What's the best clothes wash?

[New2elk]

I know I will get a million different answers but the more the better. What is everyone's opinion on the best way to un stink clothes,gear,pack etc? I have always used the scent away or dead down wind laundry wash but does it really work? Does anyone believe in the dye remover wash? I have read baking soda wash and all kinds of other "home remedies" that other people use. I keep all my stuff in a cedar lined closet but what about new stuff and clothes that have been worn?

Also borrowed a pack from a buddy that smells like a 90 year old musty garage. I have tried baking soda in it and then wrap it all in a trash bag. Didnt work. Now i have cedar chips in it but not sure how it will work.

Let the opinions fly!!

 

[muddydogs]

For the clothes that are DWR treated I use Nixwax wash and wash in waterproofing. Not sure if it works or not but for what I have invested in the clothes I figure why not for the couple washes they get a year.

When its time to wash a pack I throw it into the bathtub and use some of the wife's dish washing liquid and a good stiff brush to clean it up, hang dry and let it air good then treat with Nixwax spray on or other spray on waterproofing.

I don't believe in the scent free stuff and think its a real waste of cash, first morning climb up the hill I've negated any scent free spray or wash with my body odor from sweat and my breathing. Playing the wind is the only way to be scent free.

 

[Ross]

Been using plain old baking soda for decades and continue to do so as noted have to keep the devil wind in your favor do whatever it takes to do so

 

[5MilesBack]

Just plain old Sportswash, and add a little baking soda, never had any issues.

 

[spike camp]

Anything that doesn’t have uv brighteners, like tide free and clear.
As far as scent control, not gonna happen.

 

[FYT]

Anything that doesn’t have uv brighteners, like tide free and clear.
As far as scent control, not gonna happen.

Good call on the brighteners! Hadn't thought about that, though I don't use that junk anyway. Probably not ideal to be glowing like a candle if the sun hits you!

I always just use about 1/6th of the normal amount of detergent, if that. Then I run them through the cycle again without detergent.

Ultimately, I agree with some of the above posters: you can't really mask it, so you just have to be very smart about wind. The one thing I would add is that of course you're going to make yourself smelly with sweat and whatever else over the course of the hunt, but you may as well reduce the amount of smell you're throwing to start with.

 

[Bigjay73]

Nothing, not a damn thing. They stink like you as soon as you put them on. Does anyone really think you can out smart an elks nose?

 

[jmez]

Nothing, not a damn thing. They stink like you as soon as you put them on. Does anyone really think you can out smart an elks nose?

A multi million dollar scent control industry would say yes.

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

 

[spike camp]

^^^There’s a sucker born every day.

 

[Nuke Man]

No your not going to outsmart any wild animals nose. But you don't have to go in smelling like fabreez either. I always wash any hunting clothes in either scent killer or dead down wind.

 

[Nuke Man]

I also shower with scent killer soaps and deodorant. During archery deer season in Illinois, I smell like fresh earth. You bet your ass the day I leave for Colorado I'll be smelling like fresh earth and spray all my gear down with scent killer spray aswell.

 

[Jqualls]

Whatever my wife buys or makes and is sitting next to the washer. It is always some sort of organic or natural detergent but I don't worry one bit about what it is. Unless it is waterproof gear or down then it gets a specific dwr or down wash. I used to store it all in a tote with a pine branch etc but now I don't really care.

 

[Lytro]

I use All brand Free & Clear scentless detergent, as well as their dryer sheets. DDW and other hunting branded scentless washes are ridiculously overpriced. If you're not hunting whitetails out of a stand, scent control is pretty difficult. It's nearly pointless on multiple day hunts in the mountains. Wear a merino base layer to mitigate BO and stay downwind.

 

[spike camp]

Here’s my experience, with attempting scent control...
I’m fortunate to hunt a very large farm in Northern Illinois.
Whitetail hunters are fanatical about scent control, to the point it’s a mental issue.

The guys that I hunt with, are absolute scent control fanatics...

Daily Ozone chamber for gear-
2 scent wash showers per day-
Scent control Breath spray-
Scent control toothpaste-
Scent control Carbon masks-
Scent control clothing, washed daily-
Scent control dryer sheets(washer and dryer used ONLY for hunting clothing)-
Scent control Wipes-
Scent control Sprays-
Scent control deodorant-
Scent control Rubber boots-

No phones or extra gear brought to the stand (too much scent) and all necessary gear is wiped and sprayed down daily,

On top of that, all the Scent Lok clothing and gear is stored in Scent Lok duffles, and they basically drive to the drop off points naked, and get dressed outside of the vehicle.
When done in the evening, they get undressed outside of the vehicle....this happens every single day....rain, snow or shine.

I was influenced to do the same, even though I didn’t believe all the effort make a bit of difference....and guess what, it didn’t.
Not only did I still get easily busted on stand, but after all that effort, if you leaned over and gave a sniff towards one of my buddies, you could pick up odors. And, my buddies would get busted too(go figure).

We stay on the farm we hunt- you can’t possibly take more scent control measures. It was literally hours per day!

So, if people want to wash and spray while Elk hunting, do so as needed...but if I can’t notice any gains on the farm, it’ll surly be impossible on the mountain chasing Elk.

 

[Bigjay73]

A multi million dollar scent control industry would say yes.

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

Porn is a multi billion dollar industry, but it never once helped me get laid

 

[Bigjay73]

You guys can spend your money on dirt scented boxers, I'm gonna stick to staying down wind

 

[sf jakey]

The scent bs doesnt matter, but the UV brighteners are the real deal. Why spend all that $ on camo to make it glow?

 

[WannabeHunter]

I only use Free and Clear products for all our laundry.

Does the Nikwax/waterproofing stuff really keep your dwr working longer? I've always wondered, but until recently never really had much dwr clothing.

 

[Mosby]

My daughter can't use detergent, soap or shampoo that contains any type of fragrance or dye's. To keep it simple, thats what we buy and I use that on everything. I do put some baking soda, freezer boxes in with my clothes a few weeks before I leave for a trip. I also soak and rinse my pack and bino harness in the tub every year to get the sweat and blood out of it. Amazing how black the water gets. Pretty disgusting. I don't think any of it eliminates scent but I think it does reduce it and I seem to kill stuff, so I keep doing what I do.

 

[Catahoula]

Either All Free and Clear or DDW. My early season archery clothing is all merino wool, other than rain gear. I use very little detergent. Hard to mask your own scent even when not perspiring. We all just have a natural smell about us. But, we can try to combat it as best we can and work the wind our best.