Thursday, January 7, 2010

My husband left wet clothes and towels in the washer over night.?

I re-washed them all several times but there is this weird smell to them, I've tried different detergents, adding a little bleach and even all kinds of dryer sheets, is there any way to get the smell out or do I have to buy all new clothes and towels???My husband left wet clothes and towels in the washer over night.?
I use to work Wardrobe at a Regional Theatre and picked up all sorts of nifty little tricks.





For fresh smelling laundry, try soaking (and then washing) your clothes in Castille Soap. This all-natural product is available at most health food stores and comes in a variety of scents including peppermint and lavender. This gentle detergent is safe for even your most delicate fabrics.





If you have any lingering odor, try spritzing the clothes down with vodka. That's right, I said it- VODKA!


The cheaper the brand, the better the result.





In fact, it is a little known fact that dry cleaning _sets_ odor.


Purchasing a cheap spray bottle, filling it with the vodka and liberally spritzing the armpits of your garments will insure you do not inadvertantly ';set in'; unpleasant smells.





As in any home remedy involving fabrics, always test the colorfast-ness of your item by trying the ';cure'; on an inconspicuous place.





Good luck!My husband left wet clothes and towels in the washer over night.?
I would wash it, dry it, then wash it again and dry it. The reason behind this is, if the smell is from bacteria growth, the extreme heat from dryer will kill them. If that doesn't work, then you may be out of luck.
They were only left in the washer overnight? There shouldn't be any sort of lasting smell, then, so that's a little weird.





Anyways, if you live somewhere where you have a place to hang our clothes outside, I would highly recommenced that. They could use a little bit of airing out, as well as the fresh air. After that, if they still smell, you could wash them again, then hang them outside once more.
What you're smelling is mildew. I'd go buy new ones.
Use baking soda or white vinegar in the wash water along with your detergent.
Ad some Febreeze to the wash. Or Vinager about 1 cup. Vinager works wonders. If your out of frabic softner it can also help soften your clothes.
Try adding a cup or two of white vinegar to the wash, and liquid fabric softner in the rinse. Hang the clothes in the sun to dry, if you can, or dry them in the dryer and then hang them in the sun. Sunshine and fresh air do wonders for eliminating sour odor from fabric.
Baking soda is the best thing i've found for this. Half a cup to a cup, put it in before the clothes, while the water is running and let it dissolve before you put the clothes in, or it might cake on to the fabric.





Run the load again, I do this with cold water, but i dont know if it makes a difference. Sometimes i do notice a bit of the smell again when i'm taking the clothes out, but after the dryer they are fine. I think the smell might be in the washer.
You might need a new washer and dryer.

1 comment:

  1. Smelly Washer or Smelly Towel Cleaners work great for removing odor from washers, towels and clothing. Go to:
    http://vodpod.com/watch/1507525-affresh-washer-cleaner-vs-smelly-washer for a news story on the problem! They are both all natural and have 24 treatments compared to 1-3 for competitors.

    ReplyDelete