Both my children's gloves and mittens have a very "stinky" smell to the inside of them. I've tried washing them inside out and soaking them, nothing seems to work. It is -20 and my son won't wear his gloves because they stink. We spent the day going from store to store looking for new gloves but everyone is either out or they did not have his size. So, I am hoping that there might be some trick out there to getting that "stinky" smell out of his gloves. Thanks :)
To prevent them from being stinky you'll have to wash/dry them often or dry them everytime he comes in the house.
To get rid of the stink right now try this fabric softener it's popular with the latino crowd. Suavitel is the brand name and it's super potent smelling seriously. You might want to try the other's ideas of soaking in hot water and then try this fabric softener I swear by it.
I would soak them overnight in some *cold* water and vinegar. A good ratio is a half gallon of water to 1/2 cup of vinegar. (This isn't rocket science, so if the measurements are a little off, no biggie.)
Then I would wash them in *cold* water and let them air dry--do not put them in the dryer. Hot water and the dryer trap odors.
Have you tried soaking them in water with baking soda?
Tha usually works well.
Have you tried changing detergents or adding a small amount of bleach to the load? I have just tried a new laundry detergent and one the first things I noticed is that it really freshens the clothes and they smell cleaner than before. I haven't even used a fabric softener yet. It really works great. It's called Melapower.
If baking soda and vinegar don't work, try an enzyme cleaner like the one made by Biokleen Stain and Odor Remover. It is available at Peapods in St. Paul or at most food co-ops in the laundry section. It works really well on any organic smells.
Frebreeze has a product that took the smell of pet poo out of some of my clothes I cant remember the name but it was in a blue bottle in the laundry isle you just add it to the wash
Try soaking them in HOT water and baking soda. Then rinse with hot water and throw them in with a regular load of laundry.
Wash them with some baking soda (1/4 cup to a whole load...although more probably won't be a big deal) and vinegar (1/4 cup to a load of laundry). Wash them with something else that could use a little bit of freshening to make a bigger load(depending on color and material of mittens).
You could also hand wash them in the sink with less baking soda and vinegar.
I use both to freshen cloth diapers, so I'm sure it will take the stink out of your gloves and mittens.
I would also suggest using baking soda and vinegar.
Soak them in oxiclean
