marbel Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 Ugh I am so stupid sometimes. A friend of mine is having some renovations done on her house, and her laundry room is inaccessible for a while. I offered to let her do laundry at my house tonight while she and her husband were over for dinner. We always use unscented detergent, no dryer sheets, etc. It didn't occur to me, till it was too late, to tell her not to bring her own products, which are scented. She was on her second load before the smell hit me. She and her laundry have been gone for 2 hours but the laundry room (and the room next to it which is the family room where my computer is) still stinks. I'm getting a headache and I can't breathe through my nose. I don't know if it's just in the air, or if the appliances held the smell. Tomorrow I'm going to run a load of rags with baking soda and a vinegar rinse and see what happens. What is that saying, no good deed goes unpunished? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 Ugh! Scented laundry products give me headaches and make me queasy, so I know how you're feeling. :grouphug: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 I suddenly became allergic to regular Tide this last Spring. It was awful, rewashing all the clothes. But not as awful as the horrible itching I had. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted November 17, 2017 Share Posted November 17, 2017 (edited) I would run at least a vinegar rinse load now to avoid the smelly detergent drying in the washer. Then I would remove the lint trap from the dryer and wash that with hot soapy water. You will also need to wash out the dryer with vinegar or something similar to get the smell out of it. You could probably soak a lightweight towel or t-shirt pretty good in vinegar and run it through the dryer if you can't stand to have your head in there to clean it. Laundry scents are designed to cling and to last for a long time. You have to get rid of the chemicals or you will smell it for a very long time. Edited November 17, 2017 by Tap 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted November 17, 2017 Share Posted November 17, 2017 You have my sympathies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted November 17, 2017 Share Posted November 17, 2017 I feel like that stuff should be illegal or something. How can it smell good to anyone?!?! My own washer has never been contaminated but dd likes to thrift shop for funky clothes. I swear it takes 5 washings to get the stink out. Sometimes we cannot get it out at all, especially with synthetics. One huge pet peeve of mine involves sports uniforms. Dd is on a team where she is issued a race suit and warm-up jacket each year. I always take great care to wash ours per the instructions which clearly state NO fabric softener or scented detergents. But every year, even if she is issued the very same items, they stink because they are stored in the same tote as all of the others and someone has used stinky stuff. It was so bad last year that she could not wear her jacket in the car. I am contemplating biting the bullet and purchasing her own set, at the tune of $500, because it is causing breathing problems during workouts and races. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted November 17, 2017 Share Posted November 17, 2017 It even drives me nuts to smell it outside. Everyone's dryer vents is pumping out chemical scents into the streets. Good luck cleaning it up! You might want to go to the pet store and buy some of the odor neutralizing enzymatic sprays. There are some which are not scented & they don't cover up the smell, they just break it down. Not sure if they always work on chemical as opposed to organic smells but maybe it will work....? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted November 17, 2017 Share Posted November 17, 2017 Op, I hope something works! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted November 17, 2017 Author Share Posted November 17, 2017 I would run at least a vinegar rinse load now to avoid the smelly detergent drying in the washer. Then I would remove the lint trap from the dryer and wash that with hot soapy water. You will also need to wash out the dryer with vinegar or something similar to get the smell out of it. You could probably soak a lightweight towel or t-shirt pretty good in vinegar and run it through the dryer if you can't stand to have your head in there to clean it. Laundry scents are designed to cling and to last for a long time. You have to get rid of the chemicals or you will smell it for a very long time. I did do the bolded that night. Just ran vinegar through. Next morning I ran rag towels with vinegar and an extra rinse. I didn't think to wash the lint trap but will do that. I have done another small load of my own clothes (I am the least bothered by smells) and everything seems to be OK now. She only did 2 small loads, and I'm not even sure she used dryer sheets. Lesson learned though. Even smelling it all that night was bothersome and I went to bed with a terrible headache. (No one else in my family went into that room, and I shut the door so the smell didn't get through the whole house.) Next time someone needs my washer I will tell them they have to use my stuff. I'm sure she thought it was best to bring her own and not use up mine... not her fault, I should have thought of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learning Together Posted November 17, 2017 Share Posted November 17, 2017 It even drives me nuts to smell it outside. Everyone's dryer vents is pumping out chemical scents into the streets. I can smell all our neighbors' laundry when I go outside!! I thought I was going crazy!! I'm so relieved you mentioned this....now I know it isn't just me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted November 17, 2017 Share Posted November 17, 2017 Vinegar rinse will save the day. Though it took two runs with vinegar to rescue my washer after DD sent a bottle of perfumes something through in a pocket. For the dryer, I have run a towel dampened with vinegar through to remove well dog hair smell. It would probably work for perfume dryer sheets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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