Monday, November 02, 2009

The old "smelly washer" problem

A couple years ago, I wrote about my problem with a stinky washing machine. I tried that smellywasher.com product but it only helped a little and I wasn't inclined to keep buying their proprietary powder.

I started using borax (the stuff in the 20 Mule Team box in the laundry aisle) every time I did a load of towels, but the towels never regained their fresh, clean smell.

And now! I've switched to powdered laundry detergent, which is messy and cumbersome compared to liquid detergent. But would you believe I left a load of washed towels closed up in the washer overnight and they were totally fine. Went straight into the dryer; came out smelling like Tide rather than mildew and washer stink. Even when the towels have been used for a few days, they remain fresh and Tidey. In contrast, when I've left a liquid-detergent washer load in the machine for several hours with the lid down, the clothes have demanded a rewashing.

So if you've been vexed by a high-maintenance laundry machine that kicks your butt for forgetting to move clothes out of the washer immediately, and the pesky odor makes you doubt yourself, try using a powder laundry detergent instead.

10 comments:

E. said...

Dude, just ask DoctorMama. I know she's got something up the sleeve of her white lab coat.

Sara said...

Ah, old powdered Tide, the smell of my youth. My dad was allergic to anything else. Love that stuff!

E. said...

You know, the discourses of Twitter are totally unknown to me, but I have a question: is there a difference between a stalker and a "pervy stalker." The last seems redundant to me...

Anonymous said...

I can understand your problem. I can relate with it! I came across the same problem a few months back!!!

This is Nancy from Israeli Uncensored News

Sarahlynn said...

Powdered Tide + hot water washes for all towels (regardless of color). Sure, they might bleed on each other a little (so blues with blues and whites with whites but that was already a no-brainer, right?) and my towels smell delightful all the time.

Ahhhh.

MFA Mama said...

Powdered Tide is the shizz. My front-loader gets smelly with liquid but not powder. Go fig, the owner's manual wasn't lying when it said powdered was better!

Anonymous said...

hey orange - twitter is nice but what about your occasional readers from abroad that now for about three months wait for a new extensive well written and worth-a-thought post? [but probably it's only me *sigh*]

Orange said...

Hello, anonymous reader from abroad! Yeah, I have been lacking inspiration for ages. Twitter and Facebook drain my head with a lot less effort, and I am nothing if not lazy. Someday the muse will strike again. I just don't know when.

Jessica said...

I seem to always forget to move clothes out of the washer immediately. XP Thanks for the tips.

X said...

I once heard something about detergents can actually coat the fibres of towels and stop them rinsing/drying properly, leading to the bacteria roosting, and the mouldy smells. Counterintuitively, using *LESS* powdered detergent seems to solve the problem here. Incidentally, counterintuitively is the longest word I think I've ever used in context, and I wish this was a game of Scrabble.