I do my Mom's laundry. She lives in a senior citizen building. She's 91 years old and have nurse's aides to help with her care. She lives by herself. My question is this, when I wash her clothes, they smell so bad , I have to wash them 2-3 times before I can get the smell out. I use bleach, Lysol, and pine sol. Can anyone give me some suggestions? Thanks. wy77
Maybe it is her medicine or something that is making her urine/feces smell stronger than normal.
Also tea tree oil is toxic if swallowed, so don't leave it about or if you do with a child-proof bottle. It needs to be kept in a dark bottle because when it breaks down from light, it increases the chance of allergies.
I recall that my grandmother's apartment had a distinctive smell, as igloo describes. I received an afghan from that place, and it smelled just like "Gramma." One wash in Dreft on gentle cycle and the smell was gone. (I was almost disappointed. I loved being reminded of Gramma.)
I am sorry and surprised that you are having such a persistent problem. I really would ditch the household cleaners in favor of detergent which is designed to work on fabric and to rinse out cleanly.
When my mom moved into IL, her house was closed off for about 2 mos. When I came back the odor was really intense. Took about a year+ of having the house with windows, closets, drawers, etc. left ajar and getting rid of whatever fabric covered items that we could to get it somewhat "younger" in odor.
Oh another thing she said, our brain recognizes "citrus" as youthful, especially grapefruit. So she uses citrus based room deodorizers, like Fresh Products Omni
gel in older homes, it's a commercial line but you can order on-line.
With my mom, all her stuff is the same fragrance from room deodorizer to hand lotion that I get at Bath & Body Works. Right now it's White Citrus, clean fresh and very affordable as they always have those buy 3 get 2 free promos.
Agree with the others on NO to Lysol. Her clothes aren't really getting dirty, she's not sweating or doing work, it's more freshening them by washing them so a gentle detergent like Ivory flakes will work better. For sweaters, I hand wash them in the BB&W Fresh citrus shower gel.
Sounds like my next door neighbor. Her hubby is a "miner" working in the NYC underground tunnels. Don't know what he digs for. I call him Mole. I can smell him from 1/2 a mile away. She uses Lestoil, cheap powder detergent, and packs the washer because the machines are expensive.
Last Sunday she complained the clothes come out dirtier and was letting the Dominican attendant have it. I suggested she use Gain and lavender fabric softener, and to refrain from packing the washer so the detergent do what it's supposed to: remove the dirt and the smell.
I became the target. That she's been doing laundry all her life; that it's none of my business; that I should focus on my own crusty clothes, blah, blah, blah.
My suggestion? Try the tips I gave Magda. Or buy new clothes if you can afford it.
Ruth, where to you get tea tree oil?
I would think that anything washed in Lysol or pinesol is going to have an objectionable cleaning-day smell.