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smelly clothing

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Recumbent bicycles
Published
20 July 2005
Last activity
22 August 2005
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Jeff Grippe
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  1. This may seem a bit off topic for the recumbent group but stay with me, it
    isn't...

    I am a major league sweater and I have found that my tee-shirts acquire a
    permanent ammonia odor which I can't seem to wash out. When I launder the
    shirts they smell fine but when they get even a little wet the ammonia odor
    surfaces.

    I have tried the following without good results:

    1. Adding Vinegar to my wash.
    2. Spraying my shirts with vinegar when I take them off (this has been tried
    with and without also adding the vinegar to the wash).
    3. Adding baking soda to the wash.
    4. Using Fabreeze including the "tough odor" version.
    5. A few different brands of detergent although mostly I use Wisk.

    Its gotten to the point where my best solution is to not wear my favorite
    tee-shirts when I ride. This keeps them smelling ok but then I don't get to
    wear them when I ride. I have some great ones that would make E.D.'s head
    explode but I want to protect them from odor.

    Any suggestions?

  2. "Jeff Grippe" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    This may seem a bit off topic for the recumbent group but stay with me, it
    isn't...

    I am a major league sweater and I have found that my tee-shirts acquire a
    permanent ammonia odor which I can't seem to wash out. When I launder the
    shirts they smell fine but when they get even a little wet the ammonia


    odor

    Quoted message said:

    surfaces.

    I have tried the following without good results:

    1. Adding Vinegar to my wash.
    2. Spraying my shirts with vinegar when I take them off (this has been


    tried

    Quoted message said:

    with and without also adding the vinegar to the wash).
    3. Adding baking soda to the wash.
    4. Using Fabreeze including the "tough odor" version.
    5. A few different brands of detergent although mostly I use Wisk.

    Its gotten to the point where my best solution is to not wear my favorite
    tee-shirts when I ride. This keeps them smelling ok but then I don't get


    to

    Quoted message said:

    wear them when I ride. I have some great ones that would make E.D.'s head
    explode but I want to protect them from odor.

    Any suggestions?

    Hello,

    I wonder if you'd have the same problem with regular bike jersies. I've
    never had a "smell" problem with bike jersies. I think, mainly, it's because
    they're not cotton. It's either that or my sweat is the neutral,
    non-smelling kind...which I kinda doubt.

    Regards,
    C.

  3. "Jeff Grippe" <[email hidden]> wrote

    Quoted message said:


    my tee-shirts acquire a permanent ammonia odor

    Ah, more on the stinky clothing theme, but this time not
    related to stink bait or chumming fishing technique. %^)

    It is probable that your shirts have been "colonized" by
    microbes that bind tightly to clothing fibers. This is
    fairly common, especially with synthetic sports clothing
    and results in persistent or recurring "body odor" even
    after washing.

    Biz laundry detergent and perhaps other laundry products
    containing enzymes seem to help get rid of the microbes.

    I add Biz to the laundry when washing my bike clothes,
    and if they're beginning to really smell, I soak them
    overnight in solution of Biz. Some synthetic clothing
    materials also have antimicrobial treatments built-in
    or added. Wool fabrics are fairly odor resistant
    and seem to stay fresher smelling longer.

    There are special products for removing pet odors
    that contain more concentrated enzymatic cleaners
    (OUTZ is one brand). Spot treating with these may
    also help in severe cases.

    You're on your own with respect to removing stains
    from tee-shirt readers' exploded heads...

    Jon Meinecke

  4. Jeff Grippe said:

    Any suggestions?

    I occasionally have this problem with jerseys (smell) or shorts (rash).
    In both cases, I soak the offending article of clothing overnight in a
    diluted bleach solution. Also, for biking clothes with synthetic fibers,
    it's best to wash them soon after taking them off. Don't bunch them up
    wet and throw them into a hamper for a week.

    --
    Bill Bushnell
    http://pobox.com/~bushnell/

  5. "Jeff Grippe" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    This may seem a bit off topic for the recumbent group but stay with me, it
    isn't...

    I am a major league sweater and I have found that my tee-shirts acquire a
    permanent ammonia odor which I can't seem to wash out. When I launder the
    shirts they smell fine but when they get even a little wet the ammonia
    odor surfaces.

    I have tried the following without good results:

    1. Adding Vinegar to my wash.
    2. Spraying my shirts with vinegar when I take them off (this has been
    tried with and without also adding the vinegar to the wash).
    3. Adding baking soda to the wash.
    4. Using Fabreeze including the "tough odor" version.
    5. A few different brands of detergent although mostly I use Wisk.

