Those Vintage Smells

[BigPurseSue]

NY Times ran a fascinating story today about smells in vintage clothing. Including a scientific analysis of what constitutes them. (I promise you'll be grossed out.) And best way to get rid of them. (Avoid dry cleaners. Wash in water and detergent several times.)

"Getting to the Bottom of 'Thrift Store Smell'"
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/21/smarter-living/thrift-store-smells.html

"That vintage store smell: We all know it, that musty, grandma’s attic-y smell that licks your nostrils the moment you cross the threshold of any vintage, consignment or used clothing store, no matter how high- or low-end. Where does it come from? And more important, how do I get it out of my purchases when I get them home?..."

 

[ladysarah]

NY Times ran a fascinating story today about smells in vintage clothing. Including a scientific analysis of what constitutes them. (I promise you'll be grossed out.) And best way to get rid of them. (Avoid dry cleaners. Wash in water and detergent several times.)

"Getting to the Bottom of 'Thrift Store Smell'"
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/21/smarter-living/thrift-store-smells.html

"That vintage store smell: We all know it, that musty, grandma’s attic-y smell that licks your nostrils the moment you cross the threshold of any vintage, consignment or used clothing store, no matter how high- or low-end. Where does it come from? And more important, how do I get it out of my purchases when I get them home?..."

Wow!

 

[Gabs007]

Oh dear, a bit late though, had bought a wonderful vintage dress from the RealReal and while the dress was great, the smell was so rank, so I did have it dry cleaned and it still didn't help and I ended up binning it. I swear it smelled of death, like it was in Count Dracula's coffin for decades

 

[MyAwesomeFinds]

One reason I can't shop at thrift stores...

 

[Love Of My Life]

I will say for the most part, resale shops here in NYC that I have been too don't have the smells
that have been posted.
I wouldn't even attempt to dry clean an item I'd just return it especially bought on line

 

[ladysarah]

I will say for the most part, resale shops here in NYC that I have been too don't have the smells
that have been posted.
I wouldn't even attempt to dry clean an item I'd just return it especially bought on line

I agree , never bought anything with a 'smell', but I like washing things anyway, vintage silk and cashmere in particular can be washed and becomes fresh again.

 

[mdcx]

When I used to shop in thrift stores a lot I always smelled the armpits of things before buying them. Rank years old sweat and BO never comes out! The "old lady" or general mustiness smell never bothered me as they could usually be washed out - a few warm washes one after the other seemed to work.

 

[Tykhe]

This is a great topic! I think my main reason for not wanting to buy consignment is the hassle of having to clean the article of clothing. I recently bought a used chanel jacket and I really want to get it as clean as possible. Has anyone ever tried this washing method?

I don’t think I would toss a jacket in the washer. But maybe spot clean and a quick soak?

 

[Love Of My Life]

This is a great topic! I think my main reason for not wanting to buy consignment is the hassle of having to clean the article of clothing. I recently bought a used chanel jacket and I really want to get it as clean as possible. Has anyone ever tried this washing method?

I don’t think I would toss a jacket in the washer. But maybe spot clean and a quick soak?

Many have attempted this method.. I'm not that confident!

 

[Tykhe]

Many have attempted this method.. I'm not that confident!

Yeah don’t want to take a risk lol. Too much money at stake.

 

[papertiger]

NY Times ran a fascinating story today about smells in vintage clothing. Including a scientific analysis of what constitutes them. (I promise you'll be grossed out.) And best way to get rid of them. (Avoid dry cleaners. Wash in water and detergent several times.)

"Getting to the Bottom of 'Thrift Store Smell'"
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/21/smarter-living/thrift-store-smells.html

"That vintage store smell: We all know it, that musty, grandma’s attic-y smell that licks your nostrils the moment you cross the threshold of any vintage, consignment or used clothing store, no matter how high- or low-end. Where does it come from? And more important, how do I get it out of my purchases when I get them home?..."

Thank you the recommendations contained therein, I hope they're available in Europe. I use Ecover Delicate and have found it excellent for hand washing. I've had a couple of amazing jackets I wasn't careful enough with inspection before buying, in the end it was machine wash or chuck and it worked (I used white fragrance-free soap shavings from a bar - I don't recommend others do this but most modern powders will be much too harsh).

