Smoking clothes

[Rutman]

Years ago I used to use a bee smoker with wood chips to smoke up all my outer garments. It seemed to work really well with fooling the deers nose…. If they were down wind, they might throw their head up and sniff, but never spooked. I guess because there’s always a fire burning somewhere mid-late season, it’s just natural to them. Plus the smoke kills all other bacteria that could create odor on the clothes.

Anyone else had experience with this?


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[Shapeshifter]

I bought one also many years ago, I had read that it worked really well for the reasons you mentioned. Deer are used to smelling wood smoke in the woods. I just could never get myself to go through it and smoke all my clothes. Having been a scent free freek for years, I just couldn't do it. It's still somewhere in an unopened box in my garage. It does make sense though.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

Years ago I used to use a bee smoker with wood chips to smoke up all my outer garments. It seemed to work really well with fooling the deers nose…. If they were down wind, they might throw their head up and sniff, but never spooked. I guess because there’s always a fire burning somewhere mid-late season, it’s just natural to them. Plus the smoke kills all other bacteria that could create odor on the clothes.

Anyone else had experience with this?


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I use a bee smoker.
I don't use it as a cover scent, I use it as an antibacterial. Smoke does reduce the growth of odor causing bacteria. That's a scientific fact.
I'm not sure if certain types of fuel create more effective smoke, but I use the needles of white pine.
Pine smoke does create sticky creosote so I assume pine smoke probably adheres to clothes better.
I use ozone on my gear but O3 is strictly for killing odor, O3 does not prevent odor. Ozone is volatile so it dissipates quickly. Once it dissipates it's already done its job as well as it will. It has no lingering effect on preventing new odor, it just kills odor that already existed. That's where smoke comes in. O3 eliminates preexisting odor and smoke helps prevent new odor from forming. Use O3 and smoke in conjunction.

 

[Bwhana]

I agree, my bee smoker seems to draw the deer in every time!

 

[boyne bowhunter]

A couple of older posts on this too.

Smoke’em if ya got’em!

when to smoke

im going to be smoking my hunting clothes and gear out this year, and ive never really done it before, so i was wondering how far in advance do you usually smoke your clothes prior to hunting season and how often do you do it?

saddlehunter.com

 

[gcr0003]

I made a pile of my hunting clothes that was no where near the laundry, my sweet wife informed me that she washed my clothes for me. They all smell disgusting now with fabric softener and smelly stuff…. Smoking them before I hit the woods tomorrow but it’s no use. That stuff is potent…

 

[drpike22]

I do the best I can to eliminate as much human odor as possible but working with the wind is critical. Most of the areas I hunt are not far from where people live. I have been in my stand and smelled a clothes dryer using a fabric softener sheet. Another time I could smell the exhaust from a two stroke motor. Neither seemed to bother the deer. I see these ozone generators being sold to mask human odor. I read an article written by an expert on ozone producing equipment and he said that in an open air environment you would need a mega size device to be effective. Use the wind to your advantage. Just my opinion

 

[Allegheny Tom]

I made a pile of my hunting clothes that was no where near the laundry, my sweet wife informed me that she washed my clothes for me. They all smell disgusting now with fabric softener and smelly stuff…. Smoking them before I hit the woods tomorrow but it’s no use. That stuff is potent…View attachment 80744

I've been hearing commercials for Lume deodorant. I thought it seemed to be marketed as a "woman" thing...whole body deodorant for use on all sorts of areas on the body. I figured it just had to be all heavily perfumed crap but I got a marketing email from them the other day and I skeptically looked on the website. Not only do they offer the deodorants in unscented, they also have this soak... sounds like it's for destroying the miserable stench of laundy scents and perfumes (I HAAAATE laundy perfume!) No idea if it works or not but the entire line of unscented Lume products does sound interesting.
EDIT: I reread the add in the link below. It is a laundry presoak to kill human odors, its not for killing laundry perfumes.
But the line of unscented products does sound interesting.

