smelly knitted hat

[xylaria]

I bought a hat in home bargains. It said on the label " handknitted in Nepal ". I wore it today in the pouring rain. It kept my head impressively dry but not hot, but the wetter it got the smeller it got. It smells like the wrong end of a fleece. It has been dyed vibrant colours, so I am at a loss how it can still smell rammy. Its definitely a tag end smell not a proper tweed smell.

I am going to give it a wash in shampoo and fabric conditioner. I am not sure if it's oil- in or not, but I obviously dont wont my hair smelling of sheep poop.

Any other suggestions?

 

[Toddy]

Some of those dyes are artificial and they have a stink all by themselves. If it is an all natural one, and there's blue in it or yellow, those can both be from cabbage family type dyes and they'll stink too.
The other thing I have noticed from some of those knits is that the handling and packing is done in stuff that hasn't been washed. A friend who is incredibly sensitive to insecticides reckons that her Nepalese hat had been dipped in the something stupendously 'organic'.
The wool can pick up all of that smell

I think I'd be doing the shampoo and conditioner with it too If you really want waterproofing though, I have wash in lanolin powder that I'm happy to split with you, or just put a spoonful of, dissolved in boiling water, vaseline into the rinsing water. The wool will happily absorb a lot of it.

Isn't it horrid when you buy something nice and it has a miasma that just really, really bugs you ? I bought fabric covered boxes recently that even HWMBLT complained about. It took three weeks outside in sunshine to get rid of the smell on them. It smelled almost like old fashioned fish glue !

M

 

[GGTBod]

I've had a few issues with smelly woolens when excessively wetted by Scottish highland mistings and heavy geordie rains, turned out it was my woolwash, i recently changed to kookaburra Wash for eco conscious and skin care reasons and after my first wash with it i realised the smelly wet wool issue had been caused by my previous wool washing detergent which was Nikwax Wool Wash, nice bonus result.

 

[cranmere]

You can actually wash wool pretty hot provided you don't agitate or rub it, and provided you don't change the temperature suddenly. I boil wool when I'm dying it with vegetable dyes and it's unharmed provided it's not stirred around too much. I use Surcare liquid laundry stuff for pretty much everything, not a special wool wash. A liquid ensures that you don't leave bits of undissolved powder in the fibres and is also usually less alkaline than most powders. The main reason I use Surcare is that it doesn't contain any perfume and I really dislike most commercial fragrances.

I would be inclined to try a hot wash, mix the detergent into really hot water and put the woolen item in it, don't stir it around. Let it sit until the water cools and is only just warm, then squeeze it carefully to get out any muck that has been loosened by the hot water. Rinse it in a couple of changes of warm water, again squeezing it gently rather than rubbing it. The one danger would be the dyes, I've seen Nepalese and Indian dyes run dramatically in water.

The one item that I could never get rid of the smell from was a sweater knitted from my dog's fur that I had spun and knit. When that got wet it smelled faintly of dog until the day it disintegrated.

 

[woof]

Not a wool hat, but the other day while working in the rain, I put on my "Rogue" sun hat that I keep in my van. The rain washed all the years of sweat out of it into my eyes !.

Rob

 

[cranmere]

Eeewww! That's why I don't like leather hats, you can't just throw them through the wash.

 

[woof]

Eeewww! That's why I don't like leather hats, you can't just throw them through the wash.

Though I do have a leather hat, this one is the canvas airhead, but I'd never even thought about this happening, though it is heavily sweat stained !


Rob

 

[TarHeelBrit]

Another trick I've had success with for stinky items either natural or man made sticks is to put the item in a large tupperware container with a new box of baking soda poured into a shallow container (increases the surface area to absorb more stink) Put the container in the tupperware and seal it up and leave it in the airing cupboard or somewhere else nice and warm. Come back a couple of days later and check for stink. If any remains then stir the baking soda up and pop it back for a few days more. Luckily this has never failed me.

 

[xylaria]

I have given it a near boil in a pan with shampoo and it doesnt appear to whif anymore. No agitation.

I am mildly concerned that a hat can be sold that smells contaminated with himalayan sheep poo. Its a bit of disease vector. I know local sheep dont go shopping to home bargins and wouldn't wear bright purple knitted hat. But the farm workers do.