Author Topic: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent  (Read 21431 times)

mustachepungoeshere

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http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/millennials-dont-like-fabric-softener/news-story/cca8f16c172a6ad01bb9f5d29fa42263

Quote
During an investor meeting last month, Shailesh Jejurikar, P&G’s president of global fabric care, said millennials simply “don’t know what the product is for or think it is for a specific load”.
...

“Which means we do have an opportunity grow this business through benefit education.”


But:

Quote
Zach Forsburg, 31, a PhD student and lab instructor from Florida, says he already knows about the product but eschews it because of “environmental issues”.

“I prefer to have as low of an impact on our waterways as possible, so I opt out of fabric softener,” he told FOXBusiness.com. “I use a natural detergent with tea tree oil. While there are some more environmentally friendly softener alternatives, I don’t notice a difference with or without it, so I opt to not use it. I also wash in all cold water on the short cycle and line dry.”

Samantha Winters, 33, a project manager at Renewal by Andersen of Central Pennsylvania, said she avoids it because her towels don’t dry as well when she uses softener and she also thinks “it deteriorates the fabric over time”.

People are being educated; that's why sales are falling.

Ynari

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #1 on: December 19, 2016, 09:14:31 PM »
Fabric softener makes clothing more flammable. Flammability enters my clothing choice calculation often enough that it'd be a hassle to try to remember what has been washed with fabric softener. Plus all those other things.

gimp

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #2 on: December 19, 2016, 10:27:40 PM »
I'm 26. I literally have never used fabric softener. No idea what the point is - what the hell do I need "softer" clothes for? They're plenty comfortable as is.

iris lily

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #3 on: December 20, 2016, 05:14:19 PM »
This is excellent, goof for the millenials.

Remember all of the highly advertised items of our parents's generatin that bare exist today? Things like Milk f Magnesia and Pepto Bismal and castor Oil and etc.

The millenials have their own stuff, its just not iurour stuff. Fabric softener is stupid anyway, I have never used it.

Cadman

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #4 on: December 20, 2016, 06:36:01 PM »
There are several reasons fabric softener is on the decline, primarily because dryer sheets have taken over, but also the popularity of front loaders has meant that if you want to use it, you're dealing with a goey, cumbersome FS tray or dispenser that's going to clog up eventually. Plus, the FS of old had a job to do, and it wasn't to imbue your clothing and bedding with an overpowering perfume stench. Somewhere that memo got lost in the last 10 years.

Debts_of_Despair

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #5 on: December 20, 2016, 06:40:48 PM »
Only thing it is good for is making a mess of your washing machine.

obstinate

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #6 on: December 20, 2016, 06:46:24 PM »
We stopped using it after my son was born, because apparently it is bad for babies? I don't know the details, my wife made the decision. But we never really noticed the difference, so we never started back as he got older.

Zikoris

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #7 on: December 20, 2016, 10:07:09 PM »
Millennial, and I've never bought or used it. I'm not even sure HOW to use it, honestly. Heck, I barely even buy laundry soap - I'm finally just about to finish the big box I bought in July 2012.

HappierAtHome

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #8 on: December 20, 2016, 10:11:43 PM »
Millennial, and I've never bought or used it. I'm not even sure HOW to use it, honestly. Heck, I barely even buy laundry soap - I'm finally just about to finish the big box I bought in July 2012.

This, except I don't use laundry detergent AT ALL. A friend's husband who worked in a lab creating detergent said it didn't do anything: I stopped using it as an experiment and yep! No need for it so far. A few years without detergent and counting.

nnls

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #9 on: December 20, 2016, 10:17:57 PM »
Millennial, and I've never bought or used it. I'm not even sure HOW to use it, honestly. Heck, I barely even buy laundry soap - I'm finally just about to finish the big box I bought in July 2012.

This, except I don't use laundry detergent AT ALL. A friend's husband who worked in a lab creating detergent said it didn't do anything: I stopped using it as an experiment and yep! No need for it so far. A few years without detergent and counting.

