Help me with a laundry problem

[Spryte]

I made a mistake. A big one.

Yesterday I washed all the bed linens.  

I normally separate out my elder mom’s (incontinence - she takes measures but there is still a slight smell sometimes). But yesterday I just didn’t think about it. Threw everything in together. Oops. Put it in the dryer right after washing, didn’t notice anything.

Fast forward to today, folding laundry. Holy cannoli! All of our extra bed linens smell terrible!  Aaaack. My mom’s are the worst. It’s bad. Really bad. Like I’m gagging a bit bad. I’ve never noticed anything like this, even when doing only hers. 

I am re-washing ours separately. Regular soap and fabric softener, put the washer on the longest setting, on “sanitize.” And I’m contemplating tossing hers, they are an extra set that someone gave us, thinking it would help to have many extras for my mom. My mom has complained about the feel anyway.

Is there anything else I can do to save everyone else’s sheets? I don’t want to replace everyone else’s if it can be avoided, obviously.
 

 

 

[HS Mom in NC]

When my gardening clothes stink from the comfrey and fish emulsion fertilizers I use, I soak them in vinegar for an hour or two and then wash them.

[popmom]

https://www.amazon.com/Zero-Odor-Eliminator-Concentrate-16-Ounce/dp/B00LLK2M8G

I've had great luck with this product. Lots of foster dogs and granddogs come through here--some not house broken. And we have a cat that would pee on my dd's bed everytime we left home for a trip. That cat now lives with dd at college and is perfectly behaved btw. She just hated our other cats.

Edited August 29, 2021 by popmom

[catz]

Oxi clean does a great job with rogue smells and stains.  I’ve gotten in the habit of putting a little scoop in every load.  
 

eta oxi clean is an enzymatic detergent 

Edited August 29, 2021 by FuzzyCatz

[Pawz4me]

Pine Sol is my go to laundry deodorizer. It works far better on synthetic athletic clothing stink than anything else I've tried. I'd definitely try something like that, or an enzymatic odor remover like Nature's Miracle, maybe? With the enzyme stuff like Nature's Miracle you want to soak the fabric and let it dry slowly to give the lovely little enzymes lots of time to work their miracles.

[Elizabeth86]

Laundry sanitizer gets out the smell of towels that have cleaned up pee puddles. Lysol is the brand we like.

Edited August 29, 2021 by Elizabeth86

[Spryte]

Thanks! Whew. Glad to know there is hope.

Have added some products to the shopping list.

Wont make this mistake again!

[kbutton]

We've found that sanitize helps a LOT with accidental odors, but we've not had that specific odor. When we did cloth diapers, we had a top loader but used baking soda in the wash and vinegar in the rinse from time to time.

 

 

[Spryte]

2 minutes ago, kbutton said:

We've found that sanitize helps a LOT with accidental odors, but we've not had that specific odor. When we did cloth diapers, we had a top loader but used baking soda in the wash and vinegar in the rinse from time to time.

 

 

I sure hope it helps this time. But I ordered a couple items, just in case.

In the meantime, if it doesn’t work, maybe I will add vinegar and baking soda to the rinse, and run them again. You added both at the same time? (Visions of baking soda volcanoes in mind, hahaha!)

[KSera]

Did you use the same detergent that you always use on hers? I found that all our cloth diaper lingering odor issues went away when I stopped using natural detergents for them and switched to Tide. They came out nice and fresh. Wish I’d known that for my first couple babies.

[kbutton]

Just now, Spryte said:

I sure hope it helps this time. But I ordered a couple items, just in case.

In the meantime, if it doesn’t work, maybe I will add vinegar and baking soda to the rinse, and run them again. You added both at the same time? (Visions of baking soda volcanoes in mind, hahaha!)

No, baking soda to the wash. Vinegar to the rinse. Seems like my detergent at the time was also enzymatic too.

[PeterPan]

My ds has wet things every day, sigh. Anything that is washed same day usually comes clean just fine. I run the laundry with an extra rinse cycle and vingear. 

11 minutes ago, Homeschool Mom in AZ said:

I soak them in vinegar for an hour or two

Or even just run your things (not the mom's, just the rest) with the vinegar and see if it comes clean.

Is the smell particular like ammonia? If you can identify the smell, you could see what breaks it down.

16 minutes ago, Spryte said:

I’ve never noticed anything like this, even when doing only hers. 

