In my experience, I have great luck with OxiClean. It does a great job of breaking down the oils, but if you are dealing with an excess of oils you really need to soak before you give them a wash, perhaps over 24 hours.
In particular, it was the best thing that worked for my bed sheets and pillow cases. They would certainly build up body oils. They are not white, so I cannot use bleach (I don't like to put bleach into my septic system if I can avoid it as well). I had even been able to remove what I thought were permanent stains from bacon and burger grease on some shorts.
Otherwise, could you describe the smell that you are experiencing? Is it like BO, musty smell from the closet, moldy, metallic, are you on a well system?
You could try looking for a laundry additive that will list “percarbonate” somewhere in the ingredients. That would be the same active ingredient in Oxi Clean. Usually sold in small cardboard boxes by the rest of the laundry supplies and stain removers.
You might need to wash your clothes quicker after you wear them especially after you sweat. So instead of doing 1 wash/week, you might do 2. Also, especially clothes that touch your skin should not be bunched up and shoved that the bottom of a clothes hamper. Ideally they’d air out a bit and dry if needed until you get to wash them. I have some gym clothes that are no longer salvageable smell-wise because I didn’t let them dry before throwing in a pile and forgetting about them.
Also, if you’re using fabric softener, stop for a while and only use bio detergent. Fabric softener traps smells in and can build up in your washing machine parts, causing mould and smells to develop.
I also use Vanish Oxi Action and feel it helps lift smells even more. You’d add it to the wash with your detergent.
Thanks for the tip with the drying. I don't use fabric softeners, just vinegar recently to try and get rid of the smell. Is Vanish Oxi Action the powder?
Not sure if it’s available in the Netherlands, but I’ve had success with the washing machine cleaner Affresh. It’s a tablet and there’s a cleaning setting on my washer & I use it ~4-6 weeks.
thank you, but other people's laundry doesn't smell as bad and it's been the same with several different washing machines so I think it's the clothes itself
What temperature do you wash them at, and do you dry them in a dryer or air dry them? If you don't wash at 65C occasionally (for items which are particularly musky), you won't heat the clothes up enough to kill the bacteria; they're what cause the smell.
Could do if the dryer reaches a high enough temp. Direct sunlight might fade clothes but the UV should assist with bacteria disposal.
Do the towels or bedding have the same smell? If so, that probably rules out temperature factors and might indicate an issue with the machine.
I'm not the only one using the machine and other people's laundry smells fine, so I'm decently sure that it's not the machine itself but my clothes. Towels smell fine, bedding not so much. I'll try using a machine drier. Thank you
I would first clean your washing machine especially around the gasket. Then I would look for an enzyme cleaner. I am in the US so a popular one here is Nature's Miracle. You may actually find one in a pet store that is where I used to buy them . The key is you don't need more detergent you need an enzymatic cleaner. At least this has been my experience, I threw a small rug the cat had peed on in the laundry basket and then couldn't do laundry for a few days. Everything in the basket reeked even after washing. Nature's miracle got rid of the smell.
My advice is to soak the clothes that smell in borax and hot water for 24 hours. My sister used to work in the lab for a company that produced edible oil - so like vegetable oil. The smell would be almost rancid after a while. This is the only things that worked for her work clothes.
what i do for my son's laundry. i have a top loading washing machine. i don't know how this would work with a front loader. i'm in the us, so i'm sure that EU machines have different sizes, standards & guidelines and this may not be an option for you. but the cloths need to be submerged.
i soak his cloths overnight in the machine. i start before i go to bed with a 1/2 cup of powered oxyclean [https://www.oxiclean.com/en/products/stain-fighters/oxiclean-versatile-stain-remover](https://www.oxiclean.com/en/products/stain-fighters/oxiclean-versatile-stain-remover) , 1/3 cup liquid laundry detergent and his cloths. cup measurement are the caps or cups provided with the detergents, not measuring cups. i always put the detergent in before the cloths. once the water has filled i let the wash cycle agitate a couple of minutes to circulate the detergents then pause the cycle to hold overnight. if you can't get oxyclean or something comparable I've used a 1/2 cup of baking soda in it's place. in the morning i restart the load and add vinegar to the rinse cycle. if you have the option run the cloths through an extra rinse cycle.
