How to remove bad odor from a suit

[Johnny J]

Hello guys. I just bought this nice vtg suit and after I took it to the cleaners it still had the bad odor around armpit area. Any suggestions?

 

[Tomasso]

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?33694-That-nasty-vintage-underarm-funk.&

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?10489-Vintage-Suit-Stinks&

 

[John in Covina]

You might see if there are any of the european style wet cleaners in your area. Dry cleaning works well on grease and oils and the grunge that goes with it but has problems with other things like food spills. There is a new style from europe for wet cleaning that works well on all sorts of stains and in the fabric funky stuff.

 

[Rudie]

http://www.ravefabricare.com

 

[Johnny J]

Thanks everyone for the info!

 

[Johnny J]

I tried the baking soda/water solution and already can tell a big difference!

 

[Mario]

http://www.ravefabricare.com

Wish they were located in Germany...or Europe at least!

 

[Rudie]

Me too!

 

[Hap Hapablap]

I didn't have time to go through all of the threads/links provided to see if this solution was mentioned, but turning it inside-out and hanging it outside works best for me.

 

[Johnny J]

I didn't have time to go through all of the threads/links provided to see if this solution was mentioned, but turning it inside-out and hanging it outside works best for me.

Yes, a couple of loungers mentioned that also. Thx.

 

[Elmonteman]

I had a problem with some mildew/mold on the lining of a jacket. An Aero at that. I tried a product called "Nok Out" and incredibly it worked very well. Too well. Not only does it now not have a trace of mildew but it also eliminated the leather smell! The only other negative was that where I sprayed it on the brown cotton drill lining it left a water mark. I haven't heard of it affecting other textiles in this way so I hope it is particular to this type of fabric. http://www.nokout.com/categories/Odor-Eliminator-&-Sanitizer/

 

[GBR]

Hello guys. I just bought this nice vtg suit and after I took it to the cleaners it still had the bad odor around armpit area. Any suggestions?

Take it back or burn it. Such a garment will never be truly clean and if its own er has so little pride then you should not want to be associated with it.

 

[Rudie]

Send it to Ravefabricare. If they can restore this http://www.ravefabricare.com/true-quality-cleaning/2010/9/8/the-cleaning-and-restoration-of-a-garment-mid-1930's-men's-suit.aspx they should be able able to get out the bad odors. And here they explain how they do it: http://http://www.ravefabricare.com/true-quality-cleaning/2010/7/27/my-dry-cleaned-garments-still-smell-of-perspiration!.aspx

Again, I wish I had a quality cleaner like this anywhere in Germany.

 

[Johnny J]

Send it to Ravefabricare. If they can restore this http://www.ravefabricare.com/true-quality-cleaning/2010/9/8/the-cleaning-and-restoration-of-a-garment-mid-1930's-men's-suit.aspx they should be able able to get out the bad odors. And here they explain how they do it: http://http://www.ravefabricare.com/true-quality-cleaning/2010/7/27/my-dry-cleaned-garments-still-smell-of-perspiration!.aspx

Thanks Rudie! I think I will try them, and also with another vtg suit that still has some light stains.

 

[Mario]

Thanks Rudie! I think I will try them, and also with another vtg suit that still has some light stains.

Did you ever take your suits to RaveFabriCare? And if yes: how did they turn out?

 

[Johnny J]

Actually, I did not. What worked was a spray bottle with some Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. I had to use it 2 or 3 times, but, at the end it left it like it never even had BO. I recommend this to everyone.

 

[Rudie]

An old woman who works at the dry cleaner where my re-weaver has set up shop told me that her dad never brought his suits to a cleaner. She said the means to keep woolen suits in good shape was this: Each week he brushed his suits with ground coffee to get out the smells. Now and then he would take them to the tailor to have them spot cleaned and ironed. That's it.

 

[Flynn]

Thanks for the links. I have the same vintage body odor funk problem with one of my original uniform jackets. I'll try the baking soda/water solution.

 

[juggles]

I've never tried it for something like this, but I've used a product called Nature's Miracle for all sorts of things. It's an enzyme and it's primarily intended for removing pet stains and odors but it works on anything organic. Might be worth a try.

 

[Timothy]

Just what I was looking for, I did the Baking Soda / water trick and hang it out to air vent (inside out) and presto no more BO!
I used 4 small spoons of baking soda and 0.5L water. Total cost less that $10
I'm curious if the BO comes back as soon as I wear it or if it lasts more than an hour.

Thank you for sharing guys.
BR

Tim