Reworking and refreshing vintage

[juzuxel]

Sorry I used the wrong word... I meant vinegar (don't ask why I used the word etiquette) Just soak your clothing in water where is a little pit of vinegar, keep them there for a while then to the washing machine or wash it by hand... It does really work good. The smell was gone!

 

[cupkate]

what if after you hang it out you fold it up with some dryer sheets? or is that just another masking of the problem like febreeze?

(i just know i put dryer sheets in my drawers and everything always smells nice.)

 

[softgrey]

oh....another good idea...

THANKS cupkate...!!

i want to try all of these at some point...

 

[Curious]

Not all at once, Softie! Another scent issue

No worries, Hanne! I won't go crazy

 

[softgrey]

^^......

i know...
....

one at a time...i'll report back...

 

[Hanne]

I've heard the vinegar thing too..but it left a sour smell of vinegar..maybe I did it wrong.

 

[droogist]

But drycleaning does get rid of the smell...doesn't it? Whenever I get my stuff back from the cleaner's, I'm convinced they smell better. Maybe it's just psychological.

softgrey, you can also try a product called Dryel, it's a home-drycleaning kit. Basically you stick your stuff in a special bag with some kind of chemical-laden dryer sheet, shove it all in the dryer and after 30 minutes, volià. I just tried it out for the first time last week, and it seems to be reasonably effective against odour (although the stuff I cleaned wasn't particularly ripe to begin with...). Anyway, it might be worth a try.

 

[softgrey]

droogist...

DRY-EL ROCKS!!!...

i buy it in bulk...
i have been extolling its virtues for about two years now...
i haven't been to the dry cleaner in at least that long!!!...




but no...
the dry cleaner cannot remove odours...
i've spoken to the cleaner at length regarding this matter....
only superficial odours will be somewhat reduced...
but never really removed...

dry-el is incredible usually...
but i have a few vintage items that even dry-el can't seem to freshen up...
...

 

[trendoid]

When I have bad odors in my clothes, I always use cold water and baking soda...

 

[Feline]

Fold things up with scented drawer liners between the layers

 

[goosemaster]

I'm trying to fresh'n up a pair of leather pants. I bought them used and didnt realize that they smelled of perhaps... cigarette smoke, body odor...? Not sure.
I put it in a plastic garbage bag with baking soda and every other day I've been shaking it out and then puting fresh b.s. in the bag.... we'll see...
I also heard of some spray product meant for pets... I might look for, that is supposed to nutralize odors... (that I would spray on the inside because I'm not sure how to handle leather)

but anyways I guess baking soda, is a miracle in cleaning up any smells.
I didnt know that (coffee too).

maybe if the b.s. doesnt work I could try coffee beans?

 

[jun3machina]

i've used the vinager in water thing, and you can steam it this way as well as spray with a mister, if the garment shouldn't be wet. i have also used arm & hammer in a box, putting a piece of muslin or cotton sheeting over it, then laying the garment in the box, laying muslin down over the garment and then sprinkling some more arm & hammer over that and letting it sit for a few days. like a odor eliminating sandwhich. hahaha. i collect massive amounts of vintage, and sometimes, you end up with a piece that reaks of it's owner....so i've nvented my own methods of getting rid of smells.....i bought a LV speedy, that ended up smelling a bit like menthol cigarettes...even after they claimed it was a smoke free home. so i sprayed febreeze on tissue paper, stuffed it and covered those with dryer sheets and rotated new ones every few days and it worked. a bit time consuming but the smell diminish to next to nothing. i know it may sound gross or something, but i have used arm & hammer foot odor powder too on vintage!!!

 

[snowqueen]

In my city we have a specialist vintage clothes cleaner ... like a dry cleaner but for vintage clothes. THey might have something simular in your city ?? god knows what they do but it works.

 

[anchored]

i just air it out for awhile, outside for a day or hung in my room for a few days.

 

[susie_bubble]

I just use Febreeze on anything. I spray it on to get rid of vintage musty smells, cigarette smells - anything! I do spray loads of on the garment until it's wet and then I put the garment on the radiator to let it dry and allow the Febreeze to do it's thang!

 

[goosemaster]

yeah,
jun3machina....
I was thinkng up a similar baking soda sandwich as well....

Now I'm trying coffee grinds in a sock in a bag with the pants....
But I'll probly go back to the b.s. sandwich idea.
Somethings wrong with me to spend this much of my thinkng on this but hey... I cant wear them if they smell bad right???
I didnt know about freebreeze. I wonder if I can spray it on leather...
or maybe do the freebreeze sandwich in a box with the pants....


thanks for the ideas... some combo of these def will work!

 

[jun3machina]

/\ sure thing.....im such a weirdo, i LOVEEE vintage clothes, and have a collection i cant even wear because they are either GORGEouS furs (and it's usually too hot to wear them here in southern cali) or they are like a size 000. but i love them so (and cant bear to part with them)....and after collecting for soooooooo long, i invented a way or two to get rid of the "too much perfume" problems, or that icky mustiness you get from living near the ocean....

 

[~Blythe~]

I once tried to get cigarette smell out of a jacket by tossing it dry into a clothes dryer along with a (new) dish cloth dampened with fabric softener/conditioner. Worked a treat. I think the heat might help to 'disinfect' any bacteria that cause odours.

 

[goosemaster]

ok....

so I put the leather pants in a bag with coffee grounds for about a week and it didnt help.
I put them on for about an hour and they really still dont smell good enough to wear...

So, now I'll try the baking soda in a bag for a week.
and the spray febreeze as well. Maybe its that simple.

 

[J'aime_la_mode]

I mostly buy vintage handbags and I get the smell out by wiping it with a rag and windex, then letting it airdry outside and then febreezing it.

(but clearly the windex thing won't work on all materials or fabric )