Is she dehydrated? Fighting a bug or stressed?

Do you use washable bed pads? I use those for my ds' bed. I have a large one to span the width of the bed (full size) and then a regular size for where he sleeps. I put the larger *under* the sheet and the regular on top, giving a double layer. Then I have a waterproof mattress cover and plastic under that for good measure. In that way, I usually only wash the smaller ones regularly, the larger occasionally. 

I use a separate laundry basket for his bed pads and collect them to wash together, since they're the worst. When the weather is up for it, I put them outside to let the sun sanitize and bleach them. 

[PeterPan]

2 minutes ago, KSera said:

Did you use the same detergent that you always use on hers? I found that all our cloth diaper lingering odor issues went away when I stopped using natural detergents for them and switched to Tide.

Yeah, I use Charlie's soap. It's ok. Not amazing, but ok. Tide or ALL or something is probably dramatically better. The only thing that really really holds smells with that regiment (Charlie's soap and vinegar in the rinse with an extra rinse cycle) is cotton pjs. But they're cotton and I let them sit around a week. 

[PeterPan]

4 minutes ago, Spryte said:

I sure hope it helps this time. But I ordered a couple items, just in case.

In the meantime, if it doesn’t work, maybe I will add vinegar and baking soda to the rinse, and run them again. You added both at the same time? (Visions of baking soda volcanoes in mind, hahaha!)

Washing soda is hard on clothes. I would only do that if the things are whites, things you don't mind having abrasion. 

Vinegar in the rinse, definitely!!!! I fill the dispenser cup on the FL entirely full, so probably ¼ cup.

[Danae]

If you have a way to hang them outdoors in the sunshine for several hours that will help a lot.

[KSera]

5 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

Yeah, I use Charlie's soap. It's ok. Not amazing, but ok. Tide or ALL or something is probably dramatically better. The only thing that really really holds smells with that regiment (Charlie's soap and vinegar in the rinse with an extra rinse cycle) is cotton pjs. But they're cotton and I let them sit around a week. 

I used Charlie’s Soap way back with my older kids, but it turned out to be really insufficient with our moderately hard water. I also really like Persil powder, but it’s hard to find. 

[ktgrok]

For the future, run things like that on a rinse cycle first. You don't want that urine swishing around in the wash cycle. Get it out by rinsing, then do a nice hot wash with detergent. One with enzymes like Tide. 

[fraidycat]

Don't use fabric softener. It "coats" the fabric in "slime"** to make it feel soft.

**It's not really slime, but it is designed to coat the fabric and stick there and in doing so, it'll grab and hold odors, too.

Try rewashing with some vinegar. 

[fraidycat]

36 minutes ago, KSera said:

Did you use the same detergent that you always use on hers? I found that all our cloth diaper lingering odor issues went away when I stopped using natural detergents for them and switched to Tide. They came out nice and fresh. Wish I’d known that for my first couple babies.

Tide has enzymes.

[PeterPan]

29 minutes ago, KSera said:

I used Charlie’s Soap way back with my older kids, but it turned out to be really insufficient with our moderately hard water. I also really like Persil powder, but it’s hard to find. 

They have a booster to help with that. Makes for another step. I do it but my ds can't handle having so many steps, making it an imperfect solution.

[PeterPan]

4 minutes ago, fraidycat said:

Tide has enzymes.

Hmm, maybe we should try the Tide Free powder. 

[ktgrok]

1 minute ago, PeterPan said:

Hmm, maybe we should try the Tide Free powder. 

Truthfully, the BEST way I've heard of to figure out what detergent works best with your local water is to see which one has the biggest share of the grocery aisle. 

But yeah, Tide works the best. Or persil, but even the less scented persil is more scented than regular scented tide - persil is REALLY strong smelling. 

Oh, and you can google to find out when powder is better and when liquid is better. 

[Spryte]

Ok, I’ve got Tide on hand, so I might do another wash with that, once this one comes out. 

I already put in the fabric softener, ugh, I should have remembered that it leaves a coat - I knew that, and don’t use it on towels!  Aaack. 

Alas, there is no sunshine today, or Id try to rig up a line.

[prairiewindmomma]

You need an enzymatic cleaner.

If you don’t have scent issues, try Tide Sport or Persil. If scents do trigger allergies, use Bac-Out by Biokleen. You are probably going to want it soak a bit.

