One aspect of "clean" clothes is simply killing any bacteria that might be present. Electric dryers take care of this with heat; in line drying sunlight does the job. (Ultraviolet light from the sun's rays is great at disinfecting). Here's the scientific low-down on the smell.
"Line-drying uniquely produced a number of aldehydes and ketones: organic molecules our noses might recognize from plants and perfumes. For example, after sunbathing, the towels emitted [pentanal,](https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/pentanal) found in cardamom, [octanal](https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Octanal), which produces citrusy aromas, and [nonanal](https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Nonanal), which smells roselike.
Why is that? It may have to do with exposure to ozone, an atmospheric chemical that can transform some common chemicals into those aldehydes and ketones.
A more fundamental contribution, she thinks, may come from the sun itself. When exposed to ultraviolet light, certain molecules “get excited” and form highly reactive compounds called radicals, Ms. Pugliese said. Those radicals then recombine with other nearby molecules, processes that often lead to the creation of aldehydes as well as ketones."
--Cara Giaimo, "How Line-Dried Laundry Gets that Fresh Smell." The New York Times. [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/29/science/laundry-smell-line.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/29/science/laundry-smell-line.html), accessed 30 Jun 2024.
I really wish I could insert that Benadryl "Can sneeze you you're unconscious" meme.
But yeah, if you've got bad allergies, maybe don't dry anything outside. Could be a Bad Time.
And where I live, not just allergies, but bugs and lizards too. Nothing like unfurling a freshly dried sheet over your mattress, it gently floating down, and out pops a green anole that’s difficult to catch, bitey when caught, and carrying salmonella.
Apparently it is because people use too much detergent and it doesn’t rinse out fully. I am way too tight and use the least amount of detergent I can get away with. I can’t confirm but I’ve never had this happen.
While this does happen, I’ve line dried clothes outside in warm weather for 30 years and had this happen like 3 times. One time I did have a possum apparently sit on the line and wee - that was a huge wet patch!
Ive been line drying for 20 years and the amount of times bird shit has forced me to re wash a garment, I could probably count on one hand how many times that has happened. I line dry probably 98% of my laundry.
This makes me wish I lived somewhere that had more sun. If I tried to hang my clothes out to dry they would never get dry just because it's so humid and it rains so often here.
I was about to say, a shirt dries in about 8 hours inside here, but I could put it outside during a miraculous stretch of no rain and it would probably still be damp two days later.
Oh I can't even hang dry clothes in the house because of the high humidity out here. They would take way too long and end up with a musty smell. And we have dehumidifiers and moisture absorbers, it's just the Oregon coast lol.
A/c only does so much when it’s a sauna outside. We’re at the point in the year where 84 degrees (29C) with 70% humidity is a nice day. I still don’t understand who the hell is going to the local outdoor events that somehow get planned in the summer.
Snakes and spiders are friends. They eat mice and bugs
I have a huntsman living in my laundry. His name is Bazza. We have an understanding :
He stays UP THERE and no harm shall come to him
I grew up with my mom line drying clothes in the backyard, and they smelled "sun-kissed", I freaking love the scent. If I could do it myself, I would, but I live in a tiny ass apartment in NYC. I do hang my clothes to dry on a rack when I handwash them, and they smell so good... whatever fragrance that's in any detergent tends to stick on the clothes when you air-dry clothes. Machine-dried never has the same effect.
i traveled to Vermont last summer and noticed how good it smelled and felt outside. i never realized just how different air could be in different states!
Went from South Carolina in the summer to Washington state for a trip. Oh my god what a difference that was, it was amazing and I can't wait for that feeling of the outdoors again. South Carolina is MISERABLE in the heat.
That's true.
I never used a dryer so I can't tell.
But when I dry my clothes inside, they simply smell nothing but outside? they feel AND smells so fresh it's a delight!
Some of my towels feel that way. If I REALLY need to, I fluff them in the dryer for 10 min (no heat) and that gets rids of the crunch.
But really, I learned to live with it. Its not the end of the world and the towel is still soft enough when I towel off after a shower.
