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Smelly Clothes

Smelly Clothes

What is the best method to get odors away from smelly clothes? We are not talking about just the regular smell, we are talking about the sweating for hours smell that would wake the dead. I have read that freezing the sweaty clothes kills the germs that cause the smell and then washing it. I have also read that fabric softener will do it. One place suggested baking soda in the wash. What is the real tested and true method?

NOTE: Do not tell me about switching deodorants - did that many times.

Clothes Smelly

Well my mom always used this method and so does my wife .

1: Get it soaking in baking soda, borax or amaze(stain remover fro childrens cloths) as soon as you can after wearing it prior to washing. Baking soda is best then borax(we did this for dirty diapers) or a bit of both is ok.

2: sweat stains best removed by ammonia and fabric safe bleach.


Then once removed fold a bounce sheet into the cloths if required.(It is only a mask though)

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I have used bleach before, but it does not work too well, in addition to which it is not good on color sensitive clothes. I will give the baking soda method a try... what are the measurements and for how long do you soak it?

Clothes Smelly

I have never used this on adult cloths but with diapers we used to just dump half cup borax and shook the box of baking soda a few times in pail(gallon pail roughly).

Might pay to read what is in scholls foot powder also it kills bacteria. I do not think the soda and borax does though, read the borax to confirm.

Hope it helps. could try rubbing it in to specific areas also ie mid back under arms ect of the cloths.

My Karate outfit I used it on collar and under arms for removing the salt stains.

Might need to look at your diet also....For me I have to watch high acid foods and curries. I love garlic but can not eat it and keep friends it just emits from every pour the next day.

Clothes Smelly

I had not considered the food issue, but since I eat very little meat or curry at the moment I doubt that is the reason, nor will I go into that aspect of it here.

I did read about the Borax product, but I am not sure if I can get that here. My wife tells me that the clothes need to be boiled (no joke), and she may be right since that action kills the bacteria that cause the odor in the first place.

Smelly Clothes

Man that would be rough though I am sure it would work. Let me know how it works out. Sorry to hear borax is not availble.

Smelly Clothes

I don't know whether this is suitable for the sort of washing machine that you have, but my neighbor pours loads of fabric conditioner into the automatic washing machine drawer, then every time it is emptied out, she refills it with more conditioner, it uses a lot of conditioner up, but her family by far smell the best around!
In fact, you can tell when they've been in our house, because the house smells fragranced for ages.
I don't think this method would be suitable for a washing machine where you had to pour it directly on the clothes though!

It might be worth repeating the process a few times until the conditioner has penetrated through the fabric, I think that this might just work.

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DianeC, that is an interesting method, but isn't that essentially drowning the odor of the clothes rather than killing the bacteria that is causing the stink or am I mistaken and fabric softener also eliminates the bacteria?