You should be able to get it completely clean. In our experience, Oxyclean, Pinesol, vinegar and the like do not take out urine smells. 

[bibiche]

37 minutes ago, fraidycat said:

Don't use fabric softener. It "coats" the fabric in "slime"** to make it feel soft.

**It's not really slime, but it is designed to coat the fabric and stick there and in doing so, it'll grab and hold odors, too.

Try rewashing with some vinegar. 

Yep, fabric softener is the Devil. It traps odors. It’s also bad for health and the environment. I would eliminate this in the future.

[ktgrok]

Truly, if you just wash it on hot with Tide, it should be fine. I can't imagine NOT being able to get the smell out. (this is why I hate machines that barely use any water, by the way...you can't rinse out stuff like urine in a single wash)

 

[KSera]

1 hour ago, PeterPan said:

Hmm, maybe we should try the Tide Free powder. 

Yes, I use the Tide Free and Gentle powder.  That was getting increasingly difficult to find and at this point I’ve started having to order it from Amazon or target online. It seems that liquids and pods are all they carry in the stores.

1 hour ago, ktgrok said:

Truthfully, the BEST way I've heard of to figure out what detergent works best with your local water is to see which one has the biggest share of the grocery aisle. 

But yeah, Tide works the best. Or persil, but even the less scented persil is more scented than regular scented tide - persil is REALLY strong smelling. 

Oh, and you can google to find out when powder is better and when liquid is better. 

Oddly, even though I live in an area with hard water, and you really need the water softeners in a powder for best effect with hard water, there is so little option for powder detergents in the laundry aisle at my stores. I can get regular scented tide powder and sometimes they will be something else, but that’s about it. Occasionally, Gain powder, but I can’t stand how heavy that scent is. I’m guessing people buy the liquid or the pods because they are easier to deal with, and they don’t realize that they would has better results with the powder.

It’s been a while since I had the Persil, but I feel like there was a special kind I bought when I was still washing diapers that wasn’t as strong. I just looked, and I don’t see the kind I bought anywhere. Bummer. It also seemed to rinse really clean so that while the powder itself smelled strong, it didn’t seem to stick on the clothes very much.

[catz]

1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said:

 

You should be able to get it completely clean. In our experience, Oxyclean, Pinesol, vinegar and the like do not take out urine smells. 

Interesting, we use a combo of oxiclean and tide and it makes a huge difference on the smells.  We have one cat who will get to a pile of dirty clothes and pee on them so we do get that smell into stuff not super infrequently.  We haven't had smells linger with that combo.  

[Pawz4me]

1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said:

In our experience, Oxyclean, Pinesol, vinegar and the like do not take out urine smells. 

 

7 minutes ago, FuzzyCatz said:

Interesting, we use a combo of oxiclean and tide and it makes a huge difference on the smells.  We have one cat who will get to a pile of dirty clothes and pee on them so we do get that smell into stuff not super infrequently.  We haven't had smells linger with that combo.  

My guess, strictly based on having read this forum for years, is that a lot probably depends on what type of water you have. Hard or soft, well or municipal. And of course what odor/stain/whatever you're working on. Several things others recommend highly haven't worked at all for me. Like Oxiclean is a huge waste of money for me. I can't tell it does anything. But I don't doubt it and the other things recommended do work for the people who recommend them.

[catz]

2 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

 

My guess, strictly based on having read this forum for years, is that a lot probably depends on what type of water you have. Hard or soft, well or municipal. And of course what odor/stain/whatever you're working on. Several things others recommend highly haven't worked at all for me. Like Oxiclean is a huge waste of money for me. I can't tell it does anything. But I don't doubt it and the other things recommended do work for the people who recommend them.

Super interesting.  My laundry is a mess without use of oxi.  It smelled ALL the time of various things.  It is like the miracle cure of all things gross over here.

Our water is city water, we do not have a softener.  But our water is not super hard either.  

[mathnerd]

For us, with no water softener, a combination of white Vinegar, Oxiclean and Tide works. For strong smells and stains, I use the "soak" cycle in my washing machine with these 3 products combined and let the clothes soak overnight in my machine in the hot setting and then wash in the morning.

Edited August 29, 2021 by mathnerd

[PeterPan]

https://www.amazon.com/Charlies-Soap-Laundry-Booster-Treatment/dp/B004U86V8S  They sell boosters to make your detergent work better with hard water. I started because my dd said the clothes were scratchy. I don't know if we're cleaner for dirt/smells, but it makes the soap rinse out better.

