pennpaul

I wear a lot of graphic Tees and many are a blend of cotton and polyester. After we moved into a new to us house, these shirts have picked up a sour smell. My cotton shirt don't suffer from this, but cotton isn't always comfortable in the heat or come with the prints I like.

I recently did a load of laundry where my bike clothes were mixed with one of those t-shirts and now I'm getting a whiff of sourness from my bike jersey and bib. Short of burning everything, is there anything to salvage the shirts and my bike kit? I haven't tried re-washing my bike clothes but those t-shirts have been washed multiple times, with different detergents, and sometimes mixed with white vinegar or baking soda. Nothing seems to neutralize the sour smell. I will straight up dunk the shirts in straight vinegar or a baking soda solution if that will kill/release the funk.

We're living overseas now so if the "infection" started back in the US, it's followed me.

Any ideas?

indyfabz

Eau de Pits. The new men’s fragrance from Ralph Lauren. For the serious cyclist.

Ogsarg

Have not had that problem but you could try adding an enzyme cleaner like oxi-clean. It's supposed to help with odors. I use regular detergent on the most delicate cycle and hang dry.

Bigbus

It's the water. Since we moved to the coast whatever we wash has a funky smell. All the neighbors have the same problem. We started adding a laundry disinfectant to the wash. Lysol makes one called Laundry Sanitizer. They work. No more sour clothes. Still don't wash my sweats in with the rest, but nothing has that sour odor anymore.

Mad Honk 

Another option is 20 Mule Team Borax detergent additive. And I guess you could "sage" them, but it only works on bad spirits. Smiles, MH

masi61

Do you have a front load washing machine by chance?

veganbikes

I use this stuff and don't suffer the stink and my socks especially REEEEEEK. I got stank foot bad and my socks and bibs and shirts and everything come out smelling clean and no stank. You might also consider cleaning out your washing machine as that can sometimes harbor stank as well.

I have also in the past made some from Dr. Bronners (I use that stuff for everything) and it works well. Here is a recipe that could help you if you want to D.I.Y. https://livesimply.me/homemade-liqui...ral-detergent/. Me personally I wouldn't use the Lavender because I hate lavender but almond is my jam or peppermint if I want to make it real fresh.

Milton Keynes

Skulking

I've had good luck with this stuff.

AnthonyG

Vinegar and/or baking soda really should do the job of eliminating any smell. If they aren't working then I really would be looking into the water quality or possibly something in the washing machine.
You could try using old fashioned bleach. If that doesn't work then its got to be the water or something living in the washing machine.

ClydeClydeson

When I am concerned about laundry smell I pour a half cup of white vinegar into the wash.

THe explanation above that the smell is from the water sounds like a logical one.

CadenceCrazy

Sink the Stink always worked well for me with funky watersports gear. You can find it on Amazon or ebay.

55murray

Adding vinegar to the washing machine itself is insufficient once the odor sets in like that. Soak them overnight in a mix of white vinegar and water, at least a cup of vinegar and as little water that is takes to cover.

pennpaul

Many things I've read is that it could be the water. We have well water in our house back in the US which goes through a brine tank and then a UV light. That house also has a front loader but I always leave the door open after we're done washing clothes so it dries out. I've also run some bleach only rinses through it. I do not know what our water source is here in Central America, but we are advised to not drink from the tap so I'd imagine it can't be better than back in the US.

I did look through reviews of the Lysol product. I can't buy it locally but Amazon will ship it to me. However, many people are reporting getting hives after coming in contact with their clean clothes. The same thing has happened to me using the local laundry detergent marked as hypoallergenic (this never happened before) so I am not going to risk it. It's a miserable experience when it happens. After one of my rides here, I had hives that matched the shape of my bib shorts.

