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Disposable underarm sweat pads

84 replies

LifeIsGoodish · 24/03/2016 21:48

Does anyone use these to protect their clothes day-to-day? There are lots on Amazon, but always mixed reviews.

I don't want to rustle, and I don't want any added fragrance.

I would want to use them mostly in stretch fabrics, like T-shirts, and in light fabrics, like viscose, as well as cotton.

Can anyone recommend a make?

OP posts:
hugoagogo · 24/03/2016 21:56

No idea, but I assume you have tried every deodorant going?
Triple dry works for me.

dudsville · 24/03/2016 21:58

I will Google this at sinew point to see how they work. Is it just wet patches you want to control?

Chippednailvarnish · 24/03/2016 22:05

Botox is meant to be great...

lougle · 24/03/2016 22:09

A slight tangent, but have you tried Sure's Maximum Protection deodorant sticks? I'm a nurse and have to do lots of heavy turning of unconscious patients. I was very conscious that I was hot and sticky part way through my shifts. Now, I can go for the whole 13.5 hour shift and still smell as fresh as when I started.

You need to follow the advice to put it on at night, so that it calibrates to your body heat.

Bolshybookworm · 24/03/2016 22:17

One word. Driclor. Itches like hell but it's changed my life. No underarm sweat AT ALL for about 2 weeks. I reckon the underarm pads would get very stinky for me (pre-driclor).

Judydreamsofhorses · 24/03/2016 22:36

I was really sweaty when I was on the pill and used Driclor - the reason it can be itchy/stingy is it reacting with any moisture at all on your skin. It sounds nuts, but my GP recommended giving my underarms a rub with some bicarbonate of soda before applying it to absorb any moisture. What a difference.

LifeIsGoodish · 24/03/2016 22:37

Yes, I've tried those super-max-antiperspirants. They work, but itch like hell. Some makes I can't even tolerate for an hour, let alone overnight. I'd rather reserve the nasty chemicals for, say, a summer holiday.

It's not so much that I'm a heavy sweater (I am, tho not hyperhydrosis heavy) but that my tops reek after a few weeks. My personal hygiene is good and I launder shirts after one wear. The shirts smell sweet when I put them on, but my body warmth seems to switch on a hideous pong of stale sweat. It's only from the armpits of the shirt, and it's definitely the shirt, not me, because if I take the shirt off straight away, it reeks but I still smell fresh. And it's hideously embarrassing.

I am so fed up of stinking mid-morning, and of having to bin my shirts and buy new every couple of months.

OP posts:
banivani · 24/03/2016 22:50

Underarm shields are great, aren't they. I used to work in a dry-cleaner's and learnt to extol the virtues of them far and wide. But regarding smelly tops I've found that (and this is also professional laundry knowledge) that they often need to be washed hotter to really kill odours. Depends a bit on your body chemistry and so on. If you're wearing cotton tops try washing them at 60 degrees at least or even hotter. They don't last as long but hold up better than you think.

CointreauVersial · 24/03/2016 23:18

Get some Sports Clothes and Workwear wash (various brands available; I get mine from Tesco), pre-treat the pits of your clothes with Vanish or similar, and wash at a higher temperature.

Chippednailvarnish · 24/03/2016 23:21

Napisan is great for deodorising

Bolshybookworm · 24/03/2016 23:26

Thanks for the tip judy!

nothruroad · 24/03/2016 23:31

I used to have this problem but I use Halo sport wash now and it has totally stopped it.

LifeIsGoodish · 25/03/2016 00:12

Thanks for these suggestions.

I shall try the bicarbonate next time I use the heavy duty stuff.

I shall try washing cottons at a hotter temperature, but I don't think I can wash viscose at a high temp. I've tried Vanish on the armpits - no effect. Ditto Dettox laundry sanitiser. The only thing I have so far found to have an effect is white vinegar. The clothes still have to be chucked after a few months because the underarms are bleached, but at least they don't stink!

I'll have a look at sports washes, but probably won't be able to use them because of my allergies.

OP posts:
LifeIsGoodish · 25/03/2016 00:13

Would still like to know if anyone can recommend a disposable underarm pad!

OP posts:
SuburbanRhonda · 25/03/2016 00:18

You can wash viscose at high temperatures. It's structurally the same as cotton Smile

Aquamarine70 · 25/03/2016 11:18

My DH used them but said they were rubbish. It's hard to position the pad where it needs to sit under your armoit as you have to stick it on the garment before putting it in. It would be in the wrong spot & you couldn't reposition & restick it again.

Hopefully · 25/03/2016 11:49

I found my clothes actually smelt less, and I felt less sticky when I switched to crystal deodorant. I think the chemicals in deodorant cling to fabric (you often see it on white tshirts and men's shirts) and lock the smell in more.

It took a few days for my body to 'adjust' to crystal deodorant, but I swear I actually sweat less now and feel totally unsticky and don't smell when I do. My sister always used to complain about being sweaty and found the same. It's a bit of a leap of faith though! Xx

Tokelau · 25/03/2016 11:53

Perhaps it's the viscose? I don't sweat much, but if I sweat a little in a cotton top there's no smell. If I sweat a little in a viscose top, I can smell BO! It seems to be the material that makes me smell.

ThomasSofty · 25/03/2016 11:59

I bought some from HEMA when I was last near a shop, and really like them. They are all quite expensive though, aren't they? I tried making my own reusable ones when I had a sewing machine, but they were too bulky really.

dudsville · 25/03/2016 12:22

I used to get this. I know that experience of putting on a clean top and it instantly going smelly. I thought that this is the bacteria being re-enlivened by the body warmth and that thought helped me to get rid of all my tops that weren't 100% cotton. I suffer this less with cotton but sounds like you still have the problem and I don't have any advice to offer but there are some good suggestions here, god luck!

Bolshybookworm · 25/03/2016 13:00

I agree with what hopefully said. Before I discovered driclor, I used to use aluminium free deodorant (bionsen). I was still sweaty but it stopped my tops from going all crusty and white under the armpits. Sure, dove etc used to destroy my clothes- think something in my sweat combines with them!

MissBeaHaving · 25/03/2016 13:20

Not tried the pads but I've tried most of the deodorants mentioned above,none worked for me. The only deodorant that has helped is Mitchum roll on,it lasts 24 hours even in the summer.

goldfinch01 · 25/03/2016 13:29

I used to have the same problem with tops not smelling fresh after they had been washed at 30 degrees. However after washing at 40 degrees I found them much better and for me, tumble drying cotton (not synthetics incase they shrink) also seems to keep them fresher than airdrying inside.

ppeatfruit · 25/03/2016 13:39

Yes I agree with Hopefully about the crystal deodorants, they work very well, I think a lot of people have trouble with them because they don't let them dry naturally. (If you towel after applying wet it removes the crystals and the way it works!) if you see why I mean.

I sometimes use a mix of essential oil too, T tree and lavender work very well.

GummyGoddess · 25/03/2016 15:43

I used to have the same problem because I was washing my clothes at 40 as the washing liquid told me that was a high enough temperature. I now wash everything at 60 and have not had this problem since so I guess washing at 40 doesn't kill all the bacteria.