removing perfume smell

[kfeusse]

I found a great top at a consignment store, but the perfume smell on it is so strong, I can't wear it. I have tried washing it, soaking it in vinegar water, spraying it with febreeze...and nothing has worked.

What else might i try before putting it in the Goodwill pile?

thanks. 

[prairiewindmomma]

*hanging it outside in the shade to air

*putting it in a ziplock with baking soda

[klmama]

My go-to for everything is Dawn dish detergent.  It cuts oils, which often hold in scents. It may not help, but since you'll have to get rid of it.....

[Lady Marmalade]

I've had a pair of jeans for over a year that I bought at Goodwill that STILL smells like fabric softener/perfume.  I probably wear those jeans once a week because I keep thinking that surely, the smell will go away soon.  They fit me so well and are comfortable as well as stylish or I'd just get rid of them. It's not as strong as they started, but every time I put them on I'm amazed that I can still smell it.  

I have not tried Dawn though.  

[Pen]

My experience as someone who gets sick from perfume products is it’s virtually hopeless.  Also it gets on other things and impregnates them.  A bunch of things you’ve used or are thinking of using (like febreeze) I can’t tolerate either, so don’t know, maybe they’ll work for you eventually.  

The thing that works best to remove oily odors IME is bentonite Clay, but it’s expensive and itself can be hard to remove or hurt some materials, so I reserve it for emergencies. 

I wish people would stop using fragranced products but mostly people use them until, unless they get sick themselves. 

[marbel]

I've had some luck with vinegar rinses and airing outside.  But it can take a long time.  I've stopped trying to buy at thrift stores because everything has a scent to it. 

An aside, but I had some great jeans that the scent never came out of. Maybe the heavy denim held on to the scent, I don't know. I had to get rid of them.  I probably spent more money on water, detergent, vinegar, etc. than any savings I had realized in buying used jeans over new. I couldn't wash them with any other clothing because the scent would transfer to whatever was in the washer/dryer with them.  

Edited June 7, 2019 by marbel

[Pen]

Oh.  I did get rid of some fragrance from some hand me down by hanging them out for a couple of *months*.   But 1) they were kids clothes so it was probably not significant actual direct perfume, but more secondhand odor; 2) they sun faded /bleached which was okay for a kid item or would be for whites, but probably not for colored adult clothing 

[73349]

Three days' airing outdoors helps a lot of things. If you have a screened porch or carport, that would probably be good to try.