How to get rid of second-hand smell at home? How to remove odor from second-hand clothes How to treat second-hand clothes

01.05.2024 -

Surely, when buying clothes at a second-hand store, you thought about how good the thing you got was. It's unworn, made of good material, and the price is great. But the smell... This smell of chemicals seems to eat through your nostrils and gets to your very core and begins to haunt you. And any desire to take this thing disappears. There is no need to put up with this state of affairs. It’s very easy to remove the second-hand smell and you shouldn’t be afraid of it. First, let's look at what causes this smell, and knowing the reason, it is much easier to understand how to solve it.

Not every buyer knows that second-hand clothes get their smell because they are treated with strong sanitary products based on formaldehyde and methyl bromide. These products are used to clean clothes from all kinds of microorganisms, fungi and insects. That's why the smell in clothes is so chemically repulsive.

Unfortunately, products that can remove such a smell are very expensive, and therefore many sellers simply ignore this issue. Theoretically, you can start wearing this clothing right away, it will not cause you any harm, but it is, to put it mildly, uncomfortable.

Please note that the smell is so strong that it can permeate your other clothes. Therefore, do not put it in the closet until you get rid of the smell.

How to get rid of odor

Getting rid of the smell from second-hand clothes is quite simple.

One of the most effective methods is also the cheapest. This is ammonia. The procedure does not depend on the material or color and is not afraid of shrinkage. First, fill the basin with warm water. Dissolve ammonia in it. Then soak the product in it. At this stage, you can add oils and esters to create a pleasant scent. Wring out the item well and leave it to dry for several days. After airing, wash and then air again.
Flavored salt can also help you. Choose one that has a strong, fresh scent, like lemon, pine and sea. Procedure: grind 300-350 grams of salt, add half a liter of water, rub the item with the resulting mixture and soak in another salt solution (500 grams per 10 liters) for an hour. Wash and dry.
Perhaps the most unusual method is coffee beans. Grind the grains, place things on top and close for several days. Then wash and dry.
Mixing soda, vinegar and salt. Let's list the procedure:
- Mix 1:1 vinegar and salt and add 0.5 parts of soda. Vinegar should not be more than 6%!
- Add the resulting mixture to 8 liters of water and stir until all reagents are completely dissolved.
- Soak the products for several hours in this solution.
- Wash for at least 2 hours. The water should be warm and do not skimp on the powder. Even if it doesn't clean, it will help hide the smell.
- Dry things in the fresh air. An open space with natural air flow is best for this. This will help remove any remaining odor from the clothing material faster.

Traditional methods

There are times when you don't have access to ammonia or flavored salt. Then the question is how to remove the smell at home. You can get by with the resources that every home has. This is salt, soda and vinegar.

To cope with the smell, you need to mix 1:1 vinegar and salt and add 0.5 parts of soda. Vinegar should not be more than 6%! Add the resulting mixture to 8 liters of water and stir until all reagents are completely dissolved. Soak the products for several hours in this solution. Wash for at least 2 hours. The water should be warm and do not skimp on the powder. Even if it doesn't clean, it will help hide the smell. Dry things in the fresh air. An open space with natural air flow is best for this. This will help remove any remaining odor from the clothing material faster.

Household chemicals

If you don’t want to bother and get rid of the smell as quickly as possible, then you should go to a household chemicals store and buy a specialized product. Odors, even those caused by chemicals, will not be a problem for him. Alternatively, use dry cleaning services. You will be guaranteed results, and the fact that the clothes may be damaged is out of the question, as long as professionals take care of the matter here.

How to treat shoes

Everything here is very similar to any other wardrobe item. Look at the material or, if possible, at the tag. If you can wash it, then just do it. If not, then use ammonia. To do this, just wipe everything inside and outside. The insoles are also wiped separately.

If you have any doubts, then additionally treat with an antibacterial agent. After all manipulations, be sure to dry for several hours.

If your clothes are made of leather or fur, do not soak or use ammonia. Natural material is easy enough to ventilate. The situation is similar with shoes. Here it is better to use other methods.

