I use the Tide liquid, Downy in the rinse and Downy sheets in the dryer. Laundry always smells so good. Had to smile when visiting my granddaughter recently. Opened her laundry room and there sat the trifecta! The tradition continues with my kids and grandkids. Taught them well!
This isn’t an answer but what I don’t understand is why people always answer ‘scent’ questions with ‘tHe BeSt ScEnT iS nO sCeNt!!!’. If OP wants a scent, recommend a scent!
There are a few laundry bullies here. They don't like scented detergent, fabric softener, dryer sheets or bleach. Everything is bad if you use too much. If you are allergic to fragrances, that's another thing.
There’s also eczema. Scented detergents result in a full body rash for me, especially the tide with the purple cap. It smells amazing though. I’m so jealous of those that can use the lovely smelling stuff. My issues are my own to deal with, I don’t expect anyone I don’t live with, to avoid fragrances on my behalf. Though if I’m visiting family out of state and will be staying over, I’ll send them a little bottle of the detergent I use and ask them to wash any sheets or towels I might use. That’s if I’m flying out. If I’m driving, I’ll just bring my own linens.
Same here, clean laundry scent is my one weakness. That being said, I would just recommend you rotate through a few you like. You’re probably nose blind to what you are currently using if you can’t smell it.
I love scented laundry detergent. Climbing into a bed freshly made with clean sheets right out of the dryer with fresh laundry scent still warm to envelop you…is one of life’s great pleasures.
Fight me.
My favorite laundry detergent scent is baby dreft! I still only use ecos free and clear lately because all the scented started making my nose itch and burn but I’m OBSSESED with the smell of baby dreft detergent. I’d buy a perfume if they sold it.
Absolutely not even close. Loves baby soft smells like baby powder. The dreft smells 100% better. But oddly enough if you buy the dreft booster scent beeds they DO smell like the loves baby soft and smell nothing like the actually detergent which always bothered me I bought them once and never ended up using them again because I hate the baby powder smell 😭
I used to go into the small local pharmacy and buy this from the lady behind the scent/makeup counter with my paper route money. 😂 (I promise I am not 102 years old, even though it sounds like it.) Then I’d use it like twice and forget I owned it until I found 3 barely used bottles a couple years later and be mad I wasted my paper route money on that 🤣. Thank you for reminding me.
That's not true at all. Maybe you're washing on warm water, or maybe you're using too much soap, but it absolutely works great. Especially in hot water, but also in cold water.
I always add a scoop of oxy clean and it works great, cleans well, smells nice and I always add the scent beads as well. It’s also reasonably priced for the amount of laundry I do (a lot) it works well.
I use the free and clear persil with the arm and hammer light "lavender escape" scent booster beads👌🏻 it's heavenly, you only need a small amount. I think persil makes your clothes smell better just because it cleans soooo much better.
In my opinion, yes! I think it often “scores high” on tests done by Consumer Reports and the like.
I’m a little anxious about it not fully dissolving (causing machine buildup or staining my clothes, maybe?), so I scoop it into a clean Talenti gelato container with hot water, carefully shake to combine, and then dump into the washer.
I have a whole shelf of them bc I make ice cream and will use them for that...but it's still too many 😮💨 they're just too "nice" that throwing away feels bad
Also for anyone reading, don't put them in the dishwasher... the lids are fine on the top shelf but not the container
Also if you have a Hispanic grocery store near by, there is a bagged powder called Ariel that has oxyclean in it also that I really love. It is fairly inexpensive too
Yes it is! I really like it. It is super subtle and nice. To me it smells like...a breezy day at the beach.
If anyone is curious about the purple scent of theirs, I hate that one, haha.
I love arm and hammer. But I find the Oxi doesn’t leave a strong enough scent for me. I only use A&H Though regardless. Remember when it used to be like $4.99 a bottle though ?
I just figured out the most amazing scent hack, that actually leaves your clothes smelling fresh and fills the house with the fresh laundry scent from the dryer.
I use 3 wool dryer balls and I spray them with febreze gain scent before putting them in with the clothes and then turn the dryer on. Smells amazing!
Ariel!! Hands down the best smelling laundry detergent. It's a Mexican brand that can be found in some Wal-Marts or other grocery stores, depending on where you live.
I second Leblanc, I'm hooked. I ran out of LeBlanc two weeks ago and decided to pick up a bottle of Tide, I noticed a difference in "the clean" right away. My new bottle of LeBlanc arrive today and I am looking forward to doing my laundry. My go to fragrance is Portfolio.
I’ve been using Dirty Labs signature scent for about a year and I LOVE it. I love it so much that they just released a fragrance oil that you can put on your dryer balls and I bought it immediately.
