Damp smell on clothes

annacruachan

I think Deedee said that her damp affected clothes were dry clean only. There may be one or two items that will bear washing, but for the rest it might work if you can -
a. hang them outside, preferably in the sun, for as long as possible.
b. hang them up individually in a warm, airy room and gently spray the room with Febreze. You may have to do this several times depending on the level of pong!

fruugal

Any clothes that are left packed in a garage or other confined space will smell, if only faintly. If they are dry clean only, and really dry clean only, then you will need to try hanging them outside for 24 hours. If you have a space outside which has a roof or cover - a carport is brilliant - then they will blow in the wind and may lose the smell.

Anything that can be washed should be as it is the quickest way to get rid of the smell.

Some manufacturers put 'dry clean only' labels in when hand washing is possible. You need to make a clear judgement as to why some clothes are dry clean only. If tailored jackets etc it could be the shoulder pads or interfacing that will distort if wetted. Take a view with someone who has a knowledge of fabrics.

I hand wash silk and all loosely structured garments of wool. However a tailored suit or jacket containing wool will have to go to the dry cleaners.

As to washing that smells when it comes out of the wash - the machine could do with a clean. One of those dishwasher cleaner sachets on the hot wash might fix that, or you may need to run it through twice. If that doesn't fix it then it may be the drains.

If washing smells 'musty' after it has dried it could be that there is too much fabric with too little air around it. A big splayed out airer will get washing drier faster than one where everything touches everything else. Hanging washing out is best if poss. Otherwise doing it in small enough quantities to enable the air to circulate. Better to do that than have to redo it all because it smells.

Cinders2001

Primula wrote: »

I found that washing at 30 degrees left a smell in the machine after a few weeks so I just went back to washing at 40 again and the smell went.

I agree.
You cant kill the bugs at such a low temperature I dont think.....just give them a nice warm place to multiply instead!!

I'm sure the detergent people have thought of this and someone here will put me straight!

---

Anyone here use the term ' Foisty ' to refer to this problem.
My in-law family in Norfolk do. I had never heard of it before!

seanrep

Put your clothes on a quick wash with just dettol (or value disinfectant is just as good) then a normal wash to get the smell of dettol out, works great.

If you are drying indoors (I have to as I live in a flat) use a dehumidifyer over night and the clothes dry much quicker. Get a decentish one though not the tiny ones. Mine was about £70 in B&Q and even towels are dry in 24 hours

Primrose

I'd suggest waiting for nice sunny or windy day and hanging your Dry Clean only clothes outdoors for as long as you can. Alternatively, could you hang them on coathangers on a sturdy curtain pole indoors with the windows open to let some frsh air get at them?.

Seakay

deedee wrote: »

We moved house recently and stored a lot of stuff in my parents garage. A couple of month later we are gradually getting the boxes out and going through them. I opened a box to find that a box full of my lovely dry clean only clothes absolutley stink of damp. Has anyone any tips on getting rid of this nasty smell with out taking all to the dry cleaners?

Any ideas gratefully recieved.

[threadbanner]box[/threadbanner]

I'd hang them on the washing line and see if being in the fresh air for a few hours helps.
Then I'd go through them and see which are REALLY dry clean only - loads of clothes are actually better washed by hand or on a very low temp/gentle machine wash. My work suit was disintegrating from the chemicals used in dry cleaning until a friend told me to wash it on wool wash and shove a rolled towel through the jacket arms when hanging it to dry.
Any way, a very gentle wash with vinegar and a few drops of essential oil in the conditioner drawer, followed by line drying should work wonders on a fusty smell.

patchwork_cat

DeeDee actually posted original message in 2008, no doubt she has solved the original issue now!

Gill7229

I'm going off on a slight tangent here, but does anyone know how to get deodorant marks off clothes? I have a handfull of t-shirts that have marks down the sides (not just under the armpits), which don't appear to come out in the wash. Does anyone know any tips to get these marks off? The t-shirts aren't very old and it'd be a shame to have to throw them out.

Thanks very much,

Gill


Christmas presents bought: 6/18
Money spent: £64
Money saved: £84 yay! :j

Lou76

Gill7229 wrote: »

I'm going off on a slight tangent here, but does anyone know how to get deodorant marks off clothes? I have a handfull of t-shirts that have marks down the sides (not just under the armpits), which don't appear to come out in the wash. Does anyone know any tips to get these marks off? The t-shirts aren't very old and it'd be a shame to have to throw them out.

Thanks very much,

Gill


Christmas presents bought: 6/18
Money spent: £64
Money saved: £84 yay! :j

Gill, don't know if this will be of any use but I use Superdrug's own brand travel wash to get deodorant stains off my clothes.

Just rub some straight on to the stain, leave the item soaking in the sink, with a glug of the travel wash added to the water, for as long as you want (I usually leave it an hour or two) and the stain should then wash away when you rinse it, or bung it in the machine with the rest of your wash and it should bring it up as new.

I've been using this stuff for years and it never lets me down. Even gets out suntan lotion, not that there's much call for that right now. :rotfl:

I think it costs about £1 for a bottle and it lasts me ages.

1ANGEL

Cinders2001 wrote: »

I agree.
You cant kill the bugs at such a low temperature I dont think.....just give them a nice warm place to multiply instead!!

I'm sure the detergent people have thought of this and someone here will put me straight!

---

Anyone here use the term ' Foisty ' to refer to this problem.
My in-law family in Norfolk do. I had never heard of it before!

We say 'foisty' in Leeds haha!