Laundry Stink Eraser

Lume's doctor-developed deodorants are hypoallergenic, baking soda free, and safe for sensitive skin with outrageous 72-hour odor protection for your whole body. Shop now.

lumedeodorant.com

 

[woodsdog2]

I've been hearing commercials for Lume deodorant. I thought it seemed to be marketed as a "woman" thing...whole body deodorant for use on all sorts of areas on the body. I figured it just had to be all heavily perfumed crap but I got a marketing email from them the other day and I skeptically looked on the website. Not only do they offer the deodorants in unscented, they also have this soak... sounds like it's for destroying the miserable stench of laundy scents and perfumes (I HAAAATE laundy perfume!) No idea if it works or not but the entire line of unscented Lume products does sound interesting.
EDIT: I reread the add in the link below. It is a laundry presoak to kill human odors, its not for killing laundry perfumes.
But the line of unscented products does sound interesting.

Laundry Stink Eraser

Lume's doctor-developed deodorants are hypoallergenic, baking soda free, and safe for sensitive skin with outrageous 72-hour odor protection for your whole body. Shop now.

lumedeodorant.com

This looks interesting almost 13k reviews and it has a 4.2 out of 5 rating for the unscented solid deodorant. I’m wondering if the cream would last longer overall in terms of number of applications? One guy said the solid deodorant lasted exactly one month. That sounds like a reasonable per application duration. It’s a little pricey but if it last 72 hours maybe you don’t have to apply it every day so then you could stretch it out further? It may have great application for guys on multi day pack in hunts for sure.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

This looks interesting almost 13k reviews and it has a 4.2 out of 5 rating for the unscented solid deodorant. I’m wondering if the cream would last longer overall in terms of number of applications? One guy said the solid deodorant lasted exactly one month. That sounds like a reasonable per application duration. It’s a little pricey but if it last 72 hours maybe you don’t have to apply it every day so then you could stretch it out further? It may have great application for guys on multi day pack in hunts for sure.

I don't want to derail the OP's thread. @Rutman asked about smoking and I'd ask him if he wants to add to the conversation other practices for odor reduction.
And there has been no shortage of threads and opinions on the entire subject of odor, and I certainly have my strong opinions on the subject.
I mistakenly assumed the Lume laundry product could be a cure for @gcr0003 issue in post #6.
Rutman, do you want to keep the discussion strictly on smoke? Or is this open to other aspects of odor reduction, which inevitably will have lots of the typical comments about "just hunting the wind"; "never fool a deer's nose"; dog studies; etc.
After all, whether it's odor reduction, or wind patterns, this is all about achieving the same goal...to not allow our prey to smell our presence. Deep subject.

 

[Rutman]

Carry on with the scent reduction practices….

Hunt the wind works great if you’re on a field in Kansas….no so much in hill country. Gotta take all the precautions that you can where I hunt. The winds always shifting at the wrong time…


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[DB4x4]

I agree, my bee smoker seems to draw the deer in every time!

Nice flower vase, I'm sure the bees love it...

 

[gcr0003]

The smoke was no match for fabric softener. I ended up washing them twice without anything and they still smell pretty bad. A beautiful mix of burnt leaves and fabric softener. This stuff actually makes me nauseous it’s so strong, no wonder I didn’t see any deer. I need scent removal detergent that will remove this fabric softener smell. Any recommendations? Maybe just arm and hammer of some kind?

I had talked to my wife before about using that junk on my clothes, especially my hunting clothes and she didn’t listen. I think I argued myself out of her doing any of my laundry. I was a bit frustrated haha. I don’t practice a scentlok type of regime but I also don’t want to go around petting the dogs, smelling like fabric softener, and cooking bacon before hitting the woods. I smoke my clothes a little and play the wind.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

The smoke was no match for fabric softener. I ended up washing them twice without anything and they still smell pretty bad. A beautiful mix of burnt leaves and fabric softener. This stuff actually makes me nauseous it’s so strong, no wonder I didn’t see any deer. I need scent removal detergent that will remove this fabric softener smell. Any recommendations? Maybe just arm and hammer of some kind?

I had talked to my wife before about using that junk on my clothes, especially my hunting clothes and she didn’t listen. I think I argued myself out of her doing any of my laundry. I was a bit frustrated haha. I don’t practice a scentlok type of regime but I also don’t want to go around petting the dogs, smelling like fabric softener, and cooking bacon before hitting the woods. I smoke my clothes a little and play the wind.

I contend that smoke is not a cover scent, smoke is a bacteria preventative. Perfumes are not bacterial so it stands to reason that smoke would have no effect on it.