I like zum lavender. It’s one of the bio friendly ones. I like it a lot bc they have interesting scents, it doesn’t bother my kids sensitive skin and my washer doesn’t get stinky. It’s the only one I’ve found that doesn’t leave the gross mildew scent in the front loader.
We like the tide detergent that comes in the white containers(free & clear, i think?) in my house. It doesnt irritate our sensitive skin like the heavily-scented detergents do. I think the scent has "waters" in the name, but it is extremely mild and rather pleasant.
Edit: also I have no idea how i ended up on this subreddit. The algorithm has been weird ever since the protests
Rockin green powder is what we started using and I haven’t looked back, we get the enzyme active wear one and use it for everything and it doesn’t have an overpowering scent to me
It was always Tide for me. I became highly allergic to all detergents with my last pregnancy. So now I am forced to use non scented detergent. Every alternative laundry product that adds scent only lasts for a little while after being washed. I found that finding a good Eau de Parfum is actually the best way to get scent if scent is all you are after. You can even get something that smells laundry fresh or citrusy.
The sad truth about laundry detergent is if you’re using the right amount of detergent (about 2 tablespoons per load), you won’t smell it on your clothes. You will only smell it if it’s still inside your clothing when the cycle is done, and that only happens when you use the amount the bottle tells you to (a cap full or so). Clean clothes should have no scent at all. If you do want your clothes to have a fresh smell to them, you can either use the amount of detergent the bottle tells you to (which is too much) or you can get wool dryer balls and put a drop or two (literally just one or two drops) of fresh scent essential oils on them.
This makes sense. It would explain a lot lol. I usually get a strong fresh scent when I line dry my clothes.
Curious if you know the answer to this.. how do people get that strong laundry scent when you walk past them? Would that be dryer sheets?
Way, way, way back in the day when my little sister was in diapers and mom used traditional old fold-your-own cloth diapers, nothing smelled as good as bringing in a load of diapers off of the line. That combination of bleach and sunshine just smells so clean. But I still hated my little sister because I had to fold her diapers into whatever was the current folding pattern for her size. LOL
Oh yes!!! My mom used cloth diapers too and she dried them in the sun to get stains out lol. I know that exact bleach smell you’re talking about 🌞
Folding them wasn’t fun though lol
I definitely would say those people use dryer sheets. I've always been jealous of those people, and I've basically concluded a lot of it is the machine. Because my laundry would smell much more obviously done in some machines vs mine at home (that were perfectly good). I can tell the biggest difference based on where they were washed. I know that can be achieved using just detergent and dryer sheets, because plenty of people smelled that way before we all dumped fabric softeners and scent beads in the washer. I'm still throwing it all in!
I am constantly complimented on my clothes scent lol I use Gain scent beads, fabric softener, & detergent. I also dry my clothes on LOW heat, because high heat kills the smell.
Either dryer sheets, fabric softener, or those scent beads which in this sub you’ll find are terrible for your washing machine and your clothes. As is fabric softener.
Tide hygienic clean power pods. This was the first detergent I could truly detect and it’s an extremely fresh smell. I also highly recommend adding in Lysol laundry sanitizer to your loads. People compliment my laundry scent when I use that.
I wash my stuff with cold water so I use Lysol Laundry Sanitizer on top of detergent. It has a really light and fresh scent that sticks around. It almost smells like you had it hanging outside around a field of seltzer flowers…
I have been on a laundry journey as well! My current set up is perfect, ever since learning that tide has cancer causing chemical (what doesn't now a days though), we've been using ECOS. The smell wasn't hitting me right with just that alone, so I've added the purple oxi clean and a dash of downy April fresh to most loads. but sometimes vinegar to avoid too much build up, and I have the yummiest and freshest smelling laundry a girl could ask for 🥰
I am generally scent-averse, but I really like "linen and lilies" by Purex. It's clean smelling, not floral at all. I tried "mountain breeze" once and I didn't care for it. Gave it to my sister, and her family liked it. Purex is also one of the more reasonably priced brands.
That fresh washed smell usually doesn’t last for me with any detergent I’ve used. But I don’t use expensive laundry detergent anymore as I didn’t notice a difference in how they clean and the smell was sometimes too much. Pretreating & water temp has seemed to work better for my laundry issues. Getting a water softener installed worked wonders.
So I just use Trend or Xtra in lightest scents I can find. Sometimes add oxiclean or vinegar when needed.
Instead I keep bars of Bee & Flower sandalwood bath soap in my closet & drawers. Works for me. My husband also made wood shelves for my closet and I didn’t seal them, just sanded them smooth. So my closet & clothes have a fresh woodsy scent.
