Scented dryer vent exhaust has replaced fresh air (reviews, curtains, insulation)
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Google Hyperosmia - being oversensitive to smells. It can be caused by another medical condition and may go away once treated.
The article also suggests chewing peppermint gum when dealing with an overwhelming smell.
I don't use anything that's chemically scented and I've never used a fabric softener. I can dry towels outside and not need to soften them, although they'll be scratchy, but maybe that's the way towels are supposed to be. If I dry them in the dryer, they're very soft.
Maybe people are using polyester blend instead of cotton?
Usually it's cause by overexposure to chemicals. I knew a guy who worked in labs and he became chemically sensitive from overexposure. The best way to recover is to avoid chemicals. When you buy new sheets or towels or clothing, wash them well to remove any chemical treatment they may have had.
Mostly, I think people have been brainwashed by the advertising media into believing that they need to soften their fabrics. No one really needs to waste their money on these toxic products and if you really do want to soften fabrics, just use some plain old household vinegar.
I don't suffer from hyperosmia, as everyone around me smells what I smell too. Google about how scented laundry products/air fresheners DESENSITIZE people, so they then use (and buy) more and more of the product. My son's asthma doctor told us to stay completely away from all scent. He said if more people did this he would have far less patients. These scents are leading to ill health as well as environmental consequences.
Regarding the "over exposure to chemicals" as possibly causing one to then become "more sensitive" to future chemicals: I agree with that. The years of many tanks of Roundup I sprayed and Permethrin horse fly spray I religiously sprayed on horses probably led to me having a suddenly dysfunctional pancreatic duct requiring surgery, when I'd otherwise been healthy my whole life. We unknowingly use chemicals daily that harm our health and need to be good consumers, no longer trusting what's sold on store shelves. Research before we purchase. An example of this is how Vit D is being pushed by everyone, yet many have suffered from mild to severe kidney issues from it. Now Fish Oil is said to actually cause anxiety for some, rather than treat it. Stuff is pushed to market without being thoroughly researched. We're guinea pigs.
We line dry our clothes and this requires adding fabric softener to the washing machine. If we buy an unscented variety the clothes often have an off smell due to drying in high humidity, but if we use a scented variety (the lightest scent we can find) it's a little too strong.
Keeping these issues in mind, can anybody recommend a good fabric softener?
If it hasn’t already been suggested, vinegar is a great fabric softener. You can use your downy ball or dispenser
To add to this, sometimes old detergents can "sour." It isn't common in the bottle, but does happen and happens in washers regularly. If clothes smell off, that can be from a build-up in the washer on out-of-sight places like the outside of the drum or seals. A couple of empty loads with the bleach compartment full of bleach is often enough to clear the funk. Citric acid or vinegar could also be used, but the chance of corrosion is higher and those are less likely to kill any mold.
I disagree about the need for fabric softener, although I do think it is over-used. Towels in particular won't dry properly and can retain body odor if washed repeatedly with fabric softener, which literally coats the fibers with a chemically modified fat. OTOH, I grew up in a house where you didn't want to fart and touch a doorknob at the same time, for fear of explosions. Fabric softener stops that.
Bleach is very corrosive and doesn’t kill mold.. it bleaches it. Peroxide kills mold. Vinegar (in hot water) works better breaking down the soap and detergent which is why it’s a great fabric softener.. it pulls reside soap from your clothes.
Bleach is very corrosive and doesn’t kill mold.. it bleaches it. Peroxide kills mold. Vinegar (in hot water) works better breaking down the soap and detergent which is why it’s a great fabric softener.. it pulls reside soap from your clothes.
(Chlorine) Bleach absolutely does kill mold on non-porous surfaces, such as the metal drum of a washing machine. You are correct that the penetrating power of it will not reach into wood or drywall. Peroxide is a type of bleach (oxygenating) and suffers similar issues. Vinegar is actually a stronger acid than most bleach solutions and MORE corrosive. I use it for removing calcium buildup in my distiller, and when I do so I have to be careful to lid the pot with a non-metallic plate. Just the fumes alone corrode anything nearby.
The fascination with vinegar for every cleaning task is horribly misguided. It does have its purposes and is very good at some of them, but it is not a panacea, unlike internet parrots will claim. In particular, vinegar fumes around electronics will lead to early failure, and those fumes are death to iron or aluminum finishes, as well as the more obvious ones like marble or limestone. Orangene and limonene (constituent chemicals in oranges and limes and other citrus fruits) are better cleaners in some situations, and steam is a wonderful cleaner for others.