So you just use water?

Daisy

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #10 on: December 20, 2016, 10:25:37 PM »
I'm actually allergic to it. Developed an itchy rash from it when I stayed with a family member  that uses it. As soon as I brought my own detergent, rash went away. And the smell is way too strong!

Yay to millenials for not using fabric softener!

HappierAtHome

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #11 on: December 20, 2016, 10:31:20 PM »
Millennial, and I've never bought or used it. I'm not even sure HOW to use it, honestly. Heck, I barely even buy laundry soap - I'm finally just about to finish the big box I bought in July 2012.

This, except I don't use laundry detergent AT ALL. A friend's husband who worked in a lab creating detergent said it didn't do anything: I stopped using it as an experiment and yep! No need for it so far. A few years without detergent and counting.

So you just use water?

Yep! Everything appears to get just as clean as it did before. Stuff that is difficult to get clean (yellowing of white shirts, grrrr) is just as difficult to get clean as it was before.

cchrissyy

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #12 on: December 20, 2016, 10:52:16 PM »
I'm 30-something and do laundry for a family of 4 and have literally never bought fabric softener. Or dryer sheets for that matter.

marty998

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #13 on: December 21, 2016, 12:11:45 AM »
Millennial, and I've never bought or used it. I'm not even sure HOW to use it, honestly. Heck, I barely even buy laundry soap - I'm finally just about to finish the big box I bought in July 2012.

This, except I don't use laundry detergent AT ALL. A friend's husband who worked in a lab creating detergent said it didn't do anything: I stopped using it as an experiment and yep! No need for it so far. A few years without detergent and counting.

So you just use water?

Yep! Everything appears to get just as clean as it did before. Stuff that is difficult to get clean (yellowing of white shirts, grrrr) is just as difficult to get clean as it was before.

I can see you have never dealt with smelly, filthy, sweaty cricket undies before. Or football socks.

I need to empty an entire box of Cold Power to even start getting them clean.

You'll learn soon enough when that bub-to-be of yours is running up and down sporting fields :D :D :D

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #14 on: December 21, 2016, 12:12:11 AM »
Millennial, and I've never bought or used it. I'm not even sure HOW to use it, honestly. Heck, I barely even buy laundry soap - I'm finally just about to finish the big box I bought in July 2012.

This, except I don't use laundry detergent AT ALL. A friend's husband who worked in a lab creating detergent said it didn't do anything: I stopped using it as an experiment and yep! No need for it so far. A few years without detergent and counting.

So you just use water?

Yep! Everything appears to get just as clean as it did before. Stuff that is difficult to get clean (yellowing of white shirts, grrrr) is just as difficult to get clean as it was before.

This is interesting. Do you think baby will change things?

HappierAtHome

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #15 on: December 21, 2016, 12:17:38 AM »
This is interesting. Do you think baby will change things?

I imagine we'll need to wash with hot water and detergent to feel like cloth nappies are actually getting clean. Apart from the poop issue... well, I drop food on myself a lot and in recent months have vomited on myself an astonishing number of times, and everything comes out.

I do use a grease stain remover if I get oil on myself somehow.

I'm open-minded about potentially needing to use detergent again for kids.

I can see you have never dealt with smelly, filthy, sweaty cricket undies before. Or football socks.

I need to empty an entire box of Cold Power to even start getting them clean.

You'll learn soon enough when that bub-to-be of yours is running up and down sporting fields :D :D :D

Ew. Sounds like the baby will be learning to do his own laundry at a young age (I did my own laundry from 12, it's not that hard).

TBH I'm kinda expecting a nerdy and non-sporty kid, based on combining the genes of two nerdy and non-sporty parents. But if he's sporty, I'll get tips from you on how to get those cricket undies clean ;-)

Villanelle

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #16 on: December 21, 2016, 03:37:18 AM »
I use dryer sheets for my bedding, and I use half a sheet per load.  I do like the way it makes my sheets feel.  A box of the dryer sheets will last more than a year for me.  (I don't remember to use one every time.)