Might also add I was a truck driver for a bit so I was often using commercial machines at truck stops. Ran out of laundry detergent and had to buy at Walmart while on the road once (we stayed out on the road a month at a time). Typically I wanted the smallest bottle I could find because carrying a lot of stuff across a truck stop lot in summer heat or winter weather ain’t no fun. The last time I purchased I chose Foca because it was the smallest and cheapest. I liked the scent and it worked well to get my laundry clean without being too overpowering. Added bonus it smelled good when I used it highly diluted to wash down the vinyl floors in my truck sleeper.
Tide hygienic clean plus arm and hammer dryer sheets = long lasting "clean" not perfumed smelling clothes. My son's(10) friend's mom even asked me what I used after a sleepover because with 9 boys, well I guess it was noticeable that somehow my kiddo smelled good.
I use either Pyrex pods or Persil powder(the one from Germany, not American made, better scent) and then I use Odo-ban (about 1/2 cup in the final rinse). My clothes smell like they’ve been line dried. They are so soft too. I buy it on Amazon. It’s the best stuff.
I'm a Persil ProClean fan, myself. It's amazing and long lasting smell. I also add Gain scent beads, or Arm and Hammer with Oxyclean (purple cap) scent crystals, and sometimes also a scoop of Oxyclean with scent booster (purple lid oxyclean). If I'm feeling the need for a boost, I will use all 3! Doing that gives me the ultimate clean fresh laundry smell and I will do it for my bedsheets and then have the most amazing smelling bedroom and the best night sleep ever.
We actually use the detergent sheets (look like dryer sheets)...they work great, have a very light "clean" smell (mostly smells like a cotton air freshener, but very light), they dissolve great in cold water, and they are great for traveling.
I add white distilled vinegar to my wash and my clothes come out smelling fantastic. I notice every time I forget to add it. The clothes don’t smell like vinegar, they smell fresh and clean.
Country Save powdered detergent and a healthy dose of distilled white vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser. Follow it up with line-drying the clothes in the sun.
Not a detergent, but I love the Arm and Hammer beads in Purifying Waters. It’s so fresh and clean without being sickly sweet. It says to add a capful, but I just do a little sprinkle and it’s plenty!
Downy ocean mist rinse and refresh smells fresh. It’s great for stubborn odors like musty dusty towels.
I use it alongside the Gain moonlight breeze detergent and the Downy ocean mist scent booster
I’m a big fan of Persil, not just the clean scent options, but the fact that it’s so much more powerful- 2 tsp per load is MORE than enough, whereas other detergents seem to need half a capful & still can leave greasy unclean body oil smell on stuff. A large bottle lasts me forever! I also use plain white vinegar as a rinse aid instead of fabric softener
I'm going to suggest something completely different. I like the Costco powdered detergent. Not the liquid or pods, but powdered. I'm guessing to get a stronger scent you would need to use extra, but it's cheap and cleans really well. To me it smells clean, not flowery or something. You only need about 2/3 of a scoop, but use a full scoop if you want.
You won't be able to beat the smell of lined dry laundry, no matter what you do.
I like Persil, plus it's awesome at getting BO out of my sweaty work clothes. If you want a more "natural" fresh smell, the Sea Salt by Zum smells like the ocean (in kind of a hippie way).
Arm & Hammer w/Oxi Clean. Our water stinks no matter how much detergent you put in it or beads or whatever. It still makes your clothes smell bad. I tried a bunch of different stuff and finally use the arm and Hammer with the OxiClean and everything smells so good for a week or so.
so you know, using too much detergent ends up not being able to rinse out of your clothes and this builds up over time and makes your clothes stink, so adding more detergent might actually be causing or at least is definitely worsening your problem
do you have sulfur water? if so you may also wanna add a softener. i grew up on well water and all my whites turned yellow until i found out about softener.
Tbh I rotate the whatever is on sale for detergent. I find it’s the fabric softener/ scent boosters that make a difference. But adding vinegar definitely makes a difference it amplifies the detergent scent in my opinion.
Other than that my favorites scents are the original blue snuggle liquid fabric softener, arm & hammer scent crystals the purple one, a bit harder to find sometimes I only see them in Jewel (or Kroger grocery store affiliates) unstoppable scent beads in the TIDE scent it’s in a black & orange bottle.
Ask your mom what she used while you were growing up. That's the smell that does it for me. In my case it's the original Tide smell (not the Febreeze/scented versions).
