Downey April Fresh? Not anymore!

[DisMN]

I'm bummed. I bought two bottles of the April Fresh Downey and it's no longer April Fresh smelling. It smells horrible! It's a very very strong chemical smell now.
How can they call it the original April Fresh when it's not?

Anyone else buy this garbage? What did you do with your leftovers? Normally I'd donate it somewhere but it smells so bad I'm not sure anyone else will want it.

 

[maggiew]

That's too bad! I always loved the smell of April Fresh Downy, but with my DDs allergies we haven't been able to use it for a long time!

Maggie

 

[ancestry]

I'm bummed. I bought two bottles of the April Fresh Downey and it's no longer April Fresh smelling. It smells horrible! It's a very very strong chemical smell now.
How can they call it the original April Fresh when it's not?

Anyone else buy this garbage? What did you do with your leftovers? Normally I'd donate it somewhere but it smells so bad I'm not sure anyone else will want it.

Is it possible that you got a bad run of it? I.E. like a manufacturing error or something?

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

I would call them, could definitely be a quality control issue that they know about.

 

[DisMN]

Nope. No quality control issue. I just read a bazillion negative reviews on the new/old scent! Bummed that this new stink is here to stay but glad it wasn't just me feeling really sickened by the new odor.

 

[ktlm]

Yep, they changed it and the new smell is DISGUSTING. They claim it is "improved" and that it will now help your clothes to smell fresh for a week. Let me tell you, it is hard to get that stench out of your clothes. You are right that it is a very strong chemical smell. It made my eyes water, and it made DD sneeze.

We used the April Fresh for years and years. I thought for sure something was wrong with our bottle, but it wasn't. If you go to their Website, and look at the product reviews, you will find a lot of unhappy people.

We threw it out...what a waste of money.

 

[MaleficentRN]

I buy the Tide that has it in it. Smells the same to me.

 

[momof1princess]

we just bought a new bottle (get the HUGE bottle at sam's and only have to buy it a couple times a year) and the smell is HORRIBLE. i REALLY don't like this new/improved/old scent.

 

[Tink-n-MrIncredible]

I noticed this the end of last year. The new smell stink's. My family use to love Downey (April Fresh). Now we use Snuggle.

 

[MeekoB]

Unfortunately I've also switched to Snuggle. Loved Downey for years and years, but I can't stand it now.

 

[diznee25]

I too have used April Fresh forever, but the new improved scent is gross!
However, there are a variety of scents to choose from, so I picked up the Spring Lavender. It's a very light scent that is pleasant and doesn't over power.


diznee25

 

[manhattan]

I switched over as well, but for me it was the price increase! I was buying the bottle for $2.99, last time I checked prices it was close to $5.

 

[Lyric]

YES- it is downright awful! I also moved away from "April Fresh" because the "improved" scent reeks.

 

[heatherleigh]

I'll have to look at my bottle to see if it's the "new and improved". I purchased it from Costco a couple weeks ago, but haven't noticed anything. I don't smell it when I pour though, so maybe it is different. It isn't something I would notice, even though I'm constantly doing laundry

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

YES! I hate the new stuff ... it is an overpowering perfume scent. I used to use Downy April Fresh for all of our drip dries. I loved the light scent. Now, it's just awful. I looked twice b/c I thought I bought the wrong stuff. My drip dries have been a bit "crisp" lately b/c I won't use it and haven't replaced it ...

 

[cglaura]

I would take it back to the store and ask to exchange for a different scent. One thing to maybe try, if you like the scent of your detergent, is to get Downy free/unscented...all the same softness, but the clothes keep the scent of the detergent. I use Tide original powder, love that smell & don't like to cover it up

 

[pixiewings71]

So after reading this thread yesterday and realizing that I actually do need fabric softener I went to Target to get some today. I opened and sniffed all the bottles of Downy that they had (except the free/unscented), and you know what...they all stunk! Except the lavender one someone mentioned on page 1. I was going to get it but then I decided to sniff the Snuggle brand lavender and I liked that one better so I ended up with that one. Hopefully it smells good on our clothes (doing laundry now) as well and if it does, then we are a Downy family no longer.

 

[maleficentmom]

Honestly, I noticed a smell from the bottle that was like strong Downy mixed with rubbing alcohol, but I thought my clothes still smelled the same. I figured it was because they had made it more concentrated. I have tried them all, and my fav is Suavital in the blue bottle...I would say I get about double the loads it says on the bottle, as I use prob. half the amount in my front loader and everything smells great...My sister was a diehard Downy and Gain softener user and it converted her! I get it when I find it bogo at walgreens.

 

[mhsjax]

Honestly, I noticed a smell from the bottle that was like strong Downy mixed with rubbing alcohol, but I thought my clothes still smelled the same. I figured it was because they had made it more concentrated. I have tried them all, and my fav is Suavital in the blue bottle...I would say I get about double the loads it says on the bottle, as I use prob. half the amount in my front loader and everything smells great...My sister was a diehard Downy and Gain softener user and it converted her! I get it when I find it bogo at walgreens.

I think you are right. it seems to be much more concentrated and they are saying the clean sheet for a week thing. It does smell stronger but my clothes still smell the same.

 

[bookgirl]

I'm bummed. I bought two bottles of the April Fresh Downey and it's no longer April Fresh smelling. It smells horrible! It's a very very strong chemical smell now.
How can they call it the original April Fresh when it's not?

Anyone else buy this garbage? What did you do with your leftovers? Normally I'd donate it somewhere but it smells so bad I'm not sure anyone else will want it.

My mom was complaining about this. (she noticed it on her clothes first then went back to and checked the bottle to find out it had changed) Hates the new fromula. She found a Snuggle I think that is pretty close and she's switched to it. Hope you find something.

(personally I buy Downey unscented so I had no problems but I felt for her since this is one of the brand names that she is 'brand loyal' to.