    Its gotten to the point where my best solution is to not wear my favorite
    tee-shirts when I ride. This keeps them smelling ok but then I don't get
    to wear them when I ride. I have some great ones that would make E.D.'s
    head explode but I want to protect them from odor.

    Any suggestions?

    Sweat away like hell and be proud of it. Your body is doing exactly what it
    is suppose to be doing. Anyone who doesn't like the way you smell should
    keep their freaking distance. Why would anyone ever want to be closer than
    several arm lengths away from others anyway? Unless you are engaged in
    intimate sexual relations, you do not need to concern yourself with others.
    Hells Bells! Smells is Good!

    The biggest laugh in the world are all those touring cyclists who think they
    have got to shower each and every day of a bike tour. What good does that
    do? The next day you are bathed in sweat within 15 minutes. I have even seen
    these types of jerks hand washing their cycling shorts at night. I can go
    for weeks without showering and months without washing any clothes. Yes, I
    sweat a lot, but I am not "dirty." Wash when you are dirty. Sweat we will
    always have with us. It is what humans do and it is very necessary. Either
    that, or learn to pant like other animals.

    You should shower (take a bath) about once a week on a Saturday night and
    you should wash your cycling clothes about once a year. Hells Bells, I would
    not even consider wearing any cycling clothing that did not at least stick
    to my body. In fact, I like cycling clothing that will stand all by itself
    even when I am not wearing it.

    All this bathing and washing is total insanity and is the ruination of bike
    tours. It makes cyclists appear to be idiots who only have hot showers and
    washing their freaking shorts on their minds. Some are such idiots that they
    would rather bath and wash even before they have something to eat.

    The American obsession with cleanliness is mindless and only those with no
    minds obsess about it. If you had a mental life, you would not ever think of
    such trivial nonsense. I read that the Tibetans only bath once a year and
    they cover themselves in yak fat year around in order to ward off the cold.
    Now there is a sensible people!

    Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota

  6. In article <[email hidden]>, Jeff Grippe

    Quoted message said:

    This may seem a bit off topic for the recumbent group but stay with me, it
    isn't...

    I am a major league sweater and I have found that my tee-shirts acquire a
    permanent ammonia odor which I can't seem to wash out. When I launder the
    shirts they smell fine but when they get even a little wet the ammonia odor
    surfaces.

    I have tried the following without good results:

    1. Adding Vinegar to my wash.
    2. Spraying my shirts with vinegar when I take them off (this has been tried
    with and without also adding the vinegar to the wash).
    3. Adding baking soda to the wash.
    4. Using Fabreeze including the "tough odor" version.
    5. A few different brands of detergent although mostly I use Wisk.

    Its gotten to the point where my best solution is to not wear my favorite
    tee-shirts when I ride. This keeps them smelling ok but then I don't get to
    wear them when I ride. I have some great ones that would make E.D.'s head
    explode but I want to protect them from odor.

    Any suggestions?


    Ammonia eh? No offence Jeff but maybe you need to change something in
    your diet?

    All kidding aside, I went into this mountain equipment store and they
    had a 100.00 T-shirt made from some crazy techno wool from New Zealand.
    This sales guy tells me he wore one for two weeks of hiking and it
    barely smelled at all. Pretty impressive, but 100 bux for a T-shirt is
    bloody steep.

  7. "Jeff Grippe" <jeff@door7> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:


    "Edward Dolan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...


    [...]

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    I read that the Tibetans only bath once a year and they cover themselves
    in yak fat year around in order to ward off the cold. Now there is a
    sensible people!

    Regarding Yak Fat (tm) to ward off the cold:

    This is a problem I've rarely had while cycling. I checked with Nashbar
    and Performance. They don't sell anything with Yak Fat (tm). And believe
    me the last thing I need to drape myself in is fat of any kind. I'm
    already equipped with a built in supply. Its not Yak Fat (tm) but if I
    wore a fur coat I'll bet you couldn't tell the difference at 20 feet. I'll
    bet if those Tibetans lived here and dined regularly on McDonalds they
    wouldn't need Yak Fat (tm) either. Shame on you for endorsing a culture
    whose real crime is under consumption of fast food, American fast food at
    that. If everyone went out and simply got Yak Fat (tm) clothing then
    nobody would need fast food, our economy would collapse, and there'd be no
    money to fight our war. Sure that's good for me and my type but you aren't
    thinking this through Ed.

    Well, this is what happens when your inferiors like Jeff Grippe try to be
    funny.

