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(HELP) get body odor off hunting clothes

I bought a pair of Eddie Bauer fleece pants from a member a few months ago. Shipped in a po envelope. It smelled so strongly of fabric softener I could smell it through the envelope as the po delivered walking up the driveway 40’ away. I’ve tried everything from soaking in straight vinegar, ozone repeaty, and some sprays. Still can’t cut the smell. Too bad but they’re only for household use now. Frustrating, the there it is.
 
I bought a pair of Eddie Bauer fleece pants from a member a few months ago. Shipped in a po envelope. It smelled so strongly of fabric softener I could smell it through the envelope as the po delivered walking up the driveway 40’ away. I’ve tried everything from soaking in straight vinegar, ozone repeaty, and some sprays. Still can’t cut the smell. Too bad but they’re only for household use now. Frustrating, the there it is.
Did you try any of the laundry stripping mixes? I have had really good success with soaking clothes in this. Start with the water as hot as you can get it and let it soak overnight. Then wash like normal.

I just put the clothes in a 5gal bucket and leave it in the bathtub.

Laundry Stripping Recipe
  • 1/4 Cup Borax (any brand)
  • 1/4 cup Washing Soda (not the same as baking soda)
  • 1/2 cup of laundry detergent (oxygenated is best)
 
Sometimes with certain synthetic fabrics odors seem to chemically bond to the fabric.
I experienced this many years ago at the end of a backpacking vacation. My wife insisted that we stop at a laundromat before our flight home.
We didn't have any unscented detergent with us and we assumed the laundromat would have unscented stuff available in those coin-op machines. They did not. All they had for sale was the extremely putrid perfumed garbage.
So not only did we wash some synthetic base layers in the stuff, we also laundered in machines that reeked of "fresh ocean vomit" or some other stupid, made up name that marketers dream up.

We washed both synthetics and cotton clothes and when we were done, it all reeked to high heaven. After several more washings back home the stench of the perfume in the cotton clothes dissipated but it took literally years before I could no longer smell the synthetics. It got to the point where I would toss those synthetics in a load of laundry even if they hadn't been worn since the last washing and it still took a long time to become "odorless".

I refused to wear those clothes while hunting and in those days, they were the only base layers I owned. So I had to buy new base layers which were dedicated strictly for hunting and nothing else, and they are cared for with kid gloves. Always laundered separately, and always air-dried, never dried in a machine. I believe the heat helps bond odors to synthetic fabrics, plus dryers are hard on clothes. Synthetics air-dry quickly so I see no reason to shorten their life by repeatedly drying in a machine. Hang them on the line in front of a fan and they'll be dry almost as fast as a clothes dryer.

We use zero scented laundry products and I never wash them in a machine that isn't mine.

Once a synthetic has been contaminated, I believe the only remedy is time and sunlight. Hang it outside in the sun, rain and fresh air for a few months. Even wearing it will help if you can stand the perfume odor.

I'm extremely resistant to buy used hunting clothing from classifieds. Thrift stores might be okay because you can sniff before you buy but the classifieds is risky, especially for expensive, high-end clothing.No matter what promises the seller claims, don't believe it until you have it in-hand and then be prepared to relegate perfumed clothes to work wear or some other use like making rags.

Side note:
I've had some substantial inflammation issues for the last 13 months and my wonderful wife has been on a major mission to cure me. She is a researching machine.
She recently read about studies that addressed how some people have severe reactions to strong scents and perfumes which can cause all sorts of autoimmune responses. I know that when I'm in the grocery store and I have to walk down the household product aisle, it's very uncomfortable for me. It seems like my body is trying to reject those odors to the point that I resist walking down those aisles.
My point being...I'm bewildered as to why our society seems to be so enamored with chemically scented products. I have no doubt that, for some people, they are a health issue yet to be discovered or pin-pointed.
Hey, many therapists use specific, controlled aroma therapy to treat certain conditions so it stands to reason that chemical perfumes could have an effect on the health of some people.
STOP USING THE SH!+. Gotta reduce our use of chemicals!
 
Vinegar!

I haven’t seen anyone mention soaking in vinegar. Generally my synthetics get stinky, even some of my casual wear. Soak your clothes in vinegar and water over night, then wash with your preferred method. If there is still a lingering scent, repeat the process.

It’s inexpensive, and we always have it in hand at our house!
 
Vinegar!

I haven’t seen anyone mention soaking in vinegar. Generally my synthetics get stinky, even some of my casual wear. Soak your clothes in vinegar and water over night, then wash with your preferred method. If there is still a lingering scent, repeat the process.

It’s inexpensive, and we always have it in hand at our house!
Vinegar was gonna be my next try. White vinegar?
 
When my clothes are dirty with blood and dirt after hunting, I use baking soda and borax to wash.

If they are clean but need some scent from sitting around or every few hunts removed I just use baking soda.

If they smell from B.O., I use baking soda, borax and Dr. Bronners unscented baby soap( a very small amount). If another wash is needed try soaking before washing.

Idk but my wife tells me my clothes never smell after these steps (she can smell a neighbors fart before they know it happened). And borax/baking soda hasn't had any problems removing fresh blood stains.
 
Granted I wasn't starting out with something that had a smell to it already and u may not want to go thru the process.......this year I took half of my hunting clothes and smoked them for an hour or so, a week or 2 before hunting season started. I was adding green cedar leafs and Spanish moss to the fire. My plan was to wear smoked and unsmoked and see if I could tell any difference in regards to getting winded by critters.....I didn't have any situation happen yet to give me any real confidence that it's helped me from getting busted by animals the big take away was how much it killed my stink. Normally in archery season when I take a break during the heat of the day at the truck I change clothes and lay out the hunt clothes to dry out in the sun cause they are saturated in sweat. It's all quikdry material stuff so it will be dry by the time it's time to start getting ready to head back out for the evening hunt but it smells. In the past I've taken 2 sets of clothes per day but that's to much laundry so I just dry out and reuse. Obviously shower every night cause I smell bad too......But with the smoked clothes I used this year I was getting 2 days of hunting out of a single set of clothes, minus undies and socks of course hehehe, and I asked my wife to "smell me" and she would say that I didn't smell at all as far as BO but I did smell like smoke on my skin. The family hunt with my son we camped and didn't bathe and when we got back he reeked and she said I didn't have any BO. Same clothes for the whole weekend
 
Bump, bought a hoodie used and it wreaks. Whoever had it let the bo soak/sour, which is frustrating. I soaked 4 hours in baking soda/biz mix, and it only helped a little. I’m giving it another go in heavy biz mix again tonight before taking more drastic measures.
Let it soak again in biz for 24 hours and it seems to have knocked the odor out significantly. there may be a hint left, but I can’t smell it. I may do a baking soda and vinegar soak even still. I’m just gonna keep hitting it during the week in between hunts to make sure it’s good and taken care of.
 
Correction to my stinky shirts…my wife said said baking soda and water. Vinegar was a bust. She said she filled the sink with water and added 5-6 cups of baking soda and let them set over night. This was on the thin synthetic kuiu hoodies, and some cotton towels.
 
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