Home & Garden Help! Clothes smell bad after going outside

Sez

Sez

Bag lady
O.G.
Apr 17, 2007
792
1
#1
When I wash stuff, it comes out smelling nice (of detergent) and when it dries it still smells nice. But if we go outside for half an hour and come back in, our clothes have this vile wet dog kind of smell. It's really, really unpleasant. I've tried washing everything with white vinegar, and initially I thought that had resolved things, but it hasn't. I've ordered some Borax to try. I could get the washing machine serviced, even though it doesn't smell. But if that doesn't work I really don't have a clue what to do next. I can't bear the smell, but I can't throw out all our stuff. Especially as, without knowing the cause, the same problem is likely to affect all our new stuff!

Has anyone else come across this problem? Any suggestions on how to deal with it?
 
#2
What is the source of your water? Do you have city water?


Have you changed up your detergents?


You may have may or mold in your washing machine, either on the outside of the inner drum or in the lines running into the machine. Those lines run from your water supply into the machine, they are hoses that you can replace. Its more likely it is in the machine itself, I would think, but its worth checking the hoses that run to the back of it. Does your machine smell when you leave it open for a day or so?


You could try handwashing a few things using the sink or another source of water in your house and see what happens. It may be something that is in water lines or the main line supplying water to your you house, or it could be isloated to the machine.

Good luck...it sounds really terrible but it sounds like something that can be resolved, hopefully!

ETA: I often add vinegar and/or borax to the wash, and use the extra rinse cycle. Do you have a front loader or High Efficiency Machine? I also wash my garden/barn and SO's work clothes separately.
 
#3
Do you leave the washing machine door open to let the inside dry?

Another thing to try is less detergent, more water. Try washing a smaller load with less detergent on a large load cycle that uses more water and see if that helps.
 
#4
Thanks for your suggestions. I suspect the problem isn't the machine, as it seems to affect some things and not others. Cottons are fine, but anything synthetic smells vile. And it seems to have spread from one thing to another, so I suspect while it's being transferred through the laundry that's not the cause. I've done everything I can to clean the machine (including 95 degree washes, vinegar, soda crystals) and no difference. I never leave clothes sitting in the machine and always leave the door open when it's not in use.

The whole thing is really upsetting me because nobody I know has ever come across it before and I have no idea what we can do to resolve the situation.
 
#5
This has only happened with a few of DH's shirts, and that was because when I was away he washed them and then forgot about them and let them sit, damp and in a closed washer, for days. Afterward, it didn't matter how or with what we washed them; they were ruined because the smell never would come out. But I've not encountered it otherwise. Before we threw out the affected shirts, line drying them helped (until he wore them, when the smell came back). I hope you can find a solution.
 
#6
This isn't the same smell you get from leaving washed stuff in a machine, I have come across that before...it's different somehow. Throwing stuff out isn't really an option because it is affecting too many of our things now, and I suspect that anything new we wash is going to end up with the same problem. It has gone from being a few items to everything synthetic that I have laundered. I would walk our stuff to a launderette to see whether a different machine helps, but I have a knee injury and am on crutches, and my BF is away. I just want to cry.
 
#9
Are the clothing smelling bad after you have worn them outside or before?

I think I know what you're talking about if its after. In the Summer I usually notice a strange odor on some of my clothing...just smells dirty to me. Kids get it really bad when they are outside running and playing around. I call it the outside smell. I think it has to do with air pollution.
 
#10
After they have been outside. They don't need to be worn out there, it's enough to hang them in an open window. The smell fades after they've been back inside for a while.
 
#11
Google "why do clean clothes smell after being outside". The first link (discussion) was interesting, and the ehow article seemed useful. Also someone said fabric softener and dryer sheets could contribute to the problem.
 
#12
I have Googled for hours on this and read so many ideas of what the problem might be. I never use fabric softener and don't have a drier, so neither of those can be the problem. And a lot of the suggestions I have found online I have tried with no luck.

I have also tried handwashing a couple of things but the smell didn't come out...not sure whether that's because it's something to do with the water (I used a different powder specifically for hand washing) or (more likely) that the smell doesn't shift once it's in there...
 
#15
gillianna said:
Maybe the problem is no dryer? Do you air dry the clothes inside, outside or near a open window?
Click to expand...

I think this is the problem. It's pretty rainy and humid here, during winter I go once a week to the coin dryer here in the city and dry all the clothes there (I wash them at home). If I let them dry outside they would never fully dry out.
 
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