There's no way that I would allow anyone else to wash, or even handle my hunting clothes.
My wife is fine with that and, in fact, I do the household laundry. And since I do it, I decide what products we use. Perfumed laundry products have never seen the inside of our shopping cart let alone cross the doors into our home.
The stuff nauseates me.

 

[gcr0003]

I contend that smoke is not a cover scent, smoke is a bacteria preventative. Perfumes are not bacterial so it stands to reason that smoke would have no effect on it.

There's no way that I would allow anyone else to wash, or even handle my hunting clothes.
My wife is fine with that and, in fact, I do the household laundry. And since I do it, I decide what products we use. Perfumed laundry products have never seen the inside of our shopping cart let alone cross the doors into our home.
The stuff nauseates me.

Well I asked her to stop washing my regular clothes too and or the bed sheets with that stuff, it nauseated me too, and I can’t get away from it. I need to find something neutral she’ll be ok with. I don’t know why the clothes need to smell like something. Not smelling dirty would be good enough for me.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

Well I asked her to stop washing my regular clothes too and or the bed sheets with that stuff, it nauseated me too, and I can’t get away from it. I need to find something neutral she’ll be ok with. I don’t know why the clothes need to smell like something. Not smelling dirty would be good enough for me.

Brother, you speak my language.

I wonder if this would help remove the perfume? It's good stuff.

ARM & HAMMER™ Super Washing Soda, Detergent Booster

Natural detergent booster & household cleaner For cleaner, whiter, brighter laundry Freshens & cleans all around the home Effectively cleans hard surfaces indoors & outdoors Improves liquid laundry detergent performance by up to 15%* (*For mustard and blood stains vs. leading...

www.armandhammer.com

If you can lay your hands on some caustic soda that might do the trick but I'd be extremely careful about using it on anything delicate. Test it first. Caustic soda is what we used in the brewery as an industrial cleaner. They use it to sterilize returnable beer bottles. It'll clean stuff that nothing else will touch.
I wouldn't put it in my washing machine but I might experiment with it in a bucket. A strong mixture will burn your skin. I've been burned by it many times at work. It's alkaline, so an acid (like vinegar) will neutralize it. I have a bunch of it but I don't think the post office would like it if I shipped it to ya.

 

[Rutman]

Well I asked her to stop washing my regular clothes too and or the bed sheets with that stuff, it nauseated me too, and I can’t get away from it. I need to find something neutral she’ll be ok with. I don’t know why the clothes need to smell like something. Not smelling dirty would be good enough for me.

All Free and Clear is what I usually wash everything in, including camo. I’ll add a box of baking soda to my camo if I have a full load in the washer.


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[Allegheny Tom]

All Free and Clear is what I usually wash everything in, including camo. I’ll add a box of baking soda to my camo if I have a full load in the washer.


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If I am not mistaken, All Free and Clear does contain brighteners which is another topic of discussion. I don't really know if deer see brighteners or not but I don't take the chance. My outerwear is washed in Atsko Sport Wash. But I don't worry about washing my base layers in free and clear type detergents.
But none of that has anything to do with smoke.
Smoke is for preventing the growth of odor causing bacteria.

 

[raisins]

If I am not mistaken, All Free and Clear does contain brighteners which is another topic of discussion. I don't really know if deer see brighteners or not but I don't take the chance. My outerwear is washed in Atsko Sport Wash. But I don't worry about washing my base layers in free and clear type detergents.
But none of that has anything to do with smoke.
Smoke is for preventing the growth of odor causing bacteria.

i remember that all free and clear liquid has brighteners and the powder doesn't

i've shined a black light on the liquid all and it lights up....just like the one Sitka garmet i have does (bad and after being careful how i washed it).....

 

[Rutman]

If I am not mistaken, All Free and Clear does contain brighteners which is another topic of discussion. I don't really know if deer see brighteners or not but I don't take the chance. My outerwear is washed in Atsko Sport Wash. But I don't worry about washing my base layers in free and clear type detergents.
But none of that has anything to do with smoke.
Smoke is for preventing the growth of odor causing bacteria.

I use the powder. It’s basically just scent free soap with no brighteners. Way cheaper than anything else one could use that’s marketed to hunters.


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