CoolHandLuc

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to ask a quick question and see if any others have noticed this since moving to the US.

I moved over here last December... I regularly go to the gym... but I noticed when washing my gym laundry that it always smells after washing?! Have other people noticed this?

I never had this problem in UK, my gym clothes were always fresh after one wash... is it something to do with the water here in Florida? I'd like to hear if anybody else has experienced this and if you have any tips besides washing the same clothes 3 or 4 times!

Luke

sir_eccles

Front loading or top loading?

CoolHandLuc

top loading

sir_eccles

philistine!

Nutek

Now you've done it.

robin1234

My general impression is that standard US washing machines (top loaders anyway) are remarkably ineffective despite using massive quantities of water. My wife and I always joke that when we go to England on holiday, we should take different clothes on each trip, in rotation, so that each thing at least gets a thorough wash every couple of years. Lots of other variables, of course, the water, the detergent, but I always notice my stuff gets a proper wash and smells clean when washed in a standard British (well, European) machine.

Hotscot

It's the bacteria that pervades the air...

rpjs

Not had a problem with a standard American top-loader, except that I think it gives the clothes a bit more of a pummelling. T-shirts from the UK seem to last not as long here as ones bought here.

And on the other hand American tumble dryers actually dry things!

cranston

IMO you can't beat a front loader!

indigogirl1976

I've noticed it too! I'm in tampa and 4 yrs ago we bought a brand new he front loader and the clothes still come out smelling just as they went in. I think it's the detergent here....you know the way at home we have biological and non biological? It seems they don't really have biological here...they just add bleach during the wash cycle to help the cleaning but even if you do that the clothes ( in my opinion ) still come out smelling weird. I wash my husbands work t shirts with tide and bleach and they still come out smelling like his deodorant lol. I think you need a good biological with lots of enzymes to break down the dirt and get the clothes clean.

Marc_ely

How long does your washer cycle last?

We were really surprised that our USA front loader does an average load in 20mins. Our UK washer was more like 1hr 10mins.

We've not noticed that it's any worse in performance though and ours is on every day.

Yorkieabroad

I'm not in Florida, but have the same problem in Texas. I find a lot of my older polo type shirts, the 100% cotton ones at least, start to smell sweaty after wearing for only a short while...at first I thought it was just deodorant/antiperspirant failure, but then I realized that it was a problem that developed with age (of shirt) and that new shirts didn't have the same issue. It also isn't so much a problem with the 'airflow', ployester sports type material. I find I rotate the cotton ones out 'garden duty' much faster than I ever have before.


Ps - nice thread - working in types of washing machines and longevity of t-shirts on the first page! If we can only somehow work in how much to tip at the laundry we'll have the trifecta! Add in a bit about how HOA's are the spawn of the devil for not allowing washing lines and we'll be over in TIO before you can say "fatty in a wheelchair"!

FinnDiego

I haven't had issues with bike and running kit, but I do religiously wash them immediately the same day after use. Otherwise I find synthetic sports clothing starts to smell everywhere and once the smell is in I can't seem to get it out.

I just moved and got myself a new (front loading!) washing machine, let's see how it does against the old top-loader. It even has a 15-20 minute quick wash and plays lovely little melodies every time you push a button! It's in the garage though, so my previous strategy of throwing the kit straight into the washer and then heading to the shower may not go down so well with the neighbors...

Jerseygirl

Arghhhhhhhh.

Try putting baking soda in the wash.

Michael

Surprisingly, the EU is behind the US in banning phosphates. In the US, phosphates have been banned since 1994 in laundry detergents and 2010 in dishwasher detergents. The EU didn't even propose reducing phosphates until late 2011. It may be possible that UK laundry detergents may still have phosphates since a total ban doesn't take effect until 2017.

EU comes clean on phosphates ban in detergents | EurActiv

Western European Phosphate Ban to Reward Innovative Formulations - Analyst Insight from Euromonitor International

There was another thread where we discussed how poorly dishwashers clean since the US consumer dishwasher phosphate ban. That year there were a lot of dishwashers replaced with new expensive dishwashers but the results were the same. Currently I have stainless steel pans that I had for 20 years but over the last 4 years, they have all developed a film and like many others, I replaced my dishwasher since I thought it quit cleaning.