Smelly T-shirts despite being washed

Hi

I do laundry once a week minimum, wear deodorant nearly every day and shower nearly every day.

Sometimes, however, T-shirts come out smelling bad despite being washed and tumble-dried.

Today, I sprinkled baking soda in the water of the washing machine to see if that'd help [They're toploaders, if that's of any interest] and.... NOTHING.

I only managed to tumble dry my stuff for a couple of hours as I live in a halls of residence which doesn't allow you to use the launderette after a certain time.

I'm going to rewash everything tomorrow, but this is *really* frustrating... what stuff can I buy out here that'd help at all?

Many thanks

Hi,

besides being slightly worried about the "nearly" (in using deodorant/showering every day) ;-), my first two thoughts were:

Which washing powder are you using? Or, simply try to use a different type. Maybe this helps.

If not: Try to sample some of the water that flows into the machine. Does it smell, too?

Oh, a third idea: Do you dry your clothes immediately after they're finished, or are they sometimes left in the washing machine for some time (which would be a bad idea)?

Kai

a 7-11 laundry liquid and fabri softener, although I do have 'Ariel(?)' laundry powder as well.

Not thought of testing the water, but I'll do so.

This happened when I'd taken the clothes out and put them in the tumble dryer straight away. Admittedly I've forgotten once or twice to take the clothes out right away but not this time.

Are you able to hang out your clothes on a line to dry in the sun at all? The sun is actually very good at killing the bacteria that makes clothes smell- maybe give it a try. That's how most Japanese people dry clothes anyway, so when in Rome...

I usually only use the line when it's really warm, sunny and dry, but I have a clothes horse I put on the balcony by the kitchen and have put some stuff out on the hanging rack/pipe thing on the bit of balcony attached to my room

I don't know why this question ended up in the "Shopping" section, but here goes.

Selbydate16, are you saying that your shirts never smelled in the same condition when you were back home, but it does now? Because in my experience, T-shirts would start smelling if you wear them several times even if you wash them.

One thing to consider is that the washing machine itself isn't kept clean. However, you seem to be using a launderett with other people, so I suppose you can't use the washing machine cleaner.

Another idea is to pre-wash your shirts. The easiest way is to soak them in a basin or bucket for several hours (or even overnight) in laundry detergent and water. Be sure you squeeze them a bit so that the detergent will soak well. Then put it in the machine like you always do.

There are also various types of detergent that are supposed to prevent odor than other detergents. Perhaps someone may have recommendations.

just wanted to add that some people put a small amount of vinegar in w/the wash and it seems to do the trick of keeping the clothes odor free, white & fluffy w/o using fabric softener. I don't remember the amount to be used per wash, but that can be googled or yahooed easily.

Use more washing powder!
I play a sport and sweat a lot. I had same problem. My T shirt was smelly even after washing like a morning T shirt after a hot summer night. Just more washing powder solved the problem. Like twice as much as what the box says.

The problem with that is that it can cause a build-up of washing powder which can be bad for your clothes and skin as well as the machine. I recommend soaking with a small amount of vinegar, washing normally, and then hanging out in the sun. The smell should be gone after a couple more washes.

If you didnt have a problem before then its the machine.

wasn't expecting so many responses!

Anyway, what I did was put the powder directly into the drum along with the clothes [I#'d been putitng it into the little section at the top aimed for powder before] and hung the laundry outside on the communal line and a clothes horse.... and nearly everything's fresh again!

I will need to wash some things once more to completely get rid of the smell, but it's really useful to know that any clear vinegar's OK to use.

I'm really grateful and I'm going to buy some next time I go shopping ^_^

"I do laundry once a week minimum, wear deodorant nearly every day and shower nearly every day"
showering everyday would help too..vinegar can be used as deodorant by the way..

Yes, if you don't mind smelling like vinegar instead! One of the crystal deodorants is probably better if you want something natural without its own interesting smell ;-)

It's not a problem with the machine, or whether someone showers religiously every day, it's just something that happens if the clothes get left in the machine a bit long, especially in summer. A soak and a few washes will usually get rid of the smell.