Slightly icky problem - any ideas?

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Annagain

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I'm having a bit of trouble with my riding t-shirts. Every time I wash them they smell lovely and clean, but within an hour of wearing them, when I /they have warmed up a bit they get really honky. None of my other clothes (including gym clothes) do this so I know it's them and not me!

I'm almost at the point of riding alone as I'm sure other people can smell it too! I spend the whole time with my arms clamped to my side! I've washed them at a hot temperature (60), washed them in biological powder (don't normally have it in the house as OH is allergic to it!) soaked them in Vanish and just can't get rid of it. I there's obviously some bacteria not being washed out of them that is then reacting with my body heat with unpleasant consequences! Sometimes, if I haven't worn one for long, it doesn't happen, but then I put it in the dirty washing and by the time I get it out to wash a couple of days later it absolutely stinks!

Has anybody else had this problem? Is there a magic potion to get them nicely fragranced again? I really don't want to throw them out and start again as some were quite expensive and besides, I really like them!
 
All of my riding stuff stinks after I've been to the yard in it, despite it being clean when I put it on! When things stay in the washing basket (dirty washing, not clean), it doesn't smelly particularly fragrant by wash day! As long as things are washing clean (clean out of the machine, smell fresh when dry etc) then I don't really care how it smells in the washing basket. I have one of those wicker baskets with a lid so the only time anyone smells the dirty washing is the moment between taking out of the basket and putting into the machine. And before anyone thinks I'm a mucky tramp, I only wear my horsey stuff once before it goes in the wash, I wash horsey stuff at 40-50C and it's lovely and clean when it comes out of the machine LOL!

All I can think of... do you leave enough room in the machine for the clothes to "slosh" around? If I put too much stuff in my machine, it doesn't come out clean enough. Might be worth running the machine on empty for a cycle, or put some towels in, and run on 90C/ boil wash for a cycle. I dislike biological powder for horsey stuff, plus I'm not sure how well the enzymes work at 50C. I've switched back to non-bio recently and find my washing is MUCH cleaner and fresher smelling. Do you dry your washing outside? I don't find washing stays clean smelling if I dry it inside. That's all I can think of, sorry!
 
OK, this might sound really strange and may not work on clothes...

I wear flat plimsole type shoes with no socks on. After a hard week at work they smell less than fragrant! So I put them in a carrier bag and then put them in the freezer overnight. Next day, take them out and the smell has gone! I assume the freezing temperatures kills any bacteria but I have no idea if it will work on clothes though!
 
I dry it outside as much as I can - but living in wet and windy south Wales means it's not all the time! Also don't overfill machine and in fact have been washing just 5 or 6 t-shirts on their in an attempt to get rid of the smell. The hot wash and the biological were two different attempts so got washed at 40 with the bio and 60 with non-bio. I think any hotter than 40 and the enzymes get killed?

Maybe should have been clearer (was trying to be delicate!) it's a BO sort of smell rather than a horsey one, don't mind a horsey one! I don't think the sweat is washing out very well - or hasn't at some point in the past and now it seems to be ingrained? I only wear it once too, but it can sit in the basket for up to a week depending on how busy I am and when I get time to sort out the washing!
 
HaffiesRock said:
OK, this might sound really strange and may not work on clothes...

I wear flat plimsole type shoes with no socks on. After a hard week at work they smell less than fragrant! So I put them in a carrier bag and then put them in the freezer overnight. Next day, take them out and the smell has gone! I assume the freezing temperatures kills any bacteria but I have no idea if it will work on clothes though!
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Thanks definitely worth a try! Now how to do it without OH noticing. I think he'd flip if he found me doing that! Numnahs in the washing machine is enough to send him into a frenzy (white hairs and black police uniform don't mix!)
 
He doesn't mind me doing it as long as I double bag them! Ha ha ha ha, but if I ever put a numnah in the wash I would be killed!!! (I do them when he works away) :p
 
Have you tried old-fashioned Household Soap? The stuff I have is a pink rectangular bar, bought in a local hardware/homeware shop. It's the only thing I've found really takes sweat marks off and I imagine it would be pretty good for whiffiness too. Give the smelly bits a good hard scrub before washing, then wash as normal.

