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 😬

They may just be selling the clothes, they may not have a baby in the house, or they could have been stored at a relatives that smoked.

Either way, if they didn't state from a smoke/pet free home, you can't presume.

I wouldn't leave a bad review if the clothes are otherwise in stated condition and the delivery was acceptable, etc. You could maybe state in the review that these details were correct etc but smelled of cigarettes.

It will come out in the wash, my son used to get Christmas and birthday presents from my auntie and uncle who were both a 40 a day smoker. I just used to wash them.

You could wash and relist them on Vinted or give to a charity shop if you don't want to use them.

Definitely leave negative feedback, I would class them as being dirty.

I have bought a job lot of second hand kids clothes which were not entirely clean but very, very cheap - I washed, gave away anything I wasn't happy with and kids wore the rest for years. Older kids though, and a bit of pet hair and stains not clothes stinking of cigarettes - I understand wanting to keep a tiny baby away from smoke!

I feel sorry for the original baby exposed to that much passive smoking.

I would if they were for my baby. You don’t know what they were previously washed in, for example, and I always used detergents for sensitive skin.

Tbh I'd hate to receive baby clothes that had obviously been in a smoky house.

However even though they are bnwt , I'd never put my baby in second-hand clothes that I'd not washed myself .

Just run them through a couple of washes and try to dry outdoors on a breezy day .

You've done the right thing op. You were fair.

I hope the smell comes out.

I've done the same with a hoodie. Forgot to checkI it was a non smoking household. I washed that thing six times snd it still stank. Fucking vile.

Never tried the vinegar trick though so that's good to know.

Please feedback if it works!

I would either ask for refund and send them back to wash them

You're right to be annoyed about the smell of smoke, but washing the clothes with remove it. Hopefully you can hang them up outside too for a lovely fresh air smell. Don't be afraid to leave a negative comment, it might make the seller think twice before doing the same thing again.

I’m really sorry you’ve experienced this. They will be fine after washing though and not harmful which is your obvious concern. Many years ago - like about quarter of a century 😱 when smoking was far more prevalent - my friend’s DMIL would “help” by taking a load of baby/toddler washing back to hers to wash, dry and return beautifully folded/ironed to ease the pressure on my working mum friend. Problem was DMIL was a heavy smoker and the clothes would stink of it when returned so straight back into another wash they went. Therefore no “help” to my friend at all. She did repeatedly ask DMIL not to but to no avail. Anyway both daughters are now mid twenties and fabulously successful (and beautiful). Not at all harmed by rewashed smoky clothes. xx

Can't you raise an issue on vinted and return them?

You could wash them and hang them on the line but 3rd hand smoke is a thing and I wouldn't do it if I could afford not to

Febreze make a very good spray to use on clothes. If the clothes are a good make, Try it out. It puts up the price of the bundle, but then it will last you for years.

I bought knitting wool. It didn't smell of smoke, smelled as though it had been in a garage - damp. Perhaps that is where the clothes had been. I complained, got my money back.

I wouldn’t use Febreze, it’s more chemicals just to mask the smell. I wouldn’t sell them on either, if you’re worried enough that the smoke would affect a newborn then you shouldn’t really do that to someone else’s baby.

@CaptainCabinets I agree with this. Just couldn't do it even after washing. I also wouldn't put myself in clothes that had stank of smoke previously, I'd feel really grubby.

Maybe leave a moderate score and state that clothes were as listed BUT they required several washes to remove strong smell of smoke and that as shoes cannot be washed they will have to be thrown away?

If you really can't bring yourself to allow baby to wear them then relist them (once they smell good, obviously).

Better to appear reasonable on there, I think. Especially if you sell yourself.

It is water based. I use it. I find it very good.

But then they will still be smelly!

I wasn't referring to the air freshener. They make one especially for fabrics. I doubt it has any more chemicals in it that fabric softeners we put in the washing, and granules to make it smell nice.

Try it.

I think people forget they are buying second hand clothes for next to nothing. She didn’t claim it was a smoke free home so how can you complain? Wash the clothes, you would have washed them anyway.
dont get me wrong, I wouldn’t particularly like it either, but if you want brand new buy brand new. If you want smoke free check they are a smoke free household first. Simple.

Message the seller first and tell them the clothes stink of smoke then tell them you'd like to return them. I had PPA and if you're anything like me, you will be so anxious putting your baby in those clothes when washed, I'll bet you actually won't put him in them because the anxiety will stop you! If you don't want to message her, wash them a couple of times and take them to a clothing bank or charity shop then at least they're not wasted.

Definitely leave a review, but first message them and ask the question. They may be super apologetic and refund you, you never know.
Then wash and if smell comes out but you still feel uneasy donate to charity

Personally I wouldn't wear or let a child wear any used clothing without laundering. If not smoke, you don't know what else they may have been exposed to - sickness, germs, pets, and what have they been washed with? I'm allergic to most non -natural detergents. If you attended a bonfire you would launder the smell from clothes. Same here.

So did they still have the tags on?

I didn’t know this but had noticed lately that some of my parcels had a Smokey smell to them

Yes they did have the tags on! Probably been in the baby’s wardrobe so if the smoke got into the wardrobe, it’s getting into their poor baby

Also of course I wash all his clothes before he wears them, even if I’ve bought them in a shop as you don’t know who has been touching them/where they’ve been on their journey to the shop!

I don't feel you are overreacting. I would be really miffed too. I once received a toddler's skirt off ebay. It looked clean but stank of vomit. Some people's standards are just unbelievably low. I would give the clothes a couple of washes and leave a negative review.

I'd be washing twice in any situation followed by hot iron. Before leaving a review I'd contact the seller. Ask why they smell of smoke and then leave a review