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Housekeeping

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Original poster

Should I have washed all these clothes?

18 replies

midlifehope · 06/01/2016 13:24

My friend has very kindly gifted me lots of clothes her dd has grown out of for my dd who is slightly younger. I've put all of these in the wardrobe as they were clean but I have now noticed a strong odour coming from them. It's just the smell of somebody else's house. But it's quite overpowering and made me gag one morning! I am now faced with a gargantuan task i've taken them all back out again and washing and drying them. I don't really fancy this as it's the middle of winter and it will cost a fortune in terms of electricity and the tumble dryer. Any ideas what I can do apart from spraying a load of for fabreeze in my daughters wardrobe? They are good quality clothes so I really don't want to throw them out.?! HelpI know it's a silly thing to get stressed out about but it is stressing me out!

OP posts:
Kingfisherfree · 06/01/2016 13:26

Yes it is weird how other people's stuff smells so strong! Grin I would wash until the smells gone.

Original poster
midlifehope · 06/01/2016 13:34

Yes I think I will kingfisher!

OP posts:
Original poster
midlifehope · 06/01/2016 13:35

She has a pet free and smoke free home to so it's definitely not that!

OP posts:
Notso · 06/01/2016 13:51

I would wash them and then leave them out on the line for a few days, rain or shine. I used to do this with 2nd hand reusable nappies, it's really good for them and more importantly gets rid or smells.
DS1 has two close friends whose parents must use vast quantities of fabric softener and air freshener as they smell so strongly of it. I cannot bear the smell of them. After DS has been to their house I have to subtly get him to change his clothes.
It sound awful and ridiculous writing it down but it really makes me feel sick. I've always been a bit sensitive to smells my Mums perfume made me gag when I was a child. It's got worse recently I developed a kind of super smell sense when pregnant with DC3 which never went away.

MyBalletShoes · 06/01/2016 13:54

Could you take them to a laundrette so that you can do a couple of big loads in one go? Might be cheaper than using your own smaller machine numerous times.

MummySparkle · 06/01/2016 13:55

How about putting a couple of items in with every wash that you do? It might take longer but would be less of a gargantuan task

vvviola · 06/01/2016 13:55

I would wash them, but can you do it in phases (e.g. When you are putting on a load of whites, grab a few white things that you think you would like to use relatively soon). That way you aren't trying to do massive extra loads of washing when it's hard to dry things.

Or, you could tumble dry (my drier has an "airing" programme) or hang on line for a while to see if that is enough to freshen them up a bit until they have been worn once & can go in the wash as normal.

Original poster
midlifehope · 06/01/2016 16:37

All good ideas thank you. It's amazing how sensitive your sense of smell is during / after pregnancy. Just done 2 full loads - hopefully have got rid of the worst of it. Will have to weed out items from her wardrobe as and when I find them! Am paranoid about the smell leaching into her other clothes but think I'm being a bit ove sensitive about it!

OP posts:
rabbit123 · 06/01/2016 17:49

God, I wash new clothes that I've brought home from the shop, nevermind gifted from other people. You don't know where they've been or who's had their mits on them.

Original poster
midlifehope · 06/01/2016 21:35

Good point rabbit123. I've just got a new tumble dryer so I've blitzed them.... Just a few things left in the wardrobe that need a freshen up but it was quicker than I thiught!

OP posts:
goingtotown · 10/01/2016 23:19

Rabbit. You wash new clothes!

Qwebec · 14/01/2016 06:34

There was a thread a while ago about store baught clothes and everyone who worked in a shop said Wash before you put them on.

mrsmugoo · 14/01/2016 06:40

"Cost you a fortune"? Hmm

Just stick a few at a time in with your regular washes and stick the rest somewhere out the way so you don't notice the whiff.

BlackeyedShepherdsbringsheep · 20/01/2016 22:33

bin bag. bicarb, shake. leave. take out and sniff. if smelly wash., if not you have saved quite a bit of electricity. the smell does not alwys go when washed. Ihave a scarf that has been washed and still smells of previous owner.

SweetieDrops · 20/01/2016 22:38

I wash new clothes too, I've read somewhere that they spray them with pesticide type stuff to keep moths away before they ship them.

stealthsquiggle · 20/01/2016 22:43

If she is going to wear them immediately, then definitely wash them. I know exactly what you mean.

If not, then I would pack them in a vacuum storage bag to contain the smell until spring or good enough weather that they can be washed and go out on the line.

rabbit123 · 20/01/2016 23:14

Of course I wash new clothes. How many times have you been to a shop, tried something on and then not bought it? They don't wash the clothes before they go back out on the hanger.

INeedNewShoes · 20/01/2016 23:21

I wash new clothes before I wear them too.

If you think to glance at the washing machine when you're washing new stuff you will see more bubbles than usual - all the lovely chemicals they treat the clothes with.

I also don't like the idea of wearing something that 30 other people have tried on and who may not have been particularly clean at the time!

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