    The Tibetan yak fat thing was a throw away line that referenced your concern
    about being smelly. The Tibetans use the yak fat in order to ward off the
    cold, but you can imagine how it must smell. But the Tibetans are a sensible
    people because they are not concerned all that much about how they smell.
    They only bath once a year even though covered in yak fat. They would rather
    be warm and smell than be cold, clean and not smell. Got it? Yet?

    But hey, if other idiots here think you are funny, then go for it. But the
    trick will be to amuse me - and I am not easily amused because I am cursed
    with a great intelligence.

    Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota

  8. Big Ed Said,

    Quoted message said:

    However, I warn you, God and I do not suffer "preversions" lightly.

    Of course god suffers perversions lightly. Your existence is proof of that.

    As far as what you do, few of us care frankly. In that respect we are like
    god ourselves. We listen to you (well read actually) but actually we could
    care less. At this point it is amusing to see what you are going to say
    next.

    And that's "Mr. New York Secular Jew" to buddy.

  9. Jeff Grippe said:

    my tee-shirts acquire a permanent ammonia odor which I can't
    seem to wash out. When I launder the shirts they smell fine
    but when they get even a little wet the ammonia odor surfaces.

    According to Dr. Mirkin, it could be from an infection, or from eating
    too much meat:

    http://www.drmirkin.com/morehealth/8831.html

    --
    "Bicycling is a healthy and manly pursuit with much
    to recommend it, and, unlike other foolish crazes,
    it has not died out." -- The Daily Telegraph (1877)

  10. Quoted message said:

    Personally if they ever made a shower head for my camelback, I'd buy one.
    Then I could shower while riding. Hmmm, there's a project for the weekend.
    Too bad I'm busy. Maybe you can work on it Ed. Let me know if you come up
    with something.

    I was riding on a real hot day with a camel back and no water bottles.
    I blew into the mouthpiece then held it over my head and squeeze the
    mouthpiece to open it up. The water came out onto my head in a little
    stream and cooled me down.

  11. Awwww. Ya just ruined ED's new business venture.

    Forget the Camelback Showerhead idea Ed.

    <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    Personally if they ever made a shower head for my camelback, I'd buy one.
    Then I could shower while riding. Hmmm, there's a project for the weekend.
    Too bad I'm busy. Maybe you can work on it Ed. Let me know if you come up
    with something.

    I was riding on a real hot day with a camel back and no water bottles.
    I blew into the mouthpiece then held it over my head and squeeze the
    mouthpiece to open it up. The water came out onto my head in a little
    stream and cooled me down.

  12. "Jeff Grippe" <jeff@door7> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    Awwww. Ya just ruined ED's new business venture.

    Forget the Camelback Showerhead idea Ed.

    Only idiots top post, even if it is only to your lame brain previous
    message.

    But Jeff Grippe is headed to the bottom of the barrel as I knew he would be
    from day one. He is just not up to our high standards. Soon he will be at
    the level of Slugger - nothign but a bottom feeder.

    Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota

    Quoted message said:

    <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    Personally if they ever made a shower head for my camelback, I'd buy
    one.
    Then I could shower while riding. Hmmm, there's a project for the
    weekend.
    Too bad I'm busy. Maybe you can work on it Ed. Let me know if you come up
    with something.

    I was riding on a real hot day with a camel back and no water bottles.
    I blew into the mouthpiece then held it over my head and squeeze the
    mouthpiece to open it up. The water came out onto my head in a little
    stream and cooled me down.

  13. Jeff Grippe said:

    I am a major league sweater and I have found that my tee-shirts acquire a
    permanent ammonia odor which I can't seem to wash out. When I launder the
    shirts they smell fine but when they get even a little wet the ammonia odor
    surfaces.

    Quoted message said:

    Any suggestions?

    Stop wearing cotton Ts and start wearing fabrics designed to shift sweat
    away from your body while not building up bug problems.

    X-Static fabric has silver coatings on the fibres designed to make them
    resistant to bug colonies forming, Merino wool tends to be resistant to
    that sort of thing naturally. If the word "wool" makes you think of
    cold weather clothing then note that a fine Merino top is quite a bit
    thinner than a cotton T so shouldn't overheat you. You can get them
    from good outdoor suppliers (though probably check hiking sections
    rather than cycling) and they're one of the current best of breed for
    comfortable base layers.

