We got a HE inverter front loading washing machine as it saves water electricity and detergent. Since it uses so little water, it needs to be 'washed' every month. Soap scum tend to get clogged much easier for the HE machine. I have never owned a HE front loader prior to this.
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| The HE front loading washer. |
The machine needed to be washed. I have not washed it for one year.
How to wash?
I went to a hardware shop nearby my place and was recommended this.
This was to be poured into the drum directly and washed in the highest temperature.
Worst. Mistake. Ever.
My whole house smelt as though it got 'nuclear bombed' AND 'atom bombed' AND 'torpedoed' by artificial fragrance. I choked and started tearing. Joel who has never been affected by smell said that both his ears and neck felt like they were breaking out in hives. He started itching.
We opened all the windows and switched on all the fans in full blast.
The smell left the house but the laundry room was a disaster. It smelt like a chemical perfume factory. I wanted to cry. My laundry room is just next to the kitchen. And I spend almost all my time in the kitchen. By the end of the day, the smell would permeate the whole house again.
My mouth started to burn. I started to feel ill. I swallowed two Piritons that day to be on the safe side.
Every load of laundry after that smelt of that horrible toxic fragrance smell.
I tried baking soda.
It didn't eradicate the smell.
I couldn't wear my clothes as they were saturated with the chemical perfume smell. It made me very ill.
WHAT TO DO????
And then the voice in my head said, "Vinegar".
I bought this from the hardware store:
Of course I had reservations regarding vinegar as vinegar has always been my worst enemy. Highest in salicylates.
Shockingly, this vinegar wasn't pungent. And I wasn't sickened at all by the smell. I had no reaction.
I poured 400ml into the washer and set it to the highest temperature. And I did this three times.
Hallelujah.
All hail Lord Vinegar. Praises be heaped upon Lord Vinegar.
The toxic fragrance smell was gone.
I then washed my clothes with the vinegar in the highest temperature. The sickening fragrance smell was gone!!! I then washed my clothes in my usual fragrant-free detergent. They all smelt normal again.
What a great relief!
This was a pricey lesson as the Tide machine washer cost RM60+ per box. I cannot exchange it as I've used one sachet. Hmmmmm.... I wonder who would want it. Hehe.....
For future washings for the machine, vinegar will be used as the tub is now so clean and fresh. And the clothes look bright and clean again. Smells great too.
Thank god for Lord Vinegar! Long live Lord Vinegar!
Tide is the most toxic detergent for anything, even the unscented. It takes at least ten washings to get the stink out of clothes. Vinegar is what most people use to clean washing machines, but as soon as you started your post I thought "Oh god, what is she going to do because vinegar gives her problems!" So glad it worked out. I do not have a front loading machine but with liquid detergents (which is what I use) the machine also gets smelly probably for the same reason. I love vinegar.
ReplyDeleteDON'T give Tide away...throw it out. No need to poison another person and if the stink lingers on their clothes, it will poison everyone else. I'd try to return it. Of course, I don't know how return policies work in Malaysia, but regardless if I used some if its a bad product, they need to know. Tell them how you reacted to it. Even if they refuse the return, it's an educational opportunity. If they get more than one complaint, they might stop recommending it.
I can't return it as it is opened. I threw it away. I will die if I smell it again! And I complained to them that it stank to the point that all the dead (all the way back to prehistoric times) could be risen again. And they don't need Jesus to resurrect them. Tide will do the job!
DeleteYes, vinegar is my saviour!
I do wonder why they need to make the perfume smell to be so horrifyingly pungent?
DeleteYeah, but even the unscented stinks to high heaven. I'm guessing the perfume is there to camouflage the toxic chemical smell.
DeleteToo bad you can't return. In most cases here we can return even if it's opened. My excuse is a health hazard and a defective product if it creates health problems just by smelling it.
Resurrecting the dead...HAHAHAHA
Well, you're in the US. It's different over here. Nobody will accept the 'health hazard' excuse over here.
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