whats up everybody. so i have this REI shell that I used on my thru last year for rain/wind/cold, etc. I also wore it on laundry days, and as such, i dont think it got washed once in seven months. as you can imagine, it's fairly ripe right now. i've machine washed it a few times, but it still reeks. otherwise it's in great shape, and i'd like to keep using it, so does anyone have any tips on how to get the odor out? I don't know any specs on the coat off hand, but if it would be helpful i'm sure i could find them.

thank you, as always.

It would help to know what material it is as different materials require different methods.

I learned something from my wife here in THailand.
Our clothes had been out all night drying underneath our awning as it had rained the day and evening before. IN the morning, they were dry.
Yet she put them out in the yard. (to dry even more??)
I asked her why and she said they needed the sun to get the smell out.
apparantly the sun kills the bacteria that a dryer or drying in the shade will not.

She has never used an electric dryer in her life.
Anyway, it's worth a try. Let me know how it works out.

I asked her why and she said they needed the sun to get the smell out.
apparantly the sun kills the bacteria that a dryer or drying in the shade will not.

She has never used an electric dryer in her life.
Anyway, it's worth a try. Let me know how it works out.
I've always wondered about UV on laundry. I remember my clothes from when I was a kid and my Mother used the clothes line outside always smelled fresh.

I've been thinking about getting the clothes line here back in working order and I think this is the encouragement I needed.

Thanks!

I have seen one of the commercially available laundry detergents (can't remember wich one) that has Frebreeze in it. That may work. My wife has also run stinky stuff through the dryer on cool setting with a fabric softner sheet. That seems to work as well.

Oxiclean works for me. Sounds gimicky, but has really gotten the stink out of Northface shell

Odor Ban...wal-mart/sam's club, comes in a gallon jug. If it'll take out skunk odor, it'll fix your jacket...use it to wash my "smelly" hard to de-odorize clothing....

if i've got stubborn smells, i'll fill a shpritzer up with vinegar and spray the spots that smell, leave to sit for an hour, then wash with hot water. mostly because I have cats that piss on everything they can.

UV kills germs but it also kills nylon. One would hope a jacket could survive a day in the sun, though. A pack certainly can. Just something to consider if you plan on leaving a nylon garment in the sun for long periods of time.

I've put some vinegar in my washing machine at home for a cycle with stinky clothes (no soap). Seems to get some of the smell out. Sometimes a garment can absorb the smell so much you cannot get it out, though. At that point, at least for me, the garment has lived its useful life even though it may not be physically worn out. You could always save it for another thru hike, you'd have a pre-stunk jacket to give you a little trail cred from the get-go. LOL.

- MM.

Oh yeah, I've used baking soda in the washing machine (no soap and not with the vinegar at the same time), too. Seems to work, also.

EEEK, I have seen that jacket:

THROW IT AWAY POKER

Bury it in the backyard for a week.
If the funk comes back, it's yours.
If it does not, it never was.

Vinegar is a natural odor eliminator....Store it in a container with open vinegar. Or try sprinkling baking soda on it and store.

There is a long thread on removing pet urine odor here--
Cat urine thread (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=26404&highlight=odors+enzyme&page=7)

I mention it because it mentions several products for dealing with various odors.

You have to dig, but a few enzymes products are mentioned in there, as different odors have different chemical and physical characteristics, and you have to use different cleaners for different odors. For convenience, I dug out a few, but haven't used these myself and can't vouch for them--

OdoBan (http://cleancontrol.com/)
But... warning about OdoBan. (http://catiators.ocicat.com/odobanwarning.htm)

Enzyme cleaners for cat odors (http://www.articlecity.com/articles/pets_and_animals/article_29.shtml)

Super Concentrated Odor Eliminator (http://www.scoe10x.com/scripts/VideoReviews.asp?gclid=CJD1iaXa1o0CFQRuZQodSy8KmQ)

Anyway, a quick search on WB turns up some discussion and a few quick searches on Google helps too.

I inherited some sleeping bags from a family member with lots of pets, so had to work on urine odors. So far, thorough repeated washings with "Sport Wash" from REI, I think it was, has worked and I think was cheaper than some of the enzyme alternatives.

Hope this helps.

Rain:sunMan

.

there's a product by McNet that you fill a bathtub with water and put this McNet stuff in it and soak your gear in that, then hang it on the line to dry. supposedly works and may be worth checking into

Oxiclean works for me. Sounds gimicky, but has really gotten the stink out of Northface shell
ive used this also,and it works very well.

Stand tall and reek proudly man !

If tomato juice works on skunk odor why not try that?

T

Stand tall and reek proudly man !
Now that is some profound wisdom--deep -very deep!---Two Tents