Rotten Death Smell

[Wildwillalaska]

Did a couple searches and saw several on getting blood out--not my issue. I need to know how to make my pack not smell like I carried a dead, dismembered body around in it for a week in my SG pack. Most years I get some blood in my packs. I get home, soak, wash, put in my dry shed, and few months later you'd never know. I try to use compactor bags to prevent the issue in the first place, but this year they were left behind.

So not only did I get a bunch of meat blood/juices leaking down and saturating my pack, but with all the wet rainy weather, it never dried, it just spoiled and started decomposing. So I washed/rinsed and repeated at the car wash upon exiting the field. No real help but the bug/tar remover added a horrid citrus aroma to the dead body smell. Get home, did my normal dawn and cold water soak in a tote for a few days, rinse, repeat, and dry. Still absolute death. Not bad staining, what there is I could care less, just don't want to smell like death when I need to use the bag again starting this weekend for my wife's sheep hunt--which is the only reason I can't throw it out in the shed a wait a few month.

Any tried & true tricks to share?

 

[def90]

I buy a lot of surplus military gear and simply washing them and then leaving the items out in the sun to dry for a day or two gets that mildew/surplus mold smell out. Maybe give it a try?

Of course that probably works better in Colorado than other parts of the country.

 

[realunlucky]

I had good luck when i was in the military with a baking soda slurry(baking soda with just enough water to make it pastey) and a scrub brush. Just scrub it in and let it dry and car wash it again.

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[toadmeister]

Wash in a vinagar solution? That’s what I use to get odors out. Other people use a baking powder solution. Don’t mix the two however.


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[Salmon River Solutions]

I was gonna say baking soda, but Sam beat me to it! Baking soda only works if you remove whatever is causing the smell. So the vinegar and some good scrubbing, then a slurry of baking soda and leave it on there for a while!

 

[Aluminum Rain]

Large amount of baking soda, low water level, gentle setting in wash machine. Hot water. Dont let machine spin out, some are harsh.

 

[Wildwillalaska]

I’ll try baking soda, and if time allows, vinegar too after. Already washed it effectively 4 times, just not in washing machine. So far no dice, even after drying in the sun.

 

[YBPS]

Do this only when the wife is not home. Hot water, soap, scrub, rinse, repeat.

 

[TheGDog]

Dawn platinum scrub and then maybe additional one adding Borax to the soap? Borax is a known thing you add to wash to help get out the smells. I always add that to my hunting gear wash.

Also get an Ozone generator device. I've got a nicer sized one I can set to run for a certain amount of time. Just shove it into the pack and let that ozone break down that organic matter particles that's left behind. Also those sprays for Cat and Dog Urine/feces accidents will help tool. They are Enzymatic cleaners that work by helping to naturally breakdown the proteins found in that organic material. Just like "Scent Killer" and others.

 

[tater]

Baking soda with hydrogen peroxide and some unscented liquid castile soap.

Mix 30/60/10 in a spray bottle. Spray on until saturated. Let dry. Reapply then take back to car-wash and rinse until all residue is gone. May have to repeat.

Makes the webbing and cordura slightly stiff, but it will relax again with use.

This mix also works well with dogs that have been hit by a skunk (just be sure to rinse asap and avoid eyes/nose).

 

[duchntr]

When mine gets saturated like that I use dish soap and cold water. Just wash, rinse and repeat, soak if necessary bag and frame together,I use a big cooler (120qt+) so noneed to use the tub in the house.

 

[SkunkCabbage]

I’ve used dawn with a big cold water soak for usually 24hours and keep changing the cold water until it stops changing colours.

Spray hydrogen peroxide on the Nasty stuff and it keep rinsing and repeating until it spraying it stops foaming.

Youlll end up wasting a few litres of the stuff

 

[Montana Craig]

I've used warm water in a bathtub and added a cap of sport wash. Then rinse repeat until the water is clear.

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[bojangles808]

sweet ram congrats

 

[bwhntMT]

First, congrats on getting the pack dirty in the first place. Second, a mix of vinegar and baking soda has worked pretty well for me.

 

[Rangerpants]

I have used oxyclean to get the smell out of old ice chests with good success. Not sure if it would work on textiles/porous materials you can't toss in the washer, but worth a try!

 

[805Bowhunter]

My pack smelled so bad by the end of last year that I thought it was ruined. I tried "everything." What ended up working is filling up a bathtub with hot water and three scoops of oxyclean. I filled the tub to where the whole pack was covered. I then let it soak for a day before scrubbing with a course brush. I then let it continue to soak for 24 hours, then would scrub again. I repeated this process for a week, emptying the tub 2x and filling again with oxyclean. At the end of the week it was completely resolved. Great ram by the way

 

[805Bowhunter]

I have used oxyclean to get the smell out of old ice chests with good success. Not sure if it would work on textiles/porous materials you can't toss in the washer, but worth a try!

You beat me to it by a minute! haha

 

[Wumbo]

I used this, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079VDPKTC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 one year when my tent got packed away wet and smelled moldy and mildewy. I first used dawn soap and water, let it air dry and then soaked it with that stuff and air dryed again. Worked great. It's an enzyme wash so it actually breaks down odor causing bacteria.

 

[unclericco]

I’ve always just tossed my pack into the washing machine with Tide to get blood/dead animal filth out and never had a problem? They come out looking new again. My washer is a non-agitator type. Am I missing something?