Removing sweaty odors from t-shirts

[MercyA]

We were gifted some pre-owned t-shirts that my daughter really likes. Unfortunately, the armpit area on the shirts smells sweaty, and nothing I've tried seems to totally eliminate the problem. I believe one of the shirts is 100% cotton and the others are a poly/cotton blend.

I've tried soaking and washing in hot water with Persil, Out (for work / sports clothing), and Lysol Laundry Sanitizer. I can't use bleach--they're DD's new favorite color, black!

I'll have to toss them if I can't remove the odor. I can't donate them in good conscience!

Any other ideas?

[marbel]

I have had good results with a paste of baking soda and water, rubbed in gently and left for a few hours before washing out. I am not sure how that would work with black fabric though. Also hanging things outside on the sun, if that's feasible right now. 

[itsheresomewhere]

Biz-  this stuff is wonderful for removing stink.  If the pit area is really locker room smell- soak or spray the pits area in lestoil. You can do the whole shirt if you want/need.   It is a really good cleaner just test in spot.  I have never had it ruin anything but there is always a first time for that. Most of the clothes I do this too are dark/black so no fading either. 

Edited January 28, 2022 by itsheresomewhere

[Faith-manor]

I have had good results with fire. Definitely the smell is gone. There are however some other side effects that might not be desirable. 😁

[KidsHappen]

Try clear Listerine or an enzyme cleaner. Soak the armpit areas and let sit for a little while then wash. This kills the bacteria that is causing the odors.  

[fraidycat]

Try soaking them in white vinegar overnight, then wash with original Tide. The vinegar will help to break down any old hard water mineral deposits in the fabric that could be holding the odors, and the enzymes in the Tide will help wash it all away.

[ScoutTN]

1 hour ago, KidsHappen said:

Try clear Listerine or an enzyme cleaner. Soak the armpit areas and let sit for a little while then wash. This kills the bacteria that is causing the odors.  

Seconding enzymatic cleaner, like Nature’s Miracle or Simple Solution, from the pet store.

[Katy]

First vinegar,  but if that doesn't work... Before you throw them out try bleach (diluted in the washer, with an extra rinse).  That's what I did with DH's poly blend workout shirts.  He agreed they needed to be trashed if it didn't work because they smelled terrible.  To my surprise none of them got bleach stains or fading.

[lewelma]

Soak in a bucket of oxiclean for 24 hours, wash, and then dry in the sun. 

[MercyA]

You guys are awesome! I'm going to work my way down this list in the interest of Science and not throwing things out. 🙂 Will start with what I have (vinegar and a pet enzyme cleaner) and go from there!

[iamonlyone]

Late to the party, but I've had good luck spraying with diluted (with water) white vinegar and a bit of tea tree oil after they go through the wash (and any presoak I do, usually in Biz). I hang them to dry and spray any stinky parts of the garments. This worked well for ballet and soccer apparel when the kids were home.

Edited to add: the vinegar and tea tree oil smells were not apparent when the clothing dried.

Edited January 28, 2022 by iamonlyone

[Pawz4me]

PineSol

 

[ktgrok]

Try soaking in a deep utility sink or a bathtub with HOT water, powdered tide, and washing soda. Some oxiclean if you have it also. But soak for a few hours at least. 

 

[Rachel]

One of the problems I’ve found with sport detergents is that the clothes smell clean right out of the wash, but the second you get a little sweaty, the smell comes back. 

I spray mine with hydrogen peroxide and then wash with my normal detergent, no softener. I always get asked if I have trouble with bleaching, I’ve tried this on Smartwool, polyester, cotton/poly blends, bamboo, cotton, and nylon, I’ve had no issues with bleaching. 

[73349]

This stuff: https://rockingreen.com/products/funk-rock-ammonia-bouncer

[Katy]

I will mention about the bleach thing… it’s probably been a year and I haven’t had to do it again on any of them. 

[kbutton]

We had a meds change plus puberty (two different people at once) plus those nasty silky athletic clothes that really spread to all our laundry. Washing things on the sanitize load in our front loader made a huge difference!!! I had to do it a couple of times, but it beat any detergents, vinegar, etc. that we could come up with. Once we got ahead of it, we could go back to basically just using it for really gross clothes (or pre-washing those and then putting through a full cycle) and things worn close to the body like underwear and socks. At one point, I wondered if we were going to have to throw out everything we owned.

I do think vinegar is likely to help because it tends to help take out armpit stains to begin with.

[MercyA]

Data so far:

• Persil (enzymetic detergent) and hot water soak, 3/3 tees still smell
• Out (work / athletic wear detergent) and hot water soak, 3/3 tees still smell
• Lysol Laundry Sanitizer and hot water soak, 3/3 tees still smell
• Overnight vinegar soak, hot water wash in Persil, 2/3 tees still smell; worked for 1 tee! 🙂 

Next up: 2 tees saturated with Nature's Miracle (enzymatic pet cleaner) in offending areas

Edited January 29, 2022 by MercyA

[lewelma]

Oxiclean needs to go to the top of the list! I used it full strength (and with a 24 hour soak) on cloth diapers for years. If it can get the smell out of them, then sweat smell is easy! 🙂

Edited January 29, 2022 by lewelma

[AroundtheCorner]

This has always gotten the smell out of clothes for us. We discovered it when we had a cat who wouldn’t always go in his litter box. This was the only thing that worked to remove the odor. I hope you find a solution that works for you!  
 

