Gardening and laundry

You may think they are not related, but they are. My favorite gardening shirt is this black sleeveless shirt. it's not even black anymore, I've had it for so long. Problem is, no matter how hot the water is, or which detergent I use, or how many times I run it thru the washer, my shirt has this horrible sweaty smell. This doesn't happen with any of my other ratty gardening shirts, just this black one.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I'm thinking about throwing it out just because I can't seem to get rid of the smell. I thought I was a laundry expert, but this shirt has me stumped (and smelly)

Fabreeze?

Try an enzymatic liquid, like Simple Solution or Nature's Miracle. NM has a laundry detergent out now. My cats had an "accident" on one of my quilts. I washed it with the detergent, and now there's no stain and no smell.

Ammonia might do it. I always add a cup or 2 of sudsy ammonia along with the detergent to all my loads that aren't bleached, especially dish towels. I buy the cheap lemon scented stuff at the dollar stores. If something is particularly stinky, oily or dirty I'll let the load soak for about 15 minutes. It rinses out completely so don't worry about anything smelling like ammonia and you clothes will be cleaner than they have ever been.

X

I have never tried ammonia, might be worth a try but be careful about inhaling it... it is nasty to the lungs. I was going to suggest vinegar but am not sure. I have noticed that odors may disappear till the item is heated ( like in the dryer or with an iron) and then the odors surfaces again.

Using cold water instead of hot may also help. Years ago we worked with a gal who had terrible body odor and it got so bad, I finally went to the company nurse and asked her if there wasn't something that could be done about it. The nurse had a chat with her and one of the suggestions she made was the cold water washing.

Everyone, first of all, don't y'all get a pic that I'm a "smelly nelly" 24/7, lol.
I have tried, cold, warm, hot water, two cycles, drying in hot, med and air settings, it will be almost OK for a few minutes but the moment I put it on I can smell it.
fabric softener of any kind will make it even worse, kinda like putting perfume to mask b.o. (which, I repeat, is not the kinda thing I do)

Xeram, I had given some thought to using ammonia. I think I will try that.
white hydrangea, can you find enzymatic liquid at grocery store?

thanks everyone

I've been doing the ammonia thing for years. Also I run the rinse twice, the first with a cup of white vinegar added and the 2nd just water. The vinegar cuts the soap left in your clothes so it all rinses out on the 2nd rinse. I also use unscented detergent. Did you know your clothes can get used to your detergent to where it doesn't clean very well anymore? I switch between liquid and powder, both unscented. Kinda like surprising you lawn by mowing it in a different direction than usual. I hate the smell of scented laundry detergent that gets left in your clothes.

X

yeah, I suspect I am being very heavy handed with my detergent. I also switch bet. liquid & powder Tide. sometimes scented, sometimes not. I need to stick w/ unscented.
I guess the easiest thing would be to get rid of the dang shirt, but I'm stubborn and I want to win this war, lol

have you soaked it in oxyclean? You might try that, and leave it soaking for a day or two.

And has anyone else ever worn it? I always thought it was weird that if I'd worn my sister's clothes, right out of the laundry, they had a smell to them. Same if she wore mine. It's like, mine didn't smell, and hers didn't smell, but if our sweats were combined, they smelled. Not hideous, just existent. Maybe deep down we just hated wearing each other's clothes!

Are you bathing before you put the shirt on?









(snicker snicker giggle! You know I HAD to say it!! LOL)

Is it cotton? Do you have a compost bin? :)

LOL love the compost bin comment!! How about cutting the sleeves off so there's no fabric to stink....

Sarv, vossner said it's sleeveless.....

vossner, even a Yankee knows not to mess with Texas or Texans, but if it is your favorite gardening shirt, and you're thinking of getting rid of it, maybe it is worthy of becoming part of the garden!

you guys!
michele you are so naughty

LOL I wondered how long it would take you to nail me. I've smelled like a "mom" so long I don't remember what my normal smell should be. LOL

oops, sorry - guess I didn't read the first post carefully enough...(sleeveless...)

Have you tried some lysol? The lysol in the bottle says it can be used in the laundry. When it's humid sometimes my towels get a musty smell to them. I don't think they dry fast enough. The lysol gets rid of the smell and seems to keep them from smelling.

I found the enzymatic laundry detergent at PetCo. PetSmart may also carry it. Before I found that, I used to do a load with just the Nature's Miracle or Simple Solution, then wash it again with regular detergent. But that's wasteful of water and energy.

With five cats, I have to do this sort of thing more often than I'd like. (Sigh.)

OK now for the veterinary imput. I would eat lots of yogurt and take acidopholis lactobacillius. You need to replace the bacteria on your skin with others. Benzoyal Peroxide shampoos will also eliminate the skin unwanteds. You Also should use color safe bleach in a soak prior to washing.
Claypa best response in all this.

thank you everyone.
white hydrangea, I guess that is why I brought up the subject. Dbl washing is wasteful. I will report later on how I do with this.
Sofer, you have me worried, do I have odor causing skin kooties??????? I am a yogurt eater.

Vossner, I will be awaiting your results, I have a sleeveless cotton work shirt with the same malady. I can overlook the paint stains but love it and am loathe to throw it. Best of luck!

I think we have some Downy fabric softener at home with Fabreeze in it. We had some blankets/sheets stored in the basement and they were really quite musty smelling and even after several washes they still smelled musty and that's when DH got the Downy w/Fabreeze. Worked like a charm. ;)

Diann

Edited to say: that of course, drying something in the good old sunshine also does a lot for odors..