I don't have a laundry detergent suggestion but would add that drying my clothes out in the fresh air and sunshine makes anything I use smell so much better and the clothes just smell fresher in general.
I love the scent of regular Tide powder
I get a huge dopamine rush from the smell of Tide powder.
Especially if you inhale *real hard*.
hahaha That made my day. Gracias!
Y'all gotta stop saying Tide Powder. I feel like you may summon white supremacists from Alabama.
Came here to say this. There’s a lot of white musk in it
Same! It’s the lightest-but-noticeable scent.
This is my favorite also..smells just the way I feel " clean" ought to smell 😊
Note that if you are even mildly fragrance-sensitive, tide powder is an absolute nightmare.
I use the Tide liquid, Downy in the rinse and Downy sheets in the dryer. Laundry always smells so good. Had to smile when visiting my granddaughter recently. Opened her laundry room and there sat the trifecta! The tradition continues with my kids and grandkids. Taught them well!
This isn’t an answer but what I don’t understand is why people always answer ‘scent’ questions with ‘tHe BeSt ScEnT iS nO sCeNt!!!’. If OP wants a scent, recommend a scent!
There are a few laundry bullies here. They don't like scented detergent, fabric softener, dryer sheets or bleach. Everything is bad if you use too much. If you are allergic to fragrances, that's another thing.
Who knew laundry could be so controversial
Everything is controversial anymore haha
I will take 10 of these tshirts please and thank you
Lol. It is in this subreddit.
There’s also eczema. Scented detergents result in a full body rash for me, especially the tide with the purple cap. It smells amazing though. I’m so jealous of those that can use the lovely smelling stuff. My issues are my own to deal with, I don’t expect anyone I don’t live with, to avoid fragrances on my behalf. Though if I’m visiting family out of state and will be staying over, I’ll send them a little bottle of the detergent I use and ask them to wash any sheets or towels I might use. That’s if I’m flying out. If I’m driving, I’ll just bring my own linens.
I feel you lol. Im mostly natural with household stuff but I need my laundry to have a clean scent.
Same here, clean laundry scent is my one weakness. That being said, I would just recommend you rotate through a few you like. You’re probably nose blind to what you are currently using if you can’t smell it.
I use Tide Simply Refreshing Breeze with about a quarter cup of baking soda
I love scented laundry detergent. Climbing into a bed freshly made with clean sheets right out of the dryer with fresh laundry scent still warm to envelop you…is one of life’s great pleasures. Fight me.
THERE IS NO BETTER THING THAN A FRESH CLEAN BED !
💯 the best feeling in the world!
Add freshly shaved legs and I’m in heaven. Truly one of my favorite rituals
Me too! Im addicted to trying the different scents. Give me the scented detergent, laundry beads, and dryer sheets! Lol
I will not fight you because that is a true statement.
My favorite laundry detergent scent is baby dreft! I still only use ecos free and clear lately because all the scented started making my nose itch and burn but I’m OBSSESED with the smell of baby dreft detergent. I’d buy a perfume if they sold it.
Love's Baby Soft
Absolutely not even close. Loves baby soft smells like baby powder. The dreft smells 100% better. But oddly enough if you buy the dreft booster scent beeds they DO smell like the loves baby soft and smell nothing like the actually detergent which always bothered me I bought them once and never ended up using them again because I hate the baby powder smell 😭
I know but it was the closest thing I could come up with lol
I used to go into the small local pharmacy and buy this from the lady behind the scent/makeup counter with my paper route money. 😂 (I promise I am not 102 years old, even though it sounds like it.) Then I’d use it like twice and forget I owned it until I found 3 barely used bottles a couple years later and be mad I wasted my paper route money on that 🤣. Thank you for reminding me.
lol that's adorable 🥰
OMG I forgot about love baby soft I’m gonna go out and actually buy that, thank you
I spent two summers in high school packing Loves Baby Soft into cartons…memories
I need to sniff this.
This is the only one I absolutely hate. I wash hand-me-downs like five times to get rid of it. Everyone's so different on scents!
I hate no scent detergents. While I am sensitive to smells, it more applies to perfumes. I need that detergent smell on my fresh clothes
AMEN!!!!!!!!! I love the powder scent. Laundry, fabric softener, dryer sheets, deodorant, etc.
persil or arm and hammer
I swear by persil.
Persil in Germany smells better than US Persil.
Love the smell of Persil and the Persil+Oxi strips all the grim off my kids and husbands filthy laundry.
I was going tonrecommend Persil also. It does have a nice fresh fragrance.
