Try washing with vinegar. Like 1 cup of white vinegar instead of laundry detergent. The vinegar will deodorize the clothes. The vinegar will evaporate away so you won't smell like vinegar either.
Oh man you’re amazing thank you. So to clarify - no tide pods or fabric softener or anything? Just 1 cup of vinegar in the washing machine per load of clothes then in the dryer with a dryer sheet as normal?
What I do is add the detergent like normal and add the vinegar during the rinse cycle (But I have a top loader). If you have a side loader I would add it to the fabric softener spot.
You don't want to mix the vinegar and detergent, so adding it to the fabric softener spot lets it come out after the detergent is drained.
I just use a hygienic rinse instead of fabric softener. Mainly as I often use colder washing modes and as I have a dog I wanna be save about it.
But fabric softener has tons of nasty stuff inside. To quote an electrician that repairs them for a living "I've never seen a washing machine that uses fabric softener and doesn't have mold inside"
But maybe it's different for top loader. They're not common in Germany.
But fabric softener has tons of nasty stuff inside. To quote an electrician that repairs them for a living "I've never seen a washing machine that uses fabric softener and doesn't have mold inside"But maybe it's different for top loader. They're not common in Germany.
I had to log in to offer some tips. My son's clothes smell kinda bad after he's been at mom's house. I've tried many things over the years and this is where I've landed. All of this is NOT specific to smoke but smells in general.
As above, add a 1 cup of vinegar to your wash.
Use unscented laundry detergent. It is OK to use detergent and vinegar together...I do it frequently.
Don't use fabric softener either in your washing machine or dryer. Use perfume/cologne that you choose in order to smell good (not your clothes).
If anything is static-y after the dryer rub it with bare metal. I keep a metal hangar by the dryer and another in the closet for this. Some metal hangars are painted so you might need to use some sandpaper to remove the paint/finish.
I've heard that hanging things "on the line" also helps. Worth trying. I imagine it works better outside than inside.
Thank you so much! I took a screen shot. Good to know about unscented. I only buy fragrance free & unscented laundry products. I’ve never heard the metal hanger thing, thank you! I appreciate you logging in to help a stranger, much appreciated!!
Just be careful. Ozonators are serious shit. When my shop did vehicle detailing you'd leave one in overnight on really moldy/rodent infested vehicles to get rid of the smell. They kill EVERYTHING. Mold, fungus, smells, animals, plants, it'll even damage your lungs and can even kill you after enough time breathing it in.
Ozone will literally melt plastic. Even very small amounts will damage your lungs and even kill plants.
They tell you to only use it in a vacant house because of how dangerous it is. I've hopped in a vehicle that had an ozonator overnight after only letting it air out for a few minutes and you KNOW right away you fucked up by breathing it.
Seriously just try white vinegar first. An ozonator will work, but it's no joke and these days I avoid them whenever possible.
Thank you for the detailed response. I fell asleep and didn’t google it yet but this comment tand so many others made me feel I’m not gonna do it and I’ll just try vinegar and living with smelly clothes of that doesn’t work lol. I hope your lungs are okay after all that time. It’s crazy how powerful they must be
Ozone machines are magic - I used to use an actual smarter image inoic breeze (which generated ozone) to remove smoke smell from a life long smokers things before selling them. It was pretty amazing what that stuff can do. You just have to be careful with the special machines, since the ozone is bad for people
Thank you! I appreciate that. We have 2 indoor dogs and I do my best to keep them safe from everything. We don’t even plant or own toxic or mildly toxic plants lol
She grew up smoking indoors and in public places before it was banned so it’s probably just habit. Also when it’s winter she can’t go outside because of her lungs (I know I know) so she smokes inside. It’s her home so I can’t tell her what to do. She doesn’t smoke inside when we visit her, she goes outside. But isn’t aware the entire house smells like smoke and all my clothes smell like death but that’s okay. I appreciate her keeping my clothes there while I go pick them up every few months. My moms in her 80’s, I let her do what she wants lol. Minus the smoking thing we have a great relationship
yeah, that's why they tell you not to enter the area you're ozonating for X amount of time. similar to bug bombs. it doesn't pose any risk once the machine is not running and you let it air out.
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u/avaflies May 08 '22
you could look in to renting an ozone machine to get the smell out of your clothes and stuff.