Works For Me: Backwards Edition

It's Backwards Day over at Works-For-Me Wednesday, in which bloggers pose a question and invite readers to respond.  It's perfect timing, because I have a quandary.  A laundry quandary. 

*groan*

You know sometimes you'll see advertisements for laundry detergent, and they'll boast that they're "free of heavy perfumes"? 

I would like to know, when did heavy perfumes become a bad thing?  I know, some people are allergic, but a lot of us aren't.  Furthermore, a lot of us have pre-adolescent sons, which means there is no amount of "heavy perfume" that could be too much, if you know what I'm sayin'.

I love for my laundry to have a strong, clean smell.  I love for it to be so strong that you smell it when you walk in the laundry room.   I love for people to walk past my kids and take a big whiff and say, "Ooo, what's that smell?" and have them not mean it in a bad way.

I have experimented with nearly every product out there, and I can't quite find the solution that works best.  Best I can tell, it's not so much the detergent that leaves the nice scent, it's the fabric softener, and for best results, it's a good idea to use liquid softener and dryer sheets.  Has that been your experience?  And if so, what brand?  So far, I've found Snuggle to have the strongest scent, but it's not my favorite scent.  What do you think?  Basically, do you have any tips on how I can get my laundry to smell so obnoxiously clean that you can smell it from across the street?

Thank you.

For more good tips, check out Works-For-Me Wednesday over at We Are THAT Family.

Comments

[The (Almost) Amazing Mammarino]

Me too, me too! I LOVE that smell! I've tried many, many things, and here's what I've found:

- Love April Fresh Downy! To my nose, it has the most classic "clean laundry" smell on the market.

- I still use fabric softener for my towels, but I use half the amount. I still get a nice scent without losing absorbency.

- Dryer sheets leave a longer-lasting scent.

- I am not supposed to use dryer sheets in my dryer. I have tried doubling the liquid fabric softener, but even then the scent doesn't last.

- Tide with Downy has given me the most lasting scent so far (short of using dryer sheets).

- I love, love, LOVE Yankee Candle's Clean Cotton scent. I am tempted to buy the car freshener version, cut it into small pieces, and put a piece in each drawer. I'll let you know how this works if I ever try it! ( :

[Lynette]

GAIN LAVENDER LILAC MOMENTS Liquid Detergent..it's heavenly...It's the purple bottle.

[Stephanie]

I totally agree with you on this one!

My favourite scents happen to be Bounce dryer sheets, I believe they are the meadow, scented variety, mixed with Biz stain booster, and any liquid detergent that is a "rain" or "outdoors/summer" scent.

[Kellie]

GAIN! So strong, the scent last all day long and you can smell it in the laundry room, long after you've finished the laundry...if that's even posssible!

[Karen]

I have found if I add a scoop of Oxy to each load they smell lovely. No nastiness remains. I generally am a Tide and Downy or bounce girl, but I have been branching out. I like Gain too.

Oh and Martha Stewart says not to use softeners on towels, I use Oxy and detergent only on those.

[Dawn]

LOL at the poster above who is commenting on how her boys need all the help they can get to smell semi-clean....they are 2 and 9mo!!!

Whooooo, wait til puberty and you'll be wishing for 2 and 9mo boy smells!!!

[Libby B]

I know it's not Wednesday - I'm a little behind - but I thought I'd add my $0.02. Have you tried using baking soda in the wash cycle? It works really well to absorb odors. I don't have pre-adolescent boys, but I do occasionally leave the towels in the washer too long. I just wash the stinky clothes/towels as I would normally, adding a couple tablespoons (depending on stench) to the load too. Works like a charm.

So the key to really great smelling laundry is to first remove the bad odors and then add in lots of good. :)

[gillie]

Have you tried having your boys use an antibacterial soap? Dial makes several different scented soaps (other than the orange hand soap) that are great for use in the shower and are quite mild on the skin, but are antibacterial. I am not a fan of heavy perfumes- I would rather not have people notice me for my smell. The nice thing about using an antibacterial soap in the shower is that it can really cut down on body odor in general and if the boys forget deodorant in the morning, it will take them longer before they clear out the classroom with their stink. It's not our sweat that stinks, but the bacteria on our skin that reacts with the sweat that stinks.
Good luck with your search for yummier smelling laundry!

[Jena (Organizing Mommy)]

Funny! I love it when someone comes right out and SAYS it.

[Elaine at Lipstickdaily]

I love All. It must be what my mother used because the smell always reminds me of long ago years.

[Elizabeth]

Just a FYI on laundry sheets...they leave a film in your dryer that will eventually cause your dryer to need repair. I would say IF you are going to use softner to use the liquid kind....I personally don't use it, I use vinegar in a Downy ball as our softener.

[Smockity Frocks]

I know this is late, but I am CRACKING up at all the warnings of "THE FABRIC SOFTENER! IT WILL KILL OR MAIM YOUR CHILDREN!" and "Try vinegar." This may be a leap, but I'm guessing that's not the "strong, clean smell" you are going for.

[dervieno]

I feel better and most importantly use softener, because the clothes brush with the skin directly. this to ensure that the skin is not damaged.

[Cheryl]

Tide Lavender Vanilla detergent paired with Tide Lavender Vanilla liquid fabric softener.

It smells so good it's intoxicating.

[Susanne]

I use distilled white vinegar with my liquid detergent to remove any stubborn smells, and if you want your laundry to smell really good, try using castille soap, especially the peppermint. Yummy!

[Jackie]

I use Gain original scent and bounce or snuggle. Yummy smell.

[Elizabeth]

My friends would ask to have my mom do their laundry. She used original scent tide and snuggle in the blue bottle.

:( I still can't get my laundry to smell like hers!

[Chrissy]

This is interesting - no one uses OxyClean to get out stains/smells? I LOVE that stuff. Put it in every load and soak badly stained items in it.

As for scent, I use Lavender-scented dryer sheets but only on my sheets and clothes. My kids' skin is pretty sensitive so I try not to use the sheets if their clothes are involved.

Good luck! (And I think I'll try the essential oil route sometime in the future - like when I find some essential oils.) :o)

[Jennifer]

I am so sensitive to the perfumes from laundry soaps and dryer sheets that I have not been able to attend church in over ten years. It is a very isolating problem and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it when friends come "unscented" to visit me.

I use an unscented soap for laundry and haven't had any problems so far as far as "stink" goes- and I have two teenagers. Vinegar and "super washing soda" found at the grocery store work very well for me as an unscented laundry booster.

[Carrie]

I know this isn't exactly what you asked, but if I have a piece of STINKY laundry, I spray it with Febreze before I wash it, and the stinky usually comes out. :)

[Janell]

Have you these dryer sheets: Bounce Awakenings Renewing Rain scent. They smell wonderful and the fragrance is strong and clean. I do smell it every time I walk into my laundry room. :)

[Kristy Eckel]

Bounce wtih Febreeze is fabulous! I only use dryer sheets, but they smell incredible. Hope this helps.

[Roan]

I vote for Gain products for the best laundry smell.....does anyone know if Gain makes a detergent for front loading machines? I currently use the Tide HE, but Gain really makes the laundry smell good!

[Stephanie]

I love this post! I agree - I like my laundry to have a nice, strong, clean scent. We have found that we like the scent of Tide best. Especially in liquid form.

[Robins1668]

I love Melaleuca Products. We have allergies too , BUT I won't give up my clean smells and The Dryer Sheets from Melaleuca actually help control the allergens in your sheets. (bed sheets that is)
I love a good scent.

I just need some tips on how to tell the older ladies at church so not spray so much Perfume on themselves.