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Smelly pants


mommyoffive
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Help me out on this one

 

 

Dh bought me a pair of pants for Christmas.  I tried them on didn't notice them smelling at all.  

 

I wore them without washing and they smelled horrible.  Like a really bad chemical smell.  I had to shower when I got home, because my legs smelled so bad. 

 

So I just washed them with other clothes and now the smell transferred to all those clothes and the pants still smell. 

 

I rewashed the other clothes with a fragrant detergent (normally we don't use one).    They smelled fine coming out of the washer, but now smell bad out of the dryer.  What? 

 

I am thinking I might have to get rid of the pants. 

 

 

So tell me how do I get the load of clothes  I washed with the pants to smell ok? 

 

How do I get these pants not to stink? 

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What material and any washing instructions on the pants that is causing the problem?

As a kid, I was ultra sensitive to synthetic material so my dad would either presoak with bleach or vinegar before washing (hand wash or washing machine) and then he hangs them up to air dry them. For me, it tends to by the clothing that contains nylon/polyester that don’t smell as nice after washing, 100% cotton or linen were okay.

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Am I the only one who now has Phoebe singing “Smelly Cat†stuck in their head after reading this thread title?

I would try vinegar and baking soda in the wash for the other clothes and then the original smelly pants separately.

 

 

Um me.

So I am not weird. 

 

 

I will give that a try. 

 

 

Ugh and I really like the fit of these pants too. 

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I had the same problem last year with a pair of dark denim jeans. I tried everything, including several washes in all temperatures with a variety of detergents and methods. I even let them "air dry" in the garage thinking they'd off gas or something. They stunk so bad my son moved them to the shed with the lawn mower. They were out there for 11 months!!! (I was pregnant for 9 of those and couldn't wear them anyway so I forgot about them.) We went to the shed a few months ago, saw them, AND THEY STILL STUNK. It wasn't as strong, but the smell was there.  I trashed them. I never trash anything, I always donate or give away. But these were total trash. 

 

I hope you have better luck. I was bummed. It was a pair identical to a pair I already owned (which did not have the same stink).

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It's usually black garments, yes?  I use Synthropol, from Dharma Trading, the first time I wash anything that might run - with black clothes being at the top of the "might run" list.  It surrounds excess dye particles (that haven't bonded to the fabric) so they can be washed away in the rinse water.  It has worked for me in the past with that nasty gasoline-smelling dye. 

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Maybe try Biz. It works great on teenage boy funk. I would soak the pants in it for a couple of hours. Then wash and maybe line dry outside.

 

Also, biokleen bac-out might work.

Thank you. Not the OP, but I have a smelly situation going on here and will try these, too.

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It's usually black garments, yes?  I use Synthropol, from Dharma Trading, the first time I wash anything that might run - with black clothes being at the top of the "might run" list.  It surrounds excess dye particles (that haven't bonded to the fabric) so they can be washed away in the rinse water.  It has worked for me in the past with that nasty gasoline-smelling dye. 

 

Does this work with dye that tends to rub off?  I haven't had smelly pants, but I've had dark dye rub off on my legs during wearing, I assume because the dye wasn't properly bonded to the fabric. This happened with pants that had been washed several times and STILL had dye rub off on me.

 

I looked up answers online, and discovered that the dye-rub-off is a thing that happens to many people, so apparently I'm not going crazy.

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Am I the only one who now has Phoebe singing “Smelly Cat†stuck in their head after reading this thread title?

I would try vinegar and baking soda in the wash for the other clothes and then the original smelly pants separately.

 

 

Yes, me! 

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Does this work with dye that tends to rub off? I haven't had smelly pants, but I've had dark dye rub off on my legs during wearing, I assume because the dye wasn't properly bonded to the fabric. This happened with pants that had been washed several times and STILL had dye rub off on me.

 

I looked up answers online, and discovered that the dye-rub-off is a thing that happens to many people, so apparently I'm not going crazy.

To set dye sometimes soaking with salt works great. I use the bucket method of soaking, rinse, then wash like normal. I buy fabrics from different places and use this all the time if they are homemade. I have used it on my jeans too. No way was I letting the pants that actually fit have to get thrown away. Lol

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Does this work with dye that tends to rub off?  I haven't had smelly pants, but I've had dark dye rub off on my legs during wearing, I assume because the dye wasn't properly bonded to the fabric. This happened with pants that had been washed several times and STILL had dye rub off on me.

 

I looked up answers online, and discovered that the dye-rub-off is a thing that happens to many people, so apparently I'm not going crazy.

 

 

I had the same thing happen to me last year with a shirt dh bought me. 

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Does this work with dye that tends to rub off?  I haven't had smelly pants, but I've had dark dye rub off on my legs during wearing, I assume because the dye wasn't properly bonded to the fabric. This happened with pants that had been washed several times and STILL had dye rub off on me.

 

I looked up answers online, and discovered that the dye-rub-off is a thing that happens to many people, so apparently I'm not going crazy.

 

Yes, it works for dyes that rub off (called "crocking"), and those that run in the wash.  This is what I use.  You need no more than a tablespoon for a large load of wash.  In the vast majority of cases it removes the fugitive dye without affecting the dye that has chemically fixed to the fabric.  In other words, it shouldn't fade the fabric at all.  In a very few cases I've had items, like one of dh's red polo shirts, where the original dye was never properly fixed.  (It ran in the wash every time before I used the Synthrapol.)  In that case the synthrapol did indeed remove all of the fugitive dye, leaving a very faded red shirt that never ran again.  Nowadays I rarely run into this problem, unless I've bought dubious fabric from the sketchy fabric salvage store.

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