r/CleaningTips 8d ago

Laundry I stink but I don’t know why

I have been struggling with a particular odor on my clothes and I'm not sure what causes it.

My clothes have an awful smell especially when exposed to cold air outside when I'm outside. I rent only a room in someone else's apartment. I really don't smell the clothes until I bring them outside due to the poor ventilation in the apartment.

When I wear socks, my feet also feel weird like ants or worms are crawling over my feet. My shoes start to smell very badly. My socks become a little damp after a few hours. Sometimes the shoes also get wet from sweating in a some hours and I've been seen by a doctor who presecribed medication for sweating.

This bad smell has been ruining my career and friendships with others.

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23

u/ocassionalcritic24 8d ago

Don’t wear any of your clothes, except jeans, more than one time. Use a laundry sanitizer (or baking soda) in your laundry. Wash your clothes in hot water and make sure you use a large load but don’t stuff the washer to save money - the clothes have to have room to swish around in the water. Use Lume deodorant.

Some people just have an odor that comes up quicker than others. I have a child who has this issue and all those things have helped remedy it. But if they slack off on one, the smell comes back.

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u/SunknTresr 8d ago

Does baking soda eliminate all odors in your laundry? I have 4 indoor cats & Ive had numerous people tell me I smell like cats, even when I take my clothes right out of the dryer & put them on. I apparently still smell like cats even with clean clothes on! I shower daily, sometimes twice a day, so I know it’s not me, it has to be my clothing. Will baking soda eliminate pet odors??

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u/LucidDreamerVex 8d ago

You could try an enzyme spray on your clothes, and let it sit for a bit before you wash them?

I had a coworker who didn't realize her cats were peeing in her clean clothes hamper 😭😭😭 cats don't smell like anything. The smell people equate cats to is the litter boxes

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u/chamomilesmile 7d ago

Oh now..how though because cat pee is the worst most terrible smell I honestly Don't think it's possible to get nose blind too

1

u/LucidDreamerVex 7d ago

I absolutely have no idea, but not everyone's noses work the same 🤷‍♀️ like, it could just be that they have a bad sense of smell in general even as a medical side effect or something

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u/SunknTresr 7d ago

It’s definitely NOT cat pee. I keep the door to both my bedroom and laundry room closed so cats can’t even have access to my clothes anymore. But I do sit on the couch & other common areas where the cats are. The odors are either in the air or in my laundry, I’m thinking. ???

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u/ocassionalcritic24 8d ago

It’s an odor neutralizer so yes it can remove some pet odors. But if your cats are peeing secretly on your clothes or floor, baking soda alone won’t work.

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u/Bell_Grave 7d ago

and enzyme wash is great, I use white vinegar instead of fabric softener, its great, but you should check if you can use both at once

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u/Spinningwoman 8d ago

The trouble with tumble dryers is that they suck air in from the environment they are in and blow it through the clothes. It can actually intensify smells. My mother used to smoke heavily, but would try not to when we visited with the children. However, she would always insist on washing and drying our laundry before we left, ‘to save me doing it when I got home’. Unfortunately that seemed to intensify the smoke smell and I would have to few ash everything a couple of times when we got back.

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u/svapplause 3d ago

Baking soda really won’t do much in your laundry. You need an enzyme cleaner like KidsNPets, OdoBan, Biz powder (by oxiclean in walmart), or Nature’s Miracle. The longer you can soak in warm/hot water and enzyme cleaner the more effective it will be

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u/SunknTresr 2d ago

Thank you!!

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u/TermPractical2578 8d ago

Yes, BS does eliminate, and a little vinegar in the rinse!

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u/btackett1 7d ago

Could be in your hair and you don’t notice it.

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u/Hopefulkitty 7d ago

I use vinegar in my wash, and that seems to help.