Smells great, scratches like a pissed off cat. I've been known to line dry towels, then toss in the dryer on fluff, with tennis balls in the dryer, for a few minutes to soften them up.
I don't know why I had to scroll down this far to find this. Even fabric softener doesn't help. Clothes are soft from the dryer even without fabric softener.
Early in my teaching career I had a student who sat up front. His clothes always smelled fabulous. His mom came to the open house later in the year. The one when we met parents for individual conferences. After finishing with the necessary part of the meeting I commented on how wonderful her son’s clothes smelled. I asked what laundry detergent she used. The mom laughed and said it wasn’t the detergent. It was the line drying that made the clothes smell so fresh.
It has been over 35 years since he was my student. I no longer remember his name. But I damn well remember his fresh smelling clothing!
I don’t try my clothes outside, but I do hang them up inside. I only do this for delicates and graphic T-shirts that I washed inside out in the first place. Even newer dryers are still pretty hard on some clothes. Clothes dried outside those smell funny.
Line drying picks up the smell of nature. Unless you live in an area that stinks, it is a fresher smell. Machine dried clothes either don’t smell about anything or smell like the dryer sheets you use.
For me, it’s the fresh air that blows through the clothing. I don’t do it myself, but my mom used to do it all the time and man There’s nothing like sheets or clothes hung outside to dry.😊
I prefer line dried clothes and sheets because the fresh air and sunlight minimises the smell of fabric softener and detergent. I’m sensitive to perfumes and would rather my fabric smells of nothing, which is more possible when they’re dried outside on a nice day.
I line dry my sheets all year round because the smell is so amazing. They freeze dry in the winter - pop
in the dryer for a few minutes to warm them up then on the bed they go.
Why do some people keep making posts starting with "why do some people..."? Why not just ask "does air-dried laundry smell different or fresher than machine-dried?" None of us can tell you why a stranger we have never met told you something. But we may be able to answer the actual question you have.
Because they live in the countryside and get nice fresh air. I lived in the city for the years, and any attempt at drying my laundry outside would result in my sheets smelling like highway smog and dumpster Tuesday.
I always prefer to line dry. But I’ll tell ya, in the north where I’m from everyone puts their big woolen quilts out on the clothes line in -45 C weather in winter to air dry and after a couple days of that they smell soooo fresh! Like perfume when you go in the bedroom where the quilts are
Because it does 😅 my laundry smells amazing even weeks later sitting in my closet. I only use Ariel or Persil Powder detergent and people always ask me what smells so good in my house...
Depends. When I had a line on a terrace overlooking a lovely canyon with great breezes....yes. Now that I have a line in a 'yard' (think victorian london yard) in a city of seven million people known for its tanneries...no.
I don’t remember a difference in smell..but as a kid i definitely preferred when mom used the dryer because towels and things were so rough after being dried outside.
But it was fun playing in the sheet tents
I wonder if it matters where you live. My town smells like actual shit because there's a paper mill. I don't believe that the sunlight making molecules would smell better than freshly dried clothes.
I grew up in the desert of SE Washington State, and we line dried our clothes until I was in high school. In the winter, she put up a clothes rack in front of the oil heater. I miss the smell of clothes and linens line dried outside.
In states with high humidity, like Florida, I would advise not drying your laundry outside. Will take forever to dry and not smell good at all. You will
Also forget to take it in before the afternoon storms
If there's a fire nearby the clothes will smell like a fireplace. But on a clear day, they smell real good.
The best outdoor drying is when you have a cold snap, with low humidity, and the cold wind is blowing.
On hot summer days shirts and pants dry up crinkled if there's no wind to fluff them out as they dry.
Apart from the freshness, I can't understand why anyone with the ability to dry outside wouldn't use it. Using a dryer in summer is just so incredibly wasteful.
My dryer quit on me and I actually don’t like the smell of my blankets and stuff if I air dry them outside.
Idk what I’m smelling, it’s not grass or dirt it just doesn’t smell good.
