My shirts smell! How to get rid of odor? Embarassing problem.

[Chardavej]

[QUOTE=Jumpin_Horses;5730721]
I wonder if you still have the “stink rod” in your hot water heater

when I moved into my farm, I got a new hot water heater. all of a sudden my water stunk really bad. like a bad sulfur stink

a friend of mine came over and took a metal rod out of the top of my new water heater. he said it was the “stink rod” and the problem was fixed. Dont know what a “stink rod” is, or what it does, but, im sure better without it[/QUOTE]

This got me curious so I read more into it, it might not have been a good idea for you friend to remove the “stink rod” and now your hot water tank might rust out. Warranties on them are also removed if it is removed:

http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/pages/WHRpages/English/Troubleshooting/stinky-water-in-hot-water-heaters.html

[Jumpin_Horses]

um, looks like they want to “sell” something to you… :lol:

the “stink rod” was taken out in 2003 and the water heater is still going strong. no rust that I can see

no way could have lived with that stinky water all these years, yuck…

RIP - “stink rod” :yes:

[Graymaresrule]

@eponacelt;5730479

Having a high efficiency, front loading washer makes it more challenging to add all these things. Tide SPORT with Febreeze seems to help a lot, because I had this problem with not only my barn clothes, but also my running clothes which became embarassing to wear to the gym. And the Tide Sport is formulated for my washer.

Yup, Tide Sport

[Rallycairn]

For the front loading HE washers, you can still add the borax directly to the tub with the clothes; since it is a powder it is easy to deal with. Let us know which of these ideas works out! Many great suggestions!

[Laurierace]

I hate giving away my secret because it makes a great stall deodorizer too and as soon as they find out we are using it for horses they will jack the price up, but Odo-ban can freshen just about anything. I once sold a used blanket and the buyer sent me an email asking me how I got it to smell so good.

[Crooked_Horse]

Thanks to EVERYONE that posted a great idea!
I am so tired of sour smelling shirts and undergarments (bras!!).

I am going to try everything and pick the one that I like the best. I cannot believe that I forgot about Borax…I actually used to know that one!

[Chall]

I buy multiple colored tee shirts at CVS, I can throw them out or have a spare to change into ( of the same color).
Someone once suggested drinking more water, as it makes the sweat less concentrated.
Cotton shirts vary, I once got a cotton shirt from India that I didn’t sweat in - maybe there is something in the American processing that adds in an element that makes me sweat more.
Rayon, with a light airy weave is the best for me and I live in
SunProtection shirts and skirts . They really take the distress out of hot days in sunlight.

[Far_North_Equestrian]

[QUOTE=Jumpin_Horses;5730721]
I wonder if you still have the “stink rod” in your hot water heater

when I moved into my farm, I got a new hot water heater. all of a sudden my water stunk really bad. like a bad sulfur stink

a friend of mine came over and took a metal rod out of the top of my new water heater. he said it was the “stink rod” and the problem was fixed. Dont know what a “stink rod” is, or what it does, but, im sure better without it[/QUOTE]

The metal in that rod reacts badly to the water - BUT, it will void your waranty to take it out. It’s safe to do so, according to our plumber. For years we blamed the well water for the smell, but it was the rod all along!

[Graymaresrule]

You know yout barn clothes smell bad when you dump them on the floor and your dogs roll in them:eek:

[Kryswyn]

The only thing I haven’t seen mentioned is a reminder not to leave your clothes in the washer for more than a few minutes when it’s hot and humid. If you’re time challenged (like me) it’s really easy to say, oh I’ll throw the laundry in now, then when it’s done (30 minutes later) be doing something else so it’s a couple of hours later when I get around to the dryer. In the hot humid summer here on Long Island, that can be enough to instill a really funky smell that doesn’t come out until the next wash.

[Kwill]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;5731006]
I hate giving away my secret because it makes a great stall deodorizer too and as soon as they find out we are using it for horses they will jack the price up, but Odo-ban can freshen just about anything. I once sold a used blanket and the buyer sent me an email asking me how I got it to smell so good.[/QUOTE]

Sorry to second this, but that stuff is AMAZING.