Any chemical smell can disappear if the item is frozen. It doesn’t matter if you take it out into the cold or put it in a bag in the freezer. The main thing is to dry and ventilate at room temperature after several days, excluding contact with heating devices.

If you can dry it outside, do it. The most favorable time for ventilation is fog. It is believed that it draws out all unpleasant odors.

When you need to wash an item, do it not only according to our instructions, but also take into account what is written on the product tag, otherwise you risk losing the item.

If you need to crush coffee beans or salt, use a bag and a hammer. This will make it easier for the active substances to dissolve and release their aroma.

If you feel that the odor of formaldehyde is quite mild, then adding a strong odor may be all you need. It could be a specialized perfume, your favorite perfume, or just the smell of coffee. But this method works very rarely, so it’s better to play it safe by ventilating it first.

The decline in living standards in the country has led to second-hand stores becoming incredibly popular. And this is not surprising, because you can buy very cheap, but decent-looking clothes there. The only negative is the characteristic smell, which immediately reveals its origin. Luckily, there are many ways to get rid of it.

Where does the smell come from second-hand items?

Most second-hand clothes have already been worn, so there is a risk of contracting some kind of skin infection or other disease. To avoid this, in warehouses where things are sorted and packaged, they are treated with special substances. Most often, potassium bromide and formaldehyde are used - extremely toxic volatile gases, after treatment with which no fungi, bacteria and insects remain in the clothes.

Ideally, after such disinfection, products should undergo disinfection of harmful poisons using a 25% solution of ammonia. But this process is not always carried out efficiently, because of this, most of the poison remains in the fibers of the tissue or on the skin and poisons the body. The stronger the smell, the more poison remains on things.

Second-hand items are popular among a wide range of people

How to remove second-hand smell from clothes

Treatment with ammonia can also be done at home. It is important to observe the proportions exactly, since the vapors of this substance are dangerous to the body.

For a small cotton item - a skirt, a T-shirt - 30 minutes to an hour is enough (proportions: 5 liters of water and 20 ml of alcohol).
Sweaters, jackets, jeans, raincoats are soaked in a more concentrated solution - 50 ml per 5 liters of water. Moreover, cotton and linen products are left in it for 30–90 minutes, synthetic ones - for 4–6 hours.

After soaking, the item is wrung out a little and hung in fresh air for 2-3 days, and then washed with conditioner and dried. Ammonia retains the brightness of the color and does not deform the fabric, so this method can be considered universal.

Clothes made of fur or leather are not soaked, but rubbed with the solution using a soft sponge or brush. The ideal option is to take the items to the dry cleaner.

Ammonia is one of the most effective means for getting rid of second-hand smell.

Traditional methods for removing unpleasant odors from things

There are less effective, but safe for health, means for cleaning clothes. They will help if the smell of chemicals is weak.

Weathering

To do this, the product is left for several days in the yard or on the balcony. A combination of wind, sun or frost will help rid the item of odor.

Weathering is one of the ways to remove the characteristic odor from second-hand items

Overpowering the smell

To knock out a wedge with a wedge, the item is placed in a sealed bag. The following is also placed there:

coffee beans;
a piece of cloth soaked in 9% vinegar, perfume, eau de parfum;
flavored sea salt;
a cloth bag with a collection of fragrant herbs - sage, linden blossom, peppermint, chamomile.

The product is left in this form for two to three days, after which it can be worn.

The bright aroma of coffee beans allows you to overcome even the smell of a second-hand store

Soaking clothes

To do this, use flavored and table salt:

A solution of table salt (half a glass) and 9 percent vinegar (2 tablespoons) has a similar effect to ammonia:

You can add a couple of drops of essential oil or perfume to the water container and iron the item at the highest possible temperature for the fabric being treated. But you can be poisoned by the emanating steam, so wear a respirator or a cotton-gauze bandage. In addition, this can damage the device.

How to get rid of the second-hand smell of things that cannot be wetted

Some products may completely lose their aesthetic appearance after soaking or washing, so you have to use other methods to get rid of chemical odor.