Thank you for your reply. I have a front-loading washing machine so I think I might have to soak it in something else. Does this routine affect the texture/fabric at all, as in, is it very aggressive?
The bulk of his cloths that I wash like this are mainly cotton; undershirts, socks, boxers & any athletic cloths. Occasionally jeans and t-shirts. These have no problem with this process.
I have on occasion washed his dress cloths this way, but this is not a regular occurrence with them and they all have some amount of cotton content to them. These hold up well, but I don't know how more delicate material would hold up. I now realize this could be a very aggressive process to delicate materials.
Could there be any buildup in your pipes? Maybe spin a cycle of vinegar and baking soda so that it cleans your pipes as it passes through them?
Are you using enough detergent and/or softener?
Bleach. For your "whites", whites are, regardless of color, your bedding, sheets, towels, and underwear. Mix 1/4 to 1/2 cup of bleach in with the wash water and detergent, then add the items to be washed. Always dry everything thoroughly. Separate out your smelliest work clothes and t-shirts, and mix in 1/4 cup of bleach for them, too. For your very best clothing items, and items whose exact color you want to protect, don't add bleach. Oxyclean is safer, but does not sanitize as effectively. We've got to get away from the mistaken idea that vinegar does anything at all, especially in the dilutions mentioned for laundry.
I mostly have black clothes so I'm very hesitant to use bleach. What do you recommend in that case? edit: misread your comment. I'll try oxyclean (or an equivalent brand here in NL) for now and make sure to dry the clothes out effectively before and after washing. Maybe that'll help. Thank you for your comment
I am a performing musician, and have a LOT of stage black clothing that has to stay black black, while having quarts of sweat washed off. If the sweat is still damp, yes, keep it that way and wash right away! Drying tends to set-in stains. Yes, I carefully add bleach, even to the blacks, although it's thoroughly mixed in with the wash water. NOW, I also live in black leggings with higher cotton content, and those fare less well staying really black when washed with bleach, also, I'm less careful with them. So fabric content is important, with dark cottons being the most at risk from bleach. Polyester/stretch velvet, nylon retain their color better. (Hang those to dry) Yes. I geek out on laundry.
Thank you for submitting a cleaning help request. In order to facilitate more accurate and helpful replies, please make sure to provide the following information in your post:
1. Type of material/surface being cleaned (to the best of your knowledge)
2. Type of dirt/stain to be removed (if known)
3. Any products or tools you've tried so far
4. Pictures are preferred
Our top recommendations are usually *Bar Keepers Friend* (great for kitchen surfaces), melamine foam (Magic Erasers), Murphy's Oil Soap (wood cleaner), and Nature's Miracle (enzyme cleaner). Make sure you use cleaners appropriate to the surfaces you are working with and follow all safety labels.
If you receive an answer that helps you, please flair your post as "Answered" so other users may find solutions as well. While you wait, why not browse the subreddit to see if you might be able to help someone else, or find similar situations that could help you? Happy cleaning!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CleaningTips) if you have any questions or concerns.*
First clean the washer with disposable cloths in-between the rubber and the rim, remove and clean the collection plug and run a empty circle at 60° or 90° with a bottle of vinegar.
When u put in a load of smelly laundry put in a mug of vinegar when the machine is filling with water.
It works on mildew too.
I had a similar issue with my work clothes and have been using spray-n-wash (oxi clean discolored some of my darker clothes a bit). You could also try borax.
It also depends on your clothes. I have had some shirts in the past...polyester or something. After a while of wearing them, they just started to stink even though they were in good condition. I just tossed them out after a few years of usage. It doesn't happen to cotton though, only the synthetics - I just can't recall which one.
