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Laundry experiments
May. 7th, 2007 09:46 pmThere's a selection of "natural" laundry products made by a local outfit, called "Naturally Clean". I spotted them in the local IGA a couple of weeks back after buying the best fish and chips I've had in Australia so far (Flatheads Fish Cafe - just up the road!). So, in the effort of doing my bit for the environment, and avoiding the overly-perfumed enzyme-based powders that I truly do not like, I bought the Forrest washing liquid and gave it a whirl.
Alas, alack. The washing seems to be nice and clean, but it does not wash away my smell. And that's pretty important in terms of my believing something is sufficiently clean. I have a reasonably distinctive smell (I'm not "smelly", and I do think it's pleasant - who dislikes their own smell, unless they're physically unwell?), and I do not want to go to work smelling like I've just rolled out of bed after a busy weekend (not to be coy). I actually don't like to get into my bed and have it smelling like a busy weekend's aftermath when the sheets should be clean.
Now, I'm probably sounding like one of those massively overgroomed people who has an issue with their body, and natural smells, and yadda yadda. Obviously I'm not an "at one with the goddess and all of nature" hippy (although I think the unsanctimonious breed of hippy is cool). However, as I say, I like my smell. I like to be clean, but I'm not high-maintenance. But I don't want my smell to be too obvious. I don't like someone smelling all musky and ripe in my working environment, and I certainly wouldn't like to inflict it on other people. Perhaps if I lived and worked in a more naturally-smelling environment than the inner city (as far as that goes in Canberra) and a sterile office building, I wouldn't be so conscious of it. Or if my own sense of smell were a little less acute.
So, I'm going to finish off the laundry liquid I have now, and resist the temptation to run out and buy some Cold Power and rewash everything. I might try the lemon-flavoured formulation some time in the future once I feel like I've brought my laundry back to a sufficiently neutral state (it's never perfectly neutral). It may be that the eucalyptus oil in the Forrest formulation has a synergistic effect with my own personal smell. Or, perhaps my smell just needs real soap (since real old-fashioned soap works fine) to be sufficiently removed - these liquids only contain meths, white vinegar, bicarbonate and essential oils. It's a bummer it hasn't worked out to my satisfaction.
Alas, alack. The washing seems to be nice and clean, but it does not wash away my smell. And that's pretty important in terms of my believing something is sufficiently clean. I have a reasonably distinctive smell (I'm not "smelly", and I do think it's pleasant - who dislikes their own smell, unless they're physically unwell?), and I do not want to go to work smelling like I've just rolled out of bed after a busy weekend (not to be coy). I actually don't like to get into my bed and have it smelling like a busy weekend's aftermath when the sheets should be clean.
Now, I'm probably sounding like one of those massively overgroomed people who has an issue with their body, and natural smells, and yadda yadda. Obviously I'm not an "at one with the goddess and all of nature" hippy (although I think the unsanctimonious breed of hippy is cool). However, as I say, I like my smell. I like to be clean, but I'm not high-maintenance. But I don't want my smell to be too obvious. I don't like someone smelling all musky and ripe in my working environment, and I certainly wouldn't like to inflict it on other people. Perhaps if I lived and worked in a more naturally-smelling environment than the inner city (as far as that goes in Canberra) and a sterile office building, I wouldn't be so conscious of it. Or if my own sense of smell were a little less acute.
So, I'm going to finish off the laundry liquid I have now, and resist the temptation to run out and buy some Cold Power and rewash everything. I might try the lemon-flavoured formulation some time in the future once I feel like I've brought my laundry back to a sufficiently neutral state (it's never perfectly neutral). It may be that the eucalyptus oil in the Forrest formulation has a synergistic effect with my own personal smell. Or, perhaps my smell just needs real soap (since real old-fashioned soap works fine) to be sufficiently removed - these liquids only contain meths, white vinegar, bicarbonate and essential oils. It's a bummer it hasn't worked out to my satisfaction.
