clickinmyheels

We have an embarrassing issue in our house. Of course I’m going to share it with you. I wouldn’t just leave you hanging. You see, we have one of those energy-efficient front loading washer and dryer sets. It’s not our first set. Unfortunately our first front loading washer died a very quick death and I will never buy another Kenmore washer again. When that one died, I researched and studied different reviews and forums on a smart one to purchase. We decided on Samsung. As far as holding up to our wash loads, it gets an A. But, there’s one area where it would surely fail if Consumer Reports came to our house. It has a tendency to leave a sour smell in our clothes, especially on my workout clothes and my husband’s undershirts. There’s our issue folks! I think this is common in front loaders, but we did not experience this with our last crappy one. I’ve ran the special cleaner stuff through it, scrubbed it with baking soda, but there is still a lingering smell on our supposedly clean clothes after they wash. Now, I also partly blame our matching Samsung Gas Dryer that just doesn’t seem to cut the mustard. I always thought that gas dryers were better than electric, but this one has me wondering. It takes 2-3 repeat drying cycles to finally dry our clothes. I’ll admit sometimes the load is a bit too big and it’s my own fault the items are not getting dried the first or second time. So the sourness that sprouts in the sealed tight washer just grows like a weed if the clothes are then transferred to the dryer and it doesn’t dry them all the way and they possibly sit in that dryer for a couple of days. Who me?? Let the clothes just sit in the dryer for a few days, only to be fluffed a few times before I actually take them out and fold them? Never! I guess my energy efficiency score just plummeted! To try to remedy this sour issue, I’ve washed the clothes in straight vinegar, then added baking soda and ran the load a second time through the washer. I think that helps with the smell issue, but not all of it is gone, but there again I’m washing every load twice. Who has time for that, especially when it takes 2-3 cycles just to get the stinkin’ clothes dry. My workout clothes are the worst. First off, they stink when I tear them off of me, then they go through the washer, only to still come out with a hint of sourness. They are sometimes washed again to try to combat the stench, but then they are eventually tossed in the dryer that doesn’t seem to know its job. They are dried again and eventually folded and put away, only to be brought back out in the next week to be worn again. I don’t think it’s good if you go to the gym and already have an odor before you’ve even begun to work out. After this washer and dryer finally give it their final hoorah, I think I will go back to a top loader washer that seems to know what it’s doing.

So, my Pinterest happy fingers searched different solutions. Some of which I already tried. I do think I need to invest in some of those wool or special dryer ball things to help balance sheets and bedding out in the dryer so that it dries more evenly and keeps the load balanced. I tried the vinegar, baking soda thing. I tried “sport” type detergent. Nothing really fixed my issue. One day while at the gym, a lovely smell kept circling the class. I’ll admit, I kind of have a nose of a bloodhound and can pick up scents very easily. It was a warm, familiar, spicy kind of smell. Those are the types of scents I love and wear so I wanted to know who it was. I knew it was not me, I could still smell the lingering sour odor on my own clothes. How nice! Our instructor noticed the pleasant smell as well, and pinpointed the woman who carried it. We complimented her, thinking it was perfume or lotion. Then I was in another class after that and the same lady happened to be in it too. No, I did not stalk or follow her. I promise! I asked her what the perfume was and told her I really liked the smell. She said it was laundry soap. A special patchouli scented soap that she buys at a local health food or ethnic store. We had a little language barrier so it took a few times for me to understand that. But, at least I knew it was laundry soap. Maybe there was hope for our embarrassing sour smell.

I looked on Amazon and found some in the same Patchouli scent that the lady used. There were a few different brands, but I never got around to ordering it. A few months later (I know, I’m a real quick mover), my friend posted that she had purchased some new laundry soap from a local boutique here in South Bend, Ali On The Boulevard. It was called Zum Clean Laundry soap in Patchouli scent and she loved how the smell took over her whole house when she washed clothes. Oh man, I knew I had to get some. I read up on it and it’s made by a company called Indigo Wild. I called the local Ali On The Boulevard shop and had them hold one for me. I hopped on over there, grabbed my reserved bottle of soap, picked up some other goodies from the cute shop and flew home to get my laundry on. I think I did four loads of laundry that night and wanted to tear everything out of the dressers and closets and rewash it all in this glorious scent. It washes away the yucky sour smell and leaves behind a yummy spiced scent that I love. My friend and I joke that our houses smell a little like hippies, but who cares! I love the smell. Now, if Patchouli is not your scent, there are other scents available. Sweet Orange is calling my name. There is also Lavender, Frankincense & Myrrh, Tea Tree – Citrus, Sea Salt, Lavender – Mint, Eucalyptus – Citrus, Cedar, Rosemary – Mint. Oh my gosh. I love rosemary. I love mint. I want them all! I know in the local boutique, she has the lavender, frankincense, as well as their best selling patchouli. Maybe she’ll get in some of the other scents. If you are local, get on over to her shop and pick some up! You can read more about the products and company here. They are all natural, the ingredients are Sodium cocoate (saponifed 100% coconut oil), sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), essential oils and glycerin (vegetable).

My husband is still adjusting to the new scent that has taken over our clothes, sheets, bedding, towels, coats, jackets (you name it, I’ve washed it), but it’s definitely solved our issue of sour clothes. Now when I work out and start to heat up and sweat, my clothes have a lingering pleasant smell. I caught myself smelling my legging today during crunches. I can’t wait to try more scents.

*** UPDATE 9/2/15*** I still love this laundry soap! Unfortunately my local boutique is no longer going to carry the soap, so I’ll be looking online or at other stores if I can find it. I have yet to try any other scents besides the pachouli because my husband loves the pachouli. He laughs when coworkers ask him what the scent is that he’s wearing! Also, I eventually purchased a couple of those dryer balls from Bed Bath and Beyond. They help a lot with getting things dry and reducing static cling without the use of any dryer sheets. Remember fabric softener and dryer sheets put a film on your clothes so the laundry soap can’t penetrate and odors tend to linger. Plus most dryer sheets are not very sensitive skin friendly so after purchasing the dryer ball things, I have never once used dryer sheets and I’ve been very happy with how they work. I’m sure you can find them anywhere and probably for a better price. Mine were around $10 or $11 and I got the ones that said they were for static cling.

I have a friend who makes her own laundry soap. I am going to try it one day, I promise. I wonder if I could somehow infuse it with pachouli scent? Hmmmmmm