I generally use 1 cap of liquid softener, in the softener dispenser. In wash scent boosters (granules, beads or pellets) get dumped directly in the wash drum/tub. For scent boosters, I use 1/2 cap.

Paw....why horrible? My new Miele even recommends liquid fabric softener, to reduce static, lessen wrinkles, and ensure clothes retain a smooth, soft feel. I LOVE liquid softener. I personally do not use dryer sheets, I love Bounce by the way, but the Miele dryer says DO NOT use dryer sheets, as they get stuck on the vent while drying. I would use them in my Electrolux though, with no problem.

The only loads I do with no softener is kitchen towels and microfiber towels!!

Almost everything I read online highly discourages the use of fabric softener in a FL stating its a breading ground for mold & mildew because of the reside it leaves behind.

I do a lot of hot water washes along with the monthly "clean washer" cycle so I'm not too worried.

Some times I feel like a nut...sometimes I don't....every once in awhile I use extra LFS, not often ..I generally never use more than a quarter of the cap I find that's my sweet spot. I'm not a huge fan of scents, I like just a hint. My daughters bedding is a fifferent story she loves scent. IIsn't it great that we all have different likes and dislikes, how boring it would be otherwise.

Paw..your machine should be fine ..you use hot wster and do maintence runs..you'll be fine.

I am curious - if you use powder laundry soap (Ariel or Tide) with downy in it, would you still add liquid detergent? (I still do).

I dilute by half and use about 2 tbsps for a big load. Nowhere near the capful. I also use a vinegar chaser in the next load to clear out the slot. It still needs hot water but vinegar is useful for that.

Paw - I have always been curious about that (Tide with Downy). How much does the variety with Downy really soften? Is it more of a scent thing (like a stronger scent) or does it actually soften clothes? I always thought that fabric softener in the wash wouldn't play nice with detergent, but I could be mistaken.

Every detergent I have tried that says "with softener" does not soften much. Think about it....liquid fabric softener is dispensed in the final rinse (it stays on laundry). Detergent with softener gets rinsed 1, 2, 3, 4+ times before spinning. It cannot soften that much. Tide with a Touch of April Fresh Downy does smell very good to me!!

I agree Larsi. They are largely a waste of money and amount to nothing more than a scent. Cleaning, softening, and neutralizing are all different chemistries. It's more of a marketing sales gimmick then a practical use. For those that choose to use a softner as a finish its best to run it in the last rinse before the final extract. You will also get a much better end result using products made for a specific task as opposed to one product does it all gimmicks. Even the "best" one shot detergents may contain a break, a builder, a bleach, and processing aids. But NEVER a softner.

@kitty - for me, the Ariel w/Downey is my favorite smelling detergent thus far. I can't tell if anything is softer & it makes sense what everyone said.

In my area the price with Downey is exactly the same. For example, buy Tide with Downey is the same price as Tide with Bleach.

For example, Tide bottles in the middle row are all $11.99 regardless of the "flavor".

My favorite smell!!

@Mama - like your daughter, I love scent. But not all of them. Mom always had a big box of powder Tide & liquid Downey. Of course that was in the 70's and those smells are LONG gone. But I still search for my favorite smells to remind me of childhood.

Now the CRAZY part. I have 1 favorite perfume & 1 favorite cologne. As soon as I put fresh sheets on the bed I mist with a couple sprays of either cologne or perfume.

Oh, buy the way. I'm a guy & don't wear the perfume. But it reminds me of someone I never want to forget from long ago.

So true Sin, i have used Ariel /Downy and Tide/Downy, i thought i felt a difference, but that could be wishful thinking. IMO, its more about scent than softening. That being said yes i use LFS if i use a detergent with softener.

Paw, you havent lost anything with that Ariel with Downy, lol, you gained Phosphates, lol

Paw, i think we all associate a person,place,thing with scents, thats great that you sleep with a scent because of memories, my mother died in 2008 she always wore White Diamonds, i have that bottle of scent sitting on my nightstand and before i go to bed i always open and smell it, and moms suddenly not so far away.

