I’m usually a boxer guy, but I have a couple pairs of boxer briefs.
I don’t have a drier, I hang dry everything.
Anyway, ever since I came to this country, not having a drier (and the magic that is “fabric softener”) some of my clothes have felt a bit stiff. Usually not that big of a deal as they soften up a bit after I put them on/walk around and such. Mostly this is jeans, my towels get a bit stiff… and my damn boxer briefs.
Most of the material is fine, MOST of it. All except that damn patch between my legs, up in the taint/assneck/whatever you call it area (the “support,” if you will).
I went to Tokyo this weekend and, not having time to do laundry beforehand, took my last good pair of boxers and some boxer briefs. Wore the BBs around all day yesterday, walking around, doing all the regular stuff, and now it feels like I have this rash up there, between my legs, like my legs’ve been rubbing against sandpaper for a day.
It’s pretty uncomfortable, and did not make walking around teaching several classes today any easier.
so… yea… I miss fabric softener… or really just driers in general. I think those boxer briefs are going to once again find themselves relegated to emergency-only use…
If you want fabric softener, I recommend Lenor (transliterated as Renoa). It’s a liquid softener that goes into your wash and can help a lot with the crunchy clothing problem.
If you need your clothes softer still, you might want to invest in a futon dryer. Most of the good ones include the ability to dry small clothing articles, like socks, undies, shirts, etc. You can also try giving the clothing a bit of a work out (i.e. beat the crap out of em) before putting them on to soften them more. I usually do that with my towels after they’ve dried.
Lenor like Renoa like レノア? I’ll definitely have to look into that. I like the boxer briefs, they’re comfy and everything, or at least, they were before I had this problem.
part of the problem might also be to much soap in the wash, iirc washing machines do usually get out all the soap. To the extent that you could literally through a load of dirty laundry into the washer with no added soap and have it come out clean. so maybe less soap or run an extra rinse cycle.
That reminds me. If your washer runs on cold water only (as most here do), make sure you are using liquid detergent. The powder detergent is cheaper, but is seldom completely dissolved by cold water alone. Liquid detergent, on the other hand, is rinsed out of the laundry just fine. Especially if your laundry machine has a 注水 option (in addition to すすぎ).
I can’t help with the boxer briefs, but if you want help with the rash, might I suggest diaper/nappy rash ointment? You need the stuff that’s white because of all the zinc oxide in it, and an unscented version if you can find it. Plain zinc oxide ointment will do. If you apply it generously, you’ll be healed in no time (probably less than a day, depending on how bad the rash is).
thanks for all the edvice. I’ll definitely try that レノア stuff and simply not adding soap when doing my boxers, see if it makes a difference. Might switch up to liquid detergent after my box of powder runs out, we’ll see where the winds take me
As for the rash, well, it wasn’t really a rash, per se. I mean, it kinda was, with the rubbing and all that, but it only lasted a day so I wasn’t really worried about it. Just put on some nice soft normal boxers that monday, and tuesday life was peachy again (which is good cause I was teaching in an elementary school and I run around like I’m on crack all day).
I use powdered detergent, but also a generous helping of liquid softener. Not sure if I have Renoa or not. Check to see if any of the stores in your area have laundromats. It’s expensive, but sometimes totally worth it. I still haven’t seen dryer sheets, but if you live near a military base (or if you can get someone to ship them for you), they’re so great.
I’m now debating on whether I just want to buy a damn dryer. I’m here another year and a half (at least), and they’re only a few mahn. Sigh. Maybe I can take it as carry-on when I leave
hehe, nice, that’d be a sight to see. No military bases anywhere near me (I’m in Toyama) but I get stuff shipped from home periodically (had to call my mom up to ship me some condoms… THAT was an interesting conversation. I’ve also gotten Mac&Che, and my buddy recently came bringing a box of goldfish and a couple cans of Rosarita Refried Beans ) and there’s a laundromat near me, haven’t checked it out or anything though. I too will be here another year, so it’d be nice to get a few more of the minor inconveniences worked out.
I use liquid Ariel (アリエールイオンパワージェル) with the レノア and that keeps most of my laundry soft. The one exception are towels, which will not get soft no matter what detergent/softener I use. My only recommendation for them is to hang them in your ohuro while you take your shower/bath. The steam should be enough to soften them without making them too damp to dry off with.
cool, I do that with my towels anyway, so no worries.
Picked up some Renoa yesterday (I got the green bottle because it said “Happiness!” underneath it, and I want happiness in my boxers ) so we’ll see how it all works out. Thanks guys!
No problem at all! The only other recommendation I have is that you make sure you are putting in the right amounts of detergent and laundry softener. I got in the habit of putting in a full cap of detergent with every load, only to realize later, upon actually reading the directions, that I was using the recommended amount of soap for a 65L load for 32~40L loads of laundry! :smack: Not only was I overloading my poor washer with detergent that it probably couldn’t effectively rinse out completely, I was wasting detergent by using twice as much as I actually needed. Turns out I only need half a cap for each load and now my detergent bottles last much longer.
yea I rarely use much more than a sprinkling of the powder, maybe a quarter of the scoop. my clothes come out clean and smelling like… well, laundry detergent, so I always take that as a good sign, hehe.
) so we’ll see how it all works out. Thanks guys!