We often receive requests for how to remove smells, odors,fumes and chemical irritants – especially formaldehyde and pesticide smells –from clothing. Some of these fumes arefrom the manufacturing and finishing processes for new clothing, some occurduring shipping of new garments to stores and customers, and some fumes andodors are collected while wearing at parties, restaurants or on the street. The difficulty in removing an odor orchemical irritant from your clothes will depend on if the odors are justresidue smells trapped within the fabric like smoke and secondhand perfumesmells, or if they are chemically bonded to the fabric like formaldehyde.
Formaldehyde is a particularly nasty and difficult chemicalthat is almost impossible to remove completely from clothing although you canreduce the magnitude of its effects. Formaldehyde has a recognizable pungent smell– think back to your high school biology class during lessons on dissecting …well, maybe some things are best not remembered. Formaldehyde is frequently used as anadhesive in building materials, especially wood products and new carpetadhesives. Clothing can absorb theformaldehyde smell simply by wearing them in newly constructed homes, buildingsand offices that are off-gassing heavily.
Formaldehyde is also often used in permapress andwrinkle-free textile finishes. Theformaldehyde smell can be lessened but the formaldehyde chemical can not beremoved completely from clothing regardless of time and numbers of washing. The best thing to do is not buy clothing containing formaldehyde or otherprocessing and finishing chemicals commonly used in conventional chemical-lacedclothing.
Many of the easy-care clothing finishes – such aspermapress, stain resistant, anti-static, anti-mildew, anti-bacterial,anti-cling, anti-shrink, flame retardant – contain formaldehyde or other harshand toxic chemicals that have been linked with a litany of diseases and healthproblems. “WakeUpand Smell the Formaldehyde” provides a detailed scoop.
We work with many people with Multiple ChemicalSensitivities (MCS) and varying degrees and expressions of chemicalsensitivities and the best thing that they can do is to wear organicclothing. Organic clothing is made from natural fibers grown without theuse of pesticides, herbicides and other toxic chemicals, and then manufacturedwithout toxic chemicals ... especially in the finishing phase of manufacturingwhich commonly use very toxic chemicals. Avoid all clothing that is"easy care," wrinkle-free, anti-static, anti-bacterial, and all theother easy care qualities. The finishing phase is where most of the toxicchemicals are introduced into conventional clothing. “IsYour Clothing Intolerable” provides the detailed scoop on the healthproblems of conventionally manufactured clothing.
The reality is that almost all of the toxic and carcinogenicpesticide, herbicide, and insecticide chemicals used during the growing ofconventional cotton are removed during the fabric manufacturing process. It is during the conventional fabric andgarment manufacturing and dyeing processes that clothes are drenched with toxicand hazardous chemicals to give them special properties. Basically, we buy clothing grown from organicand natural fibers for the sake of the earth; we wear clothing manufacturedorganically for the sake of our health.
Even with organic clothing, some people with MCS still need to do things tomake their new organic clothing as free from all processing as possible. Different kinds of natural chemicals are still used to clean and fix dyes evenwith organic clothing. The chemicals are natural and non-toxic but somepeople with MCS still react and need to remove these manufacturinginfluences.
Also, new clothing can absorb some chemical influences likefumigants, disinfectants, insecticides, anti-mildew sprays and vehicle exhaustfumes during shippingor in stores. You should always laundernew clothes, even natural fiber and organic clothing, before wearing. Those new clothes have traveled many milesand passed through many hands before arriving in your home crisply wrapped.
Laundry folklore is rich with home remedies for removing orreducing fumes, odors and chemical irritants from your clothing. One of the more interesting is to soakclothing in a solution containing a half cup of powdered goat’s milk. We have been unable to find any scientific orpractical reason why soaking in a solution of goat milk might be effective. Goat milk (pH 6.7) is slightly more alkalinethan cow milk (pH 6.4) and does have smaller fat modules but the nutritionalcontent is very similar. We suspect thatthe persistence of this technique might be more due to the soothingpsychological image than any actual chemistry. If you have tried and are convinced of theefficacy of soaking clothing in goat milk to remove chemical irritants, wewould love to hear about your experiences. The fats and butter solids in fresh or powdered milk can seriously stainyour clothing if allowed to dry before laundering so go straight from the milksoak to the washing machine.
Here are guidelines for removing or reducing fumes, odors,scents (like perfume, cologne and deodorants), smells and chemical irritants(like shipping fumigants, pesticides and anti-mildew sprays) from your clothing.
