Odor removal

[electricdruid]

Hey guys.

I work at an animal shelter, and over the past several months, my work pants have acquired an embarrassing odor. The hems of the pants smell like cat urine. Now, I don't actually work with cats, so it's highly unlikely that cat urine is the actual source, but I'm not sure what is causing it. At any rate, regular washing doesn't fully

Comments

[electricdruid]

Nope, not familiar with this strategy. Plus, it has an odd tendency to rain on the days that I'm off (and thus not wearing the pants). What do I do- just hang them off my balcony? Before or after washing? Does it matter?

[anapaoli]

Try washing them with vinegar instead of detergent. That might help.

[electricdruid]

Thank you :)

[eileen_donovan]

Use Nature's Miracle. It works like a charm. Wouldn't dream of using anything else.

[electricdruid]

Thanks for the suggestion!

[elenbarathi]

I second that; it's great stuff.

[marsupian]

Washing them (with pre-soaking) with baking soda instead of detergent might help. Baking soda is particularly good at removing odors.

[caliginous]

If it is urine related, vinegar will help soluablize the ammonia that you smell. I'd soak overnight in vinegar, and wash well with baking soda to help absorb odors. I only use vinegar and baking soda on cat issues, and have had great luck getting really old smells out with it.
My roommate swears by nature's miracle, which breaks down the molecules with enzymes. I think that it depends on how deeply set and how