Help! Must be a cheaper solution for BO in clothes?

[troubl3]

Please advise, or am I being unreasonable and should just replace the clothing of my poor teenage daughter!
13yr DD has good hygiene, showers daily, hair wash every couple of days. Always showers after exercise. Uses “proper” deodorant and perfume. She still struggles with BO. It sticks to her clothes after a day of being warm at school, or out with friends. Her school shirts, branded school jumpers, personalised dance uniform, all smell, even after washing. I have tried every product in the supermarket. Am I just going to have to let her smell or do I fork out again for new? AIBU to think there must be a better solution?

I have a friend like this. Wash using actual disinfectant. A good sized cup full per wash and don't over fill the washer. Wash on at least 40.

Give it an extra rinse. And then rinse again using laundry steriliser. Lidl do a good one.

@troubl3 OP, use Rubbing Alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) - it's a disinfectant that effectively kills bacteria, including those that cause BO and other lingering smells. It's an absolute game-changer: https://www.amazon.co.uk/BritishBasics-Purpose-Isopropyl-Isopropanol-Cleaning/dp/B09RBGTRL8/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2NF0WSUSJIYPG&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.iCZTEpXjKJjVQngOd0DRfbWjtfyzcMnQHUgLEJgtX-aATLqhQMUPU3TRql5XXikn9x3MDwNGTAj_b0oEdHjCK-x3az_3KU-eDQz1Tyi4nXQu2-OK-GSqeZR14rSa1mttg99VNXh2TUJhKH9yTwv1t9Q0w5PIrujCLJy8guKvXUB68UNV1xjTZBhNFhEcpj7WFuomOaqnRRm73tY7zEi8yRLid7vpAiVzCoRdPY462BgRjodwGuMWBRqk1QWAXwN7C5FJS7AKNscIt8neUeuCwCc4fOVuQ3sFS_4X5j_zzX91PdjwCCfv9kq9R99NJ-wsAHSJtQVj0tIChui--UNvB8R4iUI9aHsSX952tQxSoDoMd9yC-WzeW0wprdJsXZpo1L4ReZUdieCM352FxJimJpr0BD2dhnQHG7fMmb7pbkiA8LMxAhATgNahnlzoY4yv.D3UD1wAp900oA75kmLv8GzrEC6lfgSuITEDYsjHBEdg&dib_tag=se&keywords=British%2BBasics%2BRubbing%2BAlcohol%2B500ml&qid=1742237049&sprefix=british%2Bbasics%2Brubbing%2Balcohol%2B500ml%2Caps%2C234&sr=8-5&th=1

And make sure she’s washing her armpits with actual soap, not just water. Then antiperspirant.

A bio washing powder made a big difference with our laundry.

What setting are you washing your clothes on?

I'm just asking as we recently had to have an engineer out for a damaged water pump, he asked what setting I use on my washer as it was 'full of soap'. I said 'Daily wash, the 28 min one at 40⁰'. He told me I should be using the eco wash at 40⁰, as it's a longer cycle. A 28 min wash (on my machine) consisted of a 21 minute rinse and spin, and only 7 minutes for it to fill, heat and wash - so it isn't getting a full, decent wash within those 7 minutes. I use the eco now, granted it takes 2hr 40 mins BUT even the smell of rust, metal and BO has gone out of my husbands work gear, that I previously couldn't shift with dettol, vinegar, stain remover etc.

My clothes FEEL cleaner too, as the soap is completely and fully rinsed out.

BO is basically bacteria and it’s caught in the fibres which is why it’s smelling. 30 degrees isn’t hot enough to kill the bacteria. I wash everything on 40 and I’ve never shrunk a thing so hopefully her school jumpers will be okay at that temperature.

To get rid of the smell I would definitely recommend spraying with vinegar and then scrubbing the fabric with your hands, then wash her clothes seperately without fabric conditioner. I’ve also used soda crystals and dettol laundry detergent in the past too, but for me there was no point using the dettol until the bacteria has been killed as it didn’t work on its own.

It’s a bit random, but my husband switched to soap bars from Grumm instead of shower gels and he hardly ever smells of BO now (he’s very sporty so it was a common issue). He also uses a natural deodorant as well. Might be worth switching out toiletries to try to prevent it as much as possible.

Absolutely bar soap, but also when I was going through a horrible pongy menopausal phase a few years ago, I found apple cider vinegar shut it down. Shower with bar soap, paying attention to pits, dry thoroughly, ACV on cotton wool & wipe pits thoroughly with it, allow to air dry, roll on deodorant.

Soaking in vinegar works wonders, once you wash it in detergent you don’t smell the vinegar, I buy the massive couple of litre bottles from Amazon. I then also use dettol laundry sanitiser, and sparingly use fabric softener. This works for me.