- Air them out. Hang clothing, even nearly purchasedclothing, in the open air and allow to air out and off-gas. This will help remove smoke, fumes, andsmells trapped in your clothing and will also allow offgassing of Volatile Organic Compounds(VOCs) such as formaldehyde used in the garment dyeing or finishing processor of pesticides and fumigates such as methyl bromide used during shipping. Hang the clothing in a breezy (you can usea fan), warm and sunlit room to facilitate the airing-out and off-gassing. Because the off-gassing might contain VOC’s,hang the clothes outside or in a room containing fresh air and lots of leafygreen plants, such as Boston Ferns, which will absorb and remove VOCs fromindoor rooms. The length of time dependsupon how saturated the clothing and the sensitivity of the wearer. The hanging length of time can be as littleas a few hours to a couple weeks. Remember,formaldehyde used in new carpet adhesives and wood building materials can takeseveral months to a year or more to off-gas.
- Soaking. Soak clothingin a sink or washing machine filled with warm water before washing. Add one cup of baking soda, washing soda orBorax. Our experience is that severalhours (or overnight) are usually sufficient although some people will suggestup to several days. Rather than soakingfor several days, it is probably more effective to repeat the airing – soaking– washing – drying cycle several times if necessary.
- Washing. Complete the laundry cycle and wash accordingto the manufacturer’s instructions. Thechoice of laundry detergents is very important. Most conventional laundry detergents are made from syntheticpetrochemicals and laced with artificial dyes, fragrances and opticalbrighteners. Besides being hard on theenvironment, the toxic chemicals in these laundry detergents can also leave aresidue on clothing that can irritate the skin and cause a rash. The new generation of ‘green’ laundrydetergents is made from vegetable-based cleaning agents, do not containartificial dyes or fragrances, are more effective at removing dirt, stains andodors from clothing, and are gentler to the environment and to the wearer.
If possible, stop the washing machine when it has filled the basin for therinse cycle and add a cup of distilled white vinegar to the rinse cycle. The vinegar rinse will also brighten fabriccolors and remove alkali residues from soaps and detergents. Let soak for an hour before completing therinse cycle. To insure that alldetergent has been rinsed from your clothing, select your washing machine’sextra rinse cycle if it has one and add nothing – just water – to this extrarinse.
- Drying and Airing. Dry on a clothes line or clothes rack in thesunlight. Sunlight will help removeodors and smells but bright sunlight can cause dyes to fade. The line drying will also provide a finalopportunity for clothes to air out. Ifyou must dry in a clothes dryer, use a low temperature as high temperatures canactually cause any remaining odors to “set” into the fabric by bonding withfibers and dyes.
- Repeat if necessary. Once through this process will effectivelyremove smells and irritants for most people. If your clothes still have bothersome odors or are chemicallyirritating, you can repeat the process.
There are some chemicals, such as formaldehyde, that arebonded tightly to the fabric. Theconventional clothing manufacturer went to great effort to put that chemical inyour easy-care fabric and they really don’t want it to come out easily. Repeated washings and airings will reduce theeffects but it might take many washings and many days to reduce them to a levelthat is acceptable to you, especially if you are chemically sensitive. We strongly recommend avoiding conventionalchemical clothing. Do the environmentand yourself a favor and dress in natural and organic fabrics.
A word of caution for the chemically sensitive: several peoplewith severe chemical sensitivities have reported that even organic clothing canbe very irritating and uncomfortable regardless of the number of washings. We have been researching and it might be dueto a reaction to cotton fibers. Althoughpeople who have trouble with cotton fibers also tend to have reactions to hempalso. Perhaps it isn’t the clothing buttoxins in the skin and physiology that are causing irritation to the skin. Some people have found that it wasn’t theirclothing that was irritating their skin but their skin lotion. Many personal care products, even somelabeled "organic", contain chemical preservatives such as methyl,propyl, butyl and ethyl parabens that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) warns as causing estrogen activity and being potential endocrine systemdisruptors. When you rub these personal care lotions into your skin, youare literally feeding them and any toxins that they contain directly to youskin and into your blood system. If anyone has experience and suggestions wewould love to hear them.
For those who like to understand the “why” and “how” behindthe steps, we’ll go into more depth and explanation. This will also help you to better modify theguidelines for different problems.
