Why do my mom's clothes smell so bad, even after I wash them?

When the washer first fills up stop the process and add baking soda to the water and let them soak for awhile. Or maybe instead of baking soda you might use vinegar to soak them. Then wash like normal and see if that helps. Otherwise I have no words of wisdom for ya.

Do they smell the same before they go into the washer? Or is the washing process adding a bad smell?

I would think that anything washed in Lysol or pinesol is going to have an objectionable cleaning-day smell.

I agree with using baking soda. I also use tea tree oil to sanitize and freshen my clients' laundry. You sure you don't have a problem with the washer?

waltony77, Why are you using lysol or pinesol? Those are not laundry detergents and they smell awful.

Ruth, where to you get tea tree oil?

WALT:

Sounds like my next door neighbor. Her hubby is a "miner" working in the NYC underground tunnels. Don't know what he digs for. I call him Mole. I can smell him from 1/2 a mile away. She uses Lestoil, cheap powder detergent, and packs the washer because the machines are expensive.

Last Sunday she complained the clothes come out dirtier and was letting the Dominican attendant have it. I suggested she use Gain and lavender fabric softener, and to refrain from packing the washer so the detergent do what it's supposed to: remove the dirt and the smell.

I became the target. That she's been doing laundry all her life; that it's none of my business; that I should focus on my own crusty clothes, blah, blah, blah.

My suggestion? Try the tips I gave Magda. Or buy new clothes if you can afford it.

When I was seeking a way to eliminate the odor of old urine in my uncle's clothes, it was suggested to me to add a hit of shampoo (particularly one with a distinct fresh smell) into the wash and I was surprised how well it worked. So now, when I am washing anything that needs to be 'deodorized' I add a hit of shampoo. Just something else for you to try...

I have a friend who does home staging and has dealt with a bunch of elderly homeowners & their family or estate and the "smell" . She said that it seems to be a combination of the medicines they take (diabetes homes have a wine smell) and palmitholiec acids that increase as we age and both get on our skin and shed off via our skin cells and embed in clothes, furniture, carpets, etc.

When my mom moved into IL, her house was closed off for about 2 mos. When I came back the odor was really intense. Took about a year+ of having the house with windows, closets, drawers, etc. left ajar and getting rid of whatever fabric covered items that we could to get it somewhat "younger" in odor.

Oh another thing she said, our brain recognizes "citrus" as youthful, especially grapefruit. So she uses citrus based room deodorizers, like Fresh Products Omni
gel in older homes, it's a commercial line but you can order on-line.

With my mom, all her stuff is the same fragrance from room deodorizer to hand lotion that I get at Bath & Body Works. Right now it's White Citrus, clean fresh and very affordable as they always have those buy 3 get 2 free promos.

Agree with the others on NO to Lysol. Her clothes aren't really getting dirty, she's not sweating or doing work, it's more freshening them by washing them so a gentle detergent like Ivory flakes will work better. For sweaters, I hand wash them in the BB&W Fresh citrus shower gel.

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for their suggestions. My mother clothes smelled bad because of urine and feces. She won't wear her depends and when she does have them on, she takes them off to go to the bathroom or has soiled them. She sits around in soiled night gowns until someone makes her change them. I find that the bleach, lysol and pine oil don't smell that bad ( it's just the funk). I have used white vinegar in the rinse cycle and fabric softener. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. wy77

I am old enough to raise my babies with cloth diapers. Yes -- gasp -- we actually washed and re-used diapers. Yuck! But ... washed with regular detergent and bleach they came out fine. No lingering smell.

I recall that my grandmother's apartment had a distinctive smell, as igloo describes. I received an afghan from that place, and it smelled just like "Gramma." One wash in Dreft on gentle cycle and the smell was gone. (I was almost disappointed. I loved being reminded of Gramma.)

I am sorry and surprised that you are having such a persistent problem. I really would ditch the household cleaners in favor of detergent which is designed to work on fabric and to rinse out cleanly.

jeannegibbs - tea tree oil is now fairly commonly found in the healthy products section of larger grocery stores. I get mine from health food / supplement stores, or natural markets like PCC, Whole Foods, etc. Trader Joe's carries it as well. Heck; I even found it in the Grocery Outlet! :-) It's magical. You can also use lavender oil in the same way.

Personally, I believe the fewer chemicals the better. It only takes a few drops of tea tree oil to refresh laundry. But if you're dealing with residual urine and especially feces - you're in need of some serious anti bacterial action. I'd stick to the baking soda and tea tree oil, if it were up to me. Also, you can fill a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol and tea tree or lavender oil, and spritz the bedding between washes.

Personally I have issues with tea tree oil products. I had a pretty good allergic reaction (with dermatology appointments needed) from using Paul Mitchell tea tree oil line - and they are a very careful company when it comes to testing and use top tier organic ingredients. I generally have super sturdy skin but not for tea tree oil based products. To be on the safe side, you might want to do a skin test on mom to make sure she doesn't get hives or a burn from tea tree oil.

Also tea tree oil is toxic if swallowed, so don't leave it about or if you do with a child-proof bottle. It needs to be kept in a dark bottle because when it breaks down from light, it increases the chance of allergies.