I don't use it for anything.  DH's uniforms are specifically not to be washed with softener of any kind (due to the flammability). 

I don't think most millennials are using eco friendly products and line drying like the guy quoted in the OP's article.  So it's entirely possible that there could be market potential. I'm thinking of commercials that target working moms, exploiting the guilt they often have over not being there for their kids.  "It's like a hug when you can't be there to give him one in person!  Wrap your kid in love; wrap your kid in [Fabric Softener Name]!".

Linea_Norway

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #17 on: December 21, 2016, 04:37:59 AM »
When I started living on myself, I bought fabric softener, because I had to find out about everything. It does make a difference on towels that are dried on the washing lines. They get a lot softer. The alternative is shaking the towers after drying them, like I do today. I soon afterwards stopped using softener.
I think that bed sheets smell very nice when dried outside. I do that often in the summer half of the year and then I also accept that the towers aren't so soft as in the winter. In the winter I don't put any sheets in the dryer. The sheets just don't have any smell when washed. I also try to use little detergent of the cheapest brand. But I have noticed that when I combine using very little detergent and low washing temperature, that smelly clothes don't get clean.

tarheeldan

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #18 on: December 21, 2016, 05:16:50 AM »
No fabric softener, no dryer sheets. Wash comes out just fine :-)

Villanelle

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #19 on: December 21, 2016, 05:27:07 AM »
When I started living on myself, I bought fabric softener, because I had to find out about everything. It does make a difference on towels that are dried on the washing lines. They get a lot softer. The alternative is shaking the towers after drying them, like I do today. I soon afterwards stopped using softener.
I think that bed sheets smell very nice when dried outside. I do that often in the summer half of the year and then I also accept that the towers aren't so soft as in the winter. In the winter I don't put any sheets in the dryer. The sheets just don't have any smell when washed. I also try to use little detergent of the cheapest brand. But I have noticed that when I combine using very little detergent and low washing temperature, that smelly clothes don't get clean.

Using fabric softener/dry sheets on towels coats them and makes them less absorbent, or at least that's what my mother always told me. 

GuitarStv

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #20 on: December 21, 2016, 05:46:27 AM »
I wash everything on cold and line dry.  I used fabric softener for a while in university when I started washing clothing because it seemed like what you were supposed to do.  One of my roommates said that there's no difference between using it and not, so I tried without.  He was right.  Never used it since.

NoStacheOhio

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #21 on: December 21, 2016, 06:05:40 AM »
I don't know, growing up, my mother only used detergent for laundry, so that was how I learned to do laundry. My wife likes dryer sheets, but I'm not really sure if they actually make a difference. I go with it, because she likes it, but we've never used softener. The whole concept of it just seems odd to me.

Linea_Norway

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #22 on: December 21, 2016, 06:41:46 AM »
I don't know, growing up, my mother only used detergent for laundry, so that was how I learned to do laundry. My wife likes dryer sheets, but I'm not really sure if they actually make a difference. I go with it, because she likes it, but we've never used softener. The whole concept of it just seems odd to me.

I think the sheets just give a fresh odour to the laundry. Without it, it just doesn't scent. Although, when I bought a new washing machine, we got some packs of washing detergent with it. One of them, for white fabric, gives the laundry a perfumed scent.

I'm a red panda

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #23 on: December 21, 2016, 07:44:55 AM »
There are several reasons fabric softener is on the decline, primarily because dryer sheets have taken over, but also the popularity of front loaders has meant that if you want to use it, you're dealing with a goey, cumbersome FS tray or dispenser that's going to clog up eventually. Plus, the FS of old had a job to do, and it wasn't to imbue your clothing and bedding with an overpowering perfume stench. Somewhere that memo got lost in the last 10 years.