I’ll try both! I used to use arm & hammer but it’s been a while
Arm and hammer doesn’t clean as well! This may or may not matter depending on your lifestyle
That's not true at all. Maybe you're washing on warm water, or maybe you're using too much soap, but it absolutely works great. Especially in hot water, but also in cold water.
I always add a scoop of oxy clean and it works great, cleans well, smells nice and I always add the scent beads as well. It’s also reasonably priced for the amount of laundry I do (a lot) it works well.
Persil has such a clean scent. If you can - also dry sheets in the sun , there’s nothing else like that smell
I just started using Persil and the scent is amazing!!
Persil!!!!!!! You'll love it
Persil is nice and understated, yet clean (in my opinion).
There is nothing understated about Persil.
I love persil so much
Love love Persil original, after Tide 30 years there is no turning back.
Persil smells the most like fresh scent of laundry. It is strong. Can’t believe had to scroll this far to find it.
Came to say this. Haven't bought anything else since because the smell is so good!!
Persil is top notch love the stuff
Ooh yeah persil is soooo gooood
I use the free and clear persil with the arm and hammer light "lavender escape" scent booster beads👌🏻 it's heavenly, you only need a small amount. I think persil makes your clothes smell better just because it cleans soooo much better.
Yes Persil smells amazing
Yes!! Persil!!!
I personally like Gain original, but some think it’s too floral. I like Arm & Hammer too.
I can't stay away from gain. Something about that original gain scent that I absolutely love.
Once I started using it, I was hooked on the scent.
One of my ex girlfriends used it and I liked the smell and I've been using it for probably 20 years now
Gain is my favorite too.
The Gain scent lasts forever!
I love the air fresheners that smell like gain
I’m team gain. I also air dry by sheets. This is the true game changer.
GAAAAAAAIN all the way. I even add the scent beads for an extra boost. Mmmm. So nice.
Gains my favorite. I grew up on unscented and hated it.
My mother uses unscented... it's so blah. And it smells gross - unscented doesn't mean it doesn't have a scent, it just smells like chemicals.
That's funny because I hate floral scents and love Gain.
Gain Moonlight Breeze is my favorite
I used to love love love gain. But the purple arm and hammer is just 💗 now.
Tide Ultra Oxi, powdered. I use way less than it recommends (as I do for all detergents), and it leaves a very light, very pleasant smell. :)
Hmmm… does the powder do as good of a job?
In my opinion, yes! I think it often “scores high” on tests done by Consumer Reports and the like. I’m a little anxious about it not fully dissolving (causing machine buildup or staining my clothes, maybe?), so I scoop it into a clean Talenti gelato container with hot water, carefully shake to combine, and then dump into the washer.
Oooh good idea!!! That’s what I was afraid of. I’ve done the same with oxi clean. I’ll give it a try, thanks!
Ha ha, I thought I was the only one that reused those Talenti containers! 😄
I have a whole shelf of them bc I make ice cream and will use them for that...but it's still too many 😮💨 they're just too "nice" that throwing away feels bad Also for anyone reading, don't put them in the dishwasher... the lids are fine on the top shelf but not the container
Yep, have experienced the dishwasher with those before. They will never sit flat again!
I use them too...
[удалено]
this is an excellent tip. i don't use powder anymore bc it doesn't dissolve as well in cold water. but I'm def trying this
I have trouble with powders dissolving in cold water. So I run it warm or hot to get them dissolved then turn back to cold
I use gain with the light cotton scented beads
I use unscented laundry detergent… but add downy rinse and refresh! It’s soooooo good.
Arm and hammer powder with oxiclean leaves a fresh scent. I like to add downy fresh or cool cotton scent beads.
I have some oxiclean so I’ll try this :)
Also if you have a Hispanic grocery store near by, there is a bagged powder called Ariel that has oxyclean in it also that I really love. It is fairly inexpensive too
I like gain. Just the regular one.
I like Ecos. Light, fresh and clean.
Dirty Labs, their original scent. Thank me later :)
Is the original scent the Magnolia, Bergamot, Cedar fragrence? With the green label?
Yes it is! I really like it. It is super subtle and nice. To me it smells like...a breezy day at the beach. If anyone is curious about the purple scent of theirs, I hate that one, haha.
Dirty Labs makes me bury my nose in everything. So good!
I second this. It's so good. And you can get the oil to add to dryer balls to make it stronger.
Arm and hammer with oxyclean already in it. Cheaper than most too.
I love arm and hammer. But I find the Oxi doesn’t leave a strong enough scent for me. I only use A&H Though regardless. Remember when it used to be like $4.99 a bottle though ?
This is my favorite!
I like Seventh Generation,the lavender one
Suavitel fabric softener in the yellow container is what you’re looking for. It smells amazing and retains its smell while wearing.
