100% clean laundry shouldn't have a scent at all, if the detergent is fully rinsed away. Any lingering scent is because some of the detergent chemicals are left behind.

Maybe your machine rinses exceptionally well. Using vinegar (in the softener dispenser? which triggers into the last rinse) may be neutralizing whatever detergent scent remains. Try eliminating the vinegar. Or perhaps try some softeners. Fabric softeners nowadays seem more oriented toward aromatherapy than softening.

All around, Persil megaperls works very well and leaves a fresh pine fragrance unless I use an extra rinse.

I've used a few different Caldrea liquids and found the fragrance left on clothes varies. Sweet Pea is the most pronounced. The sister product Mrs. Meyers leaves more fragrance in general.

I've never found that vinegar does anything at all and don't understand why everyone likes it.

I use about 1 tsp of Mrs. Meyers fabric softener, mixed with water, on towels only. Diluting it helps. I favor their Geranium.

This post was edited by rococogurl on Fri, Jul 19, 13 at 14:52

Rococogurl thanks for the advice. Persil did leave a nice scent on my clothes but its so expensive and we are a family of 6 so I'm doing a lot of wash! The Caldrea I tried was the basil scent which I'm not a fan of, but I will still finish it being that I barely smell it on my clothes anyway. I do love the basil scent for mrs. Meyers but haven't tried the laundry detergent yet. The reason I use vinegar is softens clothes a bit, it doesnt get rid of static but I have wool balls in dryer for that. Also trying to use less chemicals if I can!

People like vinegar in the rinse water because it kills suds and helps the clothes rinse cleaner than without. Without excessive suds left in the wash, clothing is softer.

you say your trying to use less chemicals but you want your clothes to have a perfumed smell. This doesn't make sense

I have tried vinegar several times and could not determine that it did anything at all. I've read all the claims. It has never softened anything I've washed. It did not deodorize either despite using 1 cup in a wash.

With a front loader and soft water I am very careful about dosing. If I see any residual suds I just do an additional quick rinse.

It's very effective as weed killer in the garden, however.

Jakvis I said I'm NOT looking for heavly perfumed clothes, just a fresh smell. The laundry detergents I try to use use essential oils as a fragrance. So yes i am trying to use less chemicals if I can!

"I try to use more of the natural laundry detergents."

Is it possible the natural laundry detergents aren't getting the clothes particularly clean?

nyr girl I forgot to mention Vaska lavender to you. It's too concentrated for my soft water but it's a green detergent. Goes on sale at drugstore.com.

@knot2fast -- I've tried many detergents and none gets clothes cleaner than the Persil IMO.

perfumed smell and perfumed to smell fresh is just splitting hairs.

But as dadoes said:
100% clean laundry shouldn't have a scent at all, if the detergent is fully rinsed away. Any lingering scent is because some of the detergent chemicals are left behind.

Try taking a dryer sheet and cutting it in 1/2 or 1/4 size and add it to your dryer. This will add a very light "fresh" smell to your clothes and you can decide which clothes get the treatment.

Thanks Rococogurl, I've heard about Vaska but haven't tried it yet! I agree Persil is the best at cleaning but too expensive for the amount of laundry I do. Also trying hard to find a good green detergent but I can't compensate for not having clean clothes!! Just curious what would happen when you used Vaska being that you have soft water?
Before I tried caldera I tried Nellys and it didn't clean my clothes at all they looked clean but smelled like they weren't washed actually had a dirty laundry smell. Reviews for Nellys were mostly all great. Just strange how it works for some and others not good at all.

It would sure be nice to find an affordable American brand of detergent that compares to Persil and its old Oxydol fragrance. Sigh... oh well

I have considered this same issue in my home. This phenomenon only occurred after I installed a softner/filter in our home. I would agree with other posts which conclude that softer water is responsible and that clothes are actually clean. As for vinegar, it's primary purpose in the laundry is to clean the washer and eliminate odors. If you have an older washer that has never been cleaned, it may need maintenance to remove scum and buildup that has collected over years of use. There are great videos on Youtube to assist the homeowner in the process.

"That's just my two scents."

miele, that depends on the air quality. I'm sure no one in Beijing would agree with you. :)

How 'bout adding a couple of drops of essential oil (lavender?) to the rinse water, or putting a couple of drops onto an unscented dryer sheet?

rococogurl: "nyr girl I forgot to mention Vaska lavender to you. It's too concentrated for my soft water but it's a green detergent. Goes on sale at drugstore.com."

+1

I just washed new sheets in Persil( love the scent) hung them outside to dry…nothing! Not the fresh outside scent my mom and grandmother use to get…I’ve been hanging sheets outside for years….I use to get that great outdoor smell…the last several years…nothing!

Way back, our g-parents used powder detergent. Not only that but I don't remember stores carrying Affresh or any of the other washing machine cleaners. I've said it before and I'll say it again, my top load Speed Queen used to smell like wet dirty socks until I went back to using powder detergent.