August 16, 2007 More than one way to fight a stink
OBOW has picked up lots of new readers in recent weeks so it’s time to for a little re-posting. Here’s our original post on a travel laundry technique we developed - with a little further development tacked on at the end:
Doing laundry on the road is one of the necessities of light, one-bag travel. You don’t need ten changes of underwear for a ten-day trip; you can get by with three. But, you must use synthetics to successfully wash and dry overnight in the hotel room or hostel. Therein lies the problem: Synthetics get stinky fast. One solution is to pay $18-$35 for high-tech underclothing which has fabric with built-in anti-microbial (and, hence, anti-odor) properties.
I have discovered another, cheaper way: Sink wash your garden-variety synthetic (polyester/nylon) undies using my odor-fighting concoction.
Here’s how you do it. Fill the sink about half way with lukewarm water. Mix in a couple of glugs of clear Softsoap antibacterial handsoap and a couple of spritzes of Febreze Anti-Microbial. Handwash the undies, then rinse them out quickly - not too aggressively. Apparently enough of the anti-bacterial and anti-microbial stuff stays in the fabric to make it perform like the $25 hi-tech variety. My $10 Champions now finish a sweaty day as sweetly as my more-expensive Terramar briefs (with Visaendurance wonder fabric). This formula makes the high-tech fabrics work even better. The anti-microbial fabrics are still preferable for backpackers who may have nothing more than a creek to wash in or who want to stick with a green, biodegradable detergent - which my formula isn’t. But, for the cost-conscious light traveler my method may be just the ticket. This method works equally well for briefs or undershirts. I’ve used it on my ExOfficio Air Strip shirt and microfiber pants too.
I get this stuff through the carryon screeners by filling two 2-ounce hand sanitizer bottle with the soap and a 2-ounce spray bottle (half-full) with the Febreze. This is enough for ten days or so. I don’t mix it together until it hits the sink.
DISCLAIMER: I cannot guarantee that this method will not harm or shorten the working life of some garments, but I have no reason to believe that the method is detrimental to any fabrics or finishes.
UPDATE: I am more convinced than ever that this is an effective method for washing travel clothing and minimizing your, er, aroma. It also works well in a washing machine using the gentle cycle and an appropriate water level. You’ll have to estimate the amount of soap and Febreze required, but keep in mind it’s not rocket science and it doesn’t take that much soap.
I’ve become aware Win High Performance Sports Detergent which I thought might perform similarly to the Stinkfighter formula. I cannot recommend it. My tests indicated that synthetic clothing was about as smelly after use with Win as with normal detergent. It may do a better job cleaning clothes with heavy embedded odor, but it does not work as well as my formula for the lightpacking traveler. And it’s quite expensive at $6 or $8 for a small bottle. You can find it at sporting goods stores.
Here is yet another way of accomplishing the goal of less smelly clothing recommend by OBOW reader Dan P.:
“I use a similar method. Good to know I am not the only one without $30.00 shorts. However, I do use a different set of ingredients. I use Scent-a-way laundry detergent to wash, then lightly rinse in a sink of water mixed with a cap full of X-O deodorizer. I agree with Brad the method works because the ingredients are not totally removed from the clothing. Scent-a-way is used by bow hunters and is designed to remove human scent and X-O is made for animal use which means both are strong but will not cause skin rashes. The only downside is I have a strong urge to urinate on fire hydrants ;-}.An extra plus is that both ingredients are environmentally friendly.”
I haven’t tested Dan’s formula but it sounds like it would work as well. Let us know what works for you.
Reader Comments (3)
Thank you--repeat a million times--for this suggestion. I have been enduring the stinkiness of my new Ex Officio briefs for ten days now and tried everything I had at hand--showering in the shorts using dial, misting with alcohol, etc. I have hopes for your method and I'll try it asap. Thanks, --John
One of our readers posted on the Rick Steves forums that they'd had good luck with this. I use only lukewarm water, and don't rinse too long or too vigorously: it's the slight residue that does the trick. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.
I was the poster who, about a year ago, suggested Scent-Away and XO deodorizer. I have been working on this formula and have made a change that has improved it a lot.
I still use Scent-Away laundry soap, it works well and is VERY concentrated. Recommended use for a top loading washing machine is 1/4 cup, I use 5 drops per sink full. A 2 oz bottle lasts more than a month.
I have dropped the XO deodorizer and keeping with the Scent-Away theme I do a quick rinse in water that has a cap full of Scent-Away Scent Elimination Field spray. A 2 oz bottle will do about a dozen sink fulls of laundry.
This formula has a residual effect that lasts 3-4 days. This formula works for deer, and if they can't smell you then it is certain that dear won't smell you (sorry, that was very lame but to good of a pun to pass up).