I've Got the "My-Laundry-Won't-Dry-and-Smells-Weird-Because-I-Live-In-a-Humid-Climate" Blues

During the summer, here in Panama, the sun shines so brightly, so intensely, almost relentlessly that wet clothes have little chance of staying wet for very long.  Even if not exposed to direct sunlight, even the thickest fabrics like towels, are completely dry by about 10:30 in the morning the day after being hung.  Summer is what I am now calling, "Laundry Season".  It's fantastic.  Light cotton bedsheets are usually dry within an hour of being put up.  Rayon dries incredibly fast too.  I have a polyester table cloth that only needs about 5 minutes in the summer heat.

Not so in rainy season!  I am going absolutely CRAZY.  Not only can it take DAYS for my clothing, socks and towels to dry, but they also take on a horrid, strong, SOUR odor that makes you scrunch your face and growl in disgust.  My husband was convinced I was forgetting to add detergent to the loads....sigh.  So I switched to a scented detergent (normally a no-no since he has allergies to fragrances).  Same problem. 
I moved everything inside the house and locked it all up in a small room with a fan and the dehumidifier.  Nope.  Same thing.  The most frustrating thing is that for some reason, a few of the t-shirts smelled fine and the other 75% smelled like they had been dipped in white vinegar. 
Then, to make me really feel like I was losing my mind, the weather would be against me completely.  Every Monday, I'd wake up to mist, clouds or outright rain.  Monday is my laundry day.  No breeze.  Just a thick veil of humidity hanging in the air almost all day long, all night and into the next day. 

We started to look at dryers.  Ouch.  $450-$500.  I have no idea where we'd put it, nor do I want to spend the money.  So...

We talked to a neighbor.  It turns out that this is what happens if you don't put your clothes in direct sunlight during the rainy season.  She is just as grossed-out as we are by the smell.  Thank goodness we aren't the only ones. 

So, my Panama tip for today is: Put up a clothes line in the open for rainy season along with one under an overhang of some sort for dry season.  ....But NEVER put it under a tree.  Birds are magnetically drawn to clean clothes.......................