I find the article does it's best to scare monger. Of course people should double-check all visible and odour signs of previous incarnations and then wash their pre-loved clothes a few times before wearing. How many of us buy stuff from other stores without a care even though it's spayed with goodness knows what and tried on a million times by others?

 

[papertiger]

This is a great topic! I think my main reason for not wanting to buy consignment is the hassle of having to clean the article of clothing. I recently bought a used chanel jacket and I really want to get it as clean as possible. Has anyone ever tried this washing method?

I don’t think I would toss a jacket in the washer. But maybe spot clean and a quick soak?

I would NOT try this for Chanel.

 

[Genie27]

This is a great topic! I think my main reason for not wanting to buy consignment is the hassle of having to clean the article of clothing. I recently bought a used chanel jacket and I really want to get it as clean as possible. Has anyone ever tried this washing method?

I don’t think I would toss a jacket in the washer. But maybe spot clean and a quick soak?

I hand wash all kinds of silks, knits, wools and cashmeres, but would never wash anything that has interfacing, as that may shrink and make the facing fabric pucker. Some older silk dresses and knits I do toss in the delicate cycle, in a mesh garment bag. But I am fanatical about air drying - never in the dryer.

I did test this Laundress method on a very old and dirty alpaca/wool jacket because I wanted to try it. It got out the weird pigeon-poo dry-cleaning chemical smell, and the jacket now smells and looks clean, but it looks washed. A steaming may refresh the freshness but this was an extremely old, well used jacket that I was going to throw away, so nothing to lose. But I will not risk my Chanel jackets or any other structured items.

 

[ladysarah]

I hand wash all kinds of silks, knits, wools and cashmeres, but would never wash anything that has interfacing, as that may shrink and make the facing fabric pucker. Some older silk dresses and knits I do toss in the delicate cycle, in a mesh garment bag. But I am fanatical about air drying - never in the dryer.

I did test this Laundress method on a very old and dirty alpaca/wool jacket because I wanted to try it. It got out the weird pigeon-poo dry-cleaning chemical smell, and the jacket now smells and looks clean, but it looks washed. A steaming may refresh the freshness but this was an extremely old, well used jacket that I was going to throw away, so nothing to lose. But I will not risk my Chanel jackets or any other structured items.

Would love to see a photo of how this turned out. I regularly wash cashmere in mesh bags in the washing machine. (I should point out that my washing machine has something called 'hand wash' programme. I ve never washed anything structured with lining or interlining. To avoid dry cleaning - I turn inside out my husbands expensive jackets that get a lot of wear, and I put them in the sun to air for a couple of hours. The sun disinfects everything. London sun is not very strong, not sure if this would work in countries with very strong sun, which could fade the fabric.

 

[BigPurseSue]

This is a great topic! I think my main reason for not wanting to buy consignment is the hassle of having to clean the article of clothing. I recently bought a used chanel jacket and I really want to get it as clean as possible. Has anyone ever tried this washing method?

I don’t think I would toss a jacket in the washer. But maybe spot clean and a quick soak?

I actually did try this recently with the exception that I didn't put the jacket through the wash machine. I read while Googling around that wool will shrink with any agitation, so best to let it soak about 20 minutes in lukewarm soap and water. Then squeeze out. Rinse. Give it another 20 minute undisturbed soak in soap and water.

Then I lay it flat to dry on a rack so it wouldn't stretch out by hanging. And I gave it a lot of time outside to air out.

Detergent apparently breaks down wool fibers so one should use special wool soap. I used the Australian soap Woolskin that contains tree oil as an anti-bacterial. Very pricey but the wool jackets I washed came out with a wonderful smell and they look fabulous. I scrubbed the pits and the cuffs and collar of the jackets with the soap prior to the hand-wash soaking. Both jackets had linings and interface and those didn't shrink, although such things are capable of shrinking.

In the past I have hand-washed wool and silk with Dawn dish detergent and they came out fine. But I'm always careful about the agitation. I did once have a wool coat shrink when I put it through gentle on the wash machine, and my mom once had a sweater shrink so much it came out looking like it would only fit a doll. It was so tiny it was actually funny.