Can the Pleasure of Choosing Fabric Softener Change the Laundry Experience?

From a chore to finish quickly to a moment spent wondering which fragrance to choose today. Interviews with 34 women who used fabric softeners at home revealed experiences of surprise and anticipation, conversations with family, and enjoyment in choosing a scent.

Published in 2026, the study focused on how people experience laundry as a sequence of household tasks, rather than their immediate response to smelling a fragrance. It also explored how accounts differed with the opportunity to switch between fragrances and with the duration of use.

Using fabric softeners designed to release fragrance during laundry at home

The participants were 34 women in their twenties and thirties. They normally did laundry at least three times a week and chose and purchased their own fabric softener. Those selected found a written description of the test products’ features appealing.

There were three test products: powdery–fruity–floral, fruity–floral, and fruity–woody–floral. They differed in fragrance and label design, but all were designed to release fragrance readily during laundry. The liquids and their containers were transparent, and the liquids flowed more easily than typical fabric softeners.

Participants were divided into four groups: nine used all three products over four weeks, eight used all three over one week, eight used just one for four weeks, and nine used just one for one week. The single-product groups used whichever fragrance they had most wanted to try based on written descriptions. The three-product groups could choose freely, with no prescribed order or frequency.

Organizing experiences rather than measuring percentage improvements

During the trial, participants completed online laundry records and reports of their feelings. On the final day, each took part in an individual interview lasting 23–59 minutes. They also recalled their experience of laundry before the study during this final interview.

The researchers divided statements into units of meaning, producing 3,489 labels. Using the KJ method, in which multiple researchers discuss and organize the material, they grouped psychological states and changes during laundry into categories. This was qualitative research exploring the kinds of changes participants described, not a trial measuring a percentage reduction in stress.

Surprise at the fragrance leads to anticipation and conversation

Statements made about use of the products included surprise at fragrance spreading during laundry and anticipation of how participants might feel afterward. The researchers interpreted these accounts as a shift from focusing on removing dirt and bad odors toward noticing laundry as an opportunity for a pleasant experience.

For example, some participants called family members over to share the scent, or found that an unfamiliar fragrance prompted conversation. Looking forward to laundry and experiencing it as time for oneself were also themes extracted from accounts of product use.

This does not mean that everyone had the same experiences. It does suggest, however, that fragrance during the work itself, rather than only on clean clothes, may play a role in how the chore is perceived.

People choosing between scents also considered how they wanted to feel

In the groups using three products, statements described choosing scents with the weather, time of day, family members’ comfort, and the participant’s desired mood in mind. Examples included choosing a sweet scent when tired at night and another fragrance when wanting to feel refreshed.

The reasons for choosing extended beyond the laundry session itself. Some choices involved imagining oneself a little later, such as wanting to feel calm when using bedding or wanting to create a particular impression when wearing freshly washed clothes. The authors described choices for the present as matching fragrance to mood, and choices involving a future self-image as an experience resembling self-expression through makeup or perfume.

Some participants also discovered that a fragrance they would not normally buy was unexpectedly pleasant. Enjoyment of switching between scents appeared in free-text responses during use as well as in interviews, showing overlap with the records kept along the way.

Four-week users noticed practical benefits beyond fragrance

A category describing a reduced laundry burden emerged in the four-week groups but not in the one-week groups. Its content, however, concerned usability rather than fragrance effects: the fluid liquid was easy to pour, left less residue in the container or dispenser, and made clothes less tangled and easier to take out.

The researchers suggest that more opportunities to use the products made it easier to notice features that had not been emphasized beforehand. Meanwhile, fragrance-related categories did not differ between the one- and four-week groups. The findings do not establish that longer use produced greater fragrance-related mood improvement.

Two pathways in the authors’ proposed model of the laundry experience

Based on the statements, the authors proposed a two-part model. In the first, noticing features such as fragrance during laundry brings surprise and anticipation that contribute to positive impressions of the task. The second adds consideration of one’s desired mood or self-image when choosing between fragrances.

This is an interpretation developed from interviews, not a model that statistically establishes causality. There was no fragrance-free control, and labels, containers, and viscosity were also part of the experience. Participants were limited to women already attracted to the product concept, and their pre-study experience was recalled during the interview. The same experience cannot be assumed for everyone, including people who dislike fragrance.

Summary

Accounts from people using fabric softener at home revealed surprise and anticipation about fragrance during laundry, conversations with family, and a sense of looking forward to the task. When several scents were available, participants also considered how they wanted to feel at the time and how they imagined themselves when using the washed items.

Comparing duration of use, the four-week groups described practical features that reduced the burden of laundry, but fragrance-related categories did not differ. Rather than reducing fragrance effects to a single effect size, the study offers a way to understand everyday products through the experience of choosing and the sequence of tasks involved.

Lion funded the research, and the first and second authors were affiliated with the company at the time. The conflict-of-interest statement reports that IdeaLab, the third author’s affiliation, had a technical advisory service contract with Lion when the research was conducted.

Reference

Saito, K., Ohki, T., & Asano, A. (2026). Exploring the Influence of Fabric Softener Fragrances on Psychological State During Laundry Work: A Qualitative Study. Transactions of Japan Society of Kansei Engineering, advance publication (January 29, 2026). https://doi.org/10.5057/jjske.TJSKE-D-25-00045 (Original paper PDF)