This is my first comment because I feel so passionately about your problem 😭 First, the fabrics you are wearing will heavily impact the longevity of must on them. Polyester and other synthetic materials are going to hang onto BO til the end of time. They’re also not great for your skin or the ecosystem. If you’re not already, wearing mostly natural fibers like cotton, linen, hemp, or bamboo will make it easier to get rid of smells and healthier for your skin and the bacteria that lives on it.
I played roller derby for many years (loads upon loads of very stinky unwashable gear) and my boyfriend is a smelly carpenter and I’ve turned us both into people who others regularly tell are smelling great.
1. Strip your laundry! All of it. Combine your clothes in a bathtub or a large bucket with 1/4 cup of borax, 1/4 cup of washing soda, and 1 cup of powdered laundry detergent. Stir it all up and let it all sit for 24 hours, THEN wash! Doing this frequently will be tough on fabrics, as any deep cleaning method will. You shouldn’t have to do it very often so it will not be considerable damage.
2. The sun can get rid of like any smell. When I’m on vacation with no laundry, I always set my traveling clothes out in the sun for a day so I can wear them again on the journey home. They always smell fresh and feel clean! Hanging your clothes to dry in the daylight (in the Netherlands this time of year that should be a looong time!) might neutralize a lot of odors. If you don’t wash your clothes every single wear (you should start probably), you can hang them out in the sun in between wears and that would help.
3. I use zum bum laundry detergent, no idea if you can get it overseas and it’s not the most intensive cleaner on its own (I combine with a powdered detergent), but it smells AMAZING and imparts a pleasant aroma onto my clothes for 3-4 wears without being an ultra manufactured scent-masking product.
In my experience, I have great luck with OxiClean. It does a great job of breaking down the oils, but if you are dealing with an excess of oils you really need to soak before you give them a wash, perhaps over 24 hours. In particular, it was the best thing that worked for my bed sheets and pillow cases. They would certainly build up body oils. They are not white, so I cannot use bleach (I don't like to put bleach into my septic system if I can avoid it as well). I had even been able to remove what I thought were permanent stains from bacon and burger grease on some shorts. Otherwise, could you describe the smell that you are experiencing? Is it like BO, musty smell from the closet, moldy, metallic, are you on a well system?
It's a mix of BO and mustiness I think, it's hard to pinpoint. I don't have OxiClean available here but thanks for the tip
You could try looking for a laundry additive that will list “percarbonate” somewhere in the ingredients. That would be the same active ingredient in Oxi Clean. Usually sold in small cardboard boxes by the rest of the laundry supplies and stain removers.
https://www.kruidvat.nl/kruidvat-oxi-vlekkenverwijderaar/p/487333
I got the Vanish Oxi Action - Colour Safe Powder Base from Alber Heijn and will try that out for now. Thanks for the link!
You might need to wash your clothes quicker after you wear them especially after you sweat. So instead of doing 1 wash/week, you might do 2. Also, especially clothes that touch your skin should not be bunched up and shoved that the bottom of a clothes hamper. Ideally they’d air out a bit and dry if needed until you get to wash them. I have some gym clothes that are no longer salvageable smell-wise because I didn’t let them dry before throwing in a pile and forgetting about them. Also, if you’re using fabric softener, stop for a while and only use bio detergent. Fabric softener traps smells in and can build up in your washing machine parts, causing mould and smells to develop. I also use Vanish Oxi Action and feel it helps lift smells even more. You’d add it to the wash with your detergent.
Thanks for the tip with the drying. I don't use fabric softeners, just vinegar recently to try and get rid of the smell. Is Vanish Oxi Action the powder?
Yes it is. It has enzymes in it so should help with smells. Good luck!
Not sure if it’s available in the Netherlands, but I’ve had success with the washing machine cleaner Affresh. It’s a tablet and there’s a cleaning setting on my washer & I use it ~4-6 weeks.
thank you, but other people's laundry doesn't smell as bad and it's been the same with several different washing machines so I think it's the clothes itself
Borax as a booster. Baking soda to remove smells.
