Homemade scent-free laundry detergent

F

FirstFreedom

Moderator
Guys, I'm fixin to wash ALL my hunting clothes & boots, and place into sealed containers (rectangular plastic ones sold as being for storage under your bed, etc.), but it would cost a small fortune to use the commercial scent-free stuff made for hunters.

Is there an off the shelf brand at a reasonable price that has no scent, or some other way to make scent-free detergent or wash the clothes to make them scent-free, much cheaper?

Thanks.
 
well,

I run mine through the wash regularly. Then run them again through with no detergent at all. Bring them outside to air dry (they hang between some pine trees and a Holly) and then stick them in the box with a bag (muslin) of pine straw and pine cones.

Seems to work well.
 
Just wash your hunting clothes in baking soda and you're finished. No smell, no brightening agents, just clean no fragrance clothes.
 
Like Trapper said, wash in baking soda, dry outdoors, then pack them in a zip-lock bag with the type of vegetation in you area. When I lived in Nevada and bowhunted, I would put sagebrush in the bag with my bowhunting clothes.
 
Add a little bit of powdered borax to the baking soda and it will clean stains better.

There was a thread like this on the Georgia Outdoor Network boards. Someone posted a link that showed various brands of commercial detergents that have or do not have brightners. The one brand that stuck out to me was Cheer. It doesn't have any brightners and the free&cleer variety doesn't have any scent either.
 
I use a cup of borax and a cup of baking soda in a top load machine. after the wash cycle starts run it a few minutes then shut it off for an hour to soak then resume. I hang mine from a tree to dry and keep in my wood shed.
 
I also wash my hunting clothes in Baking Soda, after soaking them in UV killer solution. I'll let them air dry outside on the deck.
 
You guys was your hunting clothes:confused::D I use the old baking soda and then I bag them with some pine branches to kill off any oders it might pick up from the bag itself. What kind of camo do you wear? I'm still useing the Tiger Stripe I brought back from Viet Nam and it still seems to work well.
 
Hints from Heloise - when washing camo in a machine with either baking soda or a commercial product designed for it, make sure and turn it inside out. Leave it inside out when drying in the sun. Helps keep the pattern longer - not all faded to a ghost pattern.
 
FF any well stocked Grocery store will have both. Look for the Borax in the laundry soap section. As a side note, borax works very well as a pest repellant and has been used for hundreds of years for preserving hides.
 
FF,

Yes baking SODA. Baking powder contains baking soda and other leveners, but what you want is SODA. I buy it cheap from discount grocery stores, and any brand is fine. There is not difference in the scent eliminating ability from brand to brand. Just be sure to check out the scent smoker and smoke up once you get to your destination but before you get to your spot. Once you try it, you'll swear by it.
 
I just did the baking soda wash this morning and got my stuff hanging outside on the deck. Will then put the dried clothing in a bag with aspen leaves and pine. Thanks guys for the great tip! Early elk season starts on the 20th, in 2 days.
 
I just looked into some other alternatives for homemade scent blocking and one thing that you can do is boil water and vegetation (such as leaves pine needles grasses etc.) in a big pot. Then drain off the water into a large bucket and let hunting clothes sit for about an hour. After that hang clothes outside to dry. This procedure is best done after washing with baking soda.
 
Then, of course, the next step(s) - DO NOT: Drive around all day in your stinky truck in your newly de-scented clothes... DO NOT sit in your smoky local tavern and weave hunting tales in these clothes...DO NOT top off your outfit with that hat you've been trying to get your wife to smell for a month...DO NOT ingest whatever peculiar concoction (chili, perhaps?) that will have you re-odorizing your clothes from the inside out..,DO NOT roll around with that "parfumy" wife before donning them clothes in the morning...DO NOT stuff your pockets with beef jerky that even you can smell across the room "for energy" later on.... AND SO ON...
 
I wash my hunting clothes in hot water. Nothing else and after they are dryed, they go outside. That seems to work as well as any thing else.

I just looked into some other alternatives for homemade scent blocking and one thing that you can do is boil water and vegetation (such as leaves pine needles grasses etc.) in a big pot.
Click to expand...

I tried this one year. I'm not saying it doesn't work, but if you can do this outside, your wife will appreciate it.

Example: I used some leaves, grass and pine needles and my god, the smell was terrible. It was so bad, I took every thing and dumped it the woods. As I was making the short walk to dump the pot, it took every thing I had to not vomit. It mean it was a GUT WRENCHING smell. Freakin' terrible. I dry heaved for a couple of minutes. And, by my warning, you might have guessed I boiled mine inside. Wife none too happy.

Try it, hope it works for you, just do it outside!
 
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