EXACTLY!! For example, in the movie Eye for an Eye. Sally Field looses her daughter. She hangs on to her pillow because if still smells like her daughter. Well the pillow was accidentally washed, loosing that scent forever.

Same was a woman on the Oprah show who had lost her son. She kept his shirt and said she misses that "dirty little dog smell" that little boys always smell like after playing outside.

It's interesting how scents can bring back either good or bad memories. (But I'm the only guy I know of that buys Youth Dew by Estée Lauder every year). She better never quit selling that perfume.

I use a Tablespoon diluted. I get the scent but I don't notice clothes being softer. Guess I need to play more with the amount. Until recently I has never used FS or dryer sheets.

paw....Youth Dew?! O M G! I do not think there is a fragrance that is stronger or longer lasting!! LOL

My fav. aunt, she was like a 2nd mother to me, died a few years ago from Ovarian Cancer. She always work Calvin Klein Obsession or Donna Karan Cashmere Mist. Those two scents make me feel immediately close to her. I have both of them, and I smell them regularly. Sometimes, I will even put a micro-spritz of one of them on my wrist, and have her with me all day!!

My grandmother wore Chanel no 5. I have a bottle with my perfumes and do the same. Something comforting about having the scent on me. I wear Coco Chanel with a bit of patchouli probably for that reason. Kind of my version of her :).

pawprint - do you wear YouthDew or just have it for a memory reference?

I measure to the first/lowest dosage line on the cap for an average/large load. Tad more for a super-large load. Less for a small load/few items.

The three "lines" (each dosage level on the cap is marked by a group of three lines) seen to the left is the 2nd-up dosage level.

The one "line" to the right (there are two more not seen) is maximum designated dosage.

These dosage markings are, of course, arbitrary.

Thanks everyone for the info about the softening, or lack thereof, in tide with downy. Much appreciated!

Sandy, I don't wear it. I spritz the car interior with it & sometimes my sheets. Reminds me of Mom making the beds & doing laundry.

I actually wear Abercrombie & Fitch Fierce. That's my favorite. But car & sheets remind me of Mom. I don't know. Makes me happy when I drift off to sleep.

My 15 yr old son uses Dancing Waters body wash from Bath and Body Works. It really blends well with men's cologne. I tend to be a blender of scents and thought maybe you had a fierce man combo worked out :).

I sometimes swipe my husbands Angel cologne and add a little lavender.

Paw that was my Mom's go to scent back in the day. She's 96 and has lost her sense of smell but after her shower I spritz her with my Coco Chanel Mademoiselle as that is MY favorite scent .

I use a vinegar/fs mix. Two cups fs in one gallon of vinegar and use 1/2 cup of the mixture per load. The clothes come out smelling sweet, the towels are more absorbent, and we no longer suffer from "itchy" winter skin after I switched from using just fs.

I use between a tsp and 2 tbl of fabric softener for knits, depending on load size. A dryer sheet finishes the anti-static cling job. Used dryer sheets can continue to be used and left in the dryer to keep it smelling fresh. I remove them 1-2 times a week.

Not a fan of dryer sheets. They plug the screen on my dryer very quickly. I tried to compost some. Going on year 3 and they're still there. Not sure what they're made of but they really bother me. Lol.

I use about half the recommended dose of Miele FS. Works for my needs.

OMG Youth Dew. Everyone wore that in the 70s. It was the American fragrance, and the other important one was YSL Opium. Haven't thought of those in years! Thanks Paw.

Yup that perfume always brings back good memories.

I use 2 oz Downy with 2 oz water and put it in my dispenser.

I love all the perfume/cologne stories on this thread! There are sure a bunch of scent junkies on here myself included. Estée definitely dominated the 70"s 80"s and even 90"s..