Pack a small item in a plastic bag and place it in the freezer, leaving it there until the smell disappears. In winter, simply hang your purchase in the fresh air for three to five days.
For fur clothing or a fur coat, make a solution of equal parts of vinegar essence, water heated to 30–40 °C and ethyl alcohol. Soak a soft sponge in it and rub it over the pile of the product. After processing, hang the item for airing.
Purchase a spray designed to neutralize odors, such as those from pets. Treat the product with it in accordance with the instructions.

How to remove second hand smell from shoes

The methods described above with freezing and aromatization with strong-smelling substances are suitable. With leather boots, wiping with vinegar is also an option. For this:

A piece of cloth is soaked in 40% vinegar essence.
Wipe the shoes inside and out and leave them in the sock using this swab.
The shoes are placed in a hermetically sealed bag for 12 hours.

Shoes bought at a second-hand store are of excellent quality, but are very difficult to process to get rid of the specific smell.

If you purchased sneakers or ballet shoes made of fabric, you can wash them in an automatic washing machine on a fast cycle (30 minutes, no more than 30 °C, without spinning) without soaking, adding 100 ml of vinegar essence to the liquid detergent compartment. And then ventilate for 2-3 days.

Leather products look stylish and highlight any look. But, if you decide to add such a thing to your wardrobe, you need to know how to remove the smell from a leather jacket.

This material tends to absorb different aromas, sometimes not the most pleasant ones. Do not try to fix the problem with eau de toilette, this will only make the situation worse. In addition, alcohol-containing perfumes and colognes can harm the leather surface and make it dry. It is better to use proven odor removal methods.

Leather products look stylish and beautiful, so they will highlight any look.

Recently, second-hand stores have become increasingly widespread. They have won the love of many customers with their low prices and wide range. By the way, in stock stores you can find and purchase first-class branded items that ended up there due to minor defects or simply were not purchased earlier. Thus, for a low price you can buy high-quality beautiful things. Such clothes have only one significant drawback - a strong smell. To ensure that your purchase brings only positive emotions, you need to know how to remove the second-hand smell from a leather jacket. After proper care, no one will even suspect that you did not purchase this stylish item in a company store.

Washing a leather jacket after a second-hand store

On a note! Note that cleaning a jacket after a second-hand store is important not only for hygiene reasons.

The fact is that for disinfection, all clothes sold in such places are treated with formaldehyde and methyl bromide vapor. This composition is very harmful to human health and, if its concentration exceeds the norm, can cause allergic reactions.

Drying a jacket on the balcony

Of course, such consequences arise only in the case of poor-quality neutralization, but, unfortunately, not all companies and suppliers treat this issue with due responsibility.

To be sure of the item you are wearing, it is better to carry out the neutralizing treatment yourself. Let's look at the most effective methods that will help you quickly and efficiently solve the problem.

Surely it can be found in everyone's first aid kit. Even if you don’t have the substance at home, you can buy it at any pharmacy. Prepare a soap solution and then add a teaspoon of ammonia to it. Apply the resulting mixture to your jacket and then rinse off with a damp cloth. To avoid damaging the material, after the procedure, treat the product with a piece of cloth soaked in castor oil.
Coffee. Place the new item in a vacuum or plastic bag, then add a few tablespoons of freshly ground coffee and tie it tightly. It is important that no air enters the bag. It can be opened no earlier than after 2 days. During this time, the coffee will absorb the chemical amber, leaving a pleasant aroma in return.
X cleaning Undoubtedly, this is the best way to remove unpleasant odor from a leather jacket, since in this case professionals will take over the matter. In addition, it is not necessary to submit the item for expensive cleaning; a deperfume procedure will be sufficient.
Salt. It acts similarly to coffee, as it absorbs excess aromas well. Place the jacket in a bag and then cover it thoroughly with salt. Don't be afraid, it won't harm your item, so you can safely leave the package for several days. After the required time has passed, simply wipe the product with a damp foam sponge.
Hanging on the balcony. The simplest method that does not involve the use of chemicals. Its disadvantage is that it is impossible to determine how long it will take to completely remove the odor, so you should not hope for a quick effect.
Leather cleaner. By purchasing a can of cleaning spray, you will accomplish two tasks at once - rid the item of bad odors, and also soften and provide the item with a beautiful and well-groomed appearance.
Getting rid of the smell of tobacco
Tobacco eats into clothing very strongly, so it is quite difficult to remove. It cannot be interrupted by either expensive perfume or ordinary airing. Of course, it is unpleasant to exude such an odor, so it is better to immediately use several methods to eliminate it.

