Home & Garden Help! Clothes smell bad after going outside

OP.. I thought I was a little too sensitive with my smells, but I completely understand what you're going through. Each time my family comes inside from being outside. It is like they they have a funny fresh odor all over their clothes and themselves. I hate it. In fact I notice the funny smell the moment anyone comes into my home. If they were doing any type of activity outside .... it makes it 10 times worse. Did you ever find a fix it for this issue?
 
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Cottons are fine, but anything synthetic smells vile.

I've noticed this as well. Anything polyester starts to smell after being outside. Now I make an effort to NEVER buy anything synthetic no matter how affordable or cute it is. I'm convinced it has something to do with the synthetic fabric itself...like it absorbs and holds onto odor better than cottons and silks do. I think we discussed this exact issue in the "why is it so hard to find natural fibers these days" thread from Wardrobe subforum.
 
Hi Sez, I know this post is really old, but I’m wondering if you ever had any luck figuring this out. My family has the same problem. We put on a clean shirt and sometimes within minutes of being outside, the shirt smells like a wet dog. I know for a fact that for us, this has nothing to do with how we do laundry. We have already purchased brand new shirts and worn them before washing, and they do the same when we go outside! We consider maybe it’s something in our sweat reacting to the material, but why does it happen to everyone in my household? My husband doesn’t have the same genes as me. Perhaps it is some type of parasite or something contagious within our household and that’s why it happens to all of us. I know it may sound silly to some people, but this doesn’t happen to everyone. That much I know. I can understand if it was just me and my girls having the problem because we have the same genes, but why does my husband suffer with this problem too? Also, we didn’t always make clothing smell like this. It’s only come about in the last 15 years or so. Not all shirts do it, or at least if they do, it isn’t near as bad. It seems anything synthetic. God forbid we wear one of those “quick dry” sport type shirts made by Nike or Under Armour. Today I washed my daughter’s volleyball jersey, and hung it outside to dry and it threw me off because it smelled good like detergent when I hung it out. When my daughter brought it in, it smelled like wet dog before she even put it on. So now I’m considering maybe it isn’t our body’s reaction to it. I don’t know. Then I considered maybe even though I washed it, the proteins from her sweat were still in the shirt, and that’s why it smelled after being hung outside. I’m at a loss, and wouldn’t wish the smell on anyone. Last year my daughter wore a costume for Halloween, and when she came in the house, the entire room instantly smelled like wet dog. It was so bad. I’m hoping you see this reply, and respond. I’m curious if you ever resolved the problem.
 
OMG! I've been talking about this "outdoor" smell on my clothes for a longgg time and Now I know I'm not crazy! I wash my clothes once a week when they are washed they smell amazing! But once i go outside with them on and come back inside I notice my clothes have this weird smell to it. And I have good hygiene as well. I was paranoid for a long time thinking that this smell is a hygiene thing but this thread has confirmed my suspicions that it is in fact my clothes. I also notice people rub their noses around me as well. Needles to say it has left me very paranoid. I have bought one of those Febreeze sprays and spray my clothes once I take them off and hang them up but I don't think it is working on my jacket or scarf. I still haven't found a solution to this problem but my research has pointed me in the direction of this smell on my clothes being "Geosmin". My next step will be to get rid of anything that isn't cotton.
 
So the answers to this were so bad I had to come add a real answer. Your skin and clothes carry bacteria. Each home has a different biome of bacteria depending on what's in your home.. people, animals, types of furniture, your HVAC, how often you clean.. etc. There is no formula to having a perfect bacteria biome, but whatever reasons there are certain bacteria that become real active in early summer that will give off a smell like wet dog when your skin or clothes containing a specific bacteria interacts with outside humidity. There is no one solution. It could be changing what you eat. Changing your detergent, or body soap. One method that usually helps is to clean your dryer. Take a towel you don't like and get it wet mix in bleach water and throw wet bleach covered towel in dryer and turn it on. This will sterilize dryer and make sure clothes aren't being contaminated there. Run another wet towel through the dryer with no bleach to make sure bleach is all gone. Also don't leave clothes in laundry room hanging, put them up right away until you get smell under control. Try buying a new t-shirt and wear it outside without washing, if it smells then it is your skin that's the problem and since family's contact each other they all share same bacteria biomes on skin. Something about each person needs to change. Maybe use anti bacterial soap on everyone to set your skin bacterial biome to ground zero. Possibly this just surpresses other good bacteria and let's the smelly bacteria go wild.. Maybe take probiotics... You just have to think outside the box and change things until you figure out what it is.
 
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Hi Sez, I know this post is really old, but I’m wondering if you ever had any luck figuring this out. My family has the same problem. We put on a clean shirt and sometimes within minutes of being outside, the shirt smells like a wet dog. I know for a fact that for us, this has nothing to do with how we do laundry. We have already purchased brand new shirts and worn them before washing, and they do the same when we go outside! We consider maybe it’s something in our sweat reacting to the material, but why does it happen to everyone in my household? My husband doesn’t have the same genes as me. Perhaps it is some type of parasite or something contagious within our household and that’s why it happens to all of us. I know it may sound silly to some people, but this doesn’t happen to everyone. That much I know. I can understand if it was just me and my girls having the problem because we have the same genes, but why does my husband suffer with this problem too? Also, we didn’t always make clothing smell like this. It’s only come about in the last 15 years or so. Not all shirts do it, or at least if they do, it isn’t near as bad. It seems anything synthetic. God forbid we wear one of those “quick dry” sport type shirts made by Nike or Under Armour. Today I washed my daughter’s volleyball jersey, and hung it outside to dry and it threw me off because it smelled good like detergent when I hung it out. When my daughter brought it in, it smelled like wet dog before she even put it on. So now I’m considering maybe it isn’t our body’s reaction to it. I don’t know. Then I considered maybe even though I washed it, the proteins from her sweat were still in the shirt, and that’s why it smelled after being hung outside. I’m at a loss, and wouldn’t wish the smell on anyone. Last year my daughter wore a costume for Halloween, and when she came in the house, the entire room instantly smelled like wet dog. It was so bad. I’m hoping you see this reply, and respond. I’m curious if you ever resolved the problem.
Hi
I’m going through the same thing, did u find out what is causing it ?

OMG! I've been talking about this "outdoor" smell on my clothes for a longgg time and Now I know I'm not crazy! I wash my clothes once a week when they are washed they smell amazing! But once i go outside with them on and come back inside I notice my clothes have this weird smell to it. And I have good hygiene as well. I was paranoid for a long time thinking that this smell is a hygiene thing but this thread has confirmed my suspicions that it is in fact my clothes. I also notice people rub their noses around me as well. Needles to say it has left me very paranoid. I have bought one of those Febreeze sprays and spray my clothes once I take them off and hang them up but I don't think it is working on my jacket or scarf. I still haven't found a solution to this problem but my research has pointed me in the direction of this smell on my clothes being "Geosmin". My next step will be to get rid of anything that isn't cotton.
Hi
I’m call me through the same thing did you figure it out?