The Science of Stink

[Hunter]

Okay, we all know I'm the queen here of TMI. Here is the newest TMI discussion.

 

The science of stink. And how to get rid of it.

 

I sweat and stink way more than the average woman. I can outstink a teenage boy after a nightmare or a 10 mile walk in the heat.

 

Okay, so...using science to outwit the stink.

 

Nonwashable stuff. Just yuk. Febreze. So Febreze surrounds the stink molecules, but they are still there. When we smell, are stink molecules being released into the air? So after Febreze, are Febreze coated stink being released into the air? We can't smell them, but they are on us?

 

Bacteria stinks. If we kill bacteria we kill stink? That is how bleach works? I just seriously faded some clothes and blankets, but they smell a whole world better.

 

Are Febreze coated stink in the air full of bacteria we cannot smell? Are the bacteria on us?

 

Front loading washing machines use less water. We have to use less soap. They seem not to remove stink as good, to me. Is that true?

 

Bleach rinses out better than soap? What are my other options to reduce stink without lots of rinse water? I really can't afford to run a second cycle, to just rinse. I live in a high rise building in a city and struggle to afford to use the community machines at all. They are not cheap.

 

I just bought a new backpack today and am tossing out the old one. Never mind stink, it is crusted with salt. TMI? :lol:

 

What is the best way to deal with non washable hiking boots and bags that are actually salt crusted never mind stinky? Just toss them even if they don't have holes yet?

 

Mattresses soaked from night sweats? Salt, bacteria? Just buy them cheap and toss them as often as possible? I just throw a $100 foam mattress on the floor and toss it after awhile. Nasty, nasty, stinky.

 

So the science of stink. Anyone want to chat about it? :)

[Rosie_0801]

Could use bicarb soda in the boots and on the mattress.

[desertflower]

:)  Interesting.  I'd like to know too. 

 

I can say that when my children's sandals stink, I put baking soda in them.  Let it sit overnight.  I usually put too much on them, so they always have some left on the shoes even after I brush them off.  But oh well.  :) 

[Hunter]

Could use bicarb soda in the boots and on the mattress.

Do you know the science of this?

 

When I understand the science, hopefully I can use the product/method as effectively as possible?

[Tanaqui]

What's your diet like? Sometimes, what we eat influences how we smell.

[Hunter]

What is in sweat?

 

Salt, right?

 

And pheromones. That is a topic for a whole thread in itself, that is WAY TMI :lol: What washes out pheromones?

 

Is bacteria in the sweat, or does it just like to grow in sweat?

[Rosie_0801]

Do you know the science of this?

 

When I understand the science, hopefully I can use the product/method as effectively as possible?

 

Nope. I'm going to keep reading here though because you seem the type to work it out. :D

[Rosie_0801]

What's your diet like? Sometimes, what we eat influences how we smell.

 

And how much water we're drinking!

 

Hydration matters, people! (And by people, I mean every man I've ever done washing for. :lol: )

[Hunter]

What's your diet like? Sometimes, what we eat influences how we smell.

Whatever I can scrounge. I'm poor. People feed me like a stray puppy, because I face-plant on a regular basis. Sometimes I eat something from the place closest to wherever I just face-planted or wobbled, because someone drags me in there and shoves me in a chair, throws some food in front of me and yells, "Eat. Now!" So pizza, donuts, you name it. Cheap and high in calories.

 

Books are ever so much more satisfying than food.

 

Actually the face planting is more about an untreated low thyroid, some heart damage, and some other untreated stuff more than low blood sugar. But, hey, if people want to think it is lack of food and feed me like a puppy, then I can buy more books.

 

And right now, I can't really cook because of the whole nasty roach problem discussed in detail in my last TMI thread. :lol:

 

Lately lots of sandwiches, chips,Cheerios and milk and apples stored in the fridge where the roaches can't get at them. Over the weekend, often strawberries and other luscious stuff from an outdoor market, that are cheap, but too old to last past the weekend.

 

Whatever is being served in the cafeteria, where my social worker sends me before/after I see her. That can be anything from fresh fish to unrecognizable. It matters what is donated and what the volunteers do with it. Sometimes I close my eyes and just shovel. Sometimes it is pretty amazing, especially if the newspapers are there to do some charity story or someone famous came to cook. I go and find a dark corner to hide in, eat, and hightail it out of there on days like that.

 

And then once a week, I usually grab a platter of food from whole foods that lasts for days and days. Today I bought spaghetti and meatballs. Other times it is eggplant parmesan, Mac and cheese, or that Mexican thing I forget the name of.