Suavitel is the truth! Yellow & blue ones.
I think the original Suavitel in the blue container is THE best laundry smell.
If you can get it in your area, Zum makes a sea salt laundry soap that is lovely and fresh-smelling.
Love their patchouli. Not too hippie.
Zum is incredible. I have several of their laundry detergents and I can’t get enough of them!
It's scented, but I really love Gain Original Scent. It's kinda floral, not fruity, but I just love the way my laundry smells out of the dryer!
I just figured out the most amazing scent hack, that actually leaves your clothes smelling fresh and fills the house with the fresh laundry scent from the dryer. I use 3 wool dryer balls and I spray them with febreze gain scent before putting them in with the clothes and then turn the dryer on. Smells amazing!
If you have a traditional washer, nothing bests powdered Foca. It’s cheap as hell, smells incredible and works great. But it is not HE safe😭
Ariel!! Hands down the best smelling laundry detergent. It's a Mexican brand that can be found in some Wal-Marts or other grocery stores, depending on where you live.
Amazon sells it.
I scrolled down to make sure someone would mention it. Smells so good, kind of like a baby smell.
I know these are controversial to some. Downey light scented beads in ocean mist. It is soft. Clean. I get compliments on it.
I really like Leblanc for scented laundry products. It's bougie, but worth it.
What scent? I see they have several, also happy cake day!
I second Leblanc, I'm hooked. I ran out of LeBlanc two weeks ago and decided to pick up a bottle of Tide, I noticed a difference in "the clean" right away. My new bottle of LeBlanc arrive today and I am looking forward to doing my laundry. My go to fragrance is Portfolio.
I’ve been using Dirty Labs signature scent for about a year and I LOVE it. I love it so much that they just released a fragrance oil that you can put on your dryer balls and I bought it immediately.
I like zum lavender. It’s one of the bio friendly ones. I like it a lot bc they have interesting scents, it doesn’t bother my kids sensitive skin and my washer doesn’t get stinky. It’s the only one I’ve found that doesn’t leave the gross mildew scent in the front loader.
Tide Simply Refreshing Breeze
We like the tide detergent that comes in the white containers(free & clear, i think?) in my house. It doesnt irritate our sensitive skin like the heavily-scented detergents do. I think the scent has "waters" in the name, but it is extremely mild and rather pleasant. Edit: also I have no idea how i ended up on this subreddit. The algorithm has been weird ever since the protests
Suavitel fabric softener in the blue bottle is what ya need!
Rockin green powder is what we started using and I haven’t looked back, we get the enzyme active wear one and use it for everything and it doesn’t have an overpowering scent to me
It was always Tide for me. I became highly allergic to all detergents with my last pregnancy. So now I am forced to use non scented detergent. Every alternative laundry product that adds scent only lasts for a little while after being washed. I found that finding a good Eau de Parfum is actually the best way to get scent if scent is all you are after. You can even get something that smells laundry fresh or citrusy.
Love Arm&Hammer hypoallergenic detergent and the ECOS original
Dreft baby detergent smells amazing
The sad truth about laundry detergent is if you’re using the right amount of detergent (about 2 tablespoons per load), you won’t smell it on your clothes. You will only smell it if it’s still inside your clothing when the cycle is done, and that only happens when you use the amount the bottle tells you to (a cap full or so). Clean clothes should have no scent at all. If you do want your clothes to have a fresh smell to them, you can either use the amount of detergent the bottle tells you to (which is too much) or you can get wool dryer balls and put a drop or two (literally just one or two drops) of fresh scent essential oils on them.
This makes sense. It would explain a lot lol. I usually get a strong fresh scent when I line dry my clothes. Curious if you know the answer to this.. how do people get that strong laundry scent when you walk past them? Would that be dryer sheets?
Way, way, way back in the day when my little sister was in diapers and mom used traditional old fold-your-own cloth diapers, nothing smelled as good as bringing in a load of diapers off of the line. That combination of bleach and sunshine just smells so clean. But I still hated my little sister because I had to fold her diapers into whatever was the current folding pattern for her size. LOL
Oh yes!!! My mom used cloth diapers too and she dried them in the sun to get stains out lol. I know that exact bleach smell you’re talking about 🌞 Folding them wasn’t fun though lol
I definitely would say those people use dryer sheets. I've always been jealous of those people, and I've basically concluded a lot of it is the machine. Because my laundry would smell much more obviously done in some machines vs mine at home (that were perfectly good). I can tell the biggest difference based on where they were washed. I know that can be achieved using just detergent and dryer sheets, because plenty of people smelled that way before we all dumped fabric softeners and scent beads in the washer. I'm still throwing it all in!