She could also try Triple Dry deodorant. You put it on at night. It’s says you don’t need to use normal deodorant in the day as well, but I use both. It really really helped me, but I do need to use it every night.

Antiperspirant needed not deodorant.
Sure max strength needed

The thing with sweat like any biological stain is that you need to soak the garment in the coldest water possible and wash it on a cold wash initially or it “cooks” the stain into the fabrics. The only two things I find that work is the branded vanish stain remover spray straight onto the arm pit of the garment where the stain is, liberally apply and leave to soak in for five minutes. The other thing I do along side is use the dark blue persil wonder wash gel which is designed for sweaty clothes and wash them at max 30. I found vinegar didn’t do a thing unfortunately but these two definitely help keep on top of it all.

Also when I was a teen I always had sweaty armpits and I used Driclor deodorant, it was expensive but it stopped me sweating and therefore stopped the smell. You can buy it in Boots with the normal deodorants.

Not RTFT. Use proper soap, like Shield or similar. Not Dove, which isn't soap, or shower gel .Shield Soap Aqua 4X115g - Tesco Groceries
Are you using fabric conditioner? I think it clogs fabric on cool washes. Also stinks.
White vinegar spray doesn't make washing smell.
Dry your washing on a line if you can.

Soaking in tepid water with disinfectant in it before washing works too. I use a disinfectant that isn't pine and get it from the £1shop.
Powerforce 4 In 1 Action Concentrated Disinfectant Linen 250ml | ALDI

I find soda crystals in the powder/liquid drawer work well in addition to a 40 degree plus wash.

Also we have polyester polo shirts at work (that thankfully we don't always have to wear) that absolutely stink on me after only half a day, even though I do not usually have BO. Colleagues hate wearing them too for the same issue, so the material may not be helping!!

I know there are some people who think that shower scrunchies are the work of the devil hygiene-wise, but they really helped me a few years ago when for some reason I was going through an armpit BO phase. Shower gel on, count to 30 scrubs up and down, more gel, other armpit. If you worry about germs on the scrunchie then dip it in some diluted bleach every so often.

If she is sweating excessively then there are medical treatments

DS is an absolute everyday stinker. Way more so than DH. I wash his school shirts on their own, at 60 degrees, with Ariel powder. He wears the red L’Oréal roll on anti-perspirant and deodorant. If he does this (and I can tell if he misses a day as the smell is pungent) then it is under control. Things that haven’t worked as well as those things in combination are: liquid laundry wash, other anti-perspirants including Mitchem (I found that this left a residue on armpits of shirts), line drying instead of tumble drying, any type of deodorant like Lynx and other brands of laundry powder.

At least a 40 wash for shirts, clean bra / underwear daily, change her deodorant the brand might not work for her, put deodrant on after evening bath as well as in the morning.

Bar soap, properly rinsed off after - and Fussy Deodorant. Life saver !

I've found fabric conditioner and scent boosters almost build up and keep the teenage BO smells locked in the fabric. If you soak clothes in this oxyclean stuff it gets rid of all the build up and the smells and then you wash 40 degrees in bio powder WITHOUT fabric conditioner. Then use the dettol cleanser instead of fabric conditioner etc from then on 😀
https://amzn.eu/d/1CTKrh7

BO can be a bit of a vicious cycle - it’s likely the smell is actually caused by her pores being blocked by the anti perspirant and the bacteria that cause the smell hanging about and feeding off the trapped sweat in the clothes.

As well as switching to bar soap and giving her pits a good scrub, she could also try giving her underarms a wipe with glycolic acid or hibi scrub - not daily as very harsh but should help kill any bacteria lingering in a pore.

I thought I reeked and nothing would work til I started doing the above and switching to crystal deodorant. 1 stick lasts me a year or more now - I was going through sprays and roll ons every week before that.

A soak in vinegar and as hot a wash as you can with a sports detergent should break down any trapped smells but some synthetics just never give up the pong.

I find the dettol antibacterial wash works well on sweaty clothes. Use it for DD's PE kit and our gym clothes. Always wash at a higher temperature though as the eco washes don't cut it.

My teenagers use pears soap and I always tell him to let it marinade for a few seconds. Also, I use liquid washing ‘powder’ and norma dilute some in a spray bottle and spray it al over the armpits (making sure the whole area is covered and that it is saturated) you can also put it in a bottle and just squeeze it in and rub in and then put it in the washing machine. This ALWAYS works, even when the tops smells horrendously! (Think teenage boys sitting in a room all day). Also, dove roll on and spray normally works a treat too. Good luck and well done Mum for getting onto it, I’m sure from all the suggestions youll get it sorted!

Bar soap 100% amazing really helped my sister who suffered such bad BO and used to wash with shower gels etc

White vinegar works. Chuck some in the fabric conditioner draw. It's cheaper than the Dettol stuff, does the same job and your clothes will not smell of vinegar