Laundry Deoderizer

[giggler]

I now live in old house with septic tank and well water.

My laundry smells funky

Any Ideas on laundry Deoderant that is sepict safe and No Added Fragerance?

My nose is very very sensitive...
I can not handle Lilac Gental Breeze or such.

Sorry, I know this is cooking channel.

but yall have so helpful to me for many years...

Eric, Austin Tx.

 

[caseydog]

Have you looked into a better filtration system for your water? Something with an activated charcoal filter?

CD

 

[dragnlaw]

Perhaps a dehumidifier is needed.
You could also open a couple of boxes of Baking Soda. Helps absorb odors.

 

[blissful]

They can't sit in the washer for hours, bacteria will grow and the smell will be funky.
I also have septic and well. I use a homemade soap/washing soda/borax gel for washing, no scent. Sometimes I rinse in water with vinegar added. When they dry they do not smell of vinegar at all.
Some polyesters and new techy fabrics absorb odors and they are hard to get out.
Do all your clothes smell funky, or just gym wear, or towels, or... sniff and decide.
Does your water smell iron-y or egg-y? You might need an iron filter.
We don't have an iron filter but we do run a water softener. It makes a huge difference in the iron in the water.
Another option on top of that is to chlorinate your well and pipes, talk to a well expert or use the internet to get the details. Be careful and don't get things sold to you by the first well expert salesperson, really look into it.
We chlorinated our well and pipes, then turned the water heater all the way up for a couple months (then back to normal) and the off smell is gone. Certain smelly bacteria is killed off at higher temperatures. That was 4 years ago.

 

[caseydog]

I don't know where giggler's well is, or if it draws from the Edwards Aquifer, and artesian aquifer in Central Texas. It feeds a couple of rivers that are crystal clear, although still not safe to drink without treatment. That type of spring water is going to have minerals in it, but shouldn't smell or taste bad.

Up here, our municipal water comes from lakes, and needs a lot of treatment. Lake water smells and tastes bad -- in some places, even after treatment. It is especially bad in the summer. I had a purification system on my last house, that included a charcoal filter. My current house has charcoal filters in various places -- a whole house system wouldn't work for my current house.

CD

 

[dragnlaw]

Bliss, yoir reply puzzles me. What can't sit in the washer for hours?

 

[blissful]

@dragnlaw , really? anything that you might put in your washer. Washer's should be empty.
no dogs, no cats, no towels, no clothing, no blankets...do you put other things in your washer?

 

[caseydog]

Bliss, yoir reply puzzles me. What can't sit in the washer for hours?

I often put clothes in the washer, run it, and forget about it. A few hours is nothing. I usually remember the next day, and that's okay. Beyond that, it can get a bit funky. Then I have to re-wash it.

The spin cycle in my washer is ridiculously fast. Clothes are half dry when it's done. If I forget my load of wash for a couple of days, it is usually dry, and a crumpled mess. I have to at least rinse and spin again -- and not forget it again.

CD

 

[Aunt Bea]

Is it the water or the washing machine?

The new front loading high efficiency washing machines in my apartment complex give off a funky smell if the door has been closed and the machine hasn’t been used for several days.

I use Tide high efficiency power pods containing Fabreeze with good results.

 

[dragnlaw]

They can't sit in the washer for hours, bacteria will grow and the smell will be funky.

LOL, bliss, my reason was that nobody said anything about something sitting in the washer. I mean I agree completely with what you are saying - it just seemed out of context.
Like casey, I have on occasion forgotten and have had to start over - not happy with myself when that happens - big waste of time, energy and water, eh?

My suggestion of Baking Soda was meant for an open box to sit in the room somewhere - not inside the washer.
Although that's not a bad idea actually. Once a load is finished one could sprinkle some in the tub, leave it there, just add the next wash on top.

 

[jennyema]

I now live in old house with septic tank and well water.

My laundry smells funky

Any Ideas on laundry Deoderant that is sepict safe and No Added Fragerance?

My nose is very very sensitive...
I can not handle Lilac Gental Breeze or such.

Sorry, I know this is cooking channel.

but yall have so helpful to me for many years...

Eric, Austin Tx.

We have septic and a well and never have an issue with our laundry. Tide Free and Clear and unscented Bounce.

We do have a filter and a softening system, though.

You can buy products that you wash your machine out with (without clothes in it) to clean and disinfect it.

 

[dragnlaw]

OK, have now realized giggler is referring to his laundry clothes. Not the laundry room with the drains. My bad.

 

[blissful]

OK, have now realized giggler is referring to his laundry clothes. Not the laundry room with the drains. My bad.

We actually don't know, is it the water, the clothing, the washer, the laundry room, ....
When he comes back hopefully he'll let us know.

 

[Kathleen]

To keep funky smells out of clothing, my grandmother used borax with her laundry soap. She also would keep the washing machine door open until the machine was pretty dry. She had well-water and a septic system. Even though I don't, I still follow the keeping a door open on the washing machine until it dries.

 

[taxlady]

I leave the door to my washing machine open all the time. That was suggested in the instructions. Mine is a front loader.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

When we were living in a rental home out in the country, and I mean way out there country, they had well water & septic. We were instructed to take an old rag, and when the washing machine was done for the day, wipe down the front loader door well and then hang that rag over the lip of the drum so that the door remained open at all times.

When I lived back in Kaneohe Oahu Hawaii, our electric washer & dryer were outside off the concrete patio.
Once, a HUGE Bullfrog got into the dryer without anyone realizing it - now that was gross!!!

 

[blissful]

@Kaneohegirlinaz sorry for laughing. I bet it was gross, but it could have been a dried out bullfrog, either way, gross.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

@blissful to was disgusting having a french fried bullfrog in the laundry and NO ONE COULD FIGURE OUT WHY THE CLOTHES STUNK SO BAD!!!!
And yeah, it was pretty funny.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

@giggler I just, I mean, I just bought a small sized bottle of Downy Rinse & Refresh at the Dollar Tree for $1.25USD.
I plan on trying it with my bath towels.
They have been smelling a bit sankey and I figure I'd give that a try.
Also, I'm stopping using fabric softener on towels and bed sheets, that's supposedly making that un-pleasant odor.

 

[dragnlaw]

Sad Story:
Brings to mind an incident while I was the Humane Officer for several local towns. Answered a distress call to aid someone whose cat had died. Arrived to find the cat had jumped into the dryer while her back was turned and she didn't notice.
Needless to say it was not a pretty outcome. Not trying to gross people out but just a head's up for cat owners (or owner of any small mischievous pets).