White vinegar for cleaning jackets after use
So, we invite you to consider the best means in order to know how to remove the smell of cigarettes from a leather jacket.
It is excellent at removing various odors, but do not soak leather products in the solution. You need to act delicately so as not to damage the skin and avoid its deformation. Fill a bath with hot water (it should be filled to 5-6 cm), and then add 250 ml of birch vinegar to it. Next, hang the trigger over the bathtub and close the door tightly to improve steam formation. Leave the product for 2-3 hours, dry it, and then also ventilate it on the balcony. If you consider this method too complicated or radical, you can use the following remedy. Soak the foam sponge in the vinegar solution, and then carefully treat the surface with it. Let sit for a couple of minutes and then wipe with a damp cloth. In order to further soften the skin after cleansing, apply a special nourishing cream to it.

Baking soda is an excellent remedy for tobacco smell
Tobacco smoke strongly eats into the lining fabric, so it cannot be left without cleaning. So, carefully turn the item inside out and then lay it out on the table. Sprinkle it generously with a layer of baking soda and sprinkle a little water with a spray bottle. Rub the resulting slurry thoroughly into the lining and allow to dry in a ventilated room. Particular attention should be paid to the armpit area, since the unpleasant odor lingers most in this place. Once the jacket is dry, shake off the baking soda and then thoroughly scrub the surface with a soft brush. By the way, the above methods are also suitable for those who want to know how to remove the smell of a fire from a leather jacket.

Lemon juice for tobacco smell
Prepare the essence by taking lemon juice and water in equal proportions. Place the mixture in a container with a spray bottle and thoroughly spray the product or its individual most contaminated areas. After 2-3 hours, be sure to wipe the jacket with a foam sponge soaked in a soapy solution. After all the procedures described, all you have to do is wipe the item with a dry and clean piece of cloth.

Proper storage will help improve the effect after cleaning.
4. Proper storage will help improve the effect after cleaning. For example, if you wrap your jacket in several newspapers and leave them in them for 2 days, they will rid it of excess moisture and odors. By repeating the procedure regularly, you can even eliminate the stench of paint, tobacco, fire and varnish.
Fighting the smell of sweat
An unpleasant odor can easily put you in an awkward situation. This is not surprising, because no matter how clean your things are, if your jacket is soaked with sweat, you will definitely not smell like flowers.

An unpleasant smell from a jacket can easily put you in an awkward situation.
If you wear it for a long time, knowledge of how to remove the smell of sweat from a leather jacket will definitely come in handy.
You will need 4 oranges and some free time. Peel the fruits and then rub the crusts onto the surface of the leather product. Firstly, they contain essential oil, which has a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin. Secondly, the citrus aroma can overcome even the most persistent and unpleasant trail. Note that this method is only suitable for dark things, since a light orange can convey its bright, rich orange color.

In the fight against sweat odor
2. Additional pads. In battle, all means are good, so we suggest you use a little trick. Additional armpits should be attached in the desired area. In other words, when the jacket gets dirty and smells, you can rip them off and replace them with new ones. This way, your favorite item won’t become soaked with sweat, and you won’t have to waste time cleaning it.

Additional armpits should be attached in the desired area
3. Washing. As noted earlier, the lining is most susceptible to sweat. If it already smells completely of sweat, the best solution is to wash it. Since it is not recommended to wash the leather, everything needs to be done with minimal contact with water. Treat contaminated areas with soapy water, then rinse with water and dry. A good result is guaranteed to you.
Removing mold
Many people are interested in how to remove the smell of mold from a leather jacket, but in this case, the first step is to get rid of its source. The main causes of mold on leather products are improper storage and care. By the way, if you smell a characteristic odor, then, most likely, spores have already appeared on your item, invisible to the human eye, and you need to act immediately. First, the jacket needs to be dried in a warm room, and then treated with a soap solution.