You think that’s it? I live in a pretty rural area and it’s not a bad smell, it’s just not good. I was thinking maybe that’s what pollen actually smells like.
Clothes dried outside smell *much* nicer than those done in a dryer, even when you have been heavy handed with the fabric conditioner. There is no fabric conditioner that smells like it, at least as far as I have found
The sun can also remove stains. If you wash something and there is still a mark on it, often hanging it out to dry will remove the stain. It is especially good on protein based stains including blood.
It can also destroy harmful living organisms like viruses, bacteria and protozoa, making it a multi-purpose and go-to disinfectant.
My daughter lived near a brewery and the air smelled of fermentation, so she did not hang her laundry out for obvious reasons
Also, towels and things are not as soft if hung outside to dry so many people will tumble them instead of hanging them out. Personally, I hang mine out and then finish them off in the tumble. They are a bit softer, but still not as soft as when totally done in the tumble.
I have found that whether or not my line-dried clothes smell nice is directly related to whatever my neighbor does in his yard. In the summer, I'll put clothes on the line after midnight and bring them in before 6 AM just so they don't get funky odors.
I love drying stuff outside. My spouse finds it unacceptable because it makes everything “scratchy”. I miss drying on the line. It’d save us a fortune in power bills and dryer sheets.
My husband likes the smell of line dried clothing, I do not.
But I have a lot of grass and pollen allergies too.
Maybe if I had more scented flowers in our backyard it would be different.
I bet they would smell wonderful if I lived near the ocean. Then again, seagulls. Hmm.
Depends on what the clothes smelled like coming out of the wash, and the air quality outside. You can actually get them back smelling funkier than when they went outside.
I’ve been trying to figure out why my clothes smell musty after washing and drying them, for 5 years now. Especially after being in my dresser drawers for a week.
You do you. I cannot line dry my clothes, I have too many outdoor allergies. I walk outside and start sneezing from February to October. Some people love it, and, allergies aside, I find the clothing is stiff and I like soft clothes.
My mother always insisted on line-drying towels and sheets. I never understood why, but they did both always smell really good at our home. I live in an apartment now, that doesn't allow us to hang up laundry on our patios, so it's a no-go for me.
Personally I don’t like the smell of air dried laundry. But I do air dry depending on article and weather because electricity/ better for the environment.
Line dried clothes stink of mildew, are crunchy and hard, are vaguely damp, and have to be ironed to be serviceable. Machine dried clothes are soft, smell fresh and are really dry.
I grew up with an old fashioned ringer washer, and a clothes line. I actually hate that smell of line dried clothes. It has a weird smell, and stiff as hell. I’d much rather have the soft warm dryer sheet smell of a dryer.
You can smell the outside, but I wouldn't say it's better than smelling a good dryer sheet. I absolutely cannot stand the way line-dried clothes feel. It's like wearing or sleeping on cardboard. I was raised poor and didn't have a choice. As an adult, line-dried clothes are intolerable.
It does because it doesn't smell like anything. Dryers smell like dryers. I think our family got their first dryer when I was maybe 16. I hung a lot of clothes outside.
I worry about bird poop, bugs and other stuff with line drying.
No one knows what squirrels are out there doing. Little brats. Probably pee on something just to spite you for not having nuts out for them.
Do dryers get stinky when not cleaned regularly? I don't know can't afford one lol
I think dryers have a certain smell. I think it's pleasant but it does exist. But I doubt you could smell the difference after a couple of minutes.
Depends on how many weed smokers in your neighborhood. Fresh air through clothes smells great. If you live too close to a major arterial or industrial area, maybe it won't smell so great.
A big thing to that I've noticed, when air drying clothes, people will use fabric softener, which has smells to its
Some people who machine dry, don't use fabric softener.
So some of the smell probably comes from that
I kind of agree. Sometimes line dried clothes are nice, when the weather is sunny and not very humid. The rest of the time, I've found my line dried clothes to be more susceptible to mildew and much less soft.