Biokleen Bac Out

 

 

[klmama]

Old t-shirts are probably the hardest thing to get sweat odor out of, because it's often set in with deodorant and dryer heat.  With any of these methods, air dry until you are sure the smell is gone.  

Oxyclean - regular or the anti-stink variety (which has scent added). Enzyme cleaners work great when the smell is new, but they are generally a safe place to start on old smells, as well.  Soak as suggested in previous posts.  IME, pet enzyme cleaners often have extremely strong (and sometimes unpleasant) smells that stick with the clothing for a number of washings afterward, so I use Oxyclean.

Boiling on the stove - works particularly well for polyester athletic clothing, but might fade colored cottons or affect some graphics.  

Pinesol - it can work well for some old armpit smells, but the clothing continues to smell like Pinesol for a number of washings.  Be sure to use gloves, or you will smell like it, too!  

Dawn dish detergent and possibly a scrub brush, particularly if you can see deodorant residue - use the brush on the inside where the residue is.  

Edited January 29, 2022 by klmama

[popmom]

Another vote for Biz. 
 

Also, I was today years old when I learned that Wisk is now Persil!!! I was going to suggest Wisk. I am officially old and irrelevant lol.

ETA as an animal rescue family we have also found that a product called “zero odor” is very good. I’ll be back with a link. They make several different products, and I have found all of the ones I have used work remarkably well. Not cheap, but a little goes a long way and it REALLY works. 

Zero Odor Multi-Purpose Household Odor Eliminator, Trigger Spray, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001J0C3OQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_ZKC6V7PFE6HMD6CK27N1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Zero Odor – Laundry Odor Eliminator - Permanently Eliminate laundry Odor – Patented Molecular Technology Best For Clothes, Towels & Linens, Shoes, Bags, Etc. - Smell Great Again, 16oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LLK2M8G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_JH8CPJWD4MM5MJHAJ1S2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Edited January 29, 2022 by popmom

[Pawz4me]

4 hours ago, klmama said:

 

Pinesol - it can work well for some old armpit smells, but the clothing continues to smell like Pinesol for a number of washings.  Be sure to use gloves, or you will smell like it, too!  

 

That hasn't been my experience, but I've never had to use more than a a few tablespoons of PineSol in a load of laundry to get the odor out (nowhere near the cupful that I think their site recommends). I'm never able to smell it on clothing afterwards, although for a few minutes there is a residual smell from the washing machine. Now it could be my nose isn't that great, but I really don't like the way PineSol smells. So I think I'd notice it on clothing.

 

[cintinative]

I didn't see this but Tide Odor Rescue (the tabs you add with detergent, not detergent itself) works really well.  My husband and kids came home smelling like the worst campfire possible (smoke) and after washing their clothes three times with detergent and oxyclean I tried the odor rescue and it worked. 

I am too cheap to use it every week for my workout clothes though.

I sometimes rub a tiny bit of dawn dish soap in the armpit area of smelly poly shirts to break up the greasy sweat.  I am not 100% that this removes everything though ---I really need to try some of the tips on this thread. 

[MercyA]

Updated data:

• Persil (enzymetic detergent) and hot water soak: 3/3 tees still smell
• Out (work / athletic wear detergent) and hot water soak: 3/3 tees still smell
• Lysol Laundry Sanitizer and hot water soak: 3/3 tees still smell
• Overnight vinegar soak, hot water wash in Persil: 2/3 tees still smell; worked for 1 tee! 🙂 
• Nature's Miracle saturation under arms, hot water wash: *huge* improvement in both tees, sweaty smell 95% gone, deodorant smell 90% gone, did have to wash several times to remove Nature's Miracle scent

Next up: Oxiclean or Pinesol, buying both today! 

[lewelma]

24 minutes ago, MercyA said:

 

Next up: Oxiclean or Pinesol, buying both today! 

The key with oxiclean is to not just put it in with the laundry soap in the washing machine. You need to do a full-strength 24-hour soak.  The soaking strength is stronger than what is reccommended to put directly in the washing machine.  Oxiclean is a full-on sterilizer. I can't promise it will remove the chemical smell of deoderent because deoderent is not alive, but the smell of sweat is from the bacteria, and the smell will be gone because the bacteria will be absolutely dead. I even use what we call nappisan (your oxiclean) on shoes. Just put smelly shoes in a soak, plastic or cloth. Works great. I also chuck my dishcloths into the bucket to sterilize them so they don't stink. Use the stuff every week. Crossing fingers!!

[aggie96]

On 1/28/2022 at 9:26 AM, 73349 said:

This stuff: https://rockingreen.com/products/funk-rock-ammonia-bouncer

Yep. Rocking Green products are the stuff of miracles. Saved my washing machine and countless stinky, funky, workout clothes. 

This stuff handles EVERYTHING! It's not terribly expensive, is found on Amazon, and goes a long way. Now I put a scoop in every load of wash. One bag lasts 2 months. ~85-90 loads of various laundry (delicates, regular, denim, linens, jammies, underthings, etc). It does not build up in the clothes at all. I reduce my concentrated detergent by half also. I use the Rocking Active Wear variety. But they have several on their website for special laundry challenges.