The Lysol product is added during the rinse step and allowed to sit for almost 20 minutes so I'm going to give that a try with vinegar. I'd been adding the vinegar at the beginning of the wash with no soaking but it makes sense to do this at a later step and allow it to sit. First I'm going to separately soak the offending clothes in a vinegar solution, and then put them in the washer. I've never washed clothes with bleach for fear of discoloring them but I'll have to research that as a backup.

Thanks,
Paul

2manybikes

After you wash the clothing do you let the wet clothing sit in the washer sometimes? Also don't leave the washer door closed when not in use.

pennpaul

I try not to leave them sit for a while. They go in the dryer within an hour, bike clothes are air dried, and the washer door/lid stays open to air out.

masi61

You might try a product called “Affresh” these are fizz balls that foam up and do a better job of getting at the mildew which forms internally in the interior orifices inside the washer. A 4 pack from Amazon I believe is $20. If you look at the rinse water when the Affresh treatment goes through the rinse cycle, you might see evidence of the mildew (lots of disgusting black sediment) getting cleared out. I think the directions say you can use 2 of them for the first treatment if the mildew internally is that bad.

My workout apparel was super funky prior to me doing the above treatment. I do have well water and a Bosch front loader that is about 12 years old.

rydabent

My wife just uses plain old Tide she gets at Sams Club, and none of my stuff has a smell.

metz1295

Our house has had great success with Tide Sport.

klasse

"odo ban" product available at home depot is pretty good for yoga towels (very sweaty!)

topflightpro

It's not the water. It's your detergent. Use less of it and double rinse.

Synthetic fabrics are designed to wick sweat away - but they retain odor. And detergents often stick to the fabric too, trapping in the odor. Vinegar or vodka soaks will help kill the built up bacteria in the fabric, but going forward, adding vinegar to the wash and less detergent plus a second rinse can help.

You can also try air drying under ultraviolet light.

pennpaul

I might have had a breakthrough. My wife doused by stinkiest of stinky shirts (coincidentally, it's an Oscar the Grouch shirt) with an Oxiclean Stain Remover spray then washed it normally after the spray sat overnight. I don't detect any funk!

I think they do sell Oxyclean here so I'm going to seek out the powder and see if this solves it.

Pop N Wood

Downy Unstoppable scent beads work perfectly for bike clothes. I sometimes wear the same bike clothes for a week before washing and the Downy stuff gets rid of the funk.

Hiro11

Agreed. Soaking smelly clothing in diluted vinegar with a squeeze of Dawn in a bucket overnight will kill most anything and truly get the stink out once and for all. Nothing else truly works, in my experience. Adding scents to the laundry will just cover the funk up briefly until the garment gets wet again, then the stink comes right back. You have to kill the bacteria. I've found you don't need to do this every time you wash your stuff, just once or twice a year. "Cleaning strength" vinegar is available and perfect for this. After the soak, rinse the clothing thoroughly to get all the vinegar out. Then wash the clothing normally.

One other key tip: immediately dry everything after washing / riding and keep it dry. I hang all cycling stuff to dry on a dedicated rack I have in my house, I don't use a dryer. I keep most frequently used stuff hanging to let it ventilate. I also use a $25 boot / clothing dryer I got from Amazon to dry out cycling shoes and helmets quickly. If stuff stays wet, it will quickly start to stink. I also wash my (non-leather) gloves after every ride.

bironi

PP,
Not sure you ever responded to the question about a front load washer.
I have found the answer is to unload quickly after the wash cycle.
Dry the bottom of the door seals (3 on my model) with dry towel wicking.
If you have mold/mildew in those 3 seal crevices',
Put strips of cut towel mainly in the lower 180 degrees of those gaps.
Take a squeeze bottle of liquid bleach, douse each gap to saturate the towel strips.
Close the front load door, let sit for 24hrs.
Wala!
But you still have to to the routine of removing the bike clothing soon after the wash cycle, and dry the seal gaps.
It works.
A bit of a pain, but it you don't believe me, look at all the consumer lawsuits concerning this issue with front loading washers in recent years.