Leather, especially natural varieties, easily absorbs various odors, which are subsequently quite difficult to get rid of. Therefore, a leather jacket purchased at a second-hand store, without radical intervention in this process, will be a source of a specific amber for a very long time. Second-hand clothing acquires a strong unpleasant odor due to its preliminary sanitary treatment with formaldehyde and methyl bromide. This is done with the aim of destroying various kinds of pathogenic microflora, fungal formations on clothes, especially black mold, which can develop rapidly when stored in conditions that are not always in specially adapted premises. And long-term storage of clothes almost in a compressed form and sometimes in conditions of high humidity gives them, among other things, a smell of bloom and mustiness. Second-hand clothes and unpleasant odors have become almost inseparable and often common nouns. Therefore, when purchasing even trendy items in stock stores, you must first think about how to get rid of the second-hand smell. After all, proper care of a leather jacket will allow you to get rid of a strong unpleasant odor and in the future enjoy a beautiful and comfortable thing for a long time.

You can get rid of the strong unpleasant odor of a second-hand leather jacket by regular ventilation. To do this, the jacket must be hung as freely as possible in the fresh air (on the balcony or in the courtyard of the house, if technically possible) and left for several days. At the same time, for more complete ventilation, you can turn the jacket several times from the front side to the wrong side and vice versa, which will allow the most inaccessible areas of the fabric, such as, for example, the internal seams, to be more fully in contact with fresh air. Very good formaldehyde destroyer
The sun's rays have this property, but it must be taken into account that with prolonged exposure, especially in hot weather, the skin can become very rough, warped or cracked. Therefore, it is preferable to hang a leather jacket in direct sunlight early in the morning or late evening, and in the hottest weather, if this happens in the summer, it is better to keep it in a shaded place. If second-hand clothes are ventilated in the winter, this will make the task of getting rid of the second-hand smell a little easier, since the frosty air, and even in combination with the sun’s rays, will contribute more intensively to this.

Second-hand clothes will get rid of a specific smell much faster by first using adsorbents, which are easily accessible and almost always available in the kitchen or in a home medicine cabinet. Common table salt, sugar, baking soda, vinegar, potato and corn starch, activated charcoal, charcoal, talc and a number of others absorb foreign odors well. To do this, you need to pour one of the listed drugs into several linen bags and place them together with a leather jacket in a tightly closed plastic bag and leave for 2 - 3 days. At the same time, a significant part of the unpleasant odors will be absorbed by the adsorbent used, which in the future will significantly simplify and speed up its weathering in the fresh air. Ground coffee beans will not only help get rid of unpleasant odor, but will also give your skin a lasting coffee aroma. When using table vinegar or ammonia, you need to wet a napkin with them and place them in the bag in the same way. At the same time, it is extremely undesirable for a napkin moistened with vinegar to come into contact with the surface of the skin to avoid damaging it.

In addition, vinegar can be used in other ways to remove odors. To do this, pour hot water into a bathtub or other suitable container, add white vinegar to it and hang a leather jacket over it. Under the influence of temperature, vinegar vapor will permeate the skin and eliminate a strong unpleasant odor. Naturally, during this period it is undesirable to be in the bathroom where the jacket will be treated, since a strong concentration of vinegar vapor can negatively affect a person’s upper respiratory tract. A steam generator can greatly simplify this process, but such treatment must be carried out in an actively ventilated room or outside in a good draft.

Ammonia actively neutralizes formaldehyde, which is the source of the specific second-hand smell, but it cannot be used in its pure form, as this can damage the leather or its color. To use it, you first need to make a soap solution, for which laundry soap is best suited, then add a few drops of ammonia to it and mix thoroughly until smooth. Treat the surface of the leather jacket with the resulting solution, and after a while remove it with a damp cloth. It is not advisable to wet the skin too much. After drying, the skin should be treated with glycerin or castor oil, this will give it elasticity and a unique shine. For this purpose, you can also use special products to clean, impregnate and renew the leather, after which the leather jacket will acquire a completely presentable appearance.