Aren't dryer sheets a form of fabric softener?  They certainly help to cut the static.

If they aren't, then I guess count me in as a millenial who has never used fabric softener.  Although I only use dryer sheets for very specific loads; otherwise I use felt dryer balls.

GuitarStv

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #24 on: December 21, 2016, 08:12:29 AM »
You don't need chemicals to cut static, you need to stop using a drying machine.  :P

I'm a red panda

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #25 on: December 21, 2016, 08:14:37 AM »
You don't need chemicals to cut static, you need to stop using a drying machine.  :P

It was -30 when I did laundry this weekend. I'm not hanging things to dry outside.

gaja

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #26 on: December 21, 2016, 08:19:08 AM »
I think there are three aspects here; health, environment and fashion.

1) There is an increasing number of people who avoid perfumes and scented stuff. Some are, or claim to be, allergic/sensitive, while other people just don't like the smell. Also, more and more workplaces are "perfume free". In the US, it looks like a workplace policy against perfumes is something you can demand under the ADA regulations. Quitting fabric softener is an easy way to avoid unnecessary scents.

2) Environmental organizations and people speaking from the environmental side (bloggers, etc) have put fabric softener on the list of "unnecessary chemicals you should avoid", and often suggest using vinegar and/or baking soda instead. It is an easy way to get a good conscience.

3) I can't find the article now, but I have read something on how the lack of perfume and scented products now is starting to be a sign of class. "The stink of cheap fabric softener", or "those people that douse themselves in cheap perfume", are sentences I've heard from people who clearly define themselves as above working class.

fattest_foot

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #27 on: December 21, 2016, 09:41:29 AM »
Millennial, and I've never bought or used it. I'm not even sure HOW to use it, honestly. Heck, I barely even buy laundry soap - I'm finally just about to finish the big box I bought in July 2012.

This, except I don't use laundry detergent AT ALL. A friend's husband who worked in a lab creating detergent said it didn't do anything: I stopped using it as an experiment and yep! No need for it so far. A few years without detergent and counting.

So you just use water?

Yep! Everything appears to get just as clean as it did before. Stuff that is difficult to get clean (yellowing of white shirts, grrrr) is just as difficult to get clean as it was before.

This seems like similar logic to "I just rinse my dishes with water and call them clean." Hopefully you're not doing that as well. Just because you can't see bacteria doesn't mean they aren't there.

Zikoris

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #28 on: December 21, 2016, 09:46:36 AM »
Actually, do Tide Pods have fabric softener in them? I know they have a few different sections. Not that I actually buy them, because they're overpriced and would probably disintegrate before I got to use them all (minimal laundry household), but I've managed to get free samples quite a few times. I quite like the smell from using them.

Spudd

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #29 on: December 21, 2016, 09:53:49 AM »
Actually, do Tide Pods have fabric softener in them? I know they have a few different sections. Not that I actually buy them, because they're overpriced and would probably disintegrate before I got to use them all (minimal laundry household), but I've managed to get free samples quite a few times. I quite like the smell from using them.

Of course not, because then the company that makes them would lose fabric softener sales!

BlueMR2

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #30 on: December 21, 2016, 10:09:31 AM »
My Mom always used fabric softener.  So, I also used it when I got my own place.  After awhile though, I wondered why...  I don't care if my clothes are soft.  So I quit using it and noticed no change.  Now I'm mad about all that wasted money!

Rural

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #31 on: December 21, 2016, 10:27:15 AM »
Millennial, and I've never bought or used it. I'm not even sure HOW to use it, honestly. Heck, I barely even buy laundry soap - I'm finally just about to finish the big box I bought in July 2012.

This, except I don't use laundry detergent AT ALL. A friend's husband who worked in a lab creating detergent said it didn't do anything: I stopped using it as an experiment and yep! No need for it so far. A few years without detergent and counting.

So you just use water?

Yep! Everything appears to get just as clean as it did before. Stuff that is difficult to get clean (yellowing of white shirts, grrrr) is just as difficult to get clean as it was before.

