How do I get the smell of sweat out of clothes!

14wrence

I have this problem with my gym stuff. It is my fault, but I sweat in them and leave in the basket until I have a load. I only wash my own clothes, so this can be at least a week sometimes - at which point they become a bit niffy and the smells start to come back next time you start to sweat in them.

I once soaked a top in Milton sterilizing solution, which works a treat but does bleach out the colours - so i'd only recommend for white tops.

I also used antiseptic disinfectant, (as smells are generally down to trapped bacteria). It also works well, but you need quite a lot, and works out quite expensive to keep doing.

I am definitely going to try the white vinegar tips. excellent thanks..:beer:

Matso

There is nothing quite like putting on a shirt that already smells! Those days are gone for me Here is what I found (sort of by accident): Spray white vinegar (full strength) on clothing armpits before laundering, making sure the area is thoroughly saturated (doesn't need to be dripping wet) and use Super Washing Soda (regular baking soda doesn't work the same) in the wash cycle. I use 1/3 -1/2 cup per load in my front loader. I've use this method after trying other laborious "techniques", and this worked the best.

I would love to hear from someone who is successful in getting imbedded perfume/fragrances out of clothing. I am sensitive to fragrances and have tried everything I know of to get my sister's perfume out some things she gave me -- with no luck. Also, with the above method, I have been able to (for the most part -- not quite 100%) get my son's deodorant fragrance out of his T-shirts.

meritaten

I used to do Tae Kwon Do - and my kit went in the machine that night or next morning with bio powder. I never had a problem with smells.
don't leave your kit overnight in your sports bag - an enclosed environment encourages the bacteria and smells! if you cant wash straight away at least take it out of the bag and put in washing basket!

albert8

can I ask without sounding stupid - what sort of vinegar? Also my son wears black shirts for work - so smelly even after washing & fading badly under the arms - any tips to prevent this please?

cats_ahoy

Not a tip for getting the sweat smell out of clothes but rather for preventing it in the first place.

http://www.boots.com/en/PerspireX-Underarm-Roll-on-Anti-perspirant_22021/

I use something similar to this, and it prevents excess sweat and smell. It works really well when you aren't doing excessive exercise.

First_Trouble

I know this is an old thread but I have the same problem with some cardigans. Its a smell retained in the fabric and no other tops are effected. I have tried soaking them in a mix of vinegar, Soda crystal&washing powder mix and water for a few hours before washing it. It didn't work and now not sure what to try next. They are all dark colours; two black, one navy, there is nothing wrong with the cardigans except the smell so I would rather not through them away but it's starting to make me feel self-concious.

*_pinkspidah_*

I had the same problem until I started doing the following: Adding soda crystals in with washing power and using distilled white vinegar instead of fabric conditioner - my washing smelt really fresh and not of vinegar at all. I also started using a solid crystal deodorant liberally, drying with a hairdryer (saves time) and then adding a liberal layer of roll on crystal deodorant on the top and drying with hairdryer again. It's stopped me smelling of sweat in the first place. It prevents odor before it starts by creating an odor-killing barrier that lasts all day and I found it really works, even though it doesn't stop me sweating!

Zammo76

I know this is a very old thread but I have this issue where a number of my tops had become 'BO'd out' for want of a better term. I would wash them but as soon as they got slightly wet, from sweat or water they'd reak again.

I'd tried all of the solutions on here vinegar, bi carb soda, milton tablets, vanish but none worked even in the slightest.

In the end I came across a rather grim article where someone suggested using Ocean Bleach:

https://medium.com/@duncanr/how-to-stop-your-clothes-from-smelling-of-vaginas-bum-cracks-and-testicles-998231b836c0


After searching for this on the internet I found that Tesco's do Ocean Bleach Tablets for £2:

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/297774936?sc_cmp=ppc*GHS+-+Grocery+-+New*PX+%7C+Shopping+GSC+%7C+All+Products*Food+Cupboard*PRODUCT_GROUP297774936*&gclid=CjwKCAiAqOriBRAfEiwAEb9oXei-K-Y-32WnqFK485pi910SfaJRRWBGyWmbSyautdBn9U02orbTGBoC68sQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds


I got some and followed the instructions on the pack which says when washing clothes to soak the effected garments with 1 dissolved tablet for 5 minutes, in 10 litres of water and then wash on a normal cycle. I did this with 5 tops that were pretty much ruined because of the smell, and to my amazement it actually worked!

I've now saved these tops from becoming paint overalls, all for the cost of £2.


Anyhow I thought I'd post this solution here as this is the first link that comes up when you type how to get BO smells out of clothes. Lol.