How can I remove lingering sweat odour from school shirts?

[LittleBird74]

DS 14 wears short sleeved shirts to school. I’ve noticed after washing recently that they still have a faint sweat smell - seems worse after drying on the line rather than tumble dryer and I notice it while ironing.
He wears a clean shirt daily, showers or baths every day, deodorant and I never really notice any sweaty smell on him. I wash/dry/iron all shirts at the weekend and use fairy.
I’ve tried white vinegar spray under the arms, laundry disinfectant, special underarm spray for sweat smells and marks. I hang them open on the line for plenty of sun and fresh air.
Any idea what else I can try to get rid of this odour?

Pre soak with own brand oxy clean and then chuck a scoop in the wash too

Biological washing powder is only thing I’ve found unfortunately. But if it’s deep rooted and the pits are yellow I throw the shirt and use a new one.

Biological detergent and dettol laundry sanitiser. I also use half a scoop of vanish to keep them white.

I bought some stinky sports kit washing powder that might work. It was called gymwash.

I've found pet bed wash, rubbed into the smelly area, and then washed normally, to be very effective.

When DS's PE kit and blazer smell terrible, I do a vinegar soak (not just spritz, I leave it sitting in a bucket of warm water+vinegar overnight), then use laundry sanitiser - and wash hot and oxyclean if it's the PE kit (blazer is wool, so I can't). Seems to do the trick - I used to smell it wafting up from the pits when I ironed (well, steam generator iron, rather than classic iron) them, and don't any more.

I’ve started adding a scoop of sodium percarbonate to the drum when washing stinky gym / teenage boy t shirts. It has made a huge difference.

And it’s very fuss free - can’t be doing with spritzing spraying and soaking overnight as I don’t have the space!

These shirts might be too far gone and need replaced.

For the new ones before the smells set in, I use the astonish vinegar spray before washing, also the Dettol wash every so often. Seems to keep on top of it, but I do find once the smell is ingrained they need replacing.

I’ve tried all the armpit odour laundry sprays out there, I’ve tried gym wash, oxy powder etc. Nothing worked for me. The only thing I’ve had good results with is rubbing in a small amount of biological liquid detergent directly into the armpit of the shirt before it goes in the wash. Even then, it doesn’t work if the shirts are too far gone and the smell is really ingrained.

i soak in a cold water, vinegar and bi card solution. We have just worked out that our 15 year old was spraying his deodorant directly onto his wet underarms and then putting on his shirt.🙈🙈 shirts are wrecked. Never really thought I would have to explain how to use a can of deodorant.

Lidl sell a washing cleanser that I use in a prewash cycle that gets rid of lingering odours. White vinegar works as well.

This is what I do, it works!

In my experience teenage boys (and possibly girls I just don’t have any) require biological washing powder.

Use the long eco cycle. The shirt has more time in the water to get rid of sweat.

Just checking you are using a proper full length 40 degree cottons wash
so many people use the cool and/or quick wash and it’s not suitable for properly dirty or sweaty clothes

stick in a big scoop of gym wash https://www.gymwash.com/

Just checking you know that non-bio can't work on biological stains like sweat (and is a marketing gimmick that's generally not sold in other countries).
So you need bio washing powder or liquid, and bio only works at lower temperatures, hotter temperatures stop the enzymes working.

Very few people are actually sensitive to bio washing stuff, it's the perfumes and colours that can cause problems.

The odour is more intense if the shirts are polycotton.

Best to use pure cotton if possible.

bicarb for deodorising. also look at this: www.frenchsoaps.co.uk/products/agrumes-du-verger-laundry-fragrance-100ml

Thanks all, plenty of options to try.
He will get new shirts over the summer hols but it would be nice to freshen these up if possible!

I did not know this, thank you!

Replace the shirts and ensure showering takes place before school. Dry properly and then a medicated deodorant.

Don't let him go another month in those shirts, please. A pack of 2 or 3 shirts for the next few weeks won't cost much.

How else are you supposed to put on deodorant?