This seems like similar logic to "I just rinse my dishes with water and call them clean." Hopefully you're not doing that as well. Just because you can't see bacteria doesn't mean they aren't there.


The air I walk through has bacteria in it, too, and those get on my clothes. You can't sterilize your world, in other words, and in fact it's counterproductive to try. I can see reserving the real effort for things like cooking and eating utensils, which touch the food that goes inside the body, and worrying a whole lot less about clothing which only impacts the surface.

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #32 on: December 21, 2016, 10:32:05 AM »
Millennial, and I've never bought or used it. I'm not even sure HOW to use it, honestly. Heck, I barely even buy laundry soap - I'm finally just about to finish the big box I bought in July 2012.

This, except I don't use laundry detergent AT ALL. A friend's husband who worked in a lab creating detergent said it didn't do anything: I stopped using it as an experiment and yep! No need for it so far. A few years without detergent and counting.

So you just use water?

Yep! Everything appears to get just as clean as it did before. Stuff that is difficult to get clean (yellowing of white shirts, grrrr) is just as difficult to get clean as it was before.

This seems like similar logic to "I just rinse my dishes with water and call them clean." Hopefully you're not doing that as well. Just because you can't see bacteria doesn't mean they aren't there.

Isn't agitation the main way that clothes become clean? So I don't think rinsing the dishes is the right analogy; but scrubbing them.  And scrubbing dishes actually does clean them fairly well, even without a soap. Most soap isn't "antibacterial" anyhow; and those that are have generally been proven to be BS.

Cadman

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #33 on: December 21, 2016, 11:02:00 AM »
A closer analogy would be washing your hands without soap. Yes, you get them wet, but are they really clean?

I think people forget that washing clothes is a science, and skimping on agitation, detergent or water temp will have an effect. (note: FS doesn't help cleaning one bit, but can cut static cling).

You need good warm water (something above 110F is recommended...consider body temp is ~98.6 and dirt and oils are being transferred to those clothes with fibers around those temps). That warm water opens up those fibers so the surfacants in the detergent can get at the trapped soil. The hot water also helps activate the enzymes (remember, we lost out phosphates) so that they can break down the oils and fats. The mechanical action allows these soils to be extracted. With a traditional top load machine, the fats and oils rise to the surface and are spun out on rinse (again, those surfacants come to the rescue).

Obviously, there are cold water detergents (and have been for 50+ years), and these do have specially designed enzymes that activate at lower temps, but there are tradeoffs in washing ability, and I suspect additional optical brighteners have been added. Extended agitation time would help compensate here, but only to a point.

Back to the hand washing analogy, what's most effective? Holding them in water without rubbing? Applying soap and rubbing, but no water? Or the combination of all three?


I'm a red panda

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #34 on: December 21, 2016, 11:22:05 AM »
Quote
Back to the hand washing analogy, what's most effective? Holding them in water without rubbing? Applying soap and rubbing, but no water? Or the combination of all three?
Handwashing without soap is better than not doing it at all, by a lot. Soap helps.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3037063/

The experiment did not control for how participants handwashed (they were told to do 'as you normally do') but I'd suspect holding in water with no rubbing does a lot less than water with rubbing.


 Also- soap and rubbing, but no water? Don't you just end up with soapy hands? What good does that do; you can't touch anything, your hands may be lighter in bacteria, but they aren't "clean" they are covered in soap...

NoStacheOhio

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #35 on: December 21, 2016, 11:33:04 AM »
Quote
Back to the hand washing analogy, what's most effective? Holding them in water without rubbing? Applying soap and rubbing, but no water? Or the combination of all three?
Handwashing without soap is better than not doing it at all, by a lot. Soap helps.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3037063/

The experiment did not control for how participants handwashed (they were told to do 'as you normally do') but I'd suspect holding in water with no rubbing does a lot less than water with rubbing.