 

Weird frozen stuff from Trader Joes. They give out samples. If it is edible, I let them hand me whatever it is, pay for it, carry it home in my stinky salty backpack, put it on my rusted cookie sheet and heat it up and eat it. Often I have no idea what I am eating. Weird stuff I can't pronounce or spell.

[Hunter]

And how much water we're drinking!

 

Hydration matters, people! (And by people, I mean every man I've ever done washing for. :lol: )

I drink about 6-8 glasses of water a day, and about 10 cups of tea. I know, too much tea. And not enough water for someone losing as much fluid as I do.

 

Yes, I should up the water.

[momoftimmy]

I have been reading about laundry and stink as I prepare cloth diapers for another baby.  The idea behind diapers leaking and smelling seems to be mineral buildup in the fabric over time, many times from hard water.  I have been reading this website a lot in hopes of avoiding the stink: http://www.fluffloveuniversity.com.  I stripped all of our towels using this method http://www.fluffloveuniversity.com/troubleshooting/solving-stinky-diaper-problems/how-to-strip-your-cloth-diapers/ and it has really improved the smell and absorbency.  How to apply this idea to non washable items escapes me at this point.

[Hunter]

I have been reading about laundry and stink as I prepare cloth diapers for another baby. The idea behind diapers leaking and smelling seems to be mineral buildup in the fabric over time, many times from hard water. I have been reading this website a lot in hopes of avoiding the stink: http://www.fluffloveuniversity.com. I stripped all of our towels using this method http://www.fluffloveuniversity.com/troubleshooting/solving-stinky-diaper-problems/how-to-strip-your-cloth-diapers/ and it has really improved the smell and absorbency. How to apply this idea to non washable items escapes me at this point.

All I have is a phone. The first link sends me to a list of links at a mobile site. The second one won't load at all on my phone. This sounds interesting at least for my black t-shirts that did not hold up well to the bleach at all.

 

Anyone know much about mineral build up?

[Hunter]

Stink science is mostly lots of chemistry. Good thing we are doing a year 3 rotation here. :)

[momoftimmy]

I am sorry about the links not working!  They suggest using a mixture of washing soda, borax, and calgon to soak your laundry (you can do this in a bathtub or sink...fill with hot water, add mixture and laundry, let it soak until water has cooled) and then wash with just water.  Follow up with a bleach soak to get rid of anything that has come to the surface so you don't get the stink again and then wash normally with detergent.  Adding a second rinse to your washing regimen would add minerals back into your material, so don't worry about it.  Using a detergent with water softeners built in, like a powder laundry detergent is supposed to be better.  Bacteria can build up when minerals do, hence the stink.  I can't find anything that explains the why and how behind all of this, but following and hoping someone else can explain.   

[Hunter]

Momoftimmy, this helps. We cannot put powders in the front loading machines, but I could do pretreatment destink and a proper rinse in the bathtub, and then run the clothes through the washer for a normal cycle. Thanks! That really really helps!

[EmilyGF]

I have a front loader. Germans swear by them (and swear at top loaders), but for Americans who like their clothes getting washed fast, there is a "turbo" setting that washes your clothes in 30 minutes and I think it does a poor job. If you can, turn that off and have the washer wash for a good 90 minutes. I turn mine onto "Bright Whites" and then set the temperature to medium from high. 

 

The reason you use less detergent is because you're getting the same concentration and wasting less, so I don't think it should be problematic. 

 

Front loaders also can heat their own water. You can almost boil your clothes in there if you wanted (my German friends basically boil their towels).

 

HTH,

Emily

[AHASRADA]

I have heard that the oils from our skin trap stink in fabric, and that synthetic fibers hold onto the oils more than natural ones. So, oils and therefore stink are more likely to linger in synthetics.

 

I have been adding a tiny squirt of blue Dawn dish liquid to every load for a couple of years, and it does help. It sudses a lot, so be sure it's a very tiny squirt.

 

Also, I have found that vinegar in the rinse (in place of fabric softener) also helps.

 

Hard water can be a factor, so if that is the case where you live, momoftimmy's suggestions should help with that.

 

I don't have great ideas for non-washables, other than agreeing with baking soda, and possibly spraying and wiping the surface with a mixture of vinegar and water. Of course, a baking soda and vinegar combo is very powerful as well.

[Guest]

DH wears synthetic shirts for work and they hold smell like crazy. He has to soak them in a bucket with Nature's Miracle Urine Destroyer and water before he washes them in the machine.