What are baking soda, washing soda and borax? Baking soda – also know as sodium bicarbonateor NaHCO3 – is a naturally occurring mineral. Commercial baking soda like you would buy ina store is produced by two primary methods: mined in huge, open pit mines froman ore called trona; and in large factories using a manufacturing processcalled the Solvay process.
The world’s largest deposits oftrona ore are found in several western U.S.states, and especially in Wyoming.Trona ore is a mineral deposit found in the bottom of seasonal alkaline lakesthat have evaporated repeatedly over countless centuries leaving behind amineral deposit. Besides large depositsfound in Wyoming, Utah and California, trona ore and similar sodium carbonatedeposits have also been found in Egypt in the Nile River Valley (where theywere used in the preparation of mummies … true story. This must be the first reported use of sodiumcarbonates to reduce odors … idle speculation) and in ancient lake beds in Kenya and Namibia.
Almost all the baking sodaproduced in the U.S. comesfrom the trona mineral deposits mined in the U.S. Now you know where all that Arm & Hammer®baking soda and washing soda comes from.
Outside the U.S., most ofthe baking soda is manufactured using the Solvay process which depends upon thereaction of sodium chloride, ammonia and carbon dioxide in large 80-foot hightowers. Discovered in 1861 by the Belgiumindustrial chemist Ernest Solvay, more than 100,000 tons of baking soda isproduced around the world using the Solvay process.
Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)and washing soda (sodium carbonate) are very similar and both can be producedfrom the same manufacturing process. Washing soda (pH of 11) is more alkaline and slightly more caustic thanbaking soda (pH of 9) and you should wear gloves when working with washingsoda. The greater alkaline nature ofwashing soda will also cause it to eat away at elastic over time. Because washing soda isn’t noticeably moreeffective at removing odors and irritants than baking soda, we suggest usingbaking soda.
Borax (known by chemists assodium borate) is another naturally occurring mineral found in dry lake bedsnear Boron, California and in Turkey, Chileand Tibet. Borax is a mineral composed of sodium, boron,oxygen and water. The best known companythat sells borax is 20 Mule Team® Borax which is made of 100% borax mined nearBoron, California. A Hollywoodactor proved to be their most effective pitchman.
What really is vinegar? Theword comes from the French “vin aigre” meaning sour wine. Vinegar is the result of the fermentation ofnatural sugars to make alcohol and then a secondary fermentation of the alcoholto make vinegar. Vinegar history isancient. The Babylonians used spicedvinegar as a preservative and condiment in 5000 BC and it has been producedcommercially since about 2000 BC. Tofind the real scoop about vinegar – its history, lore, FAQs, recipes, latestnews and an invitation to their 2007 Annual Meeting – visit the web site of The Vinegar Institute.
Vinegar is an amazing product with loads of uses. We recently found a fascinating web site tipsbulletin.com with an article on 70+ Wonderful Uses Of White Vinegar. Several of those uses are for applying vinegar as a cleaning aid for clothes, leather, rugs, windows and garage floors. The variety of uses for vinegar is incredible.
How do baking soda and vinegar remove odors? Actually, they neutralize odors rather thanjust covering them up. The secret is intheir pH which causes a chemical change in the odorous compound. This chemical change might also help reducethe chemical bond of the compound to the fabric. Most odors come from compounds that areeither acidic or alkaline / base. “Alkaline”and “base” are just different names for the same thing. It is necessary to understand pH to fullyunderstand how baking soda and vinegar neutralize odors.
What really is pH? Let’s get chemical for a moment. The term “pH” is an abbreviation of“potential hydrogen” and refers to the amount of hydrogen ions present in asolution. A hydrogen ion is a hydrogenatom that has either lost an electron (H-) or gained an extraelectron (H+). So, pH is ameasure of the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution and varies from 1(highly acidic) to 14 (highly alkaline or base). Pure water is neutral with a pH of 7. Vinegar is acidic with a pH of 3 and bakingsoda is slightly alkaline with a pH of 9. Washing soda has a pH of 11.
Vinegarand baking soda help to balance pH levels by changing the chemical structure ofodor-causing acids and alkalines bringing them closer to neutral. Because it is acidic, vinegar is moreeffective at neutralizing bases, and baking soda is more effective atneutralizing acids. If you mix vinegar andbaking soda together when soaking smelly clothing, they will mostly cancel outeach other.
Now youare armed with knowledge about removing odors and irritants. If you have other techniques and recipes,please send them to us.
Michael
LotusOrganics.com
Where purely beautiful clothing is only natural
