How do I get the smell of stale wee out of clothes?

[littlejo67]

I am washing my mums clothes. She is disabled and using continence products. I have to wash her clothes twice on a long wash and then tumble. I have tried using bio liquid and sometimes conditioner, They still stink of wee really badly. Any colour safe ideas? Its grossing me out!

ammonia? So erm, white vinegar?

DH says sodium bicarb

I've washed washable nappies and managed to get them really clean by doing the following:

Put the soiled items through a rinse cycle.

Wash on as high a temperature as possible. Use powder not liquid (don't know why but makes a difference to freshness if something was nifty before it went in). Ariel do a colour protect one was some sort of added stain remover that is very good. It's a purple box.

Add a scoop of soda crystals instead of extra powde if you have hard water. It's cheaper and works just as well.

Don't tumble dry. Line dry where possible. Sunlight has antibacterial properties and being blown about in the wind freshens things up.

how about using nappysan or mio fresh?

they make my (babies) cloth nappies clean fresh and no smell at all.

I also rinse my cloth nappies before washing at 60 with nappy san.

(i find that most things wash fine at 60 and dont run no matter what the label says)

I second the napisan I think that might work.

I would say soak for a while in Nappisan too. Also would it be possible to encourage your mum to drink a it more, the more dilute her urine is the less malodorous it will be.

Napisan is great but only really on whites. It does fade other stuff very quickly.

Yy napisan is not much cop on non-whites and without much soaking.

The Ariel powder is called acti-lift. I bought it when it was on offer. I was going to get a new washing machine until I tried it because the liquid and low temp cycles were making it a bit whiffy and I thought it had a fault.

powders generally contain bleaching agents, liquids don't (hence "Persil washes whiter" but makes colours fade)

powders are better on a hotter wash as they don't dissolve well in cool.

You may need to review the continence products since it sounds like they are leaking or getting over-full (sorry TMI). The GP should refer mum to the local continence service for assessment, they will (should) deliver monthly and collect (weekly) a special bin. There are (at least) three grades. You may need to get some big stretch pants to fit. You might also want to get some washable seat pads (which are available in floral or plain colours) but I think you have to buy them yourself. There are mail-order companies with a good range. In an emergency you can use bedmats, or a pampers product which I think is intended for cots, but is big enough to cover the seat of an armchair with wings to tuck in.

Actually the powder not dissolving properly was why I switched to liquids in the first place but I have been impressed with the Ariel. Adding a scoop of soda crystals instead of a second scoop of powder gives same cleaning performance and saves a few quid.

I would give up on protecting the colours and go for cleanliness. I would soak for an hour in Ecover washing liquid and then wash at 60C or higher with Persil bio on a long cotton wash, also using fragrant fabric conditioner. I would then line dry them in a breeze, or tumble dry with a special sheet.

I would put the (bio) powder directly into the drum together with some soda crystals. don't use a lot of powder and no conditioner.
use white vinegar instead of conditioner and do an extra rinse, don't worry about the vinegar smell, that dissapears as soon as the clothes are dry.
and I also agree with piglet, a referral is a good idea.

"I would put the (bio) powder directly into the drum"

Oh yes, I do that too (after experiencing the revolting slime and mildew you get round the dispenser drawers)