kate_nepveu

I'm not entirely sure I know what burning tires smell like, but my imagination thinks it's not too far off that.

It may come to that, though I'm trying home remedies first.

Failing all that, put it in a garbage bag with a muslin bag (or the leg of a pair of pantyhose) containing a good dose of baking soda, seal the whole shebang up, and wait a month or so. It does a fantastic job ridding wool yarn of the reek of stale cigarette smoke, as crafters who buy on eBay generally have to learn. It might just work for silk and burning-rubber smell, too.

I'm contemplating baking soda in the wash, so if all else fails, a long-term project may be the approach to take. I *like* the sweater, after all. Thanks.

Neither did I. I own other silk things that don't reek, after all.

I've had this problem with a number of silk dance veils.

Gentle cycle, cold water, set to small load, wash with a full capful of your favorite liquid laundry detergent and TWO full capfuls of Febreze Laundry Odor Eliminator. Let it agitate for a minute, stop the agitation for 15 minutes or so, then let the cycle finish.

It ought to work just fine for a blend - the veils I've had to do this to are 100% silk and come through beautifully.

Initial report: may have knocked the smell down some but didn't seem to get rid of it, as best I can tell with this miserable cold (I had a cough drop right before I went downstairs so my nose is fairly clear).

I'm going to let it air-dry and then either try again with the Febreeze or figure out an appropriate amount of baking soda to go in the wash.

I've had trouble with rayon in the past. I don't know if it's the rayon fiber itself that stinks, or something used in processing the rayon. I also have problems with getting headaches from it as well as finding it unpleasant. Febreze is too perfumey for me to stay in the room with, 2 weeks out of the month. I've had fair results from soaking in a baking soda solution. If you try baking soda, febreze, and professional drycleaning, and you're still stuck, you can try soaking in a solution of 2 cups white vinegar/gallon cold water, then wash. This is more likely to get rid of the smell, but it also risks damaging the color (fading or colorshifting), so you might not want to bother if the exact color is important.

What proportions of baking soda to water do you suggest?

While I don't know about silk, I know that Borax Laundry Booster was able to get the most horrible smell of cat pee (from an old Siamese cat) out of my favorite coat. And nothing, but nothing--professional cleaning or otherwise--had done a thing to reduce the smell, but a tablespoon of the Borax completely removed it.

Thanks--the grocery store today had the Febreeze and not this, but I imagine I could find it somewhere else.

I'm told the smell (kind of a strange fishy stench) comes from sericin on the silk--and Dharma Trading Company, a source for dyes, dyeing equipment, and undyed fabric sells a product calld Synthropol that strips this out of silk (without damaging the fabric) so it can be dyed, as in addition to smelling badly, it coats the fibers and can be resistant to dyes.

If Febreeze or Borax won't neutralize it, this might be worth a shot.

Huh. And not very expensive either. Thanks!