Tip for musty vintage clothing odors

worth-a-peek

worth-a-peek

Alumni
I've not tried this so proceed at your own risk.
I've never even heard this tip but might give it a whirl.

Just read this in my Real Simple magazine and who better to
share it with than other vintage clothing lovers.

Problem: Musty clothes

Your vintage woolens are back in style but they bear stale
odors picked up during their stint in fashion purgatory.

Solution: Spritz garments with a small amount of vodka;
hang them to dry in a well-ventilated area (spot test first).
Straight vodka kills bacteria but it doesn't leave a scent.

I would think it could apply to non-woolens as well.

Bottoms up!:D
 
I've used vodka to remove underarm odors in stage costumes, too. Worked pretty well, actually! Loaned a very cute vintage majorette jacket to a friend and when I got it back woooooweeeee was it stinky! I spritzed it directly with vodka and then heavily steamed the underarms.
Never noticed anything after that! :)
 
We used to do this alot with non washable costumes as well between trips to the cleaners. They were modern, so they put up with it and then were drycleaned weekly or at tthe end of the run.

It can help a lot, but you can also get the smell of cheap vodka going,too. I also don't know that you would want to leave it in the fibers on a permanent basis.

Hollis
 
Has anyone ever tried kitty litter? I read somewhere about placing a garment inside a pillow case, tie the open end, and then putting that into a large plastic bag containing the kitty litter. Then you just leave for a day or so and give it a tumble every so often. It sounds reasonable but I just wondered if anybody has tried it.
 
Kitty litter works on the same principle as baking soda or activated charcoal.
I would go ahead and try it but don't use the kind that have all the extra funky spring breeze scent etc, just get a basic.
 
I work closely with a woman who is a costumer for (among other things) a major soap opera. Just a couple of weeks ago she told me about helping the then-Russian national ballet troupe when they came to New York. They opened the trunks and found LOTS of vodka in the trunks. After having a good laugh about that, the American costumers were stunned into silence when they saw the troupe members spray the vodka on their costumes, to get out stains -- especially underarm stains.<p.She said it worked wonderfully and she, too, has used vodka ever since.
Lynne
 
Wouldn't regular rubbing alcohol work? Is one type of alcohol better than the other?

For stain removal, not to drink. :o

Janine
 
The only thing with spritzing wool is to habve a light hand. You can shrink it if you get too much liquid on it.

The other thing I remember is how the dressing rooms would smell like a cheap bar for awhile after the spritz team had done thore thing.

And management was always a bit suspicious of the reciepts for vodka, no matter what we told them.

Hollis
 
Does the alchohol evaporate off when it dries? I'd hate to see a ballerina get too close to a spotlight and do something more out of Porky's than Swan Lake.
Bwoof!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top