Failing that, I find that the technical fabric tops reek much less than normal cotton ones. Declathlon do basic ones in a range of colours for about £5 or £6.
 
Im not sure how to put this delicately so will just come out and say it and truly hope I don't offend or upset you at all

Are you sure it's not you? My friend had similar problems and realised that even though she was freshly showered and used antiperspirant she only had to do a small amount of exercise to end up smelling like she ran a marathon the day before and hadn't showered
She got some specialist antiperspirant from boots

She too thought it was her washing so she bought a new cheap Tshirt and it was the same

May well not be the case with you but worth a cheap Tshirt to find out
 
Are you taking them out of the washing machine straight away or are they sitting in it for a few hours before hanging to dry? I've found especially in warm weatherif Ai don't get clothes out straight away they can have a slight smell which isn't obvious until being worn so have seen myself having to stick clothes on a 2nd rinse if I've forgotten about them.
 
Sanex. I don't have a problem with any other tops so I don't think it's an issue. I think it's probably got more to do with them getting sweaty and then sitting around in the washing basket for a long time so the sweat 'matures'!

Although I have gym clothes I don't wear them everyday so they don't sit around in the washing basket for so long. I have about 10 riding tops so they can go for a while without being washed, normal clothes obviously don't get sweaty in the same way so don't have the same problem.
 
Ah that's interesting. I tend to put them on to wash at night and then put them out first thing in the morning before work so they do sit in the machine for a bit. Will try changing that, thanks.
 
Are the T-shirts a bit old?

I had a couple of old tops that would just reek when I wore them and I ended up throwing them away. Not sure if it was to do with the fabric type but they just seemed to stink straight away even though they were clean on
 
Don't worry not offended, but pretty sure it's not me as my gym clothes don't smell - and I tend to get much sweatier at the gym than with the horses!
 
Sometimes tops can just get the smell ingrained into them no matter how well you wash yourself or what deodorant you use! It beds into the fabric & can be hard to shift. The best thing that I have found is to put a cup of white vinegar in the wash along with your normal washing powder & it should help take the smell out! You might get two wears out of them instead of one, if you know what I mean!

If they are really bad, you can pour the white vinegar neat onto the armpits first but it can discolour the tops aswell!
 
Elbie said:
Are the T-shirts a bit old?

I had a couple of old tops that would just reek when I wore them and I ended up throwing them away. Not sure if it was to do with the fabric type but they just seemed to stink straight away even though they were clean on
Click to expand...

They are getting on a bit, yes. Throwing them out and starting again has crossed my mind but I really like them so don't want to (stamps feet and throws toys of of pram:mad:) They're mostly Joules / Toggi polo shirts so weren't cheap either so I want to get decent wear out of them - maybe 'decent wear' has been achieved though:(
 
LegOn said:
Sometimes tops can just get the smell ingrained into them no matter how well you wash yourself or what deodorant you use! It beds into the fabric & can be hard to shift. The best thing that I have found is to put a cup of white vinegar in the wash along with your normal washing powder & it should help take the smell out! You might get two wears out of them instead of one, if you know what I mean!

If they are really bad, you can pour the white vinegar neat onto the armpits first but it can discolour the tops aswell!
Click to expand...

Thanks will give it a try. White vinegar is amazing stuff, I use it on all sorts of things but it never occured to me to try it on clothes.
 
Have you thought about adding soda crystals to your wash or even Napisan as that is antibacterial & has the bonus of being non bio too. It's also good for soaking beige jodhs to get grass and mud stains out!
 
would guess its the age and fabric rather than you or your washing technique!

i hand wash an awful lots of my stuff as a lot of the branded stuff has delicate embroidery and/or blingy bits! so never goes anywhere near 40/60 washes but come up smelling lovely.

natural fibres will wash better, 100% synthetic stuff will hold the BO smell worse.
 
Sorry to hi-jack but does white vinegar get rid of sweat stains? I think I must be particularly sweaty as lots of my riding tops have yellow marks under the arms - eugh! No smell after washing but would like to get rid of the stain before they go in the bin and get replaced by dark coloured ones!
 
I find they have to go on a hot wash to get rid of sweat smells, and I only wear cheap tops to ride in not my nice horsey ones, so if they get horrible you dont mind chucking them out, you can always change back into them after you have ridden.
 
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