Getting Smells Out of Clothes

Updated on January 29, 2012
A.W. asks from Saint Charles, IL
12 answers

Help! My boyfriend is a cook in a pizza restaurant and he comes home every day full of pizza dough, food, and grease. It makes his clothes STINK! I've tried so many different laundry soaps and can't find anything that takes the smells out. I can't wash his work clothes with any other laundry because they make every thing else stink. What can I do to get the smells out?! I'm desperate!

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S.E.

answers from Chicago on

have you tried oxy-clean? Also what can happen is that if you don't get the smell out when you wash the clothes you can set the smell in the clothes when they are dried.

But, I say try Oxy-clean in every load and it should help!!

S.

1 mom found this helpful

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K.L.

answers from Peoria on

I use Melaleuca's Laundry Line. It is made out of natural ingredients and it works wonderful. It also keeps your clothes looking newer for longer and it doesn't fade the colors in the clothes or make the material ball up. It is very concentrated so it goes a long long way and is inexpensive too! If you would like more information please feel free to email me.

K. L.
____@____.com

1 mom found this helpful

K.P.

answers from Decatur on

Add 1 cup vinegar to the wash....I worked at lots of restaurants before I went to law school, and it was the only thing that worked! I still washed the work clothes separate from the rest of the wash.

Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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T.D.

answers from Chicago on

Hi A.,
both responses are RIGHT !!!!
BUT - instead of using baking soda use AMMONIA & VINGAR IN THE RINSE CYCLE.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.S.

answers from Chicago on

I use washing soda and vinegar. Washing soda is just a heavy duty baking soda that you add to your wash with detergent...it helps soak up smells. You should be able to find it in the detergent aisle. Also, you can try filling a downy ball with white vinegar and throwing it in there....or both. This helps me with my cloth diapers when they start to smell funny. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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B.K.

answers from Chicago on

A.,

I am sure that I can help you! I use wonderful non-toxic products for my laundry, home, family, and personal care! I have put some pretty nasty smelling stuff in the wash and can always count on success! Check out the sites below and then email me at: ____@____.com - I'd be glad to talk with you.

B.

http://www.livetotalwellness.com/bevk
http://saferforyourhome.com/

1 mom found this helpful
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T.C.

answers from Bloomington on

You have some great suggestions so far, but you might also try reducing the amount of laundry detergent you use. I know this sounds counterintuitive, but the manufacturers' recommended amounts are way too high because they want you to buy more. I had a problem with my daughter's cloth diapers smelling of urine after I'd washed and dried them. When I spoke to the lady I bought them from, she recommended I rinse them a couple of times to get rid of the residual detergent, then reduce the amount per load to 1 Tbsp per load (I use Purex Free & Clear). It worked. Basically what happens when you use too much detergent is that it doesn't all rinse out, so it and the dirt/smells in the wash stay in the clothes (nice, huh?).

1 mom found this helpful
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M.R.

answers from Chicago on

A.,

Baking soda, vinegar,and ammonia are great, but don't start mixing chemicals or you'll get in trouble. They react and you will have a mess or maybe worse (an explosion). I think the baking soda OR vinegar are a good choice and add an extra rinse. Just keep his work clothes separate. My husband comes home with grease and oil so we just keep it away from our other clothes.

1 mom found this helpful
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N.D.

answers from Chicago on

The most effective thing I've found is to wash those clothes in Dawn dish soap.... it doesn't get rid of all of the smell, but definately helps, because it "cuts grease".

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K.

answers from Chicago on

I treat any stinky clothes like I do my diapers (we cloth diaper our daughter). Cold soak with a little baking soda, then a hot wash with soap. Then a rinse and spin with about 1/2 cup vinegar. If it can make diapers smell good, it can fix ANYTHING.

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M.F.

answers from Decatur on

I read on here to try white vinegar in the rinse cycle. Problem solved!!! Use about a cup with each load. You will smell it in your laundry room but not on the laundry. It also worked on my boyfriend's work clothes that always smelled HORRIBLE! We would wash them 3 times and they would still smell. Now we wash them once with about a cup of white vinegar as well. Tada - fresh smelling clothes everytime! And you can't beat the cost. A gallon of the generic brand is around $2 or a little less. Good luck.

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K.R.

answers from Chicago on

I have something that might help everyone with the problem of odors that won't wash out of clothes. It's a product that isn't the easiest to find, but if you do it'll be your new best friend for doing laundry-it's Sudsy Ammonia. I find it at a local store here in NW Indiana called Wise Way in half gallon bottles for about $1.09 each and I'm telling you it's awesome! It takes out the pizza smell in my sons work clothes as he's a pizza guy too (it might takes a few washings or a little extra to get them odor free after so long-but I even wash his work clothes with others now and no problem), it takes the musty smell out of ALL your towels even if washed in warm or cold water which that alone makes it worth it's weight in gold, and the urine isn't even a problem in diapers...you should even pour a little in the diaper pail to help with the odor before they're even washed, and that awful pet smell in the dogs or cats blanket or bed cover-gone. It only takes about 1 cup per load, and I use it in EVERY load of laundry I do as it's great at killing every smell and germ and won't hurt your laundry at all so wash away ladies and smile when your laundry smells cleaner and fresher than ever before! Just be sure to get SUDSY Ammonia, not the regular kind of ammonia, and like I mentioned it is a little hard to find, but believe a brand called Parson's is more readily available in local area smaller grocery stores, not the larger chain type super stores. Hope this has helped!!

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