The Sewing Place
The Emporia => Fun with Fabric => Topic started by: Vezelay on August 19, 2018, 11:38:13 AM
-
I sometimes find interesting fabric in car boot sales or charity shops but it always has that smell - you know the one that doesn't go away when they're washed and line dried. It's impossible to define - not stinky or offensive, just not very nice. DH says he doesn't notice it but I certainly do. It does seem to diminish with time but I'd rather not wait!
I've tried adding vinegar + sodium bicarb to the fabric conditioner drawer of the machine but that did nothing. I'd rather not handwash them (with vinegar) - that's a chore too far. And there isn't a wardrobe in the house where I could hang them for a week or two with a saucer of bicarb. Has anyone here had any success with this? If so please share.
-
Have you tried using Unstoppables, I use them on my dogs beds and it does get rid of/hide that doggy smell that usually lingers, especially when he's been wet.
-
Have you tried Febreze? Otherwise it does go eventually with repeated washing and wearing. I have some fabric that spent my non-sewing years in the attic, which has a distinctive whiff.
-
I bought a secondhand book once, that absolutely reeked of cigarette smoke. Absolutely disgusting! I did some googling and found a recommendation to put it in a box, cover with ground coffee, seal up and leave for a week or two. I did, and it worked, but I found a cleaner copy of the book not long afterwards and ditched the dirty one.
-
Thanks. I've only ever seen the Fabreze air freshener, didn't know the fabric stuff existed. There seems to be one you spray on (?) and another for in the wash - so will keep my eye open for that and for Unstoppables. Not sure about the coffee in a box -< :)
-
The spray-on Febreze is the one I meant. It's the original version that students use instead of washing their clothes - allegedly.
-
If you have a disposable BBQ kicking about, pop your honky thing in a polythene bag with it for a couple of days. The charcoal will/should absorb the smell. That saved my freezer from the skip when the power went off while I was away and came home to very green, very slimy, very very stinky stuff. :x
-
Smells shouldn't be a problem. A good wash, maybe even a second vinegar / citric acid wash should be enough (not only in the last rinse). Some powders are better than others, powders are usually better than liquid detergents, a long washing cycle is better than a short. If you use a gentle washing cycle, pause the machine when it has reached intended temperature, and start again after an hour or two. Use a cycle with maximum water levels.
-
I have a big bottle of in-wash disinfectant from Tescos. It's designed to kill any bacteria that remain after a low temperature wash. It goes in the final rinse and everything comes out smelling really fresh.
-
If the smell is caused by bacteria, then popping it in the freezer should sort it, possibly worth a try?
-
I honestly doubt it's bacteria or fungi, and on reflection I'm not keen on the idea of adding more chemicals. We use Ecover non-bio as we both have sensitive skin and do shorter low temp washes for environmental reasons. I wondered if there was something I could put in the tumble dryer - on cold/low I mean with the clothes already line-dried. That rings a vague bell.
Otherwise I think my default could be to cut off the usable fabric, soak it in a bucket with vinegar and bicarb overnight then wash the next day with more vinegar in the machine. It puts you off buying second hand clothes (for fabric) though - all that faff. Nothing else in my house smells like that, even stuff that's sat in a drawer for aeons.
In any case all your kind suggestions will be carefully considered. :)
-
Use either vinegar OR bicarb. Not both as they cancel each other out.
-
I do well using tea tree oil in the wash. Depending on the load size and stench level 5 to 15 drops. I then wash on hot and do a double rinse. I know that's less environmentally friendly but it's a one time thing. I use my regular amount of laundry soap and a handful of baking soda.
Sealed in a box with charcoal works well for a lot of things or a dish full left overnight in a stinky microwave. OH likes to cook artichokes with garlic cloves and it permeates everywhere.
-
I wonder if eco egg would do it? I've never tried it on charity shop fabric (never found any!) but it gets potty training accident smells out of my little boys clothing which take 2 or 3 washes with fairy.
It's also cheaper than washing liquid and good for sensitive skin :)
-
...We use Ecover non-bio as we both have sensitive skin and do shorter low temp washes for environmental reasons...
The clever thing is to use low temperature long cycles, it spends negligible more energy. The most energy saving cycles take more time. The water is heated the same either way. I don't think the smell in used colthing is cause by bacteria either. The shops here have everything they sell dry-cleaned as a guarantee from the seller. I should look among the clothing more often, I haven't bought any I think. I bought two old arm chairs last week and a table cloth :- )
-
I'm learning things here that I should already know :|.
Use either vinegar OR bicarb. Not both as they cancel each other out.
@wrenkins I think you must be right - chemically that makes sense. Following advice from that fount of all knowledge Youtube, I used the mixture successfully to clean gunk off an iron (yes indeed - I pressed the wrong side of fusible interfacing). In future I will choose one or the other.
@Renegade Sewist tea tree oil + bicarb sounds a good option. Useful stuff to have in anyway.
@Gemma I never heard of Eco egg - it sounds fascinating if a little on the expensive side. Good reviews on Amazon anyway.
The clever thing is to use low temperature long cycles, it spends negligible more energy. The most energy saving cycles take more time. The water is heated the same either way.
@arrow that's a really good point about the energy load from a longer low temp cycle. We've had our washing machine must be 15 years and the other day I had to look at the instructions to check which was the fabric conditioner compartment >< :| when I noticed that the energy consumption was about the same for the short 40deg and the long 30deg. That info is hidden away there so thanks for reminding me. No excuse now :)
My latest haul came from a car boot sale on Saturday and does not count as fabric shopping. It's recycling of course ;)