Old bedding smelling funky even after a wash.

[FatAndFiftySomething]

As the title, really. It gets washed in a machine at 60 degrees, line dried, washed with powder, no fabric conditioner.

Machine does regular 60 degree washes so is clean. Other fabrics eg clothes and newer bedding doesn’t have the same problem.

The bedding I’m talking about is maybe 20ish years old or possibly a bit older. I don’t want to get rid of it because there’s plenty of life left in it.

Any ideas?

And, apologies for such a dull post.

There’a not plenty of life left because it smells

Hotter and longer wash? Pre soak in something biological.

🤔 That is an extremely good point actually.

Prewash with something that kills bacteria then hot wash either powder only and line dry as a last try? Is it polycotton? It could be the synthetic fibres holding onto years of smells and time to retire it.

Do you mean use the pre wash on the machine, or just soak in a bucket for a few hours? I freely admit I’m not very adventurous with my machine settings, and I am guilty of thinking that a 60 degree wash is sufficient for everything that needs a little ‘extra’.

White vinegar or bicarb, half a cup added.

I was going to ask if it was polycotton too, it's quite a specific smell IME.

How would I know if it’s poly cotton? I think it’s cotton but the labels are long gone.

Do I add the vinegar or bicarbonate to the drum? And do a normal wash with powder etc?

Twe..? Get rid. There are some lovely covers to choose from x

I don’t buy into the laundry stripping thing generally but for 20 year old bedding that smells it’s got to be worth a try.

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/cleaning/a33588329/laundry-stripping/

We will obviously need pictures of the bath water afterwards.

I would do bio powder, a hotter wash and add some dettol laundry sanitiser
If that didn't work then I would get rid

Twenty years old? That's why it's funky. It's a duvet OAP (not that OAPS smell)

🤣

To be fair, I do have other bed linen. These things are spares. But I was just making up a bed today with ‘fresh’ stuff and was prompted to make this post.

If mine looked like that there is no way I’d show you a picture!

Ok, thanks everyone. I’ve got some ideas, if that doesn’t work I shall gracefully retire them.

If you have a dog, I use old cotton bedding as summer ‘blankets’ on my dog’s bed. She also inherits any towels that have begun to fray. She has my 30+ year old pink duvet cover on her bed at the moment!

How would I know if it’s poly cotton? I think it’s cotton but the labels are long gone

You might be able to tell by ironing it. I find it gives off the smell with the heat of the iron. Apart from that if you have something you know is 100% cotton you might be able to compare the two by feel.

If a 60 wash isn’t cutting it I wouldn’t waste time or money on trying to save it 🤷🏻‍♀️

I'd recommend adding napisan to the wash. If that doesn't work, I'd give up and put it in the rag bag (charity shops will take unsaleable textiles and sell them to the "rag man")

It’s poly cotton if it’s slimy
it sounds really grim and I think you should bin it

😂

Maybe the cotton has rotted due to age if it smells bad, I'd get new I'm afraid

Synthetic fibers do this. Buy 100% cotton - once you've swapped you'll never go back (feels so much nicer!).

Put it on a rinse first. Not a pre wash. A rinse. Then your normal wash. Then line dry in the sun. If it's not clean then, I have no idea why not! It's worthwhile reading the user manual to your washing machine to understand what the various cycles are doing.

First thing I do is to hand it outside for some time, perhaps a week. If it still smells, soak it in water with vinegar. Alternatively soaking in water with soda powder. Then wash again at 60, perhaps at 90 if material allows, adding vinegar into the last rinse.