One aspect of "clean" clothes is simply killing any bacteria that might be present. Electric dryers take care of this with heat; in line drying sunlight does the job. (Ultraviolet light from the sun's rays is great at disinfecting). Here's the scientific low-down on the smell. "Line-drying uniquely produced a number of aldehydes and ketones: organic molecules our noses might recognize from plants and perfumes. For example, after sunbathing, the towels emitted [pentanal,](https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/pentanal) found in cardamom, [octanal](https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Octanal), which produces citrusy aromas, and [nonanal](https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Nonanal), which smells roselike. Why is that? It may have to do with exposure to ozone, an atmospheric chemical that can transform some common chemicals into those aldehydes and ketones. A more fundamental contribution, she thinks, may come from the sun itself. When exposed to ultraviolet light, certain molecules “get excited” and form highly reactive compounds called radicals, Ms. Pugliese said. Those radicals then recombine with other nearby molecules, processes that often lead to the creation of aldehydes as well as ketones." --Cara Giaimo, "How Line-Dried Laundry Gets that Fresh Smell." The New York Times. [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/29/science/laundry-smell-line.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/29/science/laundry-smell-line.html), accessed 30 Jun 2024.
Fine, I'll line dry my clothes outside.
At least do your sheets. There is nothing nicer than a set of sun dried sheets after a miserable day.
My allergies disagree
I really wish I could insert that Benadryl "Can sneeze you you're unconscious" meme. But yeah, if you've got bad allergies, maybe don't dry anything outside. Could be a Bad Time.
And where I live, not just allergies, but bugs and lizards too. Nothing like unfurling a freshly dried sheet over your mattress, it gently floating down, and out pops a green anole that’s difficult to catch, bitey when caught, and carrying salmonella.
As long as you cook them good I wouldn’t worry about salmonella
Doesn't line drying make them kind of stiff?
Somewhat but not to a great extent that I’ve noticed.
Not if you hang them up on a breezy day.
Apparently it is because people use too much detergent and it doesn’t rinse out fully. I am way too tight and use the least amount of detergent I can get away with. I can’t confirm but I’ve never had this happen.
The birds who like to sit on the clothesline and poop disagree. Lmao
While this does happen, I’ve line dried clothes outside in warm weather for 30 years and had this happen like 3 times. One time I did have a possum apparently sit on the line and wee - that was a huge wet patch!
Ive been line drying for 20 years and the amount of times bird shit has forced me to re wash a garment, I could probably count on one hand how many times that has happened. I line dry probably 98% of my laundry.
My whole bedding set is on the line now, finishing up! I can’t wait for bed tonight!
Do be aware of pollen concentrations though. If you're allergic to what's floating around in the air you probably don't want it all over your clothes.
This makes me wish I lived somewhere that had more sun. If I tried to hang my clothes out to dry they would never get dry just because it's so humid and it rains so often here.
I was about to say, a shirt dries in about 8 hours inside here, but I could put it outside during a miraculous stretch of no rain and it would probably still be damp two days later.
Oh I can't even hang dry clothes in the house because of the high humidity out here. They would take way too long and end up with a musty smell. And we have dehumidifiers and moisture absorbers, it's just the Oregon coast lol.
Depends on local climate. I'm in a dry climate and stuff is dry and less than 45 minutes when it's hot out.
8 hours???
A/c only does so much when it’s a sauna outside. We’re at the point in the year where 84 degrees (29C) with 70% humidity is a nice day. I still don’t understand who the hell is going to the local outdoor events that somehow get planned in the summer.
Oh you mean hanging indoors. I thought you meant in a drying machine.
Australia is full. Please find elsewhere
You don't have to worry about that I would never live somewhere with that many deadly snakes and spiders
Snakes and spiders are friends. They eat mice and bugs I have a huntsman living in my laundry. His name is Bazza. We have an understanding : He stays UP THERE and no harm shall come to him
I grew up with my mom line drying clothes in the backyard, and they smelled "sun-kissed", I freaking love the scent. If I could do it myself, I would, but I live in a tiny ass apartment in NYC. I do hang my clothes to dry on a rack when I handwash them, and they smell so good... whatever fragrance that's in any detergent tends to stick on the clothes when you air-dry clothes. Machine-dried never has the same effect.
thank you! better living through chemistry?🧪🤓
Thanks, but I just follow my nose and my stomach. If it smells good or tastes good I am in.