[PeterPan]

1 hour ago, KSera said:

liquids and pods are all they carry in the stores.

When I first got my front loader, all the talk was that liquids would leave a biofilm and powders would be better. There was such an issue with the boot getting gross in the early years of FL. I haven't really had that happen (I just wipe with a cleaner once in a blue moon), so I was sticking with powder. But maybe the liquids are not doing that to people with FL?

[catz]

3 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

When I first got my front loader, all the talk was that liquids would leave a biofilm and powders would be better. There was such an issue with the boot getting gross in the early years of FL. I haven't really had that happen (I just wipe with a cleaner once in a blue moon), so I was sticking with powder. But maybe the liquids are not doing that to people with FL?

I have a front loader and all you are supposed to use with it are the HE liquids?  We've had ours several years now without a problem, we do the infrequent cleaning cycle when we notice the light go on.  

[KSera]

39 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

When I first got my front loader, all the talk was that liquids would leave a biofilm and powders would be better. There was such an issue with the boot getting gross in the early years of FL. I haven't really had that happen (I just wipe with a cleaner once in a blue moon), so I was sticking with powder. But maybe the liquids are not doing that to people with FL?

I have a front loader, and no issue with powders. With my water hardness, powders are supposed to be better. I do use liquid occasionally, mostly when I can't find the Tide Free and am washing something I don't want to use the scented Tide with.

[PeterPan]

1 minute ago, KSera said:

With my water hardness, powders are supposed to be better.

Ooo, maybe that was part of what I read. Like you say, don't mess with success, lol. But I do want to try that Tide Free now, just to see if it's noticeably better. We usually buy the Charlie's in large quantities and pour into a container for the top of the washer.

[Melissa in Australia]

Line drying helps tremendously.

the sun is marvellous 

[KungFuPanda]

4 hours ago, Spryte said:

I made a mistake. A big one.

Yesterday I washed all the bed linens.  

I normally separate out my elder mom’s (incontinence - she takes measures but there is still a slight smell sometimes). But yesterday I just didn’t think about it. Threw everything in together. Oops. Put it in the dryer right after washing, didn’t notice anything.

Fast forward to today, folding laundry. Holy cannoli! All of our extra bed linens smell terrible!  Aaaack. My mom’s are the worst. It’s bad. Really bad. Like I’m gagging a bit bad. I’ve never noticed anything like this, even when doing only hers. 

I am re-washing ours separately. Regular soap and fabric softener, put the washer on the longest setting, on “sanitize.” And I’m contemplating tossing hers, they are an extra set that someone gave us, thinking it would help to have many extras for my mom. My mom has complained about the feel anyway.

Is there anything else I can do to save everyone else’s sheets? I don’t want to replace everyone else’s if it can be avoided, obviously.
 

 

 

Did some sucker mess with the water level?  My daughter is notorious for setting the machine to 'small' and more than once I've washed and dried a full load this way.  It's not good.  I'd fill the machine, add vinegar or ammonia to the load, let it soak a while and spin out, then rewash everything.  If line drying is possible, the sun would help too.  

[kbutton]

4 hours ago, ktgrok said:

Truthfully, the BEST way I've heard of to figure out what detergent works best with your local water is to see which one has the biggest share of the grocery aisle. 

Unless you live near the headquarters of a major manufacturer, especially when that major manufacturer is near the headquarters of the dominant grocery chain, lol! 

[BlsdMama]

5 hours ago, Homeschool Mom in AZ said:

When my gardening clothes stink from the comfrey and fish emulsion fertilizers I use, I soak them in vinegar for an hour or two and then wash them.

This. The softener is working AGAINST you. Cloth diapers are never to be washed with softener because it causes them to stink and get less clean. If the second wash doesn’t work, strip them. 

[Spryte]

46 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

Did some sucker mess with the water level?  My daughter is notorious for setting the machine to 'small' and more than once I've washed and dried a full load this way.  It's not good.  I'd fill the machine, add vinegar or ammonia to the load, let it soak a while and spin out, then rewash everything.  If line drying is possible, the sun would help too.  

Whoa. Entirely possible! I will have to check. DS did laundry just prior to this particular load.

Thank you!

