stinky wool

[2bird]

Ok, I was at Goodwill the other day and found a pair of 100% wool Russian surplus pants in my size for $2.50 so I jumped all over it and bought them. When I got home I washed them with "ALL" of my wool (several 100% virgin wool shirts, a huge 100% wool blanket, etc etc etc) then after the machine was done I went to hang them up outside to dry, as I walk into the laundry room I was overpowered by the smell of mothballs!!!! Apparently some jackwaggon thought it would be funny you drop a handful of mothballs into the cargo pockets of the wool pants at Goodwill and now all my wool absolutely stinks like mothballs!!!! I have rewashed them twice in borax and it didn’t even faze it!!!! What do I do???      

[2bird]

Ok I just found out that people use mothballs to store wool to keep bugs out but still it stinks badly, and as my wife told me it's my fault for not checking the pockets...

[ChuckC]

Air em out is all I can think of.

CHuckC

[Pete McMiller]

Your wife is right - they always are, especially during hunting season    

Air'em out, the smell will go away eventually.

[Jim Wright]

There are a number of "scent elimination" systems on the market today and some of them include laundry detergent. Many believe in them. Personally, I would first give the clothes a good soaking in a strong baking soda/water solution and if it reduced the smell noticeably then repeat. If that did not work then I would try a vinegar/water solution.

[tracker12]

Good luck with the mothballs smell.  I am watching this thread for a solution.  I have yet to find one.  In my experience airing it out does not work.

[mlsthmpsn]

I would try a good soak in oxi-clean free (unscented kind). Now, the label says to   not use on wool....so maybe do the new pants first to test what will happen. I have never tried it on wool, but have never seen any deleterious effects on any number of materials (including a 5 min scrub on the dogs after they decided that black&white striped cat looked fun to mess with).          


Fill the wash tub up to the top with water/clothes and the dump in a bunch of oxi-clean. Let the tub agitate for a few minutes, then open the lid or otherwise stop the machine from running. Let this sit for an hour or more, then allow it to resume.

The key here is the soak, don't be afraid to let that sit for awhile....it's a chemical reaction (oxidation) and does take time.


Other than that, time airing everything out would work too. The smell is a result of the chemicals in moth balls sublimating (going from a solid state to gas). This reaction continues until all of the solid residue turns to gas, and then there will be no more smell...but this too takes some time (maybe a month or more hung up in a tree outside).

[Wandering Archer]

I think the oxi-clean will bleach the wool, from what I think I remember hearing...

Anyways, good luck!
I have a pullover made from a mothball smelling blanket that I'm STILL trying to get the smell out of. Everyone says lay it in the sun to dry out. Well, after a solid week, it still smelled. So, it's been out there for like a month now, lol.
I've tried some things that seemed to work, but as soon as it gets wet, the smell comes back.

[2bird]

hmmm, well I will try the baking soda and vinegar bath first and see what happens...

Mlsthmpsn, fyi, 1 qt of peroxide, 1/4 cup baking soda and 2 tablespoons of dawn dish soap mixed together will get rid of skunk smell like it was never there, just wash them thoroughly in it (keep it out of the eyes) and hose it off. I trap and have washed skunks that have sprayed and sat in it for hours and after the bath they had zero smell.

only bad side is peroxide stains like bleach on fabric...

[mlsthmpsn]

Originally posted by 2bird:
hmmm, well I will try the baking soda and vinegar bath first and see what happens...

Mlsthmpsn, fyi, 1 qt of peroxide, 1/4 cup baking soda and 2 tablespoons of dawn dish soap mixed together will get rid of skunk smell like it was never there, just wash them thoroughly in it (keep it out of the eyes) and hose it off. I trap and have washed skunks that have sprayed and sat in it for hours and after the bath they had zero smell.

only bad side is peroxide stains like bleach on fabric...

Oxi-clean basically turns into peroxide when it is dissolved in water. We had our two friends (both vets) over at the time...and they said do peroxide and something, something....well we only had a cup or less of peroxide. So we washed with dawn did the peroxide as best we could, and left them on the front porch over night.

The next day they were still stinking, so I did a quick wash with oxi-clean and a rinse. It helped a lot, but they still smell somewhat every time they get wet....about 3 months later.

(luckily I don't really mind the smell all that much      :D )


I'll definitely keep your recipe on hand. Skunks found my beehives this year, and I'm sure will be back every year now.  


Let us know how the mothball smell is coming along. I'm sure there are a lot of people that could use the info.

[Wheels2]

Costs, but how about dry cleaner?
Call and ask if they can remove the scent.
And it won't hurt the wool

[2bird]

Good idea wheels, If this stuff doesnt work I will call a dry cleaner, even if it does cost it wont cost more then all this wool...

[Roger Norris]

Build a smoky bonfire, stand in the smoke

[woodchucker]

What Roger said!!!!!  

Another option..... This is the perfect time of year, Go out & bury them in a pile of leaves.

[todd smith]

Yes!!!  What Roger said!!  

[Ryan Rothhaar]

I don't know how to remove mothball smell, but oxiclean, peroxide etc is barking up the wrong tree for that.  The idea of those types of things is to oxidize the "smelly" molecules into something that is more water soluble to allow easier removal.  Mothballs (naphthalene, or dichlorobenzene depending on formulation) aren't easily oxidized like most "smelly" molecules and that ain't gonna work.  (I'm a chemist in the real world).

I'd look into the dry cleaning, dunno how those chemicals work for sure, but its a shot.  Otherwise if you are interested in airing out setting it right on the front of a box fan set on high for a couple days will accelerate the "airing out" process. - that's what I'd try first - a few days with air blowing through it full blast would be like weeks or months hanging on a clothesline.

R

[Ryan Rothhaar]

oops, double click

[njloco]

Just hang them outside untill the smell goes away, however I have found the the cheaper the wool the longer it takes for the smell to go away.

You could also use an ozone generator to neutralize it.

[RAGHORN 3]

Cold water wash with woolite..repeat if necessary ..

[Pheonixarcher]

I would first wash again with one of the scent eliminating detergents, like dead down wind, to be sure that all of the mothball particles are removed. And a crazy idea that might work, is to get some kitty litter with carbon in it, and seal the wool in a tote with the kitty litter. If all else fails, it's something else to try. That stuff is supposed to adsorb odors. Good luck, and let us know if something works.