 Also- soap and rubbing, but no water? Don't you just end up with soapy hands? What good does that do; you can't touch anything, your hands may be lighter in bacteria, but they aren't "clean" they are covered in soap...

Yes, the rubbing action makes a significant difference in effectiveness.

kobo1d

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #36 on: December 21, 2016, 11:40:06 AM »
Yeah we just use dryer balls. Spend a few dollars once and you're good. Down with BIG LAUNDRY.

pachnik

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #37 on: December 21, 2016, 11:41:09 AM »
I was born at at the end of the baby boom and I've never used fabric softener.  I have lots of skin allergies so use just a bit of baby detergent to wash my clothes.  No dryer sheets either.  Not sure if dryer sheets are the same as fabric softener?   I also don't like strong smells and these kinds of products are usually loaded with them.

Cadman

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #38 on: December 21, 2016, 11:47:03 AM »
Quote
Back to the hand washing analogy, what's most effective? Holding them in water without rubbing? Applying soap and rubbing, but no water? Or the combination of all three?
Handwashing without soap is better than not doing it at all, by a lot. Soap helps.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3037063/

The experiment did not control for how participants handwashed (they were told to do 'as you normally do') but I'd suspect holding in water with no rubbing does a lot less than water with rubbing.


 Also- soap and rubbing, but no water? Don't you just end up with soapy hands? What good does that do; you can't touch anything, your hands may be lighter in bacteria, but they aren't "clean" they are covered in soap...

Yeah, sorry if I wasn't clear, that was my point. You can be semi-effective with 2 out of 3, but to really clean, you need all three components.

meghan88

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #39 on: December 21, 2016, 12:48:39 PM »
You don't need chemicals to cut static, you need to stop using a drying machine.  :P

It was -30 when I did laundry this weekend. I'm not hanging things to dry outside.

We have a couple of folding laundry racks that we set up in the living room.  Drying indoors also helps keep the place humidified.  Everything is dry by the next day, and - like GuitarStv says - there's no static cling.

GuitarStv

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #40 on: December 21, 2016, 01:45:26 PM »
You don't need chemicals to cut static, you need to stop using a drying machine.  :P

It was -30 when I did laundry this weekend. I'm not hanging things to dry outside.

We have a couple of folding laundry racks that we set up in the living room.  Drying indoors also helps keep the place humidified.  Everything is dry by the next day, and - like GuitarStv says - there's no static cling.

Stuff dries outside in -30 (freeze dries?) . . . it's just a lot less comfortable to stand out there and hang it.  When it's cold outside our forced air heating tends to rob the air of moisture, so hanging stuff in the house makes the home a little more humid and comfortable to live in.  It's win - win.

Kitsune

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #41 on: December 21, 2016, 02:01:04 PM »
But... fabric softener SMELLS (and smells are a migraine trigger for me...). Blech. WHYYYYYYY.

Also, it feels funky, messes with your waste water, makes your towels less absorbant, and coats your clothing in unnecessary chemicals. If you want to reduce static cling, stop over-drying your stuff (either hang-dry or machine-dry on lower heat for a TIMED cycle - the sensors for 'fully dry' will keep going a good 20 minutes too long, in ours). If you want them slightly softer, use a half-cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle of the washing machine (also helps with smells in clothing, if that's a concern). You can even add oilsand scents to the vinegar if you really want your clothes to smell like lavander or something.

"Millenials are't buying unnecessary things and sales are falling, oh, woe is industry" seems to be a popular article topic. Right alongside "Millenials have no money and need to find ways to save" (like, um, not buying unnecessary things), and "look at this millenial, saving money and having a house and all that on less than crazy hours of work, how is this possile??". It's like people can't link the 3 popular 'about millenials' article topics.