[BlsdMama]

In case it’s useful to anyone: If Consumer Reports is to be trusted, liquid is more effective than pods. Tide and Persil take five of the top six detergents, Kirkland took fifth. 
 

With our hard water and septic, I stay away from powders because some have clay or other fillers. I don’t know if this is still true?

[ktgrok]

3 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

Did some sucker mess with the water level?  My daughter is notorious for setting the machine to 'small' and more than once I've washed and dried a full load this way.  It's not good.  I'd fill the machine, add vinegar or ammonia to the load, let it soak a while and spin out, then rewash everything.  If line drying is possible, the sun would help too.  

I would not use ammonia on urine odors, would just compound the problem. 

I agree it sounds like not enough water. 

Really, you just need to rinse it all out /wash it out. It's not permanent, I promise. 

[prairiewindmomma]

I chimed in earlier, but I am coming back with the urine chemistry lesson you never knew you needed. 😂 Urine, dried, leaves uric acid crystals behind which are protein based. When urine is wet it’s ph level is like 5-6. Warm and wet, it’s a great way to grow bacteria. So, some of the smell is bacteria which can be killed with regular cleaners. Dried, the ph level of urine is like 10-12, but it also oxidizes as it dries (and thus the color staining sets in). Even more fun, urine is hydrophilic, so if you are in a humid environment, it will draw moisture from the humidity and add even more funk. Adding ammonia, which is also base to the cleaning process is not helpful. Oxygen bleaches like oxyclean are also high in ph, and thus not helpful. 

Rinsing while urine is still wet and fresh (like potty accidents in kids) is this easier than dealing with set in smells. I think this is why some people are telling you all you need to do is add water or basic detergents. 

Because you are dealing with smells that survived the initial wash, you are likely dealing with dried urine issues in the original bedding. The initial bacteria issues were likely dealt with with the initial wash but you have left behind proteins. Enzymes to break down the proteins in the urine; specifically, you need protease enzymes. Basic Tide has some enzymes, but the sports formulas have more of them.

[Tap]

I agree with prairiewindmamma. You need to attack the urine. 

If they aren't fresh now after a second wash....I would start by pulling out the bedding that wasn't soiled on. Rewash in a longer cycle, extra rinse, small load. Use a detergent with enzymes and no fabric softener  (use a sports detergent, biokleen, odoban, Persil etc).

Then wash her bedding separately with the same procedure. Small load, lots of water. 

If either loads don't smell fresh, do a vinegar wash or boil them to strip them. You may need to break down the fabric softener to get the smell to release from the fabrics. If you have a front loader that presets the load size, try soaking small loads in a utility sink, bathtub or large rubbermaid style basin. This will give the detergent time to work on the fabric. I would drain that water and then wash again with more detergent. 

[KSera]

4 hours ago, BlsdMama said:

 

With our hard water and septic, I stay away from powders because some have clay or other fillers. I don’t know if this is still true?

This is one I didn’t come across when doing my detergent research a number of years back. We’re on septic as well, so I’ll have to see what I can find. I just know the powder detergent has more water softeners added to the powder than liquids do. 

[KungFuPanda]

Google “laundry stripping” and see if that helps. I bought the washing soda but never actually got around to trying it. 

[sheryl]

Spryte,  I didn't read the replies but only your original post.

My first and only thought on this dilemma is that the load was too full to agitate properly.  Was it too packed?  You mentioned washing sheets and I inferred you were washing a set with your Mom's complete set.  If so, perhaps the washer was packed too tight.  ????

I wash our sheets, king size fitted, flat and 4 queen size pillow cases as "one" load in our front load washer.  I'm guessing even with odors, if not loaded too tightly, the sheets should be fine.  

[PeterPan]

14 hours ago, BlsdMama said:

In case it’s useful to anyone: If Consumer Reports is to be trusted, liquid is more effective than pods. Tide and Persil take five of the top six detergents, Kirkland took fifth. 
 

With our hard water and septic, I stay away from powders because some have clay or other fillers. I don’t know if this is still true?

Are they recommending liquid for front loaders? That's what I had read (13 years ago, haha) was the no no. 

[prairiewindmomma]

3 hours ago, PeterPan said:

Are they recommending liquid for front loaders? That's what I had read (13 years ago, haha) was the no no. 

They are. The concern initially with liquid was overuse. Liquid mixes and dilutes down more evenly than powder, especially in cold water, and it is now the preferred detergent.