Laundering Hunting Clothing

[9.1]

My hunting clothes get washed when they get noticeably sweaty, snotty, bloody, or muddy. I have a crunchy wife who prefers to have all our clothes washed using a mix of soap flakes, baking soda, wash soda, and Borax. I have always wondered if the Borax acts as a UV brightener.

 

[Buckhead]

I use the Dead Down Wind liquid detergent that is unscented and does not contain UV brightners. Usually wash underwear and direct skin baselayers after wearing 2-3 times. Other outer garments are washed as needed (visibly soiled, etc...) When at camp, I normally change out of my hunting clothes to prevent the absorption of odors (campfire smoke, food, gasoline) All of my clothes are synthetic fabric, mostly Sitka. Several of them are marked as being (Polygiene) odor resistant. Don't know if that is a marketing gimmick or if it really works. In general, synthetic fabrics do not hold scent nearly as much as cotton or cotton blends.

 

[guitarpreston]

This sept I lived in my merino base layers for a week without a shower sleeping in my truck...I had a very specific funk going on and tbh the actual fabrics didnt smell nearly as bad as I did. But I washed everything when I got home anyway. Throughout whitetail season I dont think I washed at all until it was over for the year...

 

[Stickmark]

good thread.
I have done ASKO years ago. Hard to find.
I hate UV brightners. Probably all my stuff has it from first manufacturing, but will not wash any clothes in it.
I often will turn my clothes inside out, vs washing them, and let them sit in the sunshine on a work day.
air out, wash bino strap, but never the leather quiver, so there is that fact.

 

[nomadicbohunk]

Like 15 years ago I had this fleece where whitetails would peg me and spot me from 75 yards away and just stare at me when it was getting very dark. I hunted in a place where I'd see multiple deer a day so it wasn't a one off thing. They'd generally walk right under me. Every single time.

I'm super nerdy, so I dug deep in scientific literature. There's a study (probably more now), that indicates that some deer species can see into the UV spectrum.

If your camo is cheap (that piece was not...realtree something or other), it can be made with UV brighteners.
So I'm really careful about that now. Oh yeah, if you want to know what soap to use...look at the Army's list of non UV brightener detergents. I use 7th generation non scented.

I keep my clothes in totes. During a hunt or if I'm hunting locally I'll just keep this in the tote: I'll cut some branches off a stinky plant that's common and put it in the tote as a cover scent. Generally I go for red cedar, balsam fir, big sage, or engleman spruce. I've been known to use corn as well.

 

[ElkArcher918]

Wash my hunting clothes in the gentle cycle with no scent soap wo UV brightners (choose your brand). Air dry and store in plastic tote for next hunting trip. For Western hunting don't bother with scent off sprays. Just play the prevailing wind and thermals to your advantage. Hope the elk/deer doesn't circle downwind and busts you.

 

[TheTone]

I wash mine end of the year basically. During season if they’re bloody they get washed otherwise I occasionally spray them off with a hose and hang them outside the dry. I’ve got way too much hunting clothing and it’s easy for me to rotate stuff. I store it in a tote year round. I’ve been silly enough to store them in big sealed bags with dirt and tree branches in the bags also

 

[nobody]

Shirts, pants, and base layers get washed after each hunt. Basically anything I sweat into. I’m a super sweater. Washing machine WITHOUT a center agitator, and double wash. Once with borax and once without anything. Then dry on delicates until dry. Jackets and such are just as needed. Once they get funky they get the same treatment.

 

[lsuTigahs]

Wash base layers often, outer layers almost never unless blood/mud.

 

[Yung6ix]

i keep mine in a tote with cedar or dirt scented wafers, when its time to wash them just use dead down wind laundry detergent.

 

[jtivat]

10 years ago, I stopped caring about scent and only play the wind now. Deer sightings have gone up and I do not have to worry about scent control which makes hunting much more enjoyable. I wash my clothes when they are dirty now.

 

[MightyWhitey]

Up until about 10yrs ago I was a scent freak. Part of my ridiculous process was an ozone machine that pumps ozone in to my plastic tote to “wash” my clothes with ozone, on top of all the other stuff I was doing. I don’t believe you can mask or eliminate your scent in anyway now, but I do still use that ozone machine just to keep from the wear n tear from the washer on my clothes. I wear a lot of wool now and it’s pretty handy for that stuff especially. I don’t remember the brand, it wasn’t a hunting brand.I got it online somewhere and I think it was around $50. Ive had it along time and still running good. I think it’s a 45min process and obviously you don’t have to wait for your stuff to dry.