If the jacket purchased at a stock store is not too large in volume, then you can effectively get rid of the second-hand smell by freezing it. To do this, carefully place the jacket in a plastic bag and tie it well so that odors do not spread throughout the refrigerator. There is no need to pack the jacket too tightly to avoid additional creases and dents in the skin, which will be quite difficult to get rid of later. After this, you need to place the bag with the jacket in the freezer, where it should stay for at least a day, then dry it well in the fresh air, and then treat it with glycerin or castor oil.

In some cases, it is recommended to wash with pre-soaking of the product. However, it must be borne in mind that with excessive and prolonged wetness, the structure of the leather may change and the leather jacket will be irrevocably damaged, and it will be impossible to do anything to put the leather in order.

Masking the smell of second-hand clothes with the help of perfumes (deodorants, eau de toilette, perfume, etc.) is not recommended, since this problem may be resolved for a short time, but the overlay of different odors can ultimately lead to an even more disappointing option. In addition, alcohol-containing perfumes can negatively affect the condition of the skin and its color; under the influence of alcohol, it can become very dry and brittle, and additional stains will appear, which will then be quite difficult to remove.

With prolonged use of a leather jacket, no matter how carefully we treat it, dark stains from sweat appear on the collar, sleeve cuffs and usually in the pocket area, which can be removed in several ways. The simplest of them is using laundry soap. To do this, use a sponge soaked in a soap solution (it should not be too wet), you need to thoroughly wipe the entire surface of the skin, paying special attention to problem areas, and this should be done at least once a month.

Glycerin softens the skin well and makes it elastic, so it is recommended to periodically treat the jacket with this preparation. For everyday wear, a leather jacket should be wiped with a slightly damp cloth or sponge. At the same time, even the most minor impurities will be easily removed, which will prevent them from penetrating deep into the pores of the skin.

With prolonged improper storage, which most often happens in second-hand stores, mold may appear on a leather jacket, which will also make the clothes unpleasant smell. Most often this occurs due to high humidity and limited access to compressed or tightly packed items of fresh air. To get rid of mold on a leather jacket, you first need to thoroughly dry and ventilate it. Then treat with a soapy solution; for this, laundry soap with the addition of a small amount of table vinegar is best. In addition, you can get rid of mold by placing a jacket and a tampon soaked in vinegar in a plastic bag for several hours. This procedure will happen more quickly when using a steam generator with the addition of a small amount of white table vinegar. After this treatment, the jacket must be thoroughly dried until the vinegar smell disappears completely. Baking soda can also help fight mold.

In most cases, various kinds of creases and bruises on a leather jacket can be smoothed out on their own. To do this, the jacket dressed on the trempel must be placed in free space. Under its own weight, the folds in the skin will straighten out. However, this will take too long and it is not a fact that strong creases will disappear. This can be achieved using an iron with a steam function or a steam generator. Under the influence of steam, the folds on the leather will be smoothed out much faster and better; you just need to be careful, especially when using an iron, so that the leather on the jacket is not damaged by too hot steam. To soften creases on the leather of the jacket, they can be pre-lubricated with Vaseline or castor oil. This simple procedure will simplify and speed up the process of ironing a leather jacket.

If the measures taken did not allow you to independently cope with unpleasant odors and stains on your jacket, then specialists from specialized dry cleaners will help you deal with the problem.

You can learn in detail about how to get rid of the second-hand smell on things made of fur, leather and suede shoes, bags, effective ways to solve this problem.

Second-hand stores appeared not so long ago, but are gradually winning their market share from clothing stores. This is explained by many reasons, starting from the general low level of income of the population, but mostly people go for inexpensive, but high-quality, branded or exclusive things. Updating your wardrobe through a second-use clothing store is very simple, but these items should be washed before wearing, not only to remove the characteristic odor, but also for disinfection purposes. In this article, we will look at how to wash clothes bought at a second-hand store, and also learn how to remove the second-hand smell without washing.

The range of second-use clothing stores is often unique

Where does the smell come from?

Visitors to thrift stores know that clothes are treated with special sanitary products based on formaldehyde and methyl bromide to maintain them in normal condition and remove any microorganisms, fungi, and insects from the fabric. That is why the things sold here have a characteristic, not very pleasant smell.

