I've been using detergents made of biodegradeable, natural surfactants for a while now. I've found that while they smell nice in the bottle, once I've folded and put away the clothes and sheets they no longer smell nice. They smell more like... play doh for the lack of anything better to describe it. I notice it the most with my sheets.

And I'm not talking about storing them for months, I'm talking a week. I thought it might be the fabric softener, so I stopped using it about a year ago but my sheets still smell...play doh-ey.

Would you know if unscented detergents would keep my sheets smelling less like play doh as there are no essential oils to go off?

If it makes any difference, I have a front-load washer and I use the "he" stamped detergents.