Korean Job Discussion Forums

[DanseurVertical]

I've hardly ever used a mechanical drier for clothes. I always just hang them to dry or lay them flat. So when I learned I didn't have a mechanical drier in my apartment I didn't care.

But without fail, after any of my cotton items have dried (overnight), they are stiff and smell sour. My originally soft towel feels like plaster O.O

A bi-lingual Korean acquaintance taught me how to use the washing machine, and I've just followed her instructions, typically washing my clothes in a mixed fabric cycle, in 30 or 40 degree water. I've been using detergent from the US (Seventh Generation 2X concentrated). And I've been hanging them to dry along the banister of my loft.

What's wrong?

[InDaGu]

Pour in some fabric softener on your final rinse cycle. Then try to dry them faster with a fan.

[DanseurVertical]

Thanks for the advice.

Although my machine lacks a hot air dry cycle, it has a toss cycle that I'll try using.

About fabric softener, I've never used it before. There seems to be something different about my machine here, or else it's in how I'm using it.

[Draz]

Only cotton items? Have you tried bleach? Fabric softener isn't good for towels.

[DanseurVertical]

No bleach. I prefer not to use that stuff unless I have to.

Washing with vinegar helped somewhat.

About it only being cotton items, yes. My other items are all made of nylon or merino wool, so they dry really fast.

And that suggests it has something to do with the drying process.

[ontheway]

[DanseurVertical]

That could be it, that they're drying too slowly. When I hung my towels to dry in the bathroom they smelled especially bad.

But when I hung them on the banister of my loft the smell was reduced, but their consistency more like that of cardboard :P

[redaxe]

When you line dry your laundry you need to shake the stiffness out. Just give everything a good shake before you put it back in your drawer.

[Lonewolf]

Here is a tip for you try using baking soda in the wash kills the bacteria causing the smells. When you hang to dry make sure you have proper ventilation. You can get a 8.5lb bag of arm and hammer at Costco as far as stiffness goes line drying is always going to leave them this way.

[DanseurVertical]

Thanks everyone for the comments.

About stiffness, the point in my original post is that I always hang my clothes to dry or else lay them flat.

The difference is that in Korea the cotton items end up rigid, like paperboard instead of cloth. I think this is because of the higher humidity. And I realize my washing machine leaves clothing soaked if you don't run a dry spin cycle after washing. I think machines in the US typically do this automatically.

Last night I used the dry spin cycle of my machine for 20 minutes, after washing them. I'll find out how they are this afternoon.

Will try the baking soda idea, too, so thanks.

[CentralCali]

[bluelake]

Although I haven't tried it, I heard that placing newspapers on the floor, when drying inside, will help with taking the moisture out.

[wishfullthinkng]

i experienced this too when i first got here, unfortunately when i was already at work and thought that someone smelled like feet. it happened to be my pants and it was because they dried too slow.
buy a stand-up fan strictly for your drying rack and use it when you are drying your clothing. that will take care of everything. a de-humidifier with the windows closed will make the process even quicker and smell-free.