3 days Ago By [email protected] (Chuck Brown)
I’m enjoying my unexpected new role as a marketplace watchdog, and I’m pleased to report that readers of this column are a rabid pack dedicated to keeping marketers honest ...
by biting them. Just kidding. You are savvy shoppers, and your comments show clearly that you can smell marketing doo-doo 1.
6 kilometres away. (I’m not saying “a mile away” because ..
. Trump). My recent article about dryer sheets sparked a heavy load of feedback.
My issue with dryer sheets is that suddenly I noticed that the packaging tells us to use more than one on larger loads. I had no idea! Readers set me straight quickly and with passion. Their message? Don’t use any dryer sheets! Reader after reader told me that they feel dryer sheets are a waste of money and are unhealthy.
“Why do you think dryer sheets repel mice?” writes reader Ella. Well, all due respect, I use dryer sheets to smell fresh and to try to prevent myself getting zapped every time I open a door, not to keep mice off me. Well, Ella and others, lots of others, said there are much better ways to manage my laundry.
It’s incredible — at nearly 55 years of age, I’m still learning extremely basic life skills. Reader Daphne points out that the pro move is to use a clothesline. Maybe toss my clothes in the dryer for a five-minute anti-wrinkle session, but then let nature do the hard work.
Reader Sandra also suggests I stop it with the dryer sheets, and she has an alternative to fabric softeners. “One tablespoon of vinegar poured into the fabric softener slot of the washing machine, softens all fabrics, eliminates static cling, keeps the washing machine cleaner and costs very little,” she writes. The most common advice from readers — many readers — was to invest in dryer balls.
They could be tennis balls, rubber balls or wool balls, but they are guaranteed by many of you to leave my clothes soft, fluffy and static-free. I will be trying them for sure. I haven’t had a chance yet.
I have a war chest of eight sets of underpants, which means I only have to do laundry every 16 days or so. Just kidding! But I haven’t had to do laundry since your advice started pouring in. I’ll try dryer balls with my next load.
And speaking of dryer balls ...
A while ago I wrote about how deodorant makers are squeezing all the cash they can from the world’s finite number of armpits. Even with an ever-expanding scent palette (palm tree and coconut ..
. ocean surf ..
. power fresh ..
. cool clean ..
. glacier), they need something new to sell us. They are spending a ton of money on advertising to tell us we can rub or spray this stuff everywhere.
If they convince us, they are expanding their sales by 9,900 per cent if we agree that our armpits are one per cent of our body. I cried foul and some of you agreed. Except reader Shannon.
Shannon is a supporter of all-over deodorants. “I have (I’m not embarrassed to say) thigh folds. These sweat,” she writes.
As someone who burns through boxer briefs due to thigh chafing, I see you and I hear you, Shannon! “But after using whole body deodorant, no sweat. No itch. No problem,” she says.
For Shannon and others, all-over deodorant is more than a marketing ploy. “They are the solution I was searching for.” I’m not ready to smear myself down with sandalwood and amber, but I thank you.
While your story is about perspiring, I also find it inspiring..