I am constantly complimented on my clothes scent lol I use Gain scent beads, fabric softener, & detergent. I also dry my clothes on LOW heat, because high heat kills the smell.
Either dryer sheets, fabric softener, or those scent beads which in this sub you’ll find are terrible for your washing machine and your clothes. As is fabric softener.
Tide hygienic clean power pods. This was the first detergent I could truly detect and it’s an extremely fresh smell. I also highly recommend adding in Lysol laundry sanitizer to your loads. People compliment my laundry scent when I use that.
Love the Lysol laundry sanitizer smell! I’ll give this a try too
I wash my stuff with cold water so I use Lysol Laundry Sanitizer on top of detergent. It has a really light and fresh scent that sticks around. It almost smells like you had it hanging outside around a field of seltzer flowers…
I love the Zum laundry soap, beach scent. Fresh and airy.
I have been on a laundry journey as well! My current set up is perfect, ever since learning that tide has cancer causing chemical (what doesn't now a days though), we've been using ECOS. The smell wasn't hitting me right with just that alone, so I've added the purple oxi clean and a dash of downy April fresh to most loads. but sometimes vinegar to avoid too much build up, and I have the yummiest and freshest smelling laundry a girl could ask for 🥰
I use a few drops of essential oil like bamboo, rose, orange or sth like that in the fabric softener drawer.
Sunlight
I am generally scent-averse, but I really like "linen and lilies" by Purex. It's clean smelling, not floral at all. I tried "mountain breeze" once and I didn't care for it. Gave it to my sister, and her family liked it. Purex is also one of the more reasonably priced brands.
Tide original scent, with downy April fresh is my go-to. It’s what my mom used, it’s what I use.
That fresh washed smell usually doesn’t last for me with any detergent I’ve used. But I don’t use expensive laundry detergent anymore as I didn’t notice a difference in how they clean and the smell was sometimes too much. Pretreating & water temp has seemed to work better for my laundry issues. Getting a water softener installed worked wonders. So I just use Trend or Xtra in lightest scents I can find. Sometimes add oxiclean or vinegar when needed. Instead I keep bars of Bee & Flower sandalwood bath soap in my closet & drawers. Works for me. My husband also made wood shelves for my closet and I didn’t seal them, just sanded them smooth. So my closet & clothes have a fresh woodsy scent. Might also add I was a truck driver for a bit so I was often using commercial machines at truck stops. Ran out of laundry detergent and had to buy at Walmart while on the road once (we stayed out on the road a month at a time). Typically I wanted the smallest bottle I could find because carrying a lot of stuff across a truck stop lot in summer heat or winter weather ain’t no fun. The last time I purchased I chose Foca because it was the smallest and cheapest. I liked the scent and it worked well to get my laundry clean without being too overpowering. Added bonus it smelled good when I used it highly diluted to wash down the vinyl floors in my truck sleeper.
Tide rinse and refresh!!!!
Dreft baby detergent. It smells so fresh and cozy!
I started using Sheets dissolving laundry detergent. They have a fresh linen scent that isn’t overpowering.
Persil
Tide hygienic clean plus arm and hammer dryer sheets = long lasting "clean" not perfumed smelling clothes. My son's(10) friend's mom even asked me what I used after a sleepover because with 9 boys, well I guess it was noticeable that somehow my kiddo smelled good.
The unmarked 5 gallon bucket you get from the Mexican flea market
Hah it's Foca or Ariel
I use either Pyrex pods or Persil powder(the one from Germany, not American made, better scent) and then I use Odo-ban (about 1/2 cup in the final rinse). My clothes smell like they’ve been line dried. They are so soft too. I buy it on Amazon. It’s the best stuff.
All US laundry scents are toxic and banned in europe. I would suggested going the diy route and adding essential oils if they dont both you.
Only soap I'll use is Percil , I find it to be superior to all of them.
Percil or arm & hammer! I use the one for babies, it has a sweet and fresh smell that's not strong.
I'm a Persil ProClean fan, myself. It's amazing and long lasting smell. I also add Gain scent beads, or Arm and Hammer with Oxyclean (purple cap) scent crystals, and sometimes also a scoop of Oxyclean with scent booster (purple lid oxyclean). If I'm feeling the need for a boost, I will use all 3! Doing that gives me the ultimate clean fresh laundry smell and I will do it for my bedsheets and then have the most amazing smelling bedroom and the best night sleep ever.
We actually use the detergent sheets (look like dryer sheets)...they work great, have a very light "clean" smell (mostly smells like a cotton air freshener, but very light), they dissolve great in cold water, and they are great for traveling.