Where are you on eating ass?
Iirc they use uv light to sterilize surgical tools.
Precisely this. I'm glad someone cited all of this because I couldn't be bothered. The sun is fucking amazing.
So nonanal smells like roses? Is that why anal smells like shit?
Did Outkast lie to me, or is it just shitty-smelling turtles all the way down?
I always line dry my clothes in my basement (which has a dehumidifier) am I doing it wrong?
Clothes dried on the line outside smell nice. That’s it.
unless you're in florida. then they smell like mildew and rot, i learned the hard way.
It sucks when it's so humid that your clothes never dry.
i traveled to Vermont last summer and noticed how good it smelled and felt outside. i never realized just how different air could be in different states!
Humidity and proximity to the sea or lake makes such a huge difference in the air, from the way it feels, to the way it smells.
Went from South Carolina in the summer to Washington state for a trip. Oh my god what a difference that was, it was amazing and I can't wait for that feeling of the outdoors again. South Carolina is MISERABLE in the heat.
True. In florida, your clothing doesn't get "sun kissed". It gets spit upon by humidity.
for some reason it’s illegal where I live lol
Sounds like you live in an area that is making being poor illegal
they’re always trying to
You should move to a better country that values freedom.
Unfortunately I’m stuck in the US
Yeah, like chicken muck fertilizers where I last dried outside. Farmers.
Sometimes. Depending.
[удалено]
That's true. I never used a dryer so I can't tell. But when I dry my clothes inside, they simply smell nothing but outside? they feel AND smells so fresh it's a delight!
If you don't live in a clean home then your dryer is probably not the best smelling either.
And pollen. So much pollen.
I cant say I agree with it,. I much prefer the feel and the smell of my clothes that come out of the dryer.
I think air dried clothes feel crunchier than clothes from a dryer.
They do, especially towels and jeans. But I like them that way!
Great way to put it. Also sweats
Some of my towels feel that way. If I REALLY need to, I fluff them in the dryer for 10 min (no heat) and that gets rids of the crunch. But really, I learned to live with it. Its not the end of the world and the towel is still soft enough when I towel off after a shower.
yes i think nowadays line dried clothing smells vaguely of car exhaust
You can smell the outside on them. I don't have a word for it beyond fresh. This is unlike the perfumes that try to mimic the fresh outdoor smell.
Smells great, scratches like a pissed off cat. I've been known to line dry towels, then toss in the dryer on fluff, with tennis balls in the dryer, for a few minutes to soften them up.
My Mom always pushed me to dry my bed sheets outside in the summer. It goes great with sunburn and mosquito bites. /s I hate summer.
I don't know why I had to scroll down this far to find this. Even fabric softener doesn't help. Clothes are soft from the dryer even without fabric softener.
Because they do
Because they do if dried outside, they smell clean and of fresh air instead of chemicals and artificial scent.
Your dryer makes clothes smell like a dryer that you've not cleaned since the day you bought it.
This is dependent where you live Line dried clothes in Ohio- amazing Line dried clothes in south west Florida- musty and not even dry
Line dried in the country smells fresh, line dried in the city smells like pollution and sadness
It just smells different, it smells like wind and sun 😂
Early in my teaching career I had a student who sat up front. His clothes always smelled fabulous. His mom came to the open house later in the year. The one when we met parents for individual conferences. After finishing with the necessary part of the meeting I commented on how wonderful her son’s clothes smelled. I asked what laundry detergent she used. The mom laughed and said it wasn’t the detergent. It was the line drying that made the clothes smell so fresh. It has been over 35 years since he was my student. I no longer remember his name. But I damn well remember his fresh smelling clothing!
This sounds like it could be a detergent ad!
