What to do about this Ebay coat that smells

[tectonicplates]

Last year I bought a coat on Ebay that arrived absolutely covered in Febreeze. I considered asking a dry cleaner, but never did in the end, and it's been folded up in a bag ever since.

I took the coat out the bag just now and it still stinks, and I wonder if I've made it worse by letting it sit there for year. I actually have a headache from the smell.

I don't have a garden or any outside space, so there's no way of hanging it up to air anywhere.

Is it still worth asking a dry cleaner if they can sort it, or is it a lost cause? I don't feel like I can even give it to a charity shop. I don't mind paying a dry cleaner, but it would be a waste of money if it turns out the smell is too ingrained to do anything about.

I only use scent-free products and I hate perfume of any kind, that's why I hate Febreeze. It seems to be a common problem on Ebay as people try to make it "fresh", but it doesn't. I would never send my clothes out like that.

Can't you ask a pal to peg it out for a day? A bit of uv and wind could sort it.

Well it being tied up an bag for a year wont get rid od the smell. If you have no outside space could you hang up at an open window. You will have to put up with the smell for a while, but reckon it will soon go

Wash it

It's made of wool and is dry-clean only.

Well get it dry cleaned then!

Cold hand wash for wool should be fine, but otherwise a dry cleaner.

I have done similar and this worked... scrunch up loads of newspapers and pad the coat out with it. Put it in a black bin liner and put scrunched up newspaper all around the coat in the bag. Seal it and leave it in a dark place for at least two weeks, more is better. This totally worked for me.

Try hanging it in your bathroom for a few days.

I've washed dry clean only coats in the washing machine and they've been fine. Try it on a delicate/wool cycle.

I'm just coming back to this thread to say that I've just collected the coat from the dry cleaner, and they got rid of most of the smell but the collar still stinks. I have a headache again. I will consider putting it in the washing machine but it would have to be washed on its' own otherwise everything with it will end up stinking. I'm still considering just cutting my losses and getting rid of the thing.

Hang it out of a window.

I bought a second hand pregnancy book on ebay, it arrived stinking of cigarettes. I imagined the previous owner sitting reading it smoking over her bump.

Peg it securely onto a hanger and then hang it out of a window.

I would try spritzing the collar well with water then allowing it to dry. That might help.

Sprinkle bicarbonate of soda on the bit that still smells (vacuum nozzle it off afterwards) then hang it near an open window. Might take a while to freshen up but worth a try.

I might just have to try that. This is seriously the last time I ever buy second hand clothes. I just can't understand why sellers do this.

Bung it in the washing machine with a detergent made for wool. Cool wash short spin cycle (600 spin) some washing machines have a wool or wash. The smell of fabreeze will go. People use fabreeze on 'dry-clean' items only, it does ponk, but I shove everything through my washing machine, and never yet felted anything woollen....but probably will now! Just be aware wet wool can smell a bit similar to a damp dog, it's fine once it dries though

I'm just a bit worried about making the washing machine stink, and then all the clothes we wash after that will stink of it too.

I just really wish people would stop spraying the clothes with horrible stuff before sending them.

Spray it with vodka. I know that is a serious waste of good vodka but it works. I had a new coat that was peed on by my cat. I took it to the dry cleaners but the smell remained. There was only one thing that worked - vodka!

That shouldn’t be the case in any decent washing machine.. residue from one wash shouldn’t be in the next. I wash cloth nappies and wee and poo are definitely not transferred to the next wash.
If you’re really worried just run a cycle with noting in it after you’ve washed the coat? Maybe with a dishwasher tablet to clean the machine?

White vinegar and water sprayed on it and leave it somewhere where it can get a lot of air, a room you don't use, open window.

Put it a bag or plastic box of silica cat litter, and seal it up. Keep checking it for stink, and leave it there until it is better. Will still probably need the vinegar and fresh air.

I think I would wash it though, as it will be full of dry cleaning chemicals as well as the Febreze toxins.

And, importantly, tell the seller how foul it is. I have left feedback in the past when stuff has smelled to strong it gave me a headache as soon as I opened it, something like 'Overpowering smell of Febreze but arrived quickly'.

I make a point of putting in my listings that I don't use the foul stuff, or smoke.

wash it in cool wash in the washing machine then run the washing machine with nothing in it and any smell should clear, i do this after i washed the dog beds

@tectonicplates

I'm just a bit worried about making the washing machine stink, and then all the clothes we wash after that will stink of it too.

A hot cleaning cycle with some vinegar should deal with that, and don't forget to leave the door open afterwards. Much better to have the smell of vinegar than toxic fake scent, and it wears off fairly quickly.

And, importantly, tell the seller how foul it is. I have left feedback in the past when stuff has smelled to strong it gave me a headache as soon as I opened it, something like 'Overpowering smell of Febreze but arrived quickly'.

I actually bought it about a year ago. I never said anything at the time, but I really wish I had, and I never had the heart to leave any feedback at all although I do usually leave feedback for most people. I don't know why something was holding me back.

I make a point of putting in my listings that I don't use the foul stuff, or smoke.

I think I might have to start doing that. These people give sellers a bad name. Presumably it affects everyone else's sales, as more and more people get put of buying second hand because of these bad experiences. At least at a charity shop you get the smell the item first and make a more informed decision.

But if you’ve no outside space to hang it, and only a 600 spin, where are you going to have a sodden, dripping wet wool coat? It’ll take forever to dry!!