Many of us have experienced the disappointment of buying a new fabric softener, only to find it doesn’t make our laundry smell as good as it should
It’s incredibly frustrating when your freshly laundered clothes lose their lovely scent once dry. This can occur due to a variety of reasons, such as not using enough fabric softener for the load size, or perhaps you’re cramming too many clothes into the washing machine.
Fortunately, there are several solutions to this problem, including adding two ingredients to your wash cycle.
On the Mrs Hinch Cleaning Tips Facebook page, Karen Bond sought advice: “I need some advice. My clothes smell nice when they come out of the washer.
“Then, when I dry them, they lose the smell. Once put away in the wardrobe, they never smell nice. Any ideas what I’m doing wrong or what I can use to make the smell stay?”.
Her post garnered over 50 responses from fellow group members, offering a range of tips, reports the Express.
Firstly, they all suggested ensuring the clothing was completely dry before storing it. Rita Trimmell advised: “Be certain they are fully dried. Even the slightest bit of moisture can cause odour.”
Denise Simpson chimed in: “Are they drying quickly enough? If they take too long to dry, they will smell musty.”
Other group members recommended adding white vinegar and baking soda to the wash cycle.
Gina Giradi suggested: “Baking soda and white vinegar in the drum or drawer makes clothes smell 10 times better.”
Lisa Turrell added: “Ditch fabric softener for a while and use white vinegar and baking soda to remove odour before using scent boosters.”
Baking soda can help remove odours and soften fabrics, while vinegar can help break down detergent residues. Together, they create a potent cleaning agent suitable for laundry use.
To utilise this combination, add baking soda to the wash cycle along with your detergent, and incorporate vinegar into the rinse cycle.
Even better, both items can be purchased for as little as £1 each and used for cleaning around the house.