YSL Opium is still one of my fav scents. My Mom wore it in the 80's and early 90's. Sadly, YSL "updated" it a few years ago, and while it smells similar, it is not as "heady" exotic, creamy and unique as it once was. Actually it smells almost identical to Youth Dew now :(

Agreed larsi. Most of the old greats have been "reformulated". Don't you get tired of that? The old Opium was such a beautiful Oriental...not many women could pull it off. One of my favorites is Samsara, but the new one is so saccharine. Of course I stocked up on enough 1989-1990 Samsara to bath in. And don't get me started on Obsession. Truly, a fragrance of the ages; now only a shadow of its 1986 self. So sad.

Grey Flannel is another potent memory booster for me. The green bottle one. That was what dads smelled like.

elcamino....LOVED Obsession, for men & women. I recently bought a small bottle of Obsession and while, like Opium, it smelled very similar to the original....CHANGED. Just like with our Downy, although is not similar, it is downright ruined. Why ruin Opium, Obsession, Samsara, Shalimar??? There are enough cheap, gag me Brittney Spears, Paris Hilton and JLo awful scents, and new "celebrities" keep coming out with a new "fragrance"....Let em', but don't change older, existing scents!!! OMG, I'm getting old!! I do not want change!! lol

You're not old, you just have taste and style.

I hope sandy doesn't mind that her fs thread has turned into a fragrance thread! Those of you that have stockpiled your fav perfume, do you keep them boxed up in the original packaging and keep them in the dark? I'm afraid my favorite is going to be discontinued soon but I've had perfume go bad/weird on me, but it's sitting out on the dresser or bathroom shelf or whatever.

I don't mind at all. The secondary topic is always more interesting :) I've always been interested in scent. It's nice to have company.

On storing perfume, room temperature, dark, keep sealed. I store mine in the linen closet when not in rotation. If you're stocking up keep them wrapped.

Original packaging, rarely-used cabinet for the stuff I don't wear much. In season fragrances stay out on my dresser.

Shalimar....Ahhh..so loved it.

MamaP....LOVE Shalimar. We keep a small bottle of it, actually my Mom put it there. I sniff it sometimes, LOL. It is amazing. Growing up my Mom always, and still wears perfume daily. It was usually Opium, Shalimar, White Shoulders, Forever Crystal (she was a huge Dynasty fan, LOL) and sometimes Jungle Gardenia...OMG, hate that!! Ha ha!!

NONE!! Fabric softener is the worst thing ever for sensitive skin.

Mama and Larsi, I love Shalimar too, and white shoulders. But may fave is Poem. Do you remember British Sterling? I loved that so much so I gave some to my Dad but he wasn't into cologne. So when I got married I gave some to DH.

hisown - That's actually not always accurate. Unless you have problem with something in the softner, softened fabrics can be gentler on the skin.

100% agree Sandy. One can use unscented softeners, or softeners made for sensitive skin. Many times softened fabrics can be less irritating to skins!!

Much of the time allergies are caused from the chemicals used for scent. IMO LFS used in moderation *condition* the fabrics give them more of a finished look and feel and can reduce friction against the skin.

Guess I'm lucky. My only allergy is a specific red dye. I can't imagine having to avoid fragrance or the zillion other things my kids' friends are "allergic" to.

sandy 1616....My aunt is so allergic to whatever red dye is in M&M's. She can eat all other colours, peanuts, no peanuts...but NO red M&M's. I wonder if this is the same dye you are allergic to?

Luckily, I am only allergic to one thing, but it's a bad one...Keflex Antibiotics. OMG....horrible reaction. The roof of my mouth swells, cracks and bleeds, I run a high fever, I get a rash and I want to literally shred the skin off my entire body. Good times! LOL

It's the same red dye! Also used in a lot of bakeries. I swell up, hives. Not attractive. I discovered this when I was 18 drinking Schnapps, swelled up and vomited on my date. Lol.

My son is allergic to all the sulpha based antibiotics (the cillins) - anaphylaxis, keflex - same reaction as yours, bactrim - hives and severe muscle pain, and probably more we haven't tried. Basically when he gets sick it's yogurt, water and sleep.