laundry smell

[Snugglebugsmom]

I am wondering how I can freshen up the smell of my clean laundry! I don't like getting it out of the dryer, because it tends to smell kind of stale, even though it's been washed.
I would love some tips.
TIA.
Ina

[zeldabee]

I use little cloth bags filled with dried lavender flowers. I first saw some paper ones at Trader Joe's and loved them. Then I started to just buy lavender (I also grow some), and putting that in cloth bags or a sock.

You might also try putting vinegar in your rinse. It sounds like your soap may not be working effectively if your clothes smell stale...even when I put nothing in the dryer, my clothes don't smell of anything when I take them out of the dryer (or remove them from the clothesline).

[PapayaMom]

I followed these directions for caring for my washing machine and it helped a lot

http://www.thediaperhyena.com/washingmachinecare.htm

[snanna]

It seems like a common problem that causes smelly laundry is detergent buildup on the clothes. We were definitely having this problem with our old washing machine that didn't spin well. It's much better now with our new machine. We also switched to using Charlie's Soap on everything (though I know some people have given it lukewarm reviews, and it doesn't perform well in hard water, it's wonderful for us.)

And thanks for the link to "machine care." My new front loader wants you to clean it with bleach, but I don't use bleach-- now I'll just use bs and vinegar. That'll work the same, it sounds like.

[reducereuserecycle]

i use Seventh generation baby laudry liquid or the Lavender scented kind. they also have an unscented kind. non of these leave my laundry smelling bad.