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 😬

is it possible they smell because delivery guy smokes in his car?
Hard to picture a person with small baby keep just sitting smoking next to a bunch of new clothes. Would they not be in some cupboard.
Anyway I would message the seller first and wash them like 3 times and maybe donate to a charity if you still worried, but they should be after couple of washes.

nm read your update

Put them in the washing machine, smoke smell comes out of clothes if they are washed.

That sounds grim. Must be horrible when you have PPA. I’d deffo message the seller and/or leave a review. You should get a refund.

It’s possible the clothes were stored in someone else’s home (other than a baby’s) who smoke. But the seller must have realised they smelled of smoke.

You’re quite right to buy second hand clothes as throwing baby clothes away is such a waste. The smell should comes out via a hot wash with:

Baking soda

• Add a cup of baking soda to the washing machine along with your regular detergent
• If the smell persists, wash again with baking soda

Vinegar

• Add a cup of white vinegar to the washing machine
• Vinegar's acids help trap and neutralize odors

Lemon juice

• Mix equal parts detergent and lemon juice
• Lemon juice's enzymes break down oils left on clothes by cigarette smoke

Air out

• Hang clothes outside to dry in the sun and fresh air

I’d wash and use them when clean. But if you really can’t, how about putting on your local Facebook/marketplace as giveaway with a clear description? At least they won’t go to waste if someone wants to take them.

Hard to picture a person with small baby keep just sitting smoking next to a bunch of new clothes. Would they not be in some cupboard.

Even if they had been in a cupboard they'd still smell if people were smoking in the house. The stuff I bought via Vinted last year had been stored in a loft, in plastic bags, but still stank of cig smoke.

Third hand smoke?

It’s still bad even if smoke isn’t being blown into the baby’s face. I bet that child’s clothes and bedding they’re sleeping in/on right now stink of fags.

YANBU.

Had a similar thing twice on eBay - I buy a lot of second hand items for my son to be more environmentally conscious, but once I received a “like new” pram cover that really stank of smoke; and once some bulk “great condition” Duplo that was really encrusted with dirt 🤢 (I’d never seen the like, except maybe at one playgroup- it wasn’t visible on photos as it was pictured from a distance and the dirt was mostly underneath).

Took multiple washes to get them clean (and a long air outside too for the cover). But I couldn’t leave bad reviews as they weren’t in damaged condition or technically unusable and didn’t specify that they’d be “clean” 🤦‍♀️. I’d have been embarrassed to send anyone something like that though, especially knowing it will be used for babies/young toddlers.

I’m afraid this will be a similar scrub job OP - wash twice and then air outside (maybe the first wash with some vinegar or dettol?). And then leave a completely factual review, it doesn’t need to be wholly negative but should be fair.

I think your feedback was unfair. The seller never claimed it was a smoke-free home. If that was important to you, you should have checked. It's not something you should just assume. Plus a lot of people buy bundles to sell on. It doesn't mean they have a baby in the house.

(Recently a seller sent me something packaged in a Sainsbury's Parmesan & Garlic Twists box. The stink from that was unbelievable! Thankfully, it wasn't clothing.)

I personally have never thought any clothing smells of smoke, but I smoke/vape myself so nose blindness is real!

Believe me when I tell you that your clothes stink of smoke and yes, the smell is awful.

YABU
Buy 2nd hand, you cant expect perfection
If you want new smell - BUY NEW

You didnt check it was 'smoke free'
Seller is under no obligation to disclose their smoker status

You’ve handled it well, OP. Hope your anxiety improves. I think being a first time mother in modern western society (I’m assuming you’re uk based because of vinted) is inherently lonely and anxiety inducing so don’t let pps stress you out xx

Just wash and leave a bad review.

*Principle

That is incredibly wasteful when you can wash them and thell genuinely be fine

I would apply for a refund. Sounds weird but I never would have put my babies in clothes that had smelt so grim even after washing. Anyway, I remember at university in the 90s all my clothes stank of cigarette smoke and even after washing once back home at my parents, it didn't properly come out especially to me as a non smoker smelling them.

They'll be absolutely fine after a normal wash. Remember when smoking was allowed in pubs and clubs and your clothes would reek the next day? They were always fine after a wash.

Sorry, just noticed @boredwithfoodprob said the exact opposite to me!

I didn’t know this. That’s really useful information. I’ve taken items back to next as the parcel smelled of smoke. I
assumed it was packer.

Leave a bad review, but I do think they can be saved.

Soak in a really hot bowl with washing powder and soda crystals.

Wash normally.

Hang them out overnight

Wash again.

I would just wash them but throw them away if preferred. It's fairly easy to buy 2nd hand baby clothes.

Definitely leave a negative review.

Maybe I was using the wrong washing powder 🤣

Why would you wash 2nd hand clothes if they weren't visibly dirty or smelly?

Virtually everyone of my generation grew up with parents who smoked. My grandfather didn't and was thought odd for it. And yet here we all are.

I've never smoked (when a teenager I was the only one of my friends that didn't) nor did my husband, and no-one smoked in our house. And no I wouldn't have put my baby in clothes that smelled of smoke.

But the hysteria on this thread ('your washing machine will never be the same again!') etc, is just silly.

I wouldn’t like it op. I don’t think that you are being precious!
That’s disgusting.