# Ladies, washing the stink of out of men's shirts?



## bobsmith (Oct 15, 2012)

K, totally not a relationship question, but I figure there are lots of wives here. I have shirts that are pushing 20yo. Yes, I will hear 'throw them away', but this man will ride work work T shirt until there is nothing left. 

However, I sweat a LOT due to a surgery I had. I can soak a shirt. It might be days before a shirt gets washed. This has caused many of my work Ts to develop a not pleasant smell. Smell just fine until I sweat in them, then I literally cannot stand myself! I tried Vinegar, nogo. These are colored Ts so bleach is out. 

What can I try? I like my old shirts but I cannot be around people with this nasty smell!!!


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## arbitrator (Feb 13, 2012)

*Just use Tide with Downy Fabric Softener! It works every time!*


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## brooklynAnn (Jun 29, 2015)

Soak shirts in a cup or 2 baking soda before washing. In warm or hot water to dissolve the baking soda. Soak over 30 mins. That should help soften it up and get rid of the smell. Rinse the shirts before putting in the wash. Throw out the smelly water.

Good luck...


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## Livvie (Jan 20, 2014)

Yes about the baking soda!


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## Lukedog (Nov 18, 2015)

Yes with the baking soda. It even worked to get the cat pee smell out of my carpet many years ago.


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## chillymorn69 (Jun 27, 2016)

Go to good will and buy cheap T's. Then when they start to stink throw them out.


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## Blondilocks (Jul 4, 2013)

You have longer relationships with your t-shirts than with women. Hmmm, wonder if there is a connection? j/k Seriously, buy cheap ones and throw them out. Some people's body odor is impossible to wash out.


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## Thor (Oct 31, 2011)

Might it be your deoderant? I've found that the fancy chemical formulations don't wash out very well. Probably they're designed to stick to our body to prevent odor, but then they stick to the fabric and don't wash out. Thus there may be latent "stink" in the shirts just waiting for an excuse to reactivate.

I generally use a home made deoderant made from coconut oil and baking soda. I add in a few drops of essential oil for fragrance. This stuff works well to control odor and it washes out easily. I also use commercial products that don't have parabens or aluminum, and they seem to wash off easily.

If you find it difficult to get your underarms clean then it is probably a sign that your deoderant is sticky and thus might be sticking to your shirts.

Btw, I've still got shirts from the 1980's in my closet! Someday they'll be back in style.


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## DustyDog (Jul 12, 2016)

bobsmith said:


> K, totally not a relationship question, but I figure there are lots of wives here. I have shirts that are pushing 20yo. Yes, I will hear 'throw them away', but this man will ride work work T shirt until there is nothing left.
> 
> However, I sweat a LOT due to a surgery I had. I can soak a shirt. It might be days before a shirt gets washed. This has caused many of my work Ts to develop a not pleasant smell. Smell just fine until I sweat in them, then I literally cannot stand myself! I tried Vinegar, nogo. These are colored Ts so bleach is out.
> 
> What can I try? I like my old shirts but I cannot be around people with this nasty smell!!!


You have a fundamental choice to make:

Do you like wearing those old smelly shirts so much that you are willing to abandon personal relationships in order to keep them?

Cotton shirts do absorb smells and it's very difficult to get those smells out. And brother, I understand your situation vis-a-vis the sweating. I have always "run hot", preferring 65 degrees, and sweating at the first chance. Recently, I found out it's genetically linked to red hair. So, it's a thing.


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## Cynthia (Jan 31, 2014)

You need more than baking soda. You need either a bacterial or enzymatic cleaner that will break down the molecules that are causing the order. This is what I use. https://www.amazon.com/BioKleen-Bac...d=1526148507&sr=8-3&keywords=bac+out+biokleen

I get it from Fred Meyer in the natural products section. If you have Amazon Prime, the price they have it for isn't bad. I recommend you get the large bottle and add it to every wash. Let it soak for a bit and use a double rinse.

I use this to clean up after my grandchild when I wash diapers or clothes that her diaper leaked into when she's at my house. This stuff is very good.

I don't understand why you don't want to purchase new t-shirts and I wonder how there is any fabric left to work with after 20 years. 

Also, if you use baking soda, you should use vinegar in the rinse to get all the powder out of your clothing.


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## TheDudeLebowski (Oct 10, 2017)

If you have a front load washer, sell it on Craig's list and get a good top loader. Front loaders aren't worth a crap ime


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## chillymorn69 (Jun 27, 2016)

TheDudeLebowski said:


> If you have a front load washer, sell it on Craig's list and get a good top loader. Front loaders aren't worth a crap ime


Agreed!


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## EleGirl (Dec 3, 2011)

Try the baking soda first. It usually works, is cheap and readily available.


Then if that does not work buy the more expensive bacterial or enzymatic cleaner. The one I've used is *Nature's Miracle*

I generally use baking soda for small things like clothing and Nature's Miracle to clean up dog messes on carpet.


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## southbound (Oct 31, 2010)

That must be some strong stink. I've done all kinds of manual labor in my time, and I am one who wears clothes until they practically disappear from wear, but I never had anything that some time in the washing machine wouldn't cure.


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## alte Dame (Aug 7, 2012)

Wash/rinse in extremely hot water, boiling if possible. You can nuke them with a bit of water in the microwave. The key is to kill the bacteria. Chlorine will do that as well, but you don't want to bleach these, so, hot, hot water.


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## Rowan (Apr 3, 2012)

I've been using Nature's Miracle to get rid of pretty much any biological stains and odors since my son was an infant. It works really well for both pet messes and kid messes. A big perk around our house is that it will usually remove even dried blood from fabrics, but it's also great on funky odors. You can get either the spray bottles for direct use on stains, or large jugs for use when soaking clothing and other items. 

Another option is Oxyclean. I run very hot water in the laundry sink, add a scoop of Oxyclean powder and stir to make sure it's dissolved, then soak the offensive clothing for a while. Then you can just launder as usual. 

Or, you know, just buy new shirts.


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