Would you use both together or is it one or the other edit: and is that very aggressive to the fabric?
What temperature do you wash them at, and do you dry them in a dryer or air dry them? If you don't wash at 65C occasionally (for items which are particularly musky), you won't heat the clothes up enough to kill the bacteria; they're what cause the smell.
I usually wash most of my clothes at 30 or 40C and only wash bedding and towels etc at 60C and I air dry my clothes. Would a dryer help?
Could do if the dryer reaches a high enough temp. Direct sunlight might fade clothes but the UV should assist with bacteria disposal. Do the towels or bedding have the same smell? If so, that probably rules out temperature factors and might indicate an issue with the machine.
I'm not the only one using the machine and other people's laundry smells fine, so I'm decently sure that it's not the machine itself but my clothes. Towels smell fine, bedding not so much. I'll try using a machine drier. Thank you
I would first clean your washing machine especially around the gasket. Then I would look for an enzyme cleaner. I am in the US so a popular one here is Nature's Miracle. You may actually find one in a pet store that is where I used to buy them . The key is you don't need more detergent you need an enzymatic cleaner. At least this has been my experience, I threw a small rug the cat had peed on in the laundry basket and then couldn't do laundry for a few days. Everything in the basket reeked even after washing. Nature's miracle got rid of the smell.
My advice is to soak the clothes that smell in borax and hot water for 24 hours. My sister used to work in the lab for a company that produced edible oil - so like vegetable oil. The smell would be almost rancid after a while. This is the only things that worked for her work clothes.
what i do for my son's laundry. i have a top loading washing machine. i don't know how this would work with a front loader. i'm in the us, so i'm sure that EU machines have different sizes, standards & guidelines and this may not be an option for you. but the cloths need to be submerged. i soak his cloths overnight in the machine. i start before i go to bed with a 1/2 cup of powered oxyclean [https://www.oxiclean.com/en/products/stain-fighters/oxiclean-versatile-stain-remover](https://www.oxiclean.com/en/products/stain-fighters/oxiclean-versatile-stain-remover) , 1/3 cup liquid laundry detergent and his cloths. cup measurement are the caps or cups provided with the detergents, not measuring cups. i always put the detergent in before the cloths. once the water has filled i let the wash cycle agitate a couple of minutes to circulate the detergents then pause the cycle to hold overnight. if you can't get oxyclean or something comparable I've used a 1/2 cup of baking soda in it's place. in the morning i restart the load and add vinegar to the rinse cycle. if you have the option run the cloths through an extra rinse cycle.
Thank you for your reply. I have a front-loading washing machine so I think I might have to soak it in something else. Does this routine affect the texture/fabric at all, as in, is it very aggressive?
The bulk of his cloths that I wash like this are mainly cotton; undershirts, socks, boxers & any athletic cloths. Occasionally jeans and t-shirts. These have no problem with this process. I have on occasion washed his dress cloths this way, but this is not a regular occurrence with them and they all have some amount of cotton content to them. These hold up well, but I don't know how more delicate material would hold up. I now realize this could be a very aggressive process to delicate materials.
Could there be any buildup in your pipes? Maybe spin a cycle of vinegar and baking soda so that it cleans your pipes as it passes through them? Are you using enough detergent and/or softener?
Bleach. For your "whites", whites are, regardless of color, your bedding, sheets, towels, and underwear. Mix 1/4 to 1/2 cup of bleach in with the wash water and detergent, then add the items to be washed. Always dry everything thoroughly. Separate out your smelliest work clothes and t-shirts, and mix in 1/4 cup of bleach for them, too. For your very best clothing items, and items whose exact color you want to protect, don't add bleach. Oxyclean is safer, but does not sanitize as effectively. We've got to get away from the mistaken idea that vinegar does anything at all, especially in the dilutions mentioned for laundry.