 

I'm looking at the ingredients and they are: water, Bio-Enzymatic Odor-Lock, Oxygen boosters, alcohol and fragrance. Now, is that doesn't sound like a total BS list of snake oil ingredients, I don't know what does. But it totally works so whatever. It smells like traditional fabric softener smells, but since he washes it afterward with our home made stuff with no fragrance (or BioKleen, whatever we have on hand) it doesn't stick around. I would totally use this on a mattress, in our little green machine carpet spot cleaner.

 

Incidentally, DH uses straight milk of magnesia as deodorant and it works beautifully for him (his sister too! genetics clearly plays a role!) but it does NOTHING for me. Here's a random link. I, otoh, use straight baking soda and never smell, but it doesn't touch DH's smell.

[Hunter]

We can adjust temperature, but not length of cycle. The machines are managed by a laundry company. The cycle is 34 minutes total, including rinses and spin dry.

 

I definitely can't use dawn in the front loader. Any suds are a real problem because there is hardly any water. Maybe as a pretreatment.

 

Pretreatment really seems to be the solution here.

 

Vinegar would be better on darks than clorine bleach.

 

I'm going to try the enzyme stuff. Fear causes extra stuff to be in sweat, and I find that smell to produce more fear. I really really hate the smell of PTSD sweat. It has a sharp bite, that does remind me of cat urine. I'll bet the urine remover would be just the thing. I'm going to try that.

 

I don't think my water is hard. I have no mineral build up.

 

Ladies, thank you so much for exploring the science of stink with me! :)

[cintinative]

I have heard that the oils from our skin trap stink in fabric, and that synthetic fibers hold onto the oils more than natural ones. So, oils and therefore stink are more likely to linger in synthetics.

 

I have been adding a tiny squirt of blue Dawn dish liquid to every load for a couple of years, and it does help. It sudses a lot, so be sure it's a very tiny squirt.

 

 

 

This, except I tend to rub it in specifically into the areas that stink--for example, the arm pits of my synthetic workout clothes which unfortunately do smell awful. I use homemade liquid detergent but even when I didn't the regular detergent struggled to get out those body oils that hold the smell in the fabric.  

 

We also use Borax in our laundry detergent and i throw some extra in on occasion. ETA: I do have a front loader and I just throw the powder on top of the clothes. 

 

For your mattress, are you able to buy a mattress pad that you can wash?  That is way cheaper than a new mattress. I am wondering if they sell a big person bed size of the ones we used on my kids beds for years that absorb nosebleeds and pull up leaks, etc.  They are really thin but they are made of a very absorbent material. We still use them to keep their mattresses from getting blood stained from nose bleeds.  

 

Since we are on a TMI subject, did you know that being on antidepressants can make you have episodes of sweating?  I always thought I was crazy until I found out it was a side effect of my medication.

 

I am getting hot flashes now too--those are different. I don't get hot with the ones that are caused by the antidepressant.  I just suddenly have wet armpits.   

[cintinative]

FYI  

 

"To begin, a handful of antidepressant medications can cause sweating [source: WebMD]. Bupropion hydrochloride (Wellbutrin) may cause body odor, in addition to excessive sweating in some patients.

Antidepressant medicines that can cause an increase in sweating include:

• Bupropion hydrochloride (Zyban)
• Clomipramine hydrochloride (Anafranil)
• Duloxetine hydrochloride (Cymbalta)
• Escitalopram oxalate (Lexapro)
• Fluoxetine hydrochloride (Prozac, Sarafem)
• Paroxetine hydrochloride (Paxil)
• Paroxetine mesylate (Pexeva)
• Sertraline hydrochloride (Zoloft)
• Venlafaxine hydrochloride (Effexor)[source: DailyMed]"

 

Add Celexa to the list.  It is not here but it does cause sweating.

 

More sweating means more chance for body odor.  

[Black-eyed Suzan]

Natural fibers (especially wool!) are great for keeping odors at bay. I swear by Smart Wool socks (a treat because they are pricey - I have asked for them for gift-giving holidays).

