After washing your favorite shirt several times, you think you’ve finally gotten rid of the sweat smell. But this bad smell reappears during ironing or after wearing it. How is this possible after several washes? In this article, we explain the cause of this problem and give you some tips on how to eliminate penetrating sweat odors from textiles and prevent them.
Why this smell of perspiration that persists in the clothes?
The smell of perspiration which persists and reappears as soon as a garment is ironed or worn is due to the presence of butyric acid. Everyone sweats, for example while playing sports or just during daily activities. As soon as the perspiration dries up, only the butyric acid that is excreted by the body during perspiration remains.
Butyric acid produces malodorous molecules which are especially active when clothes are hot, ie when they are ironed or worn. If this acid is not removed properly during washing, the sweat odor will persist. Smelly molecules in clothes and other textiles can also develop because the (sports) clothes have been left too long in a sports bag, in the laundry basket or in the washing machine after washing.
3 tips to prevent sweat odors in clothes
Of course, you want to prevent your clothes from smelling of sweat. In any case, be sure to clean the washing machine regularly, to prevent bacteria from accumulating there. If you sweat quickly or excessively, we recommend that you follow these tips:
1. Wash your armpits regularly
If you suffer from excessive sweating, we advise you to wash your armpits at least once a day. This will eliminate the bacteria responsible for perspiration odors and prevent them from becoming embedded in clothing.
2. Change your clothes daily
Do not wear your clothes for more than one day and wash them more often. This will prevent an accumulation of butyric acid in the clothes. Deodorant is not a good solution to mask the smell of sweat in your clothes, since it does not last. The smell of sweat will only get worse.
3. Use an antiperspirant
If your clothes smell of sweat, we advise you not to use a normal deodorant, but rather an antiperspirant. This type of deodorant reduces the activity of sweat glands, which inhibits sweat production (and therefore decreases butyric acid) in clothing.
2 tips for eliminating perspiration odors from textiles
Eliminate perspiration odors
There are different solutions to eliminate perspiration odors in clothes and other textiles. On the Internet, vinegar and soda are often cited to solve this problem.
You can try using soda or vinegar to eliminate or prevent perspiration odors in textiles:
1. Soda
Let the garment soak for at least an hour in water with soda added, before putting it in the washing machine. However, the different sites do not agree on the duration of soaking: some advise soaking the garment for at least an hour, others say it should be done overnight. Be careful with colored laundry, because soda can discolor. It is also not recommended to use soda with silk or wool.
2. Vinegar
Don’t be put off by the pungent smell of vinegar! Soak your garment in a bucket with vinegar before washing it. Make sure it’s fully submerged in the vinegar and let it soak for at least an hour (or better yet, overnight) before putting it in the machine.
You have tried one of these methods, but the result did not convince you? In this case, opt for the solutions specially developed by wesmileforhealth to eliminate perspiration odors from clothes and other textiles.
