How do I make my washing smell scrumptious?

Herbaholic

Homemade lavender vinegar works a treat helps soften the clothes as well, also a couple of drops of zolflora in the final rinse cycle will help clothes smell nice. I've also found as daft as it sounds adding a small scoop of washing soda crystals at each wash not only keeps the washer smelling nice, it also leaves the clothes feeling cleaner and softer, but that could be the vinegar added instead of fabric softner?

Herby x

lizault

I use a de-humidifier which takes out all the moisture from the clothes. I have economy 7 so I use it overnight. It works a treat. They are not very expensive, in fact I think mine came from Aldi for £25.00

honeysuckle_rose

I've found that it can be the brand of washing powder that makes the clothes smell musty. After trying a few different brands, I now use Fairy non-bio powder as it has a lovely smell,which is not overpowering. I can't stand the smell of the fabric softeners !! Some great tips given about using vinegar etc. I'll deffinitely be trying those.

kwb47

Had you your problem for years, even after advise from Zanussi .Wash at 60 all bedding, towels and under garments, every wash or every other time (alternate) If garments permit. Use Calgon in limescale areas Problem Solved! CB

Magentasue

kwb47 wrote: »

Had you your problem for years, even after advise from Zanussi .Wash at 60 all bedding, towels and under garments, every wash or every other time (alternate) If garments permit. Use Calgon in limescale areas Problem Solved! CB

Washing at 60deg isn't very moneysaving though. Or necessary. I think removing laundry from the machine immediately and getting as much fresh air as possible into the equation are just as effective.

Calgon has been done to death on this forum and consensus is that it's unnecessary. Using soda crystals in every wash is a good idea in hard water areas.

geoffholman

Had the problem of musty smell from my washing machine. Got onto Bosch and they sent me a technical data sheet from Proctor and Gamble going into fine detail - +
WASHING MACHINE MALODOURS AND BLACK DEPOSITS


Washing machine smells and black deposits are something that happen more frequently these days given the use of more low temperature washes and the use of ‘colour’ detergents which do not contain bleach. We hope this information will give you advice on how to prevent these problems.

WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS?

1. Unpleasant smells coming from the washing machine and on laundry items. The smells are due to micro organisms. The majority of these organisms would normally be destroyed during the washing process either by using a high wash temperature (above 60°C) or by using a laundry product containing bleach such as Ariel Quickwash Biological.
2. Slimy, black residues left in the washing machine and on the door seal. The slimy black residues are the remains of the micro organisms.
3. Black, soot-like marks appearing on washed laundry items. The black marks come from the slimy residues.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES?

1. Regularly using too little detergent.
2. Consistently washing at low temperatures – below 60°C.
3. Heavily soiled laundry providing nutrients for the micro organisms.
4. Regularly using a detergent that does not contain bleach, i.e. liquids or “colour” products.
5. General machine maintenance, i.e. not wiping the door seal after using the washing machine.
6. Prevention of circulation of air because the washing machine door is closed immediately after use.

PREVENTION

1. Use the correct amount of product for the washing conditions, i.e. level of soiling, water hardness, load size. A dosage guide is on all laundry packs.
2. A good practice is to do a maintenance wash at 90°C once a fortnight with the machine empty using a heavy duty powder containing bleach, such as Ariel Quickwash Biological.
3. After you have taken the washing out of the machine, leave the washing machine door open for a short while to allow air to circulate inside the machine.

TO STOP ODOURS

1. Do a maintenance wash – a boil wash without a load – using a heavy duty detergent, such as Ariel Quickwash Biological. You may need more than one maintenance wash to get rid of the smell.
Proctor and Gamble
So there you have it - I know it's slanted towards their products, but I'm sure you can get other makes wit the same ingredients

Cerisa

I use soap nuts and find scented Ecover fabric softener is brill.

almar_2

The soap nuts website given earlier are offering (sort of) free samples before you buy at the moment. You can either send them stamps and a large envelope or just a paypal payment for 75p to cover postage. They reckon it works out at about 3p per wash. I currently spend 19p with daz tablets.

I am thrilled to find out I can save money on laundry - but can I just ask a few questions please.

If I use a 2 litre empty bottle to make DIY fabric conditioner

How do I make it with vinegar how muchand what kind of Vinegar?
Do I dilute it? and lavender oil? or essential oil? is there a difference?

How often should I make it up or does it keep well?

Also if I use soap nuts and soda crystals :-
what do the crystals do?
Should I use crystals for each wash?
and how much crystals per wash?

Many thanks for your help as I currently spend a fortune on laundry products.

Magentasue

I think some machines are better than others but wiping the door and seal after use is good practice. I also do a weekly boil wash for whites.

However, the OP's problem is with drying indoors - damp laundry needs air circulating to dry. This happens automatically outside on a washing line but not if it's heaped on an airer indoors. I stick by my original reply which is to spread the wet washing around and open windows.

As others have said, dehumidifiers are helpful. And the obvious of putting off washing until it's a 'drying day' if you're able to do so.

harryharp

almar wrote: »

The soap nuts website given earlier are offering (sort of) free samples before you buy at the moment. You can either send them stamps and a large envelope or just a paypal payment for 75p to cover postage. They reckon it works out at about 3p per wash. I currently spend 19p with daz tablets.

I am thrilled to find out I can save money on laundry - but can I just ask a few questions please.

If I use a 2 litre empty bottle to make DIY fabric conditioner

How do I make it with vinegar how muchand what kind of Vinegar?
Do I dilute it? and lavender oil? or essential oil? is there a difference?

How often should I make it up or does it keep well?

Also if I use soap nuts and soda crystals :-
what do the crystals do?
Should I use crystals for each wash?
and how much crystals per wash?

Many thanks for your help as I currently spend a fortune on laundry products.

To answer some of your questions:
I find when I use soapnuts that I don't need a fabric conditioner. However, when I'm washing towels I just add some white vinegar on its own (about half a cup) to the fabric conditioner compartment to help them stay soft. I add Lavender oil to the same compartment when washing bed linen.

Towels and bed linen I always wash at 60 deg, everything else at 40 or lower.

When washing is really dirty (ie. a 'sports' wash), I add half a cup of soda crystals to the main compartment- it's just a washing booster. For kids stains etc. I rub with green fairy laundry soap first (you can buy it in bigger Tescos). For whites, I occasionally add a couple of desert spoons of Ecover laundry bleach.

I think soap nuts are great, and save a fortune, but they will not suit everyone I suspect. They do not leave your washing with any kind of smell at all. Some people like a smell, but the main reason I started using soap nuts is that they're great for sensitive or excemic skin that's allergic to soap powder, even non-bios, or fabric conditioner- like my younger son. The fact that they save money is a fantastic bonus!

Don't expect them to get your clothes as clean as biological detergent. They will give the same results as a non-bio and sometimes they will need extra 'help' with the use of laundry soap and soda crystals as mentioned above.

HTH.