    Pete.
    --
    Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
    Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
    Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
    net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

  14. Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    Personally if they ever made a shower head for my camelback, I'd buy one.
    Then I could shower while riding. Hmmm, there's a project for the weekend.
    Too bad I'm busy. Maybe you can work on it Ed. Let me know if you come up
    with something.

    Quoted message said:

    I was riding on a real hot day with a camel back and no water bottles.
    I blew into the mouthpiece then held it over my head and squeeze the
    mouthpiece to open it up. The water came out onto my head in a little
    stream and cooled me down.

    Ortlieb make shower heads for their water bags, so someone's already
    thought of it before people start writing to the patents office...

    http://www.ortleib.de/_prod.php?lang=de&produkt=dusch

    Pete.
    --
    Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
    Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
    Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
    net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

  15. "Peter Clinch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    Jeff Grippe wrote:

    Stop wearing cotton Ts and start wearing fabrics designed to shift sweat
    away from your body while not building up bug problems.

    That makes a great deal of sense but all of my really good political shirts
    are cotton T's. I have always exercised in T's (and always produced T's that
    end up smelling!)

    I am revisiting the vinegar solution. It seems to be working better. I have
    a feeling that I simply didn't use enough before.

    I really like the T's but I will stop wearing them if I can't solve this
    problem.

    Thanks for the advice.

    Jeff

  16. Jeff Grippe said:

    That makes a great deal of sense but all of my really good political shirts
    are cotton T's.

    Create a slogan-holder for the back of the seat...

    Pete.
    --
    Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
    Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
    Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
    net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

  17. Good Idea but I already have signs on both sides of my trike that say:

    "This Trike Fights Diabetes"

    I think what I can / should do is just take a shirt to ride in and then
    change to the T when I'm not riding. I assume that these fabrics that pull
    sweat away from the body can easily have the sweat rinsed out of them when
    you stop?

    Thanks again.

    Jeff
    "Peter Clinch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:
    Jeff Grippe said:

    That makes a great deal of sense but all of my really good political
    shirts are cotton T's.

    Create a slogan-holder for the back of the seat...

    Pete.
    --
    Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
    Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
    Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
    net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

  18. Jeff Grippe said:

    I think what I can / should do is just take a shirt to ride in and then
    change to the T when I'm not riding. I assume that these fabrics that pull
    sweat away from the body can easily have the sweat rinsed out of them when
    you stop?

    Nothing will particularly pull the sweat out. However, once sweat is
    pushed into them the fabrics will wick it away from your body and spread
    it over a greater surface area where it will evaporate relatively
    quickly, so you stay a bit drier and still get a cooling effect. Unlike
    cotton, the fibre itself does not absorb moisture (although some will
    certainly be held in the weave of the fabric) so they hold less moisture
    and will dry quicker when rinsed.

    Polypro wicking tops like Helly Hansen Lifa are fairly notorious for
    getting a smell despite these benefits: to avoid the pong look for
    fabrics like X-Static and fine Merino wool.

    Pete.
    --
    Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
    Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
    Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
    net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

  19. Edward Dolan said:

    Sweat away like hell and be proud of it. Your body is doing exactly what
    it
    is suppose to be doing. Anyone who doesn't like the way you smell should
    keep their freaking distance. Why would anyone ever want to be closer than

    several arm lengths away from others anyway? Unless you are engaged in
    intimate sexual relations, you do not need to concern yourself with
    others.
    Hells Bells! Smells is Good!

    The biggest laugh in the world are all those touring cyclists who think
    they
    have got to shower each and every day of a bike tour. What good does that
    do? The next day you are bathed in sweat within 15 minutes. I have even
    seen
    these types of jerks hand washing their cycling shorts at night. I can go
    for weeks without showering and months without washing any clothes. Yes, I

    sweat a lot, but I am not "dirty." Wash when you are dirty. Sweat we will
    always have with us. It is what humans do and it is very necessary. Either

    that, or learn to pant like other animals.

    You should shower (take a bath) about once a week on a Saturday night and
    you should wash your cycling clothes about once a year. Hells Bells, I
    would
    not even consider wearing any cycling clothing that did not at least stick

    to my body. In fact, I like cycling clothing that will stand all by itself

    even when I am not wearing it.

    No wonder downtown Worthington, Minnesota is deserted. Mr. Ed has driven
    everyone off with his foul personality and foul body odor.

    --
    Johnny ReBike
    ReBike - Slowest Bike in the Known Universe

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  20. Edward Dolan said:

    As I sit at the right hand of God Almighty

    ed doofus,

    God Almighty says to take a shower and put some clean clothes on.

    --
    Johnny ReBike
    ReBike - Slowest Bike in the Known Universe

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