My laundromat where I get my blankets cleaned uses it. I got some for home. It can make horse blankets used all winter in turn out smell nice – and those things are vile.

[atr]

Another vote for Odoban. I use it in the heart-stopping laundry. And if a cat has an “accident.”

My husband’s summer car became a mouse condo over the winter. I have seldom smelt anything quite so vile–I mean really, truly gag-worthy. Where they hadn’t pooped and peed, they had either given birth or died.

We pretty much soaked the thing in Odoban. Sprayed it in all the vents, sprayed the engine down with it. Quite amazing. It smells like nothing ever happened in there.

(Then we had to kill the biting spiders that had taken up residence in the driver’s seat. But that’s a whole 'nuther story…)

You can but Odoban by the gallon concentrate at Home Depot. God only knows what’s in it.

[Kwill]

atr, you made me laugh out loud with your mouse problems.

you can get Odoban at Sam’s Club, too.

[laskiblue]

There is an old school detergent additive called Biz that absolutely rocks at getting out nasty odors. It can be a little hard to find in stores, but it’s worth it. I remember my mom using this all the time back in the 60s and 70s. You can buy it online here: http://www.alice.com/products?search=Biz&view=

[JRG]

In addition to making sure the smell isn’t coming from your water, I use my husbands hunting detergent. It is detergent specifically to take any and all smells/odors on hunting clothes, so you are invisible in the woods. Works terrific.
There are many different brands, I have used what ever the hubby picks up and they all seem to work.

[bumknees]

Also if you have a front load remember to leave the door open. And whipe is down I whipe mine down after every day of use. I hae noticed a differance almost immedeatly when I started doing this.

But when you leave the door closed a build up of hydrogin begins and while not enough to go boom enough to begin to smell. I had ot go through my front loaders owners book to see what was going on with my laundery and there it was.

Im glad this and the other thread showed up as I was wondering if podwer can be used in front loaders. I " knew’’ they could in the laundry mat because I remember useing it when dh and i first got married but I didnt know about these new He ones could or not. glad to know because I really dont like the liquid soap. And check out walmart for BIZ it doesnt come in the blue box anymore at least not at mine. And I will have to keep an eye out for hte other stuff nentioned on this thread like washing soda( never knew what it was) and other stuff…

[Jumpin_Horses]

[QUOTE=carolprudm;5731163]
You know yout barn clothes smell bad when you dump them on the floor and your dogs roll in them:eek:[/QUOTE]

:lol::lol::lol:

[GotGait]

[QUOTE=carolprudm;5731163]
You know yout barn clothes smell bad when you dump them on the floor and your dogs roll in them:eek:[/QUOTE]

My dog loves nothing better than to burrow in a pile of sweaty breeches and mountain bike shorts. :dead:

[Guilherme]

I wear 100% cotton all the time because synthetic fabrics make me feel like I’m wearing a plastic bag. I tend to perspire heavily under normal circumstances and synthetics make that much worse.

The best we’ve found for washing, accross the board, is the Arm & Hammer brand of powder and liquid. I sometimes will add a bit of color fast bleach or Oxyclean as they seem to help but don’t do it in every load. I don’t have any residual odor issues.

We also “line dry” our clothes (“rednecks” that we are here in the hills of East TN ) and that may contribute to our good results.

Everybody has their own “body chemistry” and they will have to work out what is best for them. But for us Arm & Hammer and line drying really do work.

G.

[eponacelt]

@carolprudm;5731163

You know yout barn clothes smell bad when you dump them on the floor and your dogs roll in them:eek:

I farm-sat for a dog that took this one step further. He ATE my dirty riding clothes. Breeches, sports bra, t-shirt. Everything that wasn’t velcro or metal, basically. And he was a dachshund. I thought I’d killed him. Fortunately I didn’t, but I was cleaning up bits of clothing/poop for about a week. Ick…