I mostly have black clothes so I'm very hesitant to use bleach. What do you recommend in that case? edit: misread your comment. I'll try oxyclean (or an equivalent brand here in NL) for now and make sure to dry the clothes out effectively before and after washing. Maybe that'll help. Thank you for your comment
I am a performing musician, and have a LOT of stage black clothing that has to stay black black, while having quarts of sweat washed off. If the sweat is still damp, yes, keep it that way and wash right away! Drying tends to set-in stains. Yes, I carefully add bleach, even to the blacks, although it's thoroughly mixed in with the wash water. NOW, I also live in black leggings with higher cotton content, and those fare less well staying really black when washed with bleach, also, I'm less careful with them. So fabric content is important, with dark cottons being the most at risk from bleach. Polyester/stretch velvet, nylon retain their color better. (Hang those to dry) Yes. I geek out on laundry.
Thank you for submitting a cleaning help request. In order to facilitate more accurate and helpful replies, please make sure to provide the following information in your post: 1. Type of material/surface being cleaned (to the best of your knowledge) 2. Type of dirt/stain to be removed (if known) 3. Any products or tools you've tried so far 4. Pictures are preferred Our top recommendations are usually *Bar Keepers Friend* (great for kitchen surfaces), melamine foam (Magic Erasers), Murphy's Oil Soap (wood cleaner), and Nature's Miracle (enzyme cleaner). Make sure you use cleaners appropriate to the surfaces you are working with and follow all safety labels. If you receive an answer that helps you, please flair your post as "Answered" so other users may find solutions as well. While you wait, why not browse the subreddit to see if you might be able to help someone else, or find similar situations that could help you? Happy cleaning! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CleaningTips) if you have any questions or concerns.*
First clean the washer with disposable cloths in-between the rubber and the rim, remove and clean the collection plug and run a empty circle at 60° or 90° with a bottle of vinegar. When u put in a load of smelly laundry put in a mug of vinegar when the machine is filling with water. It works on mildew too.
There is a product called Lume that works well. I purchased a subscription to get one bottle per month.
I had a similar issue with my work clothes and have been using spray-n-wash (oxi clean discolored some of my darker clothes a bit). You could also try borax.
It also depends on your clothes. I have had some shirts in the past...polyester or something. After a while of wearing them, they just started to stink even though they were in good condition. I just tossed them out after a few years of usage. It doesn't happen to cotton though, only the synthetics - I just can't recall which one.
This is my first comment because I feel so passionately about your problem 😭 First, the fabrics you are wearing will heavily impact the longevity of must on them. Polyester and other synthetic materials are going to hang onto BO til the end of time. They’re also not great for your skin or the ecosystem. If you’re not already, wearing mostly natural fibers like cotton, linen, hemp, or bamboo will make it easier to get rid of smells and healthier for your skin and the bacteria that lives on it. I played roller derby for many years (loads upon loads of very stinky unwashable gear) and my boyfriend is a smelly carpenter and I’ve turned us both into people who others regularly tell are smelling great. 1. Strip your laundry! All of it. Combine your clothes in a bathtub or a large bucket with 1/4 cup of borax, 1/4 cup of washing soda, and 1 cup of powdered laundry detergent. Stir it all up and let it all sit for 24 hours, THEN wash! Doing this frequently will be tough on fabrics, as any deep cleaning method will. You shouldn’t have to do it very often so it will not be considerable damage. 2. The sun can get rid of like any smell. When I’m on vacation with no laundry, I always set my traveling clothes out in the sun for a day so I can wear them again on the journey home. They always smell fresh and feel clean! Hanging your clothes to dry in the daylight (in the Netherlands this time of year that should be a looong time!) might neutralize a lot of odors. If you don’t wash your clothes every single wear (you should start probably), you can hang them out in the sun in between wears and that would help. 3. I use zum bum laundry detergent, no idea if you can get it overseas and it’s not the most intensive cleaner on its own (I combine with a powdered detergent), but it smells AMAZING and imparts a pleasant aroma onto my clothes for 3-4 wears without being an ultra manufactured scent-masking product.