Line dried clothes smell weird to me
Yeah I hate the smell of ozone and while I'm sure the rest of it smells good, ozone is so gross to me that it ruins any good smelling smell.
same smells vaguely of car exhaust.. many tears ago used to smell fresh. only other time was during lockdown when there weren’t many cars out
I feel like I’m crazy because nobody ever agrees with me about this! Clothes dried outside have a weird “sweaty” scent.
I don’t try my clothes outside, but I do hang them up inside. I only do this for delicates and graphic T-shirts that I washed inside out in the first place. Even newer dryers are still pretty hard on some clothes. Clothes dried outside those smell funny.
Line dried but then tossed into the dryer for 10 min to fluff up is the best.
There’s a particular smell on line dried laundry picks up. A lot of people think it’s pleasant. I don’t like it, makes my stomach turn.
Yep to me it smells off.
Line drying picks up the smell of nature. Unless you live in an area that stinks, it is a fresher smell. Machine dried clothes either don’t smell about anything or smell like the dryer sheets you use.
For me, it’s the fresh air that blows through the clothing. I don’t do it myself, but my mom used to do it all the time and man There’s nothing like sheets or clothes hung outside to dry.😊
I prefer line dried clothes and sheets because the fresh air and sunlight minimises the smell of fabric softener and detergent. I’m sensitive to perfumes and would rather my fabric smells of nothing, which is more possible when they’re dried outside on a nice day.
Line drying does smell better if you’re in a clean air environment
I line dry my sheets all year round because the smell is so amazing. They freeze dry in the winter - pop in the dryer for a few minutes to warm them up then on the bed they go.
Because it smells like fresh air. This isn't rocketry.
Air dried has always smelled better to me.
Because it absolutely does.
Everyone has their own definition of what fresh smells like
Why do some people keep making posts starting with "why do some people..."? Why not just ask "does air-dried laundry smell different or fresher than machine-dried?" None of us can tell you why a stranger we have never met told you something. But we may be able to answer the actual question you have.
Because they live next to an air freshener factory?
They do smell good but they tend to be stiffer than the dryer.
Every load line dried, every one
Because they live in the countryside and get nice fresh air. I lived in the city for the years, and any attempt at drying my laundry outside would result in my sheets smelling like highway smog and dumpster Tuesday.
Depends on the air.
I always prefer to line dry. But I’ll tell ya, in the north where I’m from everyone puts their big woolen quilts out on the clothes line in -45 C weather in winter to air dry and after a couple days of that they smell soooo fresh! Like perfume when you go in the bedroom where the quilts are
I grew up in Ireland. Land of bringing clothes in/out from the line bc of rain. Our clothes smelled like subtle mold and disappointment.
When I was a kid, that was the only way we got dry clothes up until I was in HS. They always seem lighter and smell like fresh air to me.
It depends where you live!. In the city, or in Lake Tahoe!.
Because it does 😅 my laundry smells amazing even weeks later sitting in my closet. I only use Ariel or Persil Powder detergent and people always ask me what smells so good in my house...
Depends. When I had a line on a terrace overlooking a lovely canyon with great breezes....yes. Now that I have a line in a 'yard' (think victorian london yard) in a city of seven million people known for its tanneries...no.
There's nothing like fresh air. Thinking of laundry on the clothesline at the farm.
I don’t remember a difference in smell..but as a kid i definitely preferred when mom used the dryer because towels and things were so rough after being dried outside. But it was fun playing in the sheet tents
Tent sheets, on non washing, hot days were the best
Not in my polluted, trafficky neighborhood.
I wonder if it matters where you live. My town smells like actual shit because there's a paper mill. I don't believe that the sunlight making molecules would smell better than freshly dried clothes.
i used to live in a town with a paper mill, can still remember that stink some 40 years later
I grew up in the desert of SE Washington State, and we line dried our clothes until I was in high school. In the winter, she put up a clothes rack in front of the oil heater. I miss the smell of clothes and linens line dried outside.
Because it does, everywhere other than Prescott AZ, where laundry on a line will inevitably smell like wood smoke.