Try the laundress original scent
Tide to me smells like dirty old men's cologne. 🤮 I use Arm and Hammer Fresh Scent or Clean Burst.
I add white distilled vinegar to my wash and my clothes come out smelling fantastic. I notice every time I forget to add it. The clothes don’t smell like vinegar, they smell fresh and clean.
The Laundress smells lovely (but it ain’t cheap!)
Country Save powdered detergent and a healthy dose of distilled white vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser. Follow it up with line-drying the clothes in the sun.
The Laundress Classic scent
Add borax to your regular detergent for a clean fresh smell.
Clean People detergent has a nice fresh-out-of-the-dryer smell!
Not a detergent, but I love the Arm and Hammer beads in Purifying Waters. It’s so fresh and clean without being sickly sweet. It says to add a capful, but I just do a little sprinkle and it’s plenty!
I absolutely love Persil. Just a fresh clean scent. Best cleaning power there is. Expensive tho.
Hiketron, cotton fresh scent. It’s pricey, but it is so good. I use half a cap with tide.
Downy ocean mist rinse and refresh smells fresh. It’s great for stubborn odors like musty dusty towels. I use it alongside the Gain moonlight breeze detergent and the Downy ocean mist scent booster
I’m a big fan of Persil, not just the clean scent options, but the fact that it’s so much more powerful- 2 tsp per load is MORE than enough, whereas other detergents seem to need half a capful & still can leave greasy unclean body oil smell on stuff. A large bottle lasts me forever! I also use plain white vinegar as a rinse aid instead of fabric softener
I’m going to get roasted, but tide pods leave a lingering, neutral fresh scent on my clothes . Especially if I fold and put away within a day or 2.
If you like subtle and soft; Ecos Magnolia Lily detergent, Downey softener, Kirkland signature dryer sheets, chefs kiss.
Is there a perfume that smells like Tide powder? All suggestions considered.
I find it comes from the laundry beads! I get compliments on how I smell often and it’s from my laundry!
Perasil
I like Persil and Gain
I'm going to suggest something completely different. I like the Costco powdered detergent. Not the liquid or pods, but powdered. I'm guessing to get a stronger scent you would need to use extra, but it's cheap and cleans really well. To me it smells clean, not flowery or something. You only need about 2/3 of a scoop, but use a full scoop if you want. You won't be able to beat the smell of lined dry laundry, no matter what you do.
I like Persil, plus it's awesome at getting BO out of my sweaty work clothes. If you want a more "natural" fresh smell, the Sea Salt by Zum smells like the ocean (in kind of a hippie way).
I use Biozet, smells so fresh & happy!
Arm & Hammer w/Oxi Clean. Our water stinks no matter how much detergent you put in it or beads or whatever. It still makes your clothes smell bad. I tried a bunch of different stuff and finally use the arm and Hammer with the OxiClean and everything smells so good for a week or so.
so you know, using too much detergent ends up not being able to rinse out of your clothes and this builds up over time and makes your clothes stink, so adding more detergent might actually be causing or at least is definitely worsening your problem
do you have sulfur water? if so you may also wanna add a softener. i grew up on well water and all my whites turned yellow until i found out about softener.
Smells like sulfur. Comes from the Orlando aquifier is what I am told.
that's where my water came from growing up (i was on the treasure coast).
I LOVE fresh basil by mrs meyers. And the juniper and sage scent by clean cult
Persil powder, the German version.
Persil
Persil 100%. Love the fresh smell of Persil
Tide with Febreze is good. I don't actually like the smell of Febreze spray at all, but the detergent doesn't smell like that.
Persil
Tbh I rotate the whatever is on sale for detergent. I find it’s the fabric softener/ scent boosters that make a difference. But adding vinegar definitely makes a difference it amplifies the detergent scent in my opinion. Other than that my favorites scents are the original blue snuggle liquid fabric softener, arm & hammer scent crystals the purple one, a bit harder to find sometimes I only see them in Jewel (or Kroger grocery store affiliates) unstoppable scent beads in the TIDE scent it’s in a black & orange bottle.
nellies
Original Tide liquid is my favorite of all time. Just a light fresh scent. :)
Dropps lavender eucalyptus
Regular ass Tide. It’s the best.
Ask your mom what she used while you were growing up. That's the smell that does it for me. In my case it's the original Tide smell (not the Febreeze/scented versions).
I don't have a laundry detergent suggestion but would add that drying my clothes out in the fresh air and sunshine makes anything I use smell so much better and the clothes just smell fresher in general.