HappierAtHome

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #42 on: December 21, 2016, 09:38:08 PM »
Quote
Back to the hand washing analogy, what's most effective? Holding them in water without rubbing? Applying soap and rubbing, but no water? Or the combination of all three?
Handwashing without soap is better than not doing it at all, by a lot. Soap helps.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3037063/

The experiment did not control for how participants handwashed (they were told to do 'as you normally do') but I'd suspect holding in water with no rubbing does a lot less than water with rubbing.


 Also- soap and rubbing, but no water? Don't you just end up with soapy hands? What good does that do; you can't touch anything, your hands may be lighter in bacteria, but they aren't "clean" they are covered in soap...

Yeah, sorry if I wasn't clear, that was my point. You can be semi-effective with 2 out of 3, but to really clean, you need all three components.

Your clothes must get significantly more dirty than mine do. And I'm not exposed to harmful bacteria (office job) so sterilising my clothes is FAR from necessary ;-)

The air I walk through has bacteria in it, too, and those get on my clothes. You can't sterilize your world, in other words, and in fact it's counterproductive to try. I can see reserving the real effort for things like cooking and eating utensils, which touch the food that goes inside the body, and worrying a whole lot less about clothing which only impacts the surface.

Yep. There are things that are worth cleaning extremely thoroughly. And things that are a waste of time and effort and in some cases, counterproductive (Australia is only now banning the use of certain antibacterials in hand soap that are already banned in the US...).

GilbertB

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #43 on: December 25, 2016, 02:17:27 PM »
After crawling for 12 hours in heavy fuel residue and used oils (25 year old machines) our work clothes NEED detergent!

On the other hand, when I clean my stuff at home, and the DW is not looking, I find that a little bit of  liquid dish detergent works just as well as a big swig of dedicated clothes washing liquid.

I've even stArted to add a few drops of dish detergent directly into the dish washer, does not make dishes cleaner, but the filter is far cleaner.
« Last Edit: December 25, 2016, 02:24:01 PM by Gildasd »

Zikoris

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #44 on: December 27, 2016, 02:35:18 PM »
Okay, so in the last two weeks this thread turned into a new job for me. We started discussing our 2012 box of laundry soap that's just about empty, and how it outlasted my boyfriend's old job. We bought said soap just before both of us started our jobs, and that box officially outlasted his job when he jumped ship in the summer. I'd been thinking about looking for a new job, and we started speculating on whether I could find one before the soap ran out. Well, lo and behold, I just accepted an offer! So I made this to celebrate:


nnls

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #45 on: December 27, 2016, 02:48:44 PM »
Okay, so in the last two weeks this thread turned into a new job for me. We started discussing our 2012 box of laundry soap that's just about empty, and how it outlasted my boyfriend's old job. We bought said soap just before both of us started our jobs, and that box officially outlasted his job when he jumped ship in the summer. I'd been thinking about looking for a new job, and we started speculating on whether I could find one before the soap ran out. Well, lo and behold, I just accepted an offer! So I made this to celebrate:



haha love it

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #46 on: December 27, 2016, 03:24:13 PM »
Congrats Zikoris, that's awesome!

MrsDinero

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #47 on: December 27, 2016, 03:27:56 PM »
I thought of this thread when I saw a Downy commercial trying to rebrand itself as a "fabric conditioner".

golden1

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #48 on: December 29, 2016, 11:38:43 AM »
Yeah I stopped buying fabric softener a few years back.  Waste of money. 

MMMaybe

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Re: 'Millennials don’t like fabric softener': sales fall 26 per cent
« Reply #49 on: January 01, 2017, 03:26:55 AM »
Fabric softener is optional, generally speaking. I use baking soda or washing soda to soften the water and increase the effectiveness of the detergent. Vinegar as a final rinse, is fine.

I don't do cold washes though. Washing at under 60 degrees does leave certain nasty bugs alive, such as E.coli. So loads which include underwear and bedlinen/towels/kitchen stuff should go on a hot wash.

Having spent a lot of time living in hot climates, I also noticed that clothes were coming out of the cold wash smelling less than fresh. So YMMV.