Getting rid of established sweaty whiff in clothing - can it be done??

[GlomOfNit]

This is going to make me sound like a goblin, but I have a problem with smelly sweating. I've tried most deodorants out there, but very little will stop my pits smelling by evening. Michum, in particular, is useless! I shower rigorously daily and use soap and tea tree oil shower gel on my armpits.

So a lot of my favourite clothing has permanently whiffy armpit areas. I'm a reluctant binner of clothing because of the environmental impact of binning and buying again, but there are a few things I've had to retire because - fresj out of the wash - they smell as soon as my body heat has warmed up the arm pit area. I very seldom wear something I've had close to my armpits more than once before washing, which bugs me because it's not dirty as such, but I have to wash that often to try and stave off the inevitable permanent pit-stink. Some things take the smell worse than others. Fat Face Simone dresses, for instance (which I live in). Some cotton items but not everything made of cotton. Synthetic thermal vests (uniqlo and M&S) which I also live in, under pinafores and dungarees - they get really smelly though I wash after each use.

I have some lovely Seasalt PJs, the fine cotton lawn ones, which are pretty much unusable now (perimenopausal night sweats, not wholly controlled by HRT) and I'm really careful with new clothing, but it's really demoralising.

Is there anything that can be done to revive the things that I feel I've ruined? I wash at 40 for colours, use Bioleaf or similar 'eco' liquid detergent (I like using this because I buy refills at a local zero waste/fair trade shop and I like to support them, but happy to buy something else if it works) and an 'eco' fabric softener. My family's clothing doesn't come out with stinky pits so it's me, not the washing machine. :-( We currently dry things on radiators and a Lakeland heated airer, will dry outside when winter's buggered off.

Vinegar? Special sports wash?? Bicarb??

I have used white vinegar on the smelly armpits of DSs sports clothes. Worked every time.

Spray with white vinegar

Napisan or a laundry disinfectant.

Yes, vinegar! Also using Dettol Laundry Cleanser.

To give you hope I had this in perimenopause and it was one of the symptoms that totally disappeared of its own accord once I had menopause.

Vodka! I was about to bin DC's blazer and PE kit but read this online and it's worked.

You use bicarb and water. Rub or pour the mixture onto the armpits, let it sit for 30 mins - 1 hour. The bicarb takes the smell of sweat out of the clothes and also removes the yellow staining caused by sweat on white T-shirts. Then pop in the wash and the smell is gone.

Good suggestions. My mum used to pour some Dettol into the wash because my brother’s clothes used to smell and it worked.

I would agree with Dettol laundry cleanser! You put it in the softener part of the washing dispenser drawer. Has really helped with my husband’s towels (they seem to smell after one use!). It might also be worth considering a more fierce detergent too.

I'd try a laundry disinfectant such as dettol, it's the only thing that works on our gym gear.

Yes! I use 2 products alongside non-bio liquid. I think bio would be far better but I have allergies. HG powder for sports clothes of ours, or dr beckmans of odour remover.

Have had the same issue and honestly you need some stronger detergent for the offending items. Have some bio detergent as an extra wash every so often. You need something that will break down the bacteria which is what the whiffy smell is!

I had this problem - to the extent that I would never actually wear clothes I really liked in case I ruined them. Using soap instead of shower gel made a huge difference - I got that from mumsnet.

The bicarb tip above is interesting. Is there anything bicarb can’t do? Off topic but last week I used bread soda to clean my 10 year old limestone kitchen floor. Oh. My. God. Amazing!

Some of this is we wash at low temperatures. I think 60 or 90 would eradicate the smell.

Thank you for the tips - I'm passing them on to DS who has a great tee-shirt with yellowing armpits!

I had this too and the thing that fixed it - stopping deodorant! It was someone on here who advised.

Things like Mitchum and the super strength ones actually block your pores so you aren’t as clean as you think.

You do have to detox from the cumulative effects of years of anti perspirant and as a sweaty beast I was SO paranoid but after a couple of weeks of gently scrubbing armpits and using rock deodorant, I got to a stage where I smell less now than I ever did and my clothes never have a whiff.

I’ve recently started using Wild deodorant as I missed having a smell but the crystal rock is my go to for all sweaty stuff now.

I have this problem too 😳

I started using Driclor antiperspirant which really helped the sweaty-ness.

For clothes, I'd second the suggests of white vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. I also put a few drops of eucalyptus oil on the offending areas just before I bung it in the wash - leave it to soak in for a minute or so. It works really well.
I also always wash at 60C or 40C with biological powder mixed with soda crystals.

Put a slug of white vinegar in the rinse compartment of the washing machine every wash. May take a couple of washes if the smell is really well established. You can buy 5l cannisters of white vinegar on the internet

Another vote for vinegar - it doesn't have to be white btw.

Either soak clothes in a water/vinegar mix - 1 cup of vinegar in a washing up bowl of water, or, put the cup of vinegar in the drum of the washing machine, let the cycle start so the clothes are wet and swished around a bit, then turn the machine off and leave for, an hour?, or until you remember to switch it back on.

Sure maximum cream anti perspirant
Dr beckmann spray for arm pit stains. I buy it from amazon in a pack of 4 and use it on my smelly sportswear.

Also fabulosa stuff for the fabric dispenser bit of the drawer (or other laundry sanitiser)

I remember reading somewhere to soak gym clothes in soda crystals as you can't wash them in very hot water as they are special fabrics. Then wash them as normal. I have done this for old running tops and it worked. So this should work for normal clothes.

Unfortunately lots of clothes are now made of "special" fabrics especially sports gear so you can't wash them at high temperatures.

ACE bleach for colours and Ariel. If I try to use any of the nicer more environmentally friendly tablets, my bathrobe and towels don't come out smelling nice clean.

The softer tablets are ok for normal use clothes but not for gym clothes or towels (for me obviously)

Halo Sports Wash.

Wash everything twice at least.

Iron clothing and steam to kill any remaining bacteria.

Before wearing new clothes, shower and pop on freshly washed bra. Do not wear the same bra twice until the Odour is under control.

My DS ends up with sweaty smelling clothes, I use dettol laundry cleanser and find that powder rather than liquid/pods work better. I like the Ecover non bio powder