My friend has an old and cherished wollen blanket that smells of her ex. Is there a good way to remove boy smell from it?
Woollen blanket problems
- Thread starter Allison McKenzie
- Start date
How about one of the many 'de-odourising' sprays one sees advertised every day on TV - I've never tried them (I like the smell of wet spaniel 
).
).
Dryer sheets.
I bought a book secondhand and when it arrived it absolutely stank of cigarettes to the point it was stomach churning, i put a packets worth of dryer sheets between the pages and left it for a week or so, nasty smell gone and the book now smells of Roses & Lavender - much more pleasant.
Wonder if your friend laid the blanket out and laid the dryer sheets over it, then rolled it up and left it for a while if it might do the trick.
I bought a book secondhand and when it arrived it absolutely stank of cigarettes to the point it was stomach churning, i put a packets worth of dryer sheets between the pages and left it for a week or so, nasty smell gone and the book now smells of Roses & Lavender - much more pleasant.
Wonder if your friend laid the blanket out and laid the dryer sheets over it, then rolled it up and left it for a while if it might do the trick.
I'm curious as to what is actually causing the smell though.
If it's sweat/body odour or deodorant/cologne it ought to have washed out.
Either way, wool is fine left soaking. So, best advice, either fill the bath or a big bin with barely hand hot water and a little shampoo. Shampoo is meant for hair, wool is just crinkly hair. Failing that use gentle hand soap, not scrubbing soap.
Leave the blanket soaking at least overnight. Then gently sapple it through....that means gently moving it around in the water, patting the water through the fabric, no stress, no rubbing, no squeezing, no felting !
Let it drain, either by pulling the plug, or tipping the bucket over. Refill with clean cool water and rinse, repeat. If the blanket would benefit from fabric conditioner, now's the time to add it, then rinse again.
If left to drain in the bath overnight the blanket will be fit to be rolled up in big bath towels and then wrung out. Not easy, but it's a good way to remove the excess water without stressing the wool or causing it to felt. Works on wool pullovers too.
Spread out the blanket to dry.
We used to lift the blankets out and drape them over the garden seat and the carpet beating frame....but who has one of those now ?
If the smell is anything organic, it'll be gone. Soaking wool lifts off dirt and grime from the fibres.
We only had wool blankets when I was younger, so cleaning them was an annual thing when the weather was fine. Sheets were used to protect the blankets the rest of the year. Feather pillows and eiderdowns too needed careful washing, but it's worth it.
Best of luck with it.
If it's sweat/body odour or deodorant/cologne it ought to have washed out.
Either way, wool is fine left soaking. So, best advice, either fill the bath or a big bin with barely hand hot water and a little shampoo. Shampoo is meant for hair, wool is just crinkly hair. Failing that use gentle hand soap, not scrubbing soap.
Leave the blanket soaking at least overnight. Then gently sapple it through....that means gently moving it around in the water, patting the water through the fabric, no stress, no rubbing, no squeezing, no felting !
Let it drain, either by pulling the plug, or tipping the bucket over. Refill with clean cool water and rinse, repeat. If the blanket would benefit from fabric conditioner, now's the time to add it, then rinse again.
If left to drain in the bath overnight the blanket will be fit to be rolled up in big bath towels and then wrung out. Not easy, but it's a good way to remove the excess water without stressing the wool or causing it to felt. Works on wool pullovers too.
Spread out the blanket to dry.
We used to lift the blankets out and drape them over the garden seat and the carpet beating frame....but who has one of those now ?
If the smell is anything organic, it'll be gone. Soaking wool lifts off dirt and grime from the fibres.
We only had wool blankets when I was younger, so cleaning them was an annual thing when the weather was fine. Sheets were used to protect the blankets the rest of the year. Feather pillows and eiderdowns too needed careful washing, but it's worth it.
Best of luck with it.
Use the blanket to rub down a recently active replacement boyfriend.
Or, you could try a spray-on baking soda solution - Arm and Hammer sell it for pet odours ...
And, there's always Gucci Rush
But, maybe this is yet another possible purpose for Sage leaves
Or, you could try a spray-on baking soda solution - Arm and Hammer sell it for pet odours ...
And, there's always Gucci Rush
But, maybe this is yet another possible purpose for Sage leaves
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She said is is a combination of aftershave and sweat. It wasn't a problem while they were together, but now, well, unhappy memories. We also have a recommendation of wasing with vinegar.
I'd try a soak a la toddy, with bicarbonate of soda, or soda crystals, or vinegar or as toddy says, shampoo.
I bought a couple of wool blankets from the charity shop and washed them in my machine on the wool wash at 30° with a gentle woolwash detergent. They came out fine and smelling sweet as a nut.
Dried them on the line when we had the realy warm weather.
They are both fine. One was merino wool one a Witney.
I would dry as naturaly as possible. No tumble dryers!
The other option is a proper comercial laundry. Expensive though!
Dried them on the line when we had the realy warm weather.
They are both fine. One was merino wool one a Witney.
I would dry as naturaly as possible. No tumble dryers!
The other option is a proper comercial laundry. Expensive though!
When I acquired some army wool blankets they'd been stored with a camphor type agent and absolutely reeked. So much so to drive home with them from Wales they had to be stored double bagged in bin bags and even so my car stunk.
All I did to get rid of the smell was to wash it at a cool temperature with a gentle liquid soap then leave outside on the line for a couple weeks in rain and sunshine to let nature do its job. Took a little while but the smell went with minimal effort on my part.
All I did to get rid of the smell was to wash it at a cool temperature with a gentle liquid soap then leave outside on the line for a couple weeks in rain and sunshine to let nature do its job. Took a little while but the smell went with minimal effort on my part.
A decision has been made, keratin shampoo (because it smells nice) on a cool wash and dry outside. Thank you all
Yes, I am still with my man. Sat in the car while he goes to the supermarket. And we have synthetic blankets so it easy to get the smell off (not that i want to)Mmmm... just wondering now; is that the usual 'friend with a problem'?
That's the trick, wash and lots of UV did wonders for my recycled army bits in the past
Suggest genuine wool blanket but synthetic boyfriend.
Oh!
My mother died 30 years ago and some of her artefacts still smell of her.
Smell is the most atavastic of senses; it can remind you of things way ago.
My mother died 30 years ago and some of her artefacts still smell of her.
Smell is the most atavastic of senses; it can remind you of things way ago.
Have confirmed with friend, she will be using a synthetic boyfriend for the foreseeable future.