As an acid, vinegar (like chlorine bleach) will rot many fabrics over time, AND it will more effectively rot the seals in washing machines in addition to rendering detergents less effective.
FWIW, much of the vinegar available for cleaning is NOT "green" but synthetic:
""Presently, we authorize the manufacture of vinegar from ethyl alcohol synthesized from natural gas or petroleum derivatives. It is our opinion that most of the distilled spirits used in the production of vinegar are derived from natural gas and petroleum. When such alcohol is used in the production of vinegar, we would consider any reference to 'grain alcohol' or 'neutral grain spirits' would be misleading for the alcohol and also the name 'grain vinegar' would be misleading, except for connoting strength, e.g., 40-grains.
"When alcohol is used in the production of beverage products, our regulations require that the source of the alcohol be shown on the label except for cordials and liqueurs. Incidentally, I might add that most of the alcohol used in the production of medicinal preparations and flavors is synthetic."
Practically and scientifically, pure ethyl alcohol synthesized from natural gas or petroleum products does not differ from that obtained by fermentation with subsequent distillation. Furthermore, foods in which one is used cannot be distinguished objectively from those in which the other is used."
I don’t use fabric softener dryer sheets on anything but bedsheets, and that is just to prevent them from turning into a big static ball that won’t get dry; and for that I use one unscented dryer sheet for a load of bedsheets and pillow cases. I really haven’t ever understood the purpose of fabric softener, either liquid or in sheet form.
Probably the best use for dryer sheets is in your car’s glovebox, as a deterrent for rodents going into the a/c (also under the hood by a/c intake duct).
Bleach is the only thing that controls biofilm and mold in our showers, sinks, toilets. Vinegar does nothing to our serratia (pink/reddish slime biofilm) or mold/mildew.
So because of Covid everyone's been home more. Our neighbor's 3 adult children moved back home bringing their own children, 7 dogs, too many cats to count and a large RV parked out front (yes, think cousin Eddie)....If you're imagining twangy fiddle music you know what I'm describing here.
They LOVE that strong sickly sweet Gain detergent. We can smell them from a long distance when they walk by our home.
Needless to say the air outside reeks nearly round the clock with 6 people doing laundry at various times. We spot ALOT of empty cans of those scent blasting dryer beads and various other scent boosters in their garbage when we set our cans next to theirs on garbage pick up day....Even their garbage smells heavily scented!
After their grandchildren played in our yard and used our pool they actually left behind this aroma of Gain on our floating mats!
I feel sorry for these kids because they always seem to be suffering from runny noses, red swollen eyes etc. Probably from those heavily scented products. We smell it on the dogs and cats too when we pet them.
Last edited by Withinpines; 04-12-2021 at 03:54 AM..
So because of Covid everyone's been home more. Our neighbor's 3 adult children moved back home bringing their own children, 7 dogs, too many cats to count and a large RV parked out front (yes, think cousin Eddie)....If you're imagining twangy fiddle music you know what I'm describing here.
They LOVE that strong sickly sweet Gain detergent. We can smell them from a long distance when they walk by our home.
Needless to say the air outside reeks nearly round the clock with 6 people doing laundry at various times. We spot ALOT of empty cans of those scent blasting dryer beads and various other scent boosters in their garbage when we set our cans next to theirs on garbage pick up day....Even their garbage smells heavily scented!
After their grandchildren played in our yard and used our pool they actually left behind this aroma of Gain on our floating mats!
I feel sorry for these kids because they always seem to be suffering from runny noses, red swollen eyes etc. Probably from those heavily scented products. We smell it on the dogs and cats too when we pet them.
It sounds disgusting and I feel sorry for those kids too. Who knows what long term damage is being done to them by all those chemicals. Speaking of Gain, I bought some by mistake a few years ago. Gag. Even just taking the top off nearly knocked me over with the strong stink. I don't know how I ever used it up. Maybe I threw it out.
Too many artificial chemicals in our food and even in our clothes if people are going to wash their clothes in stuff like this. It's sort of the sign of a stupid person if they spend money on this stuff and then go ahead and actually expose their kids, their pets, themselves to the toxins. When will people ever learn?
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