 

Diet is also a real factor - when I had a baby with colic I tried eliminating dairy from my diet. It didn't help the colic, but I noticed that my feet didn't stink like they did before. YMMV, of course. :)

 

Communal machines I have used in the past (these were top loaders - think 15 years ago - so they used lots of water) always had major detergent buildup. I suspect a front loader would be even worse. As a PP suggested when she was talking about stripping cloth diapers, build up of anything in fabric causes odors to "cling" (for lack of a better word). Soaking them in vinegar beforehand, or adding vinegar to the fabric softener dispenser, or both, should help. Also try using 1/2 the amount of detergent and no fabric softener. You may even try running them in a full load without any detergent to help "strip" the buildup in the clothes. Diapers with odors are also helped by drying in the sun - is it possible to hang your laundry out to dry? A patio/balcony/etc.? Not too often or the colors may fade.

 

When my babies had accidents on spot-washable-only things (like carpet) I used Bac Out after scrubbing it with regular cleaner and it worked beautifully to eliminate odors.

 

Re: the mattress - for allergy purposes, we encase our mattresses in a waterproof cover. I think this is the one we prefer from National Allergy . We also encase our pillows. On top of the waterproof mattress encasement, you could put an absorbent fluffy cover (fitted, not encased) that would help absorb sweat and could be washed and remade without hauling your mattress around.

 

The book Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelson has interesting info for you. I enjoyed it, and I'm not really interested in cleaning. :) On page 369 she talks about perspiration being "mildly acidic as it emerges from your pores, but tends to turn alkaline when exposed to the environment." On page 390 she recommends "dampen(ing) stain and rub(bing) with bar soap. If color has changed, apply ammonia to fresh stain and vinegar to old stain: rinse. Launder in hottest water safe for that fabric." She claims that enzyme-containing pretreatment products are best for the worst stains.

 

Re: hiking boots. Here's what Boys' Life magazine recommends. Apparently you can fill your boots with water to rinse out the sweat. If they were my boots, I would definitely add vinegar to that water. Google "stinky hiking boots" for more tips. :)

 

Apparently I had a lot to say on the subject! :) Time for bed now. Good luck on your quest!

[Deee]

Ditch the bleach - it ruins your clothes and it'll make you ill (its also an environmental disaster). Buy some borax. Soak your stinky stuff overnight in a bucket of hot water with a tablespoon of borax dissolved in it. Then wash them on the hottest cycle your Washing Police allow (don't do this with wool or everything will be tiny). If you can find and afford an enzyme-based washing powder for front loaders use that (use half as much as the packet says - consumer testing shows that half as much detergent is just as effective for high quality brands). If you can't, grate 1 cake laundry soap and mix with equal amounts of washing soda and half that amount of borax in a 5 litre bucket (scrounge one from a take-away or deli). Dissolve in boiling water and top up with cold water to make 2 litres. Use a tablespoon per wash. If you have somewhere to dry on a line, do it. If not, make sure the clothes are properly dry when you get them out of the dryer.

 

Other things to do: don't sleep in a heated room (ignore this bit if its silly - I live in Sydney. We don't need to heat bedrooms here but I am always amazed overseas at how hot the houses are overnight)

Drink more water and makes sure you have enough salt in your diet. Many medications can muck up your electrolyte levels and make you dehydrated.

Don't use antibacterial soaps - they kill all the good, stink-fighting bacteria on your skin. Use plain laundry soap.

Wear and sleep on cotton. Chuck anything synthetic, especially sheets. Use blankets instead of a duvet.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

For the laundry issues, if you can, check the pump and water draining components. They can get clogged and gunked up over time cause the washing machine not to drain and clean properly.   This can cause any washed items to keep on smelling.

 

We had to take ours off, clean the parts, remove the things like hair ties, pennies, a dental flosser and air so it could rinse and drain properly again.  It won't matter what you wash stuff in if it can't get clean.

[Acorn]

I crumple dry newspaper into sports shoes and hiking boots. It's suppose to help get the moisture from the fabric. I leave it overnight and then replace with more newspaper, or leave empty.

[KarenNC]

We found that a product called Smelly Washer did wonders for our front-loader http://smellywasher.com/. They also make a "Smelly Towel" additive that does a great job. 

[Guest]

Did you know a whole bunch of people don't have the genes that make their pits smelly, but they have been tricked *by the man* into wearing deodorant anyway?

 

This has nothing to do with the question at hand, but you know I love to wag a finger at The Man.

[desertflower]

Did you know a whole bunch of people don't have the genes that make their pits smelly, but they have been tricked *by the man* into wearing deodorant anyway?

 

This has nothing to do with the question at hand, but you know I love to wag a finger at The Man.

 

hmmmm that's interesting.  I don't sweat there either, but use deodorant before going to the pool.  I thought I just couldn't smell myself.  lol