If we consider the entire processing technology, then there are products that can remove this aroma, but they are quite expensive, so domestic sellers ignore them. At the same time, according to experts, such treatment does not harm a person; ideally, you can immediately put on second-hand clothes and wear them, but this is unlikely to be comfortable for you.

Thus, after visiting a second-hand store, we often have excellent things on our hands, bought for little money, but with an unpleasant, corrosive odor of formaldehyde.

It is worth noting that you should not put clothes that smell of formaldehyde with normal things, as they will quickly absorb the unpleasant aroma. To get rid of it, just soak your clothes in ammonia, and then simply wash them with good powder in hot water and dry them in the fresh air.

Subtleties of odor removal

To remove unpleasant odors, you can always use ammonia based on ammonia. A 10% ammonia solution is sold in many hardware stores and pharmacies. This composition is actively used by many dry cleaners to give clothes freshness and cleanliness, but its main task is to remove odors. At home, ammonia is no less effective.

Placing clothes in second-hand store windows

To remove the characteristic second-hand smell from clothes, you should dissolve ammonia in water, approximately 2-5 ml of the composition for each liter of liquid. We load things into the resulting solution and soak them for a while. The time range depends on the quality of the fabric, for example, for thin delicate materials 10-15 minutes will be enough, and for jackets, jackets, jeans, items made of dense materials, soaking for several hours, up to 5-6, will be required. If the solution does not completely remove the odor, you should increase the concentration of the composition and add 8-10 ml of ammonia solution to each liter of water.

After soaking for a long time, clothes should be thoroughly wrung out and hung to dry in the fresh air for a day. Subsequent washing with conditioner, drying and ironing will completely remove odors, neutralize harmful substances and make things wearable.

Note that ammonia does not affect the color of the fabric, it does not contribute to its deformation, does not stretch or narrow it, therefore it is applicable to all materials, even very delicate ones that are afraid of water.

If we are dealing with leather or suede items that cannot be washed a priori, then we should simply carefully treat their surface with a rag soaked in ammonia. To enhance the effect of ammonia, some housewives use activated carbon or mustard. They wrap the leather item in a gauze bag with these substances and additionally spray it with an ammonia solution.

For expensive items that you are afraid of being damaged by washing or treating them yourself with ammonia, dry cleaning is always important. Trust the professionals, let them properly wash, clean your clothes and, of course, remove the smell from them.

Washing after soaking

After treating items in ammonia and removing the characteristic second-hand smell, you should wash the clothes in hot water.

The washing temperature, of course, depends on the type of fabric, but it is advisable that it should not be less than 60°C degrees. At the same time, it is advisable to wash children's clothes 2-3 times in order to completely clean the fabric from chemicals and other biological traces.

After washing, clothes should be rinsed thoroughly, dried and ironed with a hot iron, preferably on both sides. After that, you can put it in the closet, in which you also put the sachet, so that the clothes now smell nice.

The sizes of such stores can vary greatly

To ensure that the quality of washing is at the proper level, many housewives use the following methods:

Before washing, clothes are soaked in a saline solution or in water with vinegar for some time;
When washing second-hand items in the washing machine, housewives add a little essential oil;
classic odor neutralizers are also effective in this case, for example, scented soap or washing powder, coffee, fabric deodorant;
After washing, steam treatment is necessary to completely remove odors;
Washing without spinning and drying in the fresh air allows you to refresh the fabric as much as possible.

As we said, there is an interesting alternative method without using washing.

To remove any unpleasant odors from clothes, including those from a formaldehyde solution, you should hang things outside during fog. It is believed that the fog will take away all the unpleasant odors and properly ventilate your clothes.

However, most people do not have the opportunity to hang things on a string, and even in the fog, so it is worth using traditional methods of removing odors from things.

In conclusion, I would like to note that recently things in second-hand stores do not have a very rich, extremely strong smell. This indicates that sellers are choosing higher quality sanitary compounds that can be easily removed from the fabric during washing, even without the use of soaking in ammonia. If your things smell very strongly after purchase, then now you know what to do.