Whole bundle of smelly, smoky baby clothes from Vinted ☹️

[CaptainCabinets]

I ordered a bundle of BNWT baby clothes from Vinted and they’ve arrived absolutely reeking of cigarette smoke 😩 so many lovely little clothes and they smell bloody awful. Nothing in the seller’s reviews to suggest that they’ve been selling smoky clothes, so no warning. I normally only buy stuff from sellers who explicitly state that they have a ‘smoke free home’ but this is the one time I didn’t bloody check, and I would hardly expect someone with a tiny baby to be smoking indoors anyway!

Two questions, really (one of them is an AIBU!)

1. AIBU to give negative (but honest) feedback or suck it up because I didn’t check if the seller was smoke-free?

2. Should I attempt to get the smell out so the clothes can actually be worn, or just bin them? Is it safe for my baby to wear them even after washing them or do the chemicals from the smoke linger in the clothes? They were inexpensive so I don’t mind binning them if need be, but it seems such a waste to throw them away as they are all unworn with tags, they just stink! If I keep them, how can I get rid of the smell and the chemicals?

Please be gentle with me, I’m having a bit of a tough time with PPA and have been making a lot of mountains out of molehills lately 😬

Soak in bicarb and hot water - change it every few hours it neutralises smells and draws them out.
Then put them on a high heat wash - 60 degrees that will kill anything remaining, hang outside and see how they are.

Agree they should have disclosed!

Poo and sick aren’t toxic.

Fag smoke has tar, benzene, cadmium and in the region of 100 other harmful or carcinogenic compounds. I wouldn’t put that anywhere near a baby.

Going to go against the grain here and say I might chuck them, depending on the baby’s age. If the baby is younger than six months when the risk for SIDS is higher I would just bin. We don’t know what causes SIDS but we do know cigarette smoke increases the risk.

I say this as someone who occasionally smoked a cigarette out of the house (eg at the pub) while in a period of cosleeping with an older baby, so am by no means a saint or neurotic.

Likely they'll need washing twice. I bought some t shirts from Vinted last year and they reeked of cig smoke as well. After I'd washed them they'll smelled OK but when I ironed them the cig smell came out again. They were OK after the second wash.

Did you not contact the seller before leaving feedback? She might have offered a return if you'd approached her before leaving a three star review.

I love a good laundry strip. Get a bucket ( or something that all the items will fit in) and fill it with nice hot water. Put a cup of biological washing powder in and mix it around to start to dissolve. Add the clothes and mix around. Then add 1/2 a cup of bicarbonate of soda ( from the cleaning aisle in the shops) and finally 1/2 cup of white vinegar. Mix everything around ( it will fizz a bit). Leave to soak until the water is cold, then squeeze out the excess water and pop the clothes on a normal wash. This soaking process has never failed me. X

It’s not the anxiety taking.

The chemicals in cigs damage DNA. Madness to put that on a baby. A washing machine isn’t a magic wand - why would you even put that crap in your washing machine? Some of it will stay in the machine.

could you try messaging the seller and seeing if they are open to a refund if you return? I had shoes arrive a couple weeks ago and they reeked of smoke (weed too) and I politely messaged the seller asking they would be willing to refund as the smell is overwhelming. The seller agreed and when I put the request through she paid for the return shipping too, got all my money back including fees. Some people are willing to be reasonable if you just approach honestly and politely.

edit: just seen that you already left feedback so that ship has sailed. Will leave my advice for others or for you in the future.

Is it the seller or the delivery driver? We have an Amazon driver and everything he delivers smells sooooooo strongly of smoke he must literally smoke inside the back of his van!

If you’re worried that chemicals don’t wash out, then you probably shouldn’t use cotton full stop. Plenty of dangerous chemicals used as pesticides, herbicides & bleaching agents used in the processing of cotton.

Surely if you wash them the smell will go?
You can say they smelled of smoke if that's the truth. I personally have never thought any clothing smells of smoke, but I smoke/vape myself so nose blindness is real!

You really think that your washing machine will become contaminated? Get a grip FFS!

This happened to me, except my daughter was slightly older (probably around 18m). The clothes were a smoky/mildewy smell and I was irrationally disappointed as 99% of the time when my items arrived from Vinted they’re as described or better than expected! I washed and they were totally fine.

But, also as someone who has suffered with anxiety around health and baby — I’d wash and see how you feel, if it’s going to stress you out to think about it I’d just bin them and try to put it out of your mind. It’s not worth losing sleep over and your anxiety won’t always this bad so so what you need to do to survive this period. It’s okay to throw out clothes to make your life easier right now and you don’t need to feel guilty about it.

Sure it will be fine once warm washed and hung out to dry outside. Some extra detergent.

Lots of us lived through the 70s/80s/90s where smoking inside was just normal. Smoking over babies in prams. Horrible to think about it now (I remember having ash dropped on my arm as a small toddler). I think the risks once the clothes are washed properly are so slim / none. It'll be fine to use the little clothes. But equally if you want to chuck them in the bin don't feel bad about it, it might not be worth the worry.

Just a thought, if the clothes have never been worn, there may never have been a baby :( and that might explain destructive behaviour like smoking. I would say clothes not as described, rather than giving any details.

I would not put a newborn in clothes that had smoke smell on them, even after washing.

I have a grip. My own children are adult. You are silly if you think you can put a load of stuff into the washing machine and have it magically vanish without trace. Modern machines are made to save water and the rinsing is therefore not as good as it could be.

I’d wash them and give them to a charity shop. I’m normally quite pragmatic and non-fussy about things, but I have a quite visceral reaction to the smell of cigarette smoke in clothes as a result of a childhood spent in a perpetual nicotine fog. Awful smell.

Do people not walk? Take their children out near cars? Do you bin their clothes when you come home?

https://www.surrey.ac.uk/news/when-are-babies-prams-most-exposed-air-pollution

I'm not worried about any of it. Like I say, my kids are adults. I'm just advising the OP - since she has a choice - not to put her baby in clothes that have been exposed to loads of cigarette smoke. And I think that's pretty sensible advice.

Soak them in cold water with a very generous squirt of white vinegar, then wash a couple of times. I made the same mistake once and this method removed the fag smoke smell very well.
And yes, add a bit to the feedback to say clothes smelled strongly of cigarette smoke (but comment positively on speed of delivery or something else if applicable). Honest but fair.

Same. I’m convinced I’m chronically asthmatic courtesy of passive smoking. The smell triggers an emotional response in me and reminds me of having a chest infection when young yet still being exposed to smoke.

I would be extremely surprised if there were harmful chemicals left in the clothes after washing properly on 60 degrees. Where did you get that idea?

I wouldn’t use them. You’ll always be wondering even if the smell goes and it won’t do you any good. I wouldn’t put a baby into those clothes even after a wash. Even if the remaining risk is tiny your mind will start racing if the baby has a cough etc.

It reminds me of when I bought a wooden cot off marketplace and a family member kindly picked it up for me. They had a cold at the time so didn't smell it absoloutley reeked of smoke. The whole bedroom stank for days even though the pieces were only in there a few hours. 😷
Also bought a ‘new without tags’ baby bundle on Vinted once and one of the bodysuits had shit stains on it. Definitely leave a negative feedback!