Battling the stank - YouLookFab Forum

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Battling the stank

kellygirl

Veteran

Cindy's post made me laugh. Have you battled stinky performance fabrics? I feel like I've tried everything and sometimes the odor goes away for awhile only to come back and assault me later. I'm not sure what causes it but my mom seems to think that the stench is related to the fatty acids that your body releases through sweat. My latest thing is using "Out" detergent in the soap compartment and vinegar with a couple of drops of tea tree oil in the fabric softener compartment and an extra rinse cycle--then air dry. The tea tree oil smell is potent but it is pretty benign on the dry clothes. YMMV but I thought I'd share... Do you have any tips?

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18 replies

Latest reply was from Runcarla

Vildy

Veteran

I don't have this exact issue but I really like the Febreze odor eliminator that goes in the wash. Might even say something like sports odor.

Bottle of it lasts me forever because it only seems to need a tsp to a tablespoon worth.

Another thing I like is Febreze spray on for pet odors. We have a Lab and have just given up but otherwise it's really great for anything biological.

I imagine spraying it over the garment and letting it do its magic before washing might work well.

Style Fan

Veteran

I have purchased a special detergent for sports clothes that my husband used. I think it worked. I can not remember the make. I also find hanging things outside after washing helps. Of course, we can do that. Not everyone can.

elpgal

Veteran

I use Biokleen enzyme in the soak cycle. That’s the only thing that seems to work.

Anonymous

I find it happens on my husband's UA (especially) and Lulu workout tops after awhile. I can't stand it . Interesting about the tea tree oil solution - I might try it. By the time his tops start smelling, I put them in the rag bag. I have never been able to get the smell out.

kellygirl

Veteran

So interesting!
@ Vildy: Thanks. I find Febreeze is too scented for me although it worked on my daughter's field hockey gear.
@StyleFan: I've tried a bunch of sports type detergents and none of them seem to work for me.
@elpgal: If the TT oil stops working, I may give the enzyme a try.
@lisap: Warning that it's pretty scented during the wash cycle. Once it's dry though, I don't really notice it. I like the smell of TT oil though--I used it to wash my yoga mat back when I did Bikram.

cjh

(website)

Veteran

I seem to remember the odor being attributed not to the actual sweat moisture, but to organisms which grow on your sweat remaining in the fabric. That doesn’t usually happen to everyday items absorbing little sweat, or things like sheets and towels when washed in hot water and/or bleach.

A few things to help avoid the bacterial growth in sweaty clothes: wash after each wearing, hang them on the side of the laundry basket to dry after wearing and before laundering, use an oxygen bleach product, or a sport detergent https://www.verywellfit.com/be.....ts-4158621

I’ve used Win sport detergent before and it works pretty well. But there were occasionally garments that never recovered and had to leave the nest. That could be a fiber content issue, some blend that makes a better microbe habitat.

Good luck!

lisaflex

Veteran

i use vinegar instead of softener - it works. try adding soe borax to theload. if all else fails, once air dried, spray with xorbex and put in dryer on air cycle for a few minutes.

taylor

Veteran

Love the word STANK!
It really describes that weird smell certain fabrics have when they mix with sweat !
I like the solutions here !

Eva

I add a tablespoon of baking soda to my load, and if that is not enough, I soak the items in warm water with some baking soda for a few hours before washing.
I also air dry everything and don't use fabric softener.

Anonymous

I haven't had any issues lately, but like the tea tree idea. I use trader joes laundry detergent and dryer balls instead of fabric softener.

cindysmith

Veteran

I avoid synthetic fabrics like the plague except for my gear, my base layers for work (my work destroys clothes because bleach so I don't invest), and my work pants (again, because bleach). Synthetics make me feel like I am suffocating in all this heat and humidity. Synthetics also just hold odor like nobody's business, and led to the great dryer sheet showdown here at our little fledgling intentional community. DH's best friend swears by technical fabrics for the Texas heat, something about wicking abilities, and his wife was using tons of fabric softener and dryer sheets to try and get rid of the stink in his clothes, IN THE ONLY WASHING MACHINE ON THE PROPERTY. I have allergies and the exhaust from the dryer was KILLING me, DH hunts, we're supposed to be being eco-friendly here, and it got nasty because she would not stop using dryer sheets with all that medicated goo that they're loaded with and I finally exploded and scorched the earth and she stopped for deer season and started back up again when it was over. She said she was just trying to get the stink out of her husband's clothes and I told her if he would start wearing merino wool and quit wearing plastic clothing (the woman believes that plastic is Satan) then his clothes wouldn't stink and she quit asking me for laundry advice.

