Don’t know what’s going on but maybe don’t fold them in the laundromat? Take the out of the dryer and bring them home to fold. Or try strong smelling detergent??

Washing machines pick up odors from dirty clothes and can be breeding grounds for mildew. That’s why they have run occasionally with no clothes in them with some self cleaning powder. Plus, when not in use, the door should be left open to discourage mildew.

Machines at a laundromat may not do those things.

^^I think the Cookie has the answer.

They don’t smell like mold or mildew though. I know that smell from my own very old crappy wash machine. The smell like old clothes. Like maybe clothes that were stored dirty or something.

Covid related? My DIL says everything smells like smoke.

Were you doing your laundry at home before?

@Brian1946 Yes I was. Well, my clothes. I have no dryer, so I hung them all before.

It could be someone had clothes stored with moth balls and took them to the laundry mat to clean and dry. Mothball smell is nearly impossible to get rid of and makes everything stink. You practically have to wash it a few times and still the smell remains a little. I learned that the hard way. I had to put some of my clothes in storage and put them in a plastic bin with moth balls to keep bugs and possible rodents out. I tried cleaning them once I took them out of storage and I eventually gave up and threw everything out.

Try putting some of that stuff that makes your cloths smell better. I can’t recall what it is but they are beads that make your cloths smell better.

When I use a laundromat, I sniff the washing machines and dryers before committing to a particular machine. I also look into the detergent trays before starting.