Hmm. Not sure if some of you are making fun. I WAS serious when I said close the windows because I *do* get sick from neighbor's laundry exhaust -- nausea mostly.
Don't know how many times I ground my teeth in frustration as I slammed the windows shut on nice days and evenings when I wanted to enjoy the fresh air and breeze.
Price of living in a closely packed subdivision, I suppose. We have one of the biggest lots here but not enough. In fact, my one neighbor whose house is quite distant (I.e twice the distance away compared to other houses) must use something pretty powerful, or else the wind always blows from her direction, because I have to scramble to close the windows on that side of the house every time.
Look. Fire up GoogleMaps, plug in any residential address and look at all those houses. Now imagine plume of laundry exhaust coming out of every house. Then (excuse me me smokers but it's the easiest way to illustrate this) imagine every one of those plumes to be cigarette smoke.
Even if you can't see the particles/molecules if you can smell them, they are there. I really don't see WHY it's not obvious that it's pollution just as much as auto exhausts, factories and incinerators....
Here's another illustration -- dogs roll in stinky stuff -- like rotten fish or carcasess or manure -- right? So do cats, to mask their odor from their prey, they say. Well, when the neighbors' kids (or other visitors with strong laundry scents on them) come over, our cats rub all over them: socks and shoes, pant legs, or clothes if they get picked up
I usually remain diplomatic and don't disabuse them of the notion than we have very friendly cats....