And now DH and I have our little house finished and it has our own washer and dryer, and once any of my synthetic fabrics stark stinking then they go to the textile recycler and I replace them because it's a losing battle to try and de-stink synthetic fabrics once they've found a stench to hold onto.

Some people swear by synthetics for their gear, and I can see that it would definitely help the body retain warmth in cold weather. They're supposedly great for leggings and workout tops, but I really hate them because they trap heat and that sucks in Texas. I only wear them right now because I needed workout gear quick when I hired my trainer. As pieces wear out or become too smelly, I will replace them with rayon from bamboo or thin cotton pieces designed for the gym.

However, i am going to hop on the vinegar bandwagon here. I once watched a woman save almost all of her family's clothing after a house fire (the smoke stains, the smoke smell, it was rough). She used vinegar in her washer. She had nothing to lose if it didn't work, and vinegar is cheap, so she tried it; it literally saved them a fortune by saving almost all of their clothes. So vinegar in the wash is apparently a powerful thing, and I have used it on DH's smelly work jeans and tees with success.

Joy

Veteran

I suspect that the cause is polyester fabric which is notorious for holding odors. I wash polyester after every wear and now avoid that fabric for environmental reasons. The vinegar rinse is a great idea,.

RobinF

Veteran

My daughter's lacrosse shoes got so bad one year that we couldn't keep them in the house Luckily it was near the end of the season and she was due a new pair for the next.

Love the tea tree oil, I'll have to try that. I use baking soda for some smells that won't come out. It seems to have minimal effect, maybe I'll try vinegar.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I'm smiling reading this thread

JAileen

Veteran

I enjoy reading about restoring vintage Coach bags, and there’s a forum for that. Anyway, they swear by vinegar. Apparently, vinegar kills mold spores. Mold is not really an issue here in the desert, but we definitely get bad smells. I had a vintage Coach bag that smelled of perfume, and I used aquarium charcoal in a closed plastic box for several weeks to eliminate the smell. I’ve used baking soda for skunk smell (a mixture of baking soda, Dawn dish soap and hydrogen peroxide). Mr Skunky didn’t get his nickname for nothing - he’s been skunked seven times. I feel like I’m an expert on skunk smell. The key is using plenty of baking soda.

kellygirl

Veteran

@JAileen: So far we've managed to dodge the skunks. We had skunk issues a couple of years ago--they were backyard visitors. I guess the skunks thought Oreo was one of their own because they didn't spray her. She didn't bark at them and both times I was able to round her up before they changed their minds. I've heard of that skunk remedy--thanks for the reminder!

cindysmith

Veteran

JAileen, vinegar DOES kill mold and mildew. It's what I had to use on the mold growing in our RV from a leaky window that was making me sick. Bleach works to kill that stuff too, but bleach burns my throat and lungs which is bad for my COPD. Vinegar is also harmless to my little dog.
Vinegar and a pro-biotic cleaner that I get from Grove Collaborative are what I use to sterilize our 8' countertop before and after my husband butchers wild game.

Runcarla

Veteran

I use baking sofa and vinegar to clean and polish up my stainless steal sinks. I learned this many, many moons ago during my first job as a cashier at McDonalds. The counters were stainless steel, and we would tear open a vinegar pouch* and wipe down the counters using a nice old cotton rag when it got quiet between the rushes.

*vinegar sprinkled on fries was a ‘thing’ where I grew up, so pouches of vinegar were included with other condiment pouches.