From leaving home, to campus life, to first jobs, we’ve had our fair share of bad laundromat experiences (we’re looking at you NYC). Everything goes through the normal wash and dry cycle only to come out still smelling dirty. This makes sense for a laundromat though, how many people before you have used the same machine?

The issue really begins when it happens in your own home.

So what is the cause?

Volatile Organic Compounds or VOC’s, are chemicals created by bacteria breaking down sweat, secretions, and skin cells.

When you wash a load of laundry, clothes are placed into the drum of the washing machine, which in turn fills with water of your temperature choice. You add detergent and the washer begins its cycle. By moving back and forth the washer agitates the detergent with the clothes, removing dirt and hopefully stains. However, it is not removing bacteria.

Front loading washers only add to the problem. The design of a front load washer does not always promote proper drainage and results in the growth of odor-causing bacteria.  So when you wash your clothes, they’re never actually getting clean!

So if your clothes are never actually getting fully clean, what happens when you forget about that load of laundry for more than a few minutes? Even more growth, even more stink.

 

 

 

Check out this link for more info and links to an interesting study.