I thought it was the cologne they spray at the store, but even clothes I have delivered from a distribution center also have a smell that is very discernibly NOT Tide detergent.
How?? What are they washing these clothes with to make them smell like that??
Manufacturing detritus. Machine oil. Pollution. The rancid sweat of 100 hands they’ve passed through.
That smell is an excellent reason to wash your clothes before wearing them.
Well that sucks I really do like the smell. But maybe I’m just crazy.
Not crazy, just conditioned. Buying new clothes is exciting (after you turn 15) and the smell is part of the memory.
15? I’m 18 and I still dread it. Even if I get something nice, was is rly worth it? It’s a necessity, how can someone enjoy something that they must do? (like eating: super overrated)
People who enjoy eating enjoy tasting or enjoy the feeling of things going down their throat. Can be psychological too and not attached to the physical stimulus.
Do you guys not like sugar or the sting of spice? The whole ritual around eating, making food or heading somewhere to eat influences how good food makes you feel.
Agreed on both points. I buy all my shit at Kohl’s cause I just don’t care. Plain colored shirts, and regular pants. Am I fashionable? Fuck no, but I also don’t get weird looks for dressing bad. Someone buys an $80 shirt and “can’t” wear it after a year or two. I buy a $15 shirt and wear it for close to a decade if it’s still in good shape.
And food? It may just be me getting old but eating is more of something I do just to not die. Sure, I enjoy some foods, but overall it’s just a chore.
Wow, someone else that actually feels the way I do about these things, particularly the eating part. The whole process of preparing, cooking and eating food feels like such a waste of time to me, I wish I could just take a pill or supplement that actually gave me everything I needed as if I were eating a healthy balanced diet and then maybe eat one meal a week for the actual taste of food.
I said the same thing about those pills at least twice.
Serious answer: It’s likely that it may be some kind of starch spray that is used to try and keep clothing as wrinkle free as possible while in sea transit. And if you want your clothes to smell better than “tide” you can get that. Use an unscented detergent that does not have any type of Optical Brightener (they are a dye that never washes out of clothes). OB’s trick your eye into thinking the whites & colors are “brighter & cleaner”. It’s not true. A detergent that I can recommend is Ecos Unscented. And adding some baking soda (.25-.5 cup per load) at the start of the wash with the detergent (just dump it in the drum before the clothes) also helps rid your clothes of stink, grease and any detergent buildup that occurs. Your clothes should not smell like anything, AKA perfume, detergent, dirt. And almost every commercial detergent deposits perfume and OB’s on your dirty clothes. That means your clothes are not really clean. 100% cotton clothing smells really nice when it’s clean and perfume/detergent free. Also, dryer sheets deposit a wax and perfume on your clothing as well. Drying clothes on a lower temperature without sheets is better for your garment. Never use dryer sheets or fabric softener on towels, it will ruin them, especially liquid fabric softener. Also, wash on warm or hot depending on the clothing item. Cold is not getting your clothing clean. Warm & hot water help soften/melt the dirt/grease. Bedding, whites, underwear, socks need to be washed in hot to clean & sanitize them. And the clothing should not shrink, if it does on the 1st wash return it to the store and buy better clothing or a larger size. Your booty deserves clean, sanitized undies. From time to time you will need to rinse clothes in vinegar to help get rid of all the extra laundry detergent that will build up in things like towels or sheets. Thick items or large items like sheets will need this.
We as consumers need to demand better from these products and companies. Very few detergents can be found that do not contain OB’s, and OB’s have a few different chemical names. And the lack of unscented products is minimal. All those “free & clear” type of detergents are just hype.
And lastly, when you spend money on perfume/cologne and it’s not cheap ($50-5000 a bottle), you expect to smell the scent you picked out right? Yet your shower gel/soap, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, hair products, face products, clothes (laundry products) all have scents, sometimes very, very strong ones. That all competes with your preferred spray bottle of sexiness you purchased. And often, people don’t smell all that sexy anymore because of this. And laundry products are super strong right now and smell very chemically.
Good luck on your journey looking for that “new car smell” for clothing. Sometimes it’s hard to find answers outside of being in that industry. And than you for attending my TEDx Talk. :)
cold is not getting your clothing clean
This may have been true once, but I’m pretty sure with modern detergents it doesn’t matter. I wash pretty much everything but sheets and towels on cold so as to avoid colors fading and additional shrinking.
My clothes are definitely getting clean.
I know you think that’s true because your “colors are not fading”, but the OB’s are what is making them “brighter”, and that dye process can inhibit grime from being removed over time. I wash black clothes (even cotton) in hot, no fading (except denim because that’s how denim works by design). Washing blacks in any temperature with a detergent that contains Optical Brighteners will leave a white cast on the garment and it will look faded over time. Also, darker fabrics will look faded with dryer sheet use. And if your detergent is scented, you have no way to know that it’s actually clean. A stain or some dirt may wash out, but did they* smell? Just food for thought.
*the to they correction
did the smell?
I mean… Yes?
Are you telling me that warm/hot water does not fade colors more than cold water? I believe this is pretty well documented, I’m not sure that I need to prove anything here…
What about shrinkage?
This is a really awesome answer. Thanks for taking the time writing it all out.
I think changing out my detergent for something really scent free is a good first step.
They use some rather consumer unfriendly chemicals, like formaldehyde as others said, but also things like flame retardants, pest deterrents, anti molding agents etc to preserve the clothes if they’re stored improperly. You should ALWAYS wash new clothes before wearing them, even ignoring the possibility of others having tried them on. Maybe consider another scent for your clothes.
Anyone else read this in Tuvok’s voice?
Clothes are often treated with chemicals such as formaldehyde during manufacturing, which are responsible for that “new clothes smell”. They aren’t all that good for you though!
Spray them down with microplastics, unnatural dyes, and hazardous chemicals.
Plastic, nitrogen (or some inert gas, if packaged), and formaldehyde.
Yum!
Step 1. Turn on washing machine. Step 2. Hit head with hammer.
Instructions unclear, I put on the brain washing machine then hit head with hammer, clothes don’t smell any different though
You have to hit the front of your head
I’ll be real, this sounds like a question a criminal would ask.
You caught me
Gain detergent.
I think that’s just their natural scent. Add a few weeks of getting your stink all over them and then using chemicals to replace your smell with Mountain Breeze, and the original smell slowly disappears
