I’m beginning to feel a great deal of sympathy for the, er, rather fragrant individuals I have run across in the MRT or on the street. By the time that I walk from the apartment to the MRT, my shirt is soaked with sweat, but the real problem is that none of the washing methods I’ve used get them clean again at the end of the day. I can shower all I want, but if I can’t put on clean clothes afterwards, I’m still going to smell bad.
I’ve gone to coin-op laundromats, and the clothes come out with visible stains and dirt still in them. They’re blatantly still dirty.
I’ve used a small home washing machine, and the clothes came out with NEW stains on them. Still smell sweaty.
I’ve taken them to a commercial laundry, and the clothes come back still smelling bad, and have a weird chemical odor from the soap as well.
The instant I put any of these clothes back on, they begin to reek again. It’s as if I hadn’t even showered. Or worse.
What the bleedin’ hell do I have to do to get my clothes clean in Taiwan??
Buy disposable underpants at the 7-11. Turn them inside out once you’ve worn them once to get double use.
Buy cheap t-shirts at the night market. Same thing. Toss them when you’re done.
Dry clean everything else.
Come on Squid, I’ve been washing my clothes through one of the three methods you described for years, and I’ve never had any of the problems you list. Are you really that unlucky?
There really isn’t anything else you can do, unless you think washing the clothes in warm water might help. There’s another thread on that–I think Iris has it figured out.
That, or detox your body at a spa for a few days. Yeah, it’s probably your body. You’re just a dirty, dirty man.
I do all the laundry in my household of two. I use a western washer and dryer, complete with Liquid Tide, fabric softeners, bleach for unbleachables, anti-static cling dryer sheets - you name it. My mama taught me well…
Maybe you’re not using a good detergent? And when you hang your clothes to dry make sure they’re completely dry before you bring them in. Damp clothes smell sour. And if it’s not your clothes, are you using deodorant or anti-perspirant?
I honestly feel that bashing my clothes with rocks down by the river would be a better solution than the cantankerous monstrosity that lurches around the kitchen like a drunk in a cop shop (oooooooooh…). It’s one of those top-loaders, and I’m certain there’s a ‘tilt’ setting in there which makes everything bunch up on one side of the drum (in the washing machine, not the drunk), so that the spin cycle is an absolute joy for the neighbours ( WHAM WHAM WHAM SLAM “No, dear, that’s not me. Stay like that, I’ll be back in a sec…”).
It’s effective for removing the putrid stench that wafts in palpable waves from my sweaty garments, but doesn’t do much for the ‘greyness’ that seems to have settled into everything I own. Then again, I am a highly intelligent chap who owns plenty of white t-shirts, because that’s a smart colour to wear in the city. Going home is a pleasure, because Mom performs miracles with powerful detergents, delicately fragranced fabric softeners, and an iron (anyone else use a hanger to iron their clothes here? Shake, SHAKE, hang, problem solved). “Dazzling” is too understated to describe the old lady’s abilities, and no, I don’t really care that my mommy still washes my clothes for me. I eat her food because it puts mine to shame, and the bed she prepares for me (Oedipus, shmoedipus, you know what I mean!) is like sleeping in billowing clouds.
Anyhow…
I have had the most success with my clothes here when I let them soak overnight. That, and leaving the clothes in the machine and doing them again on a shorter cycle with a little less soap. I sweat a lot too (even more now, thank you, o company what for I do be to work, for providing those fantastic polyester shirts to wear every day…), showering and changing clothes at least twice a day, and not letting them sit around in the laundry basket for too long.
I used to have the same problem with the clothes I wore to run in. That ‘pissy’ smell on supposedly clean clothes. It’s a pretty common problem in Taiwan which I notice around the office and whenever you get on an elevator.
I used to wash my work out clothes about three times with little luck. I tried everything, vinegar, washing very few clothes at once etc.
Haven’t really had much problems with my other clothes though but have to agree that it takes a lot of chemicals to keep those whites white. Makes sense since the water that comes out of the pipes in Hsinchu is full of dirt.
Pre-treat the underarms of your shirts with those laundry bar soaps, not something like Shout.
There’s a new Lysol laundry disinfectant additive that works pretty well. It is in a white bottle and can be used with all colors and has done a good job of knocking the lingering funk out of my towels and shirts.
We use most of that stuff that Moaman mentioned and it makes a big difference. I remember that when we ran out some of the items and did a few washes with only detergent, the clothes didn’t smell nice and weren’t soft. We also let our clothes dry in the sun as sunshine kills alot of the bacterias. I hate using the dryer because all the cotton clothes shrinks up really quickly.
top load washing machines are useless here
The drum turns and the clothes are static
With a front load and the beater bars. the clothes get a good thumping
Cold wash should not affect it too much… that is of course if the detergents are designed for this…
IN Australia cold washing is common… in the UK not so much
Give me Bold, Ariel or one of those detergents… they clean the hell out of the clothes
Detergents here are useless… I cannot get the collars clean… at home I dumped the same shirt into the front load with some Ariel and it was glowing afterwards
I don’t, at least in Taiwan. I wash them, so they are cleaner, but they are only really clean twice a year, when I go home for a visit. I take all my clothes with me and wash them at home in a normal Western washing machine with normal Western detergent and hot water.
There are three problems in Taiwan: the water is cold and hard; the typical Taiwanese detergent isn’t very good; the typical washing machine here is a joke.
If you can hook your washing machine up to hot water and then use Western detergent, your clothes will be cleaner.
Western brand front-loading washing machine with temperature options up to 60 degrees and detergent imported from Germany (upcoming delivery due next week )
I lived in Taiwan for 5 years, and after washing I hung my clothes out to dry - 3 days later they would be dry, stiff, misshapen and susceptible to mild.
I’m moving back to Taipei soon. This time I will get myself a dryer. A real dryer.
I put them in the machine, forget about them for three days, wash them again, (repeat as often as unnecessary, ie until you run out of underwear) hang them outside, and forget about them until I need them. Bring that shirt in, iron it, and put it on.
I’m married so I have no idea how the clothes get cleaned. There is a strange looking tub in the bathroom which I once heard referred to as a “washing machine” but it sure doesn’t look like the washing machine I had as a student in 1991, which was the last time I attempted to wash my clothes myself.
These things they have here are useless though. The clothes are never clean. All these things do is swish them about in cold water, tie your clothes in knots, and the powder dissolves them.
Give me a front loader with hot water and I’ll give you clean white shirts every day. Or rather my wife will.
).
?
)