Removing Stinky Smells from Clothes

I've never had a vinegar smell when I use it. I use about 1/2 cup per load in the rinse cycle.

You could try Odo Ban. It works on cat pee smell!

2 moms found this helpful

I always just wash accident clothes right away and have never had any issue with residue smell. If you use baking soda, just soak them for about 20 minutes.

1 mom found this helpful

We have had incredible luck with Charlies Soap. Good Luck!

1 mom found this helpful

Regular laundry detergent has always worked fine for me (warning a lot of natural laundry detergents aren't actually antimicrobial NOR do they break apart oils or other biologicals that soak into the fabrics of clothes. So clothes stink, because they're never actually cleaned. It's like whirling them about them in plain water with perfume added.)

If you really want to avoid detergent, however, an enzymatic cleaner (like Kids'n'Pets) breaks apart and bonds to ureic acids / ammoniums (in urine), as well as biologicals. You saturate the affected area and allow to sit for several hours. Then wring dry and wash as usual.

1 mom found this helpful

Well, I don't know what you consider a harsh chemical but I know exactly how that smell is. I use a hot water wash and add oxi-clean to laundry that is wet from accidents or even that stupid wet towel that got buried at the bottom of the hamper and it works really well.

1 mom found this helpful

I use Nature's Miracle from Petsmart. It gets rid of all pee, poops, throwups, you name it. I put the same amount of Miracle as Tide in each load, that is if it's been peed on.

1 mom found this helpful

I will toss another vote in for the Borax. A friend recommended it for us for the "front loader washer stink syndrome"..LOL. Plus my DH has smelly work out clothes and work uniforms (in the summer...works out in the heat..same gross BO as work out clothes...plus other stuff from his work) Gross.

I also do home daycare, so I get baby puke, wet bedding from nappers, etc...all the normal child stink smells in bibs, towels and other linens...multiplied by 6-8 children, 5 days a week. More gross.

I also have a teenager. Enough said. Alot more gross. LOL

Just a little bit of Borax (in the detergent section along with whatever HE soap I bought that time), in every single load and I have great smelling towels, sheets, work out clothes, regular laundry items, etc. And no more "front loader washer stink syndrome", either.

Good luck!

We don't use harsh chemicals in our home. This is what we use for our laundry: MelaPower 6 (detergent) and MelaSoft (softener). If that doesn't take out the smell (or we suspect we need more "odor remover") then we add some Sol-U-Mel to the load.

Maybe what you're smelling isn't vinegar but the ammonia from the pee.

Going through a wash and rinse, there shouldn't be any vinegar smell left unless you're using too much.
Maybe you aren't using enough.
I use vinegar for everthing and I'd rather smell that than the alternative.

Best wishes.

Try the vinegar in your softener dispenser, should work just fine. And once you dry them the smell goes away. Make sure you're using the largest water amount with the bedding too. My washer has a "heavy soil" setting that adds more water to the tub. The other thing you might try is Tide Sport. I use it on my husband's workout shirts and they actually come out smelling clean!

Add a little hydrogen peroxide to your detergent.

I have to throw in a vote for vinegar. I put it in the fabric softener slot on my front loader when I need some odor removal. Works like a charm. My husband has "dog nose" and never comments on the smell.

someone said it, but put the baking soda in with the detergent. and you can add vinegar to the fabric softener dispenser, and if available set your washer for an extra rinse cycle. I cloth diaper and that is how I do my diapers and they don't smell like anything at all.

You don't put the baking soda in the rinse cycle. Baking soda goes in with your detergent. It is a detergent boost. If you put it in the rinse cycle, your clothes would come out white and powdery.

Vinegar goes in the same place/time as fabric softener.

Why don't you try SOAKING the clothes in soda water BEFORE washing them. That will eliminate your issue. Baking soda is CHEAP. Use plenty.

I have good luck with either Odo-Ban (you can get a gallon jug of the concentrated at Sams Club for $10 and it lasts forever!) and/or Borax powder. On the Borax box it says to put 1/2 C in the wash, with the detergent, but I usually only use a little over 1/4 C. You can find borax with the laundry soaps, it's in a box. We just use All or purex or the arm and hammer laundry soap, whatever is cheapest at the time and is in the free and clear formula.

I cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle will take care of it.