Cats and Tide Detergent Scent

hanbag

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This might be a silly question.
I was doing a load of laundry today. I don't have my usual more natural brand of detergent because I'm traveling and using the hotel guest laundry, so I used Tide. I used extra to deal with a mold/must issue in some of my towels, and the entire load came out of the dryer with a Tide detergent smell, including my clothes and the cat's blanket. She didn't seem to mind the smell, and as soon as she saw her blanket she curled up on top of it.
I'm not going to rewash them, because I'm out of quarters and had a heck of a time trying to get someone who could change my dollar bills, but I took most of the load and put them in my car to air it out. I did keep my pajamas and some clothes in here, though they don't smell as strongly of Tide.
Just to add, she wasn't in the laundry room with me and has never once been in the same vicinity as the detergent itself. I'm just wondering whether that Tide scent lingering in the air and in my clothes and blankets can harm her at all. Thank you!
 

Caspers Human

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The scent, by itself, won't hurt anything but, sometimes, people (and by extension, animals) might be sensitive to it.

Personally, I don't use scented detergent or fabric softener because those things make my skin itchy. However, lots of people like the scent and use it regularly without any problem.

If your cat likes the scent, or doesn't care, then everything should be okay.

If your cat smells your freshly washed laundry and shies away or if you notice her avoiding things she used to like after you have used scented detergent, stop using it.

Bottom line: YMMV. ;)

Do what you think is best. :)
 

artiemom

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I use Tide, unscented---white bottle... I was using wool laundry balls in the dryer.. but now I am cutting back to one Downy Dryer sheet per load.. The dryers seem to 'eat' the wool balls... ugh..

I agree: if the scent of Tide is too strong, then the load of laundry has not been fully rinsed. I would rinse it again, without any Tide or anything.....

I have a lot of allergies, so I am using the unscented Tide --white bottle or the Free and Easy Tide--yellow bottle..... works for me....
 

Kflowers

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we do an extra rinse with 1/4 cup of white vinegar in it to get rid of all the soap.
 

Dos Gatos

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She should be fine. My cat loves the smell of used dryer sheets - they’re like catnip to her. If she gets a hold of one, she rubs all over it until we take it away. She has been doing this for 16 years without any negative effects.
 

Caspers Human

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If your stuff comes out of the laundry smelling too strong, use less detergent.

The amount recommended by the manufacturer is more than you really need so that they don’t have people complaining that their clothes aren’t clean.

The real answer is that people should experiment to find out how much detergent to use for their own application but companies aren’t about to print all that on the container.
 
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