Help! Smelly laundry woes...

[JustMe]

I am reading about the products with interest as ds' clothes retain their sweaty smell after washing and in the dryer. I had done some googling and looks like vinegar and/or baking soda can be used in different ways, although most seem to recommend soaking clothes before washing and/or washing as soon as the sweat happens/very little at a time. I can't really do that as this is a daily thing with ds (he's a runner), so thinking about if I want to just try adding vinegar to his laundry and then try the Sweat X jse107 suggested if that does not work. I also don't do well with strong perfumey smells, so don't know if I would try the Lysol product, although that is good to know about.

[Mom to Brandon and 2 cats]

Tell me about this Lysol laundry sanitizer...I saw it at Costco and was tempted to grab one...but there was an overwhelming smell of perfume nearby that could have possibly been coming from it and I'm so sensitive to smells that I didn't want to risk it. Is it strongly scented? Does the scent wash out easily? I already had to switch laundry detergents because Tide Original switched the scent (without changing the packaging...grrrr) and now I can't stand it.

I like the scent - it smells "clean" to me.
Husband has sensitive skin, and we switched to the free and clear laundry detergent awhile back, the sanitizer doesn't seem to bother his skin.

[PunkyBoo]

I am reading about the products with interest as ds' clothes retain their sweaty smell after washing and in the dryer. I had done some googling and looks like vinegar and/or baking soda can be used in different ways, although most seem to recommend soaking clothes before washing and/or washing as soon as the sweat happens/very little at a time. I can't really do that as this is a daily thing with ds (he's a runner), so thinking about if I want to just try adding vinegar to his laundry and then try the Sweat X jse107 suggested if that does not work. I also don't do well with strong perfumey smells, so don't know if I would try the Lysol product, although that is good to know about.

I can't speak for the Lysol or other commercial products, but I use baking soda on DS1's clothes. His socks in particular are atrocious. I put 1/2- 1 cup of baking soda in the washer before putting the clothes in. I seriously took a giant whiff of one of the clean socks the other day and I could not smell anything. I have a very sensitive sense of smell and can't tolerate any scented products so this is working well for me. I buy the big bags of baking soda at Costco and keep it in the laundry room with a measuring cup in it.
I used to use vinegar but sometimes the towels would smell yucky once wet. I've had no complaints since skipping vinegar and using baking soda

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[JustMe]

I can't speak for the Lysol or other commercial products, but I use baking soda on DS1's clothes. His socks in particular are atrocious. I put 1/2- 1 cup of baking soda in the washer before putting the clothes in. I seriously took a giant whiff of one of the clean socks the other day and I could not smell anything. I have a very sensitive sense of smell and can't tolerate any scented products so this is working well for me. I buy the big bags of baking soda at Costco and keep it in the laundry room with a measuring cup in it.
I used to use vinegar but sometimes the towels would smell yucky once wet. I've had no complaints since skipping vinegar and using baking soda

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Thanks! I wil try this first! Do you let water come into the washer with the baking soad before adding the clothes or just do it all at once (hoping it is all at once)?

[PunkyBoo]

Thanks! I wil try this first! Do you let water come into the washer with the baking soad before adding the clothes or just do it all at once (hoping it is all at once)?

I just dump the baking soda into the empty drum, (add a color catcher if it's a colored load) then add the clothes. Every now and then some baking soda gets clumped up on clothes after being washed (my washer doesn't have an agitator) so sometimes I have to run those through the washer again, but usually I can just scrub that off with a damp rag.

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[JustMe]

I am coming to this thread again as I have to do something different. There may not be any new advice, but its worth a try. Ds, a runner, ends up with very stinky clothes. I am sensitive to scents and can't do bleach, so hesitant to use some of the products mentioned. I know people say the lysol produce doesn't have much of a scent, but I tend to get impacted by scents that others do not. I see SweatX has a fragrance free version, but its sooo expensive. If you have used that, does it really last 45 loads or do you frequently have to double the amount as is written on Amazon? I guess that could work if we just use it for ds.

Vinegar seems to work okay sometimes, but then all of a sudden I do a batch of my laundry and realize that either the washing machine, dryer, or both do have that smell.

Its important to note that I have one of those water saver washing machine that does not let me open it once it gets started. I am doing a cleaning cycle with vinegar right now and wiped down the dryer and screen/vent with vinegar. I dont think we can add baking soda to laundry as there is not enough water to dissolve it with the water saving feature. Please make recommendations even if it the same as above!

[twowhat?]

