Ridding Clothes of Smell

[Jellyfish]

What are your best products and tips for stinky clothes? DP is a butcher and his work clothes really really really stink as you can imagine. We've tried nothing and we're all out of ideas!

We basically just wash normally (separate from other stuff lol) and sun dry but I still smell it bleh. We do cold wash, should we hot wash these? Since work clothes are strictly work clothes it is not that important but still...

[Tinks]

You could try putting vinegar in the wash.

[Olive]

Diluted eucalyptus oil? I use that in all my washes in the rinse cycle

[Marley&Me]

I use vinegar on the armpits of smelly clothes and it works great. Maybe soak them in vinegar and water and then wash and use fabric softener...

[Beach Mama]

We had a batch of clothes we forgot to hang out for a day or so and they got really stinky even after washing a few times, so we got a powder than I normally never buy that was an aromatherapy one and also a fabric softener. I also washed them in warm water and line dried, seems to have worked here although I don't want to use that powder in the long term so not sure if that's going to be a solution for you. I agree that maybe the vinegar and eucaplypus oil might work, or even a dash of lavender oil?

[Babyluv]

Dettol laundry liquid

[Razzberry]

Vinegar is great for smells! I spray in the armpits of shirts before chucking in the wash. I also soak my sins bibs every few washes in vinegar and water to get the reflux spew smell out, then I chuck them in the wash

[AnyDream]

I would definitely be washing in hot water, because there would be a lot of fatty oil in his clothes from the meat. I would experiment with using a little extra detergent, or a small amount of an enzyme-based soaker (eg napisan plus or similar) in with whatever you usually use. Follow with a vinegar rinse.

My DH was a chef feeding hundreds a day in a hot tropical kitchen and these things worked for us.

[surprised]

I use rockin green on stinky nappies... Might work for your DH's work clothes?

[Frangipani Lou]

Where do you buy Rockin Green from please Surprised? The only place I can find that stocks it is itti bitti but they are out of stock.

[Mrs P]

Biozet is a good enzyme based detergent.

[surprised]

I get mine from Baby Beehinds

[Jellyfish]

Thanks everyone. Going to first see whether just switching to a hot wash dulls it enough to be bearable then will crack out the vinegar if it isn't sufficient.

It really is the most terrible smell, lucky the job has a lot of good perks to balance it out!

[Floweryfields]

I second the eucalyptus oil, I use the water soluble type - put it in the rinse.

[AnyDream]

Jellyfish, I will be interested to hear what combination of things works for you in the end.

[Chrispe]

I use disinfectant (eucalyptus scented) with any thing thats smelly here.

[OceanPrincess]

Ok I need some more help with this, DH's clothes are a bit stinky... So I've got a front loader, how do I put vinegar in for the rinse cycle? Do I put it in through the little tray where I put the liquid? I tried adding to where I put the liquid, it seemed to help some of hs clothes but not others. Should I try spraying the underarms of the offending garments? Or washing in hot? Or what..?

[AnyDream]

Yes to all of the above. We use vinegar as a rinse in the fabric softener slot. You could also try pre-spraying, but the clothes might just need a hot wash or even a hot pre-soak soak (ie in a bucket with a bit of detergent). I've found that clothes with a lot of cotton in them tend to need a hotter wash.