This message was edited Aug 30, 2006 11:36 AM

X - thanks for the ammonia tip. Today I bought the cheap $1 bottle and used it in all my laundry because I have 2 cats, 2 young dogs and I garden LOL. I was skeptical this would work, but wow, what a difference. It really got the dog smell out (finally!) of their bedding. My sheets and towels smell nice and clean, too. Thanks.

I can't live without ammonia and white vinegar in the laundry .. gets your clothes cleaner than they have ever been before and you can use less detergent as well. Most people don't measure .. they just dump and end up using 3 - 5 times more than necessary then wonder why their clothes are giving them rashes and making them itch.

If you use the white vinegar in the rinse, you don't have to rinse twice like I do, you can still use it in the rinse cycle for one rinse (one cup) and your clothes won't come out smelling like vinegar. It really does get rid of all the soap and is a natural fabric softener.

X

I agree. I, for one, definitely overdo it with detergent. Yesterday I washed "smelly" and added 1c ammonia. I will report here whether I finally win this battle.

note to badseed: Michele: I will shower BEFORE I wear "smelly", just to stack the odds in my favor....

This message was edited Sep 3, 2006 10:30 AM

Lol .. too bad you can't upload smells.

X

Had to giggle when I read this thread...can't wait to see what the results are. LOL

Hey Voss - how'd the ammonia work? will your favorite gardening shirt become
part of your garden? Or will it continue to be a key element in your wardrobe.

(I think this could be a great story line for a soap opera. The subject matter fits!)

Tam

We've had success with using nature's odour fighting team - microbes!
Here is a link to Clean Life Technologies "Odor Gone" product. http://www.cleanlifetech.com/odor_gone.htm

I recommend reading the field reports from users. This product works well for us. The only time it didn't work was with a bottle we ordered during a time that the post office was sanitizing the mail. It turned out that the post office had irradiated the package (according to the post master).....so I assume that process killed the microbes. Otherwise it has been great.

I've recently tried using some activated essential microbes (AEM) around the house which has had a beneficial effect with the sinks, drains and garden. More information here:
http://www.scdworld.com/shop/showcat.cfm?cat=3

I agree with Soferdig that you may want to work on your body's inner ecology that is creating the situation in the first place.

This message was edited Sep 10, 2006 12:15 PM

I would use Oxyclean. I had a beloved golden retriever that passed away a couple years ago and before he died he started having bladder problems along with other health problems. And when he emptied his bladder it was more than anyone or anything I had ever seen. It seemed like his bladder held gallons. Well you can imagine how the carpet smelled. Nothing would take the smell out. So in desperation I mixed up some oxyclean in one of the oxyclean bottles. I think it was an eighth of a scoop per bottle of hot water. The water had to be hot for some reason for it to work. I'm not exactly sure how oxyclean works but that is what I did. So I completely drenched the area where the urine was. Don't be afraid to use too much water. I know it sounds odd to add more liquid but it really does work. Make sure you cover the whole spot. Then I took towels or paper towels and soaked up as much as I could. I did not scrub it but just soaked it up. When it dried there was no smell at all. And the smell of his urine was really strong since he had cancer and heart problems, a lot stronger than normal pet urine and oxyclean was the only thing that got the smell out.

I put a scoop of oxyclean in every load of clothes that I wash. My DH can get really dirty and smelly sometimes when he runs wires in the attic or under the house and the oxyclean keeps his clothes clean and and odor free. I hope this helps.

Jesse

thanks, everybody. "Smelly" smelled nice and fresh throughout my sweaty day in the garden. Well, it had that used smell that regular clothing gets from being worn, but not the nasty, musty, gym bag smell from before. The ammonia worked!

Ammonia only? That is the answer? Will use it with all the wash... Thanks pod

oh no, i put about 3/4 of detergent and 1 c ammonia.

LOL Vossner! I just caught your note to me.

And umm, I'm not sure a 'scratch and sniff' for body odor and odor sharing over the net is exactly a *good* idea. LOL

Glad the ammonia worked for you! It's never failed me. The crucial test for me was dish towels .. they always smelled funky until I started using ammonia. Get the cheap stuff too. I think the trick to ammonia is that it cuts grease and oil. Now try using some white vinegar in the rinse water .. you'll be amazed.

X

I hear you on the towels. It's not that I wasn't using enough soap or a supercheap soap. I think it just builds up. I do buy cheap towels and they seem to have a ''waxy'' feel if not washed first. Ammonia for a few loads in a row cleans them up.

I'll try that on the new towels I got. I HATE that feeling that you're just moving the water around rather than absorbing it!

And oxyclean, which I love (it works great to restore old doll clothes if anyone's interested in that) is hydrogen peroxide, I've been told. The hotter the water, the better it works.

Edited to say I'm soooooo happy about your shirt...

This message was edited Sep 12, 2006 9:25 AM

brigid, you are easy to make happy, lol
I've never used oxyclean, and you know why? I CAN'T STAND THEIR SPOKESMAN!!!!! He comes on HGTV and startles the heck out of me with he's almost hollering tone of voice. I mean, I can't stand the guy. So, every time I walk the laundry aisle and see the oxyclean, I get this mental pic of that obnoxious guy.

Should they replace their pitchman with Brad Pitt or Matt MaConahey (sp?) or some other babe like that, I will reconsider...

Voss, I absolutely agree. He's an idiot, and he makes you think they're thinking if they talk loud enough you'll buy the product. I tried it for an old Ginny doll's clothes that I was fixing for my sister and have used it ever since.

But you're right. You can't think of anything but SALESMAN with him. Kind of like the Gallery Furniture guy. I'd be embarrassed to let anyone know I'd bought something from him.