New way to remove fencing pong

[finnfence]

My uniforms got contaminated a couple of months ago by an old shirt of my husband's which had been balled up wet and stuck in his fencing bag for a week. It was his favorite, so I washed it with my uniforms hoping to save it, but all that happened was that an incredible bacteria population jumped over onto my uniforms and couldn't be gotten out, even with light bleaching. The stink grew worse and worse over the weeks, even with repeated washings.

But I think I have just found the cure: soaking the uniforms for about 6 hours in a bucket of cool water, with two or three tablespoons of betadine mouthwash added, and swishing it from time to time. The uniform smells a bit like a hospital now, but the pong is gone, and it didn't stain since the solution was so dilute.

Anybody else ever try this method, or know any reason why one shouldn't do it?

[lefty_monster]

Brilliant! I never thought of trying mouthwash!

Off to kill my old jacket!

Well, maybe I'll wait until one of the wiser members tells us why this might be a bad idea. Then I'll do it.

[finnfence]

I don't know if regular mouthwash will work - let me know if you try it. This was betadine mouthwash - that iodine-based one they use for washing out wounds in the ER.

[lefty_monster]

OOOH. Ok. I was thinking Listerine because it'll kill the odor-causing bacteria, right? And make it smell winter-fresh!

My old jacket is so bad, I'm willing to do anything to it because I can't wear it like that.

[finnfence]

Over here you can buy the betadine mouthwash in pharmacies. Not sure about the US, but I see you can get the liquid betadine wound wash from drugstore.com. The iodine concentration is the same - 10%. Interesting...I see on the label that there is also some sodium hydroxide in betadine (same stuff as in Drain-o, I think). Since it's ok to wash out wounds with betadine, it can't be at a high concentration, but I wonder if maybe it's helping to kill the bacteria by dissolving any residual nests of proteins and oils in the uniform that the laundry detergent might have missed and that the bacteria continue to feed on. Still, sounds like maybe I should pop the uniform in the wash again to remove last traces of it. Not sure what sodium hydroxide does to nylon, but I'm guessing it isn't strengthening it.

[finnfence]

Also not sure if the iodine would be more likely to stain cotton than kevlar, even at low concentration...but fortunately, I think we're allowed to wear pastels in competition.

[Cookeit]

Is pong Finnish for stank?

[lefty_monster]

I ended up trying a bottle of "pet odor remover". Hopefully that will work.

[irishfolker]

Shouldn't that be, "pit odor remover?"

[lefty_monster]

Originally Posted by irishfolker

Shouldn't that be, "pit odor remover?"

No. We all know that I'm a biyatch. Pet odor remover is incredibly appropriate.

[finnfence]

Is pong Finnish for stink?

No, I think I picked it up in the States, from a friend who was kind enough to tell me my glove might want washing.

[Redblade]

I sweat a LOT when I work out, so it's important that my jacket gets cleaned and dry as soon as possible after fencing. I've tried a bunch of detergents and home remedies with limited success -- my last old jacket wasn't even decent enough to donate to one of my local fencing clubs as a hand-me-down. The product I've been happiest with is http://www.windetergent.com/our_tech.html , which has a limited retail distribution (I buy it at a local runners sport shop). It's worth checking out.