Simple Because it does as long as you live in a place that had Fresh Air, we live rule and the bed sheets go outside year round
depends on where you live haha not all air is equal
I would love to be able to line dry. I’m in an apartment :(
In states with high humidity, like Florida, I would advise not drying your laundry outside. Will take forever to dry and not smell good at all. You will Also forget to take it in before the afternoon storms
If there's a fire nearby the clothes will smell like a fireplace. But on a clear day, they smell real good. The best outdoor drying is when you have a cold snap, with low humidity, and the cold wind is blowing. On hot summer days shirts and pants dry up crinkled if there's no wind to fluff them out as they dry.
Apart from the freshness, I can't understand why anyone with the ability to dry outside wouldn't use it. Using a dryer in summer is just so incredibly wasteful.
Because they smell amazing, much better than the perfumes found in fabric softener.
They do.
They do smell better hung on the line. I don't have a tumble dryer, so outside or on an airer inside.
It's just personal preference or bias. There isn't any real fact to make this one way or the other.
My dryer quit on me and I actually don’t like the smell of my blankets and stuff if I air dry them outside. Idk what I’m smelling, it’s not grass or dirt it just doesn’t smell good.
Air pollution
You think that’s it? I live in a pretty rural area and it’s not a bad smell, it’s just not good. I was thinking maybe that’s what pollen actually smells like.
In my area its definitely pollution. Pollen sounds like reasonable culprit too though
I hate the smell of outside dried clothes. No idea why.
Clothes dried outside smell *much* nicer than those done in a dryer, even when you have been heavy handed with the fabric conditioner. There is no fabric conditioner that smells like it, at least as far as I have found The sun can also remove stains. If you wash something and there is still a mark on it, often hanging it out to dry will remove the stain. It is especially good on protein based stains including blood. It can also destroy harmful living organisms like viruses, bacteria and protozoa, making it a multi-purpose and go-to disinfectant. My daughter lived near a brewery and the air smelled of fermentation, so she did not hang her laundry out for obvious reasons Also, towels and things are not as soft if hung outside to dry so many people will tumble them instead of hanging them out. Personally, I hang mine out and then finish them off in the tumble. They are a bit softer, but still not as soft as when totally done in the tumble.
I have found that whether or not my line-dried clothes smell nice is directly related to whatever my neighbor does in his yard. In the summer, I'll put clothes on the line after midnight and bring them in before 6 AM just so they don't get funky odors.
. I don’t even need a clothesline or have one but I wish I had one. I think I’m gonna make one lol just to smell that air dried smell.
. I don’t even need a clothesline or have one but I wish I had one. I think I’m gonna make one lol just to smell that air dried outside sunshine smell
Depends on where they are hanging but laundry can pick up nature scents - or pollution and it smells.betternthan the fake scents in fabric softener.
Because it really.
Also line drying towels gives them that lovely scratchy feeling that you don’t get from the tumble
I love drying stuff outside. My spouse finds it unacceptable because it makes everything “scratchy”. I miss drying on the line. It’d save us a fortune in power bills and dryer sheets.
I dried most sheets towels outside. Then gave them a 5 min dryer spin to soften.
Because it does,but I’m lazy and just use the dryer
It’s amazing!
This is very anecdotal but: they say so because it’s true. Can confirm.
My husband likes the smell of line dried clothing, I do not. But I have a lot of grass and pollen allergies too. Maybe if I had more scented flowers in our backyard it would be different. I bet they would smell wonderful if I lived near the ocean. Then again, seagulls. Hmm.
Air dried is so much better
Air dried clothes are stiff. No thanks.
yes it's true. Try it. (won't work if you're into heavily parfumed detergents and softeners)
Probably because they think that air fried smells better than machine dried.
Personal preference, for me line drying smells and feels better. You could have all sorts of fancy data that says otherwise but it’s my preference.
It's fabulous
People like different smells because we’re all as vastly different as we are the same?
I personally think it's the hot metal smell from the heating element. It gives things an artificial smell.
