How to Get Rid of Fragrance from Clothing

White vinegar is a necessity if you are chemically sensitive. I use it on a daily basis – for laundry, cleaning, and washing my fruits and vegetables.

Here is a tip for removing fragrance from clothing, whether it be new clothing from a store that has that “mall” smell still attached to it, or clothing that has been contaminated somehow by fragrance (thrift store clothing previously washed in scented detergent or even if someone scented gave you a hug). Take your item of clothing and place it in a bucket. Fill the bucket enough to thoroughly cover the item with a mixture of water and vinegar. I like to go heavy on the vinegar, at the very minimum a 50/50 mix. Let the item soak. I have soaked items for days, and I’ve soaked items for weeks. From my personal experience, I never had any color fading, even with black pieces or blue denim jeans. You will notice the water will be tinged with color when you pour it out, but again, I myself never had any color fading at all.

This technique has worked very well for me. I soaked new jeans for several weeks to get rid of their “store” smell. I’ve soaked jeans that were contaminated with Fabreze from sitting on someone’s couch. I even soaked a very scented top from a friend of mine who wears perfume and burns incense (It was REALLY scented but I loved this shirt so much I had to give it a try). So far I have successfully removed the fragrances from everything I’ve soaked. If I take the shirt out, wash it, and see that it isn’t ready, I just put it back in the vinegar for more time. I have left items to soak for over a month.

Please DO NOT USE apple cidar vinegar though. If you leave it for any length of time, it will grow mold. The white vinegar will not.