How to Remove Scents From Secondhand Clothing
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For so long, I’ve been buying clothes from thrift stores and rummage sales, but there are just some that seem SO hard to get the smell out of. I think I may have finally found a solution to this issue!
A few months ago, I bought some cute sweaters and dresses from Thred Up. To be honest, I’ve had a hard time figuring out my postpartum size, and I just needed to try something new!
Well, two of the dresses were so cute, but they also smelled SO bad. Someone had some very strong detergent or something and try as I might, I just could not get the smell out.
I tried soaking them in this natural oxygen cleaner that I use for my cloth diapers, and it had almost no effect. I tried baking soda, and other cleaners, and just nothing! It still smelled so bad that I finally set it aside to think about it later.
I finally decided to try something a little different because what did I have to lose at that point? I really wanted to wear the dresses! And guess what…it finally worked! I think I might have cracked the code on how to clean thrift store clothes to get the smell out!
But I haven’t tried it on every smell of course so you will have to try it and let me know your results.
But here’s what I did, it’s really simple, and pretty cost effective compared to other possible treatments.
First, take the garments that smell, and put them in a tub of hot water, and pour a good amount of vinegar in. I did not measure; I just used my heart (and my nose) to tell me when it was good and vinegary. I just used plain white vinegar (from Sam’s Club).
Let it soak in this mixture for an entire day. I did this in my bathroom sink, which is really a kitchen sink, so it’s very large, but you could also use a bucket or whatever you have on hand. (And it’s really not dirty like you can see in the pic above, it’s 100 years old and needs to be refinished when I get the time!)
In the evening, drain the water and wring out the clothes. Then fill up the sink (or bucket) again with hot water and add some borax. (I got mine from Azure) I probably put about 1/2 cup of borax into my sink. Let the clothes soak in this mixture for the night.
In the morning, drain the sink, wring out the clothes, and wash them along with your regular clothes. Mine came out smelling perfectly normal, not like whatever it had smelled like before!
Note, I did also put the oxygen bleach cleaner in my washer with the load as well, but this is normal for me since I wash cloth diapers with my laundry too.
After the dresses dried, I wore one right away. No smell issues! I have major issues with artificial fragrances of any kind, so this was a really big deal for me. I’m so excited now, and I feel like my shopping options for secondhand clothes just opened up!
More Frugal Clothes Shopping Ideas
- How to Shop for Frugal Clothing at a Consignment Store
- Frugal Clothes Shopping at Rummage Sales
- 10 Ways to Save on Used Clothes When You Shop Online
- How to Get Coconut Oil Out of Clothing
I hope that you will give this a try and let me know how it goes for you!
Merissa Alink
Merissa has been blogging about and living the simple and frugal life on Little House Living since 2009 and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can read about Merissa’s journey from penniless to freedom on the About Page. You can send her a message any time from the Contact Page.
Hi Merissa,
Me Melisa again! I too use Borax esp in my homemade detergent pods. Please be aware that it is very hard on elastic in clothes….You know; the stuff that keeps your underwear up!?
Melissa
Good to know! I haven’t had any issues so far but probably only using it once is ok.
Great to know! I don’t like string detergent smells either.
I also live in Wyoming, north of Cheyenne in the Southeastern side of our beautiful state. Try as I might, I cannot get borax to dissolve in our city water. I have tried hot, water, room temp, and cold-nothing but clumps and grit. I have heard of the benefits and really want to use it, without tearing up the HE machine in my rent house. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for sharing! I’m also very sensitive to artificial fragrances and often avoid secondhand if the smells are too strong. I’ll try the vinegar trick now!
Thanks for the tip. I am very sensitive to smells. This really solves the problem. Keep up the great content.
Thank you so much for this information. I buy clothes second hand from eBay and I have received them with a strong detergent smell which is so hard to get out. I can’t wear the clothing with the smell. Some I recently donated because I was unsuccessful. I am looking forward to trying this out.