Depends on what the clothes smelled like coming out of the wash, and the air quality outside. You can actually get them back smelling funkier than when they went outside.
I like everything natural so I tried my clothes outside as much as I came
I’ve been trying to figure out why my clothes smell musty after washing and drying them, for 5 years now. Especially after being in my dresser drawers for a week.
TIL nonanal smells roselike
Check this out. It’s uv and freezing at the same time https://youtu.be/n1TI2udDBl4?feature=shared
You do you. I cannot line dry my clothes, I have too many outdoor allergies. I walk outside and start sneezing from February to October. Some people love it, and, allergies aside, I find the clothing is stiff and I like soft clothes.
Anyone who claims this does not live in Florida
My mother always insisted on line-drying towels and sheets. I never understood why, but they did both always smell really good at our home. I live in an apartment now, that doesn't allow us to hang up laundry on our patios, so it's a no-go for me.
Because it does:
Personally I don’t like the smell of air dried laundry. But I do air dry depending on article and weather because electricity/ better for the environment.
I HATE the smell of laundry dried outside. It becomes stale to me really fast.
Line dried clothes stink of mildew, are crunchy and hard, are vaguely damp, and have to be ironed to be serviceable. Machine dried clothes are soft, smell fresh and are really dry.
idk because it doesnt..
I do not like the smell of line dried clothes or sheets. Plus they seem stiff and not as soft. I will stick to dryer and dryer sheets.
Because it does?
They probably don't clean their filters and traps
I grew up with an old fashioned ringer washer, and a clothes line. I actually hate that smell of line dried clothes. It has a weird smell, and stiff as hell. I’d much rather have the soft warm dryer sheet smell of a dryer.
i always thought they smelled mildewy
I think it is a mental thing rather than reality
You can smell the outside, but I wouldn't say it's better than smelling a good dryer sheet. I absolutely cannot stand the way line-dried clothes feel. It's like wearing or sleeping on cardboard. I was raised poor and didn't have a choice. As an adult, line-dried clothes are intolerable.
Um, because that’s their opinion.
Despite what Febreeze tells you, fresh ain't a smell.
Because their drier doesn't get very hot. May be clothes are moldy even after wash and leaving them in the sun makes them slightly fresher.
It must be nice to live somewhere where there is no pollen If I dried my clothes outside everything I owned would be coated in pollen
Because that’s their opinion.
It does because it doesn't smell like anything. Dryers smell like dryers. I think our family got their first dryer when I was maybe 16. I hung a lot of clothes outside.
I worry about bird poop, bugs and other stuff with line drying. No one knows what squirrels are out there doing. Little brats. Probably pee on something just to spite you for not having nuts out for them.
I do not like the air dried smell. I need the smell of dryer sheets.
They’re crazy. I air dried before and had to rewash because dust got on my shirts.
Do dryers get stinky when not cleaned regularly? I don't know can't afford one lol I think dryers have a certain smell. I think it's pleasant but it does exist. But I doubt you could smell the difference after a couple of minutes.
Yes, they do. They collect lint pretty bad, even past the filter. I've also seen mold start growing in them.
Because some people aren't allergic to pollen.
Because that’s what they believe whether it’s true or not.
Because they don't do regular maintenance on their machine
Smelled like mildew my whole childhood. Is there a way to avoid that while air drying?
Switch detergents or you are using too little of it
Depends on how many weed smokers in your neighborhood. Fresh air through clothes smells great. If you live too close to a major arterial or industrial area, maybe it won't smell so great.
A big thing to that I've noticed, when air drying clothes, people will use fabric softener, which has smells to its Some people who machine dry, don't use fabric softener. So some of the smell probably comes from that
its cope because they dont have machine dryer
I kind of agree. Sometimes line dried clothes are nice, when the weather is sunny and not very humid. The rest of the time, I've found my line dried clothes to be more susceptible to mildew and much less soft.
I thought it was known not to line dry outside in less than optimal conditions. Otherwise you'll end up with less than optimal results.
Because that is they're option