them in the dryer I usually just put in 1 dryer sheet, as for dark loads I usually just use a small amount of softener in the wash and 2-3 dryer sheets in the dryer.

 

[yogitunes]

Actually it's your water conditions......and some things you cannot change about it.....

I was having the same thing, everyone here was talking about the foul smell of detergents and softners, and I was wonder what the heck they were talking about....no matter what I used or how much, even bleach, there was no scent left after they were done...

although some do not like the scent on their clothes, I paid for this scent, and I WANT IT!...

but back to water conditions......I could not figure why I had no scent left, and it wasn't until we had the treatment system of the well serviced, then all the scents showed up as expected....mainly it was the PH unit that was empty of its granules that was causing the scent to be cancelled.....I knew something had to be wrong, because when I did laundry at the city house, which was unconditioned city water, the scents remained......basically for my conditions, it only meant that I could add baking soda to my wash to temporarily correct the condition...

keep note, even these detergents and such that claim to be Clear and free of scents and dyes, ARE NOT, they still have to put dyes and scents in to cover the harsh chemical smell and make the color pleasing to the consumer...

we learn as we go along.....

this water being out of whack, so to say, was also affecting bathing, a greenish film on bathroom tubs, aquarium readings to go whacky, not to mention the dishwasher and ice cubes.....

 

[launderess]

Overly Scented Laundry

Has the plumbers in last week to deal with a problem in the bathroom. One of the workers, a nice enough Hispanic gentleman arrived in garments laundered in so much scented products one could have used him for an air freshener at Grand Central Terminal.

Was getting over a bad URI and it was all flesh and blood could stand when hit full frontal with the powerful scent. It was below freezing here last week but the windows were opened and that didn't do much good. Then the man pulled something that triggered a "Miss Hilly" response from us and that was that. Did manage to keep well buttoned but mainly because going anywhere near that area in the state one's head was in would probably have made one physically ill.

Hours after the workers left the scent of whatever that man's wife does is laundry lingered. Finally later in the day the only way to get shot of it was to replace it with an other; cleaned the bathroom using vintage Lysol, the amber coloured stuff in the brown bottle.

 

[danemodsandy]

My First Maytag Dryer....

Was a nice enough machine, but the dryer-sheet damage was something else!

There was a heavy gray waxy deposit inside the drum and door that had to be removed with mineral spirits, then ammonia.

The lint filter had a hole in it, and that had allowed dryer sheets to blow through the hole into the dryer's blower and duct assemblies. There was no good reason that this dryer had not caught fire.

Added to that, the stench of old Bounce sheets lingered for months.

 

[whirlcool]

Tonight I saw a commercial on television from Downy saying they now have a product that when you use it the scent will stay on your clothes "for up to 12 weeks afterwards."

What happens if you don't like the scent?

Remember when I cleaned out that Kenmore dryer a few months ago? The lint in the plumbing from the lint filter to the blower motor was totally clogged and the clog was so hard I needed to use a screwdriver to bust the clog up? And even then it was as sticky as honey. And since it was a gas dryer I am surprised it didn't catch on fire either. But the owner loved their fabric softener and used it in every load for the past 15 years.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/Clean-dryer-vents-to-prevent-fires/-/1735978/18990700/-/pgxtnb/-/index.html

 

[norgechef]

well I don't need the scent to last that long...

I do about 5 loads of laundry a week and if the clothes were dirty and still smelled like downy I would be mad....when i wash my clothes i want them to stink, would hate to waste detergent on clothes that still smell strong of downy...