Darren's post got me thinking . . . about mildew.I've had this thought for a long time, but just never really tabled it for discussion...
But is it possibly a
good thing to have you clothes get a little damp and mildew-smelling?
Let's look at this objectively -mildew is a naturally-occurring fungus that emits a sometimes-pungent odor.A
natural odor. The fact that the odor is
natural is the lynchpin in this discussion.
When you think about it, hunters go to the ends of the earth in search of a reliable "cover" scent. We spend thousands on keeping ourselves "scent free" - but there's always that small percentage of human odor that escapes, and we invariably experience the insatiable urge to "cover" it with some chemical scent.
Whitetails are constantly monitoring the airways for foreign chemical complexes. Certain compounds (like the emissions of human sweat microbes) will instantly trigger the alarm on a pressure-sensitive deer. The conversation always relates back to what is foreign, versus what is native to their habitat. Native smells get a pass, while certain foreign chemical cues will trigger an immediate, unfavorable response.
So why not go natural?
Read the list of ingredients on your cover scent. There are a lot of alcohols and chemicals which aren't necessarily native to your woods. Mold, however, is. Molds and fungi are everywhere, and almost all of them emit a stench.
Personally, I always pull my clothes out of the dryer a little prematurely, leaving a small amount of wetness in the heavy seams. I give them a good douse with the scent killer and put them in the tote. When I pull them out, however, they always have a little bit of a moldy odor - which I view as a positive. A natural cover.
So am I nuts, or is there something to be gleaned from this?
Mildew