I am coming to this thread again as I have to do something different. There may not be any new advice, but its worth a try. Ds, a runner, ends up with very stinky clothes. I am sensitive to scents and can't do bleach, so hesitant to use some of the products mentioned. I know people say the lysol produce doesn't have much of a scent, but I tend to get impacted by scents that others do not. I see SweatX has a fragrance free version, but its sooo expensive. If you have used that, does it really last 45 loads or do you frequently have to double the amount as is written on Amazon? I guess that could work if we just use it for ds.

Vinegar seems to work okay sometimes, but then all of a sudden I do a batch of my laundry and realize that either the washing machine, dryer, or both do have that smell.

Its important to note that I have one of those water saver washing machine that does not let me open it once it gets started. I am doing a cleaning cycle with vinegar right now and wiped down the dryer and screen/vent with vinegar. I dont think we can add baking soda to laundry as there is not enough water to dissolve it with the water saving feature. Please make recommendations even if it the same as above!

OP here! I would try the Unscented Lysol Laundry Sanitizer for sure. It's easy to find and cheap enough that it's worth trying. I'm really sensitive to scents and the unscented doesn't bother me at all - there's no perfume. Only a slight chemical/alcohol-like smell that goes away after the extra rinse and after drying.

What I do is wash a load of stinky laundry using my normal method (normal detergent, normal cycle, normal temp, etc) to get them "clean". Then I re-run that same load of laundry WITH the recommended amount of Lysol Laundry Sanitizer added to the detergent tray. I do NOT add more detergent and I do NOT add anything else. JUST the laundry sanitizer, straight into the detergent tray! I set the machine to the longest/highest soil cycle (so that it tumbles for longer), and I add an extra rinse or even two rinses to ensure all of the chemical is rinsed out. This works SUPER GREAT for me. Sure it takes twice the amount of time, but for a stinky load of laundry, it's WORTH IT! This (and also ensuring everything is bone dry before storing) has 100% solved my stinky laundry issues, and in particular I'm really happy about the dog laundry now! Our dogs are smelly and one has super greasy skin. I'm so pleased I can finally get dog laundry smelling CLEAN!

eta: I have also used this with GREAT SUCCESS in a wash bucket. I have 2 teens and we often use cloth pads. I keep a bucket of water with a couple of capfuls of Lysol Laundry Sanitizer added, and all reusable period underwear/pads get tossed into this bucket (after first rinsing out the pads in the shower). They soak a few days, never getting stinky, until I have gathered enough for a load and then I wash them all normally (normal detergent, etc...no additional laundry sanitizer needed). Everything comes out fresh. So that might be an option, to soak his clothes in a bucket with the laundry sanitizer until you are ready to wash a load. Prior to doing this, the period underwear would develop a horrible funky smell!

[JustMe]

Thanks twowhat?? I will pick up the lysol sanitizer.

[gatorsmom]

Thanks twowhat?? I will pick up the lysol sanitizer.

I agree with Twowhat- try the Lysol Laundry sanitizer. And use it exactly the way she says. I do this too and I have good results. I agree with making sure the clothes are bone dry before putting them away. If not you may end up with the smell again.

I also wanted to add that someone here recommended the Rockin’ Green brand detergent for getting rid of smells and I have to say it really works. Dd is the smelliest person in the house. Even a heavy load of laundry with Tide wasn’t completely getting rid of the BO smell in her leotards. This detergent cleaned her clothes completely. Love this stuff: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DL7LF8...ix=rockin+green

[jse107]

I am coming to this thread again as I have to do something different. There may not be any new advice, but its worth a try. Ds, a runner, ends up with very stinky clothes. I am sensitive to scents and can't do bleach, so hesitant to use some of the products mentioned. I know people say the lysol produce doesn't have much of a scent, but I tend to get impacted by scents that others do not. I see SweatX has a fragrance free version, but its sooo expensive. If you have used that, does it really last 45 loads or do you frequently have to double the amount as is written on Amazon? I guess that could work if we just use it for ds.

Vinegar seems to work okay sometimes, but then all of a sudden I do a batch of my laundry and realize that either the washing machine, dryer, or both do have that smell.

Its important to note that I have one of those water saver washing machine that does not let me open it once it gets started. I am doing a cleaning cycle with vinegar right now and wiped down the dryer and screen/vent with vinegar. I dont think we can add baking soda to laundry as there is not enough water to dissolve it with the water saving feature. Please make recommendations even if it the same as above!

I recommended the SweatX and although it's expensive, it really does last. You only use a capful. I also only use it on our workout/stinky clothes, so it's not used for every load of laundry (like the sheets).