I always use Oxyclean in every load if colored. And always us bleach on sheets and other whites. That and bounce in dryer and never have a small problem.
Maybe it is her medicine or something that is making her urine/feces smell stronger than normal.

Also, why are they letting her lay around in dirty clothes? I'd speak with them about keeping a better eye on her! After all that is what they are paid for.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. wy77

I agree, no more lysol or pinesol. Baking soda seems good. How about hanging them outside on the line to dry. Leave them out there all night if feasible.

Try a pre-soak in Nature's Miracle (an enzymatic for pet accident leftovers) or Urine-Kleen that is actually markteted for humans and wash on cold with any of the above. Anything that is not too much plastic/vinyl material will at least be improved a great deal.

Igloo - do you think you'd have the same reaction from pure Tea Tree oil, in the amount I described, in a load of laundry? Good point, tho - people are sensitive to different things. I get actual Tea Tree oil, and not a tea tree oil product. Lavender oil can accomplish basically the same thing. I believe those two will find far less of a reaction than most chemical offerings you find today. But off my Tea Tree soap box! I love debate!

I use borex and gain let them soak for 30 minutes in the washer and no more urine and feces smell, and I use bounce dryer sheets

Another suggestion - I found that the Skunk Off - or similar products work wonders - most are formulated to remove the smell rather than mask it - no perfumes. I use it on stinky dog blankets and am always amazed that they come out smelling like 'nothing'.

I agree with baking soda and Arm and Hammer makes a laundry booster that works along with your normal detergent. The clothing has to be washed frequently and as soon as they are soiled. The caregivers can clean her up immediately but unless they wash the clothes the problem will continue. Some fabrics will hold that oder no matter what you do and warrant discarding. Seems to be more like the polyester types. GOOD LUCK!

I had the same problem. I tried everything you mentioned, and nothing worked. Then I used powdered Oxiclean and the hottest water. It took the smell out completely. I'm assuming you mean the smell of urine.

Thank you for your suggestion. wy77

I have been using Arm and Hammer laundry detergent of late and it leaves the freshest smell to all my laundry. It's not nearly as expensive as Tide, All or Gain. Wouldn't hurt to give it a try. Big Yellow container.

We would wash my Dad's clothes and bed clothes in Tide and fabric softner. Did not get the smell (urine and feces) out. We started adding lemon scented pine sol (not the original scent) to the wash. It does not smell like we are cleaning our house, but does remove the smell. From the clothes and the washer. Seriously, anything is worth a try.

I have been using the tide detergent with added febreeze for my mom's sheets and clothing. I agree with the presoak, I used Borax on my (gasp) cloth baby diapers many moons ago.

Oops, I forgot. I also clean the washer once a month with the Tide product especially made for that task. I get it at Home Depot.

I don't know the brand names but there are products that have an enzyme in them to remove urine and feces odors...maybe that would work. Before I insisted on the depends, my mother did a number on some clothing and shoes which I ended up throwing away.

All ideas are good. I want to stress the use of good smelly things added to washer. Like Fabric softners... They just mask the smell and sometimes lock in smells too. So I no longer use fabric softner on moms stuff. My moms clothes used to smell bad of urine and just her smell. I played chemist with everything. Found out to use bleach(what can be bleached) Vinegar, and oxiclean powder along with laundry det. Then I would hang clothes out in bright warm sunlight, instead of dryer. It helped draw out the smell. If smell was still present then I would rewash again and air dry. It was a process but it helped. I learned that if you soak things right away after they are soiled also helps eliminate the odor when it comes time to wash.Keeping it damp up until you wash. I used to have a 5 gallon bucket with a little bleach or vinegar that I would soak moms clothes right away till ready to wash. Certain fabrics tend to lock in odors naturally. So try to eliminate those types of fabrics. How often do you wash? I know it might be a pain but maybe wash clothes daily or every other day. To help with the odor "lock in". I too tried pinesol but than rewashed without. Also I used automatic dish detergent as a stain removal. Squirted it on and scrubed the heck out of it.Which helped with odor too. Someone told me to get pet odor control spray and spray on clothing prior to wash. Or use GO-JO that stuff automotive worker use to remove grease from clothing or hands I was told that helps with odors. I never tried it though.
Worst case, throw everything away and start over with new clothing. This will allow you to start fresh and hopefully stay ahead of the game. Trust me, some of moms clothing smelled no matter what. I bleached till I worn out clothing. So buying new and then maintaining worked. I went to goodwill thrift store and bought some preowned clothing. So I could keep cost down and when things got to bad I would just throw away. $2.00 for a pair of slacks is alot cheaper then $20-30 dollars for pants that will eventually be thrown away.

WHAT I USED WAS OXYCLEAN, AND SOMETHING THAT IS IN A YELLOW BOTTLE ALONG WITH GAIN..AND WASHED THEM ALONE........I DID NOT WASH THEM WITH any other clothes....So try that as well....Now downey has the beads you can throw in too.....But that is all I did and that smell did come out....I think it was a combo of things I hit it with....I did not find baking soda to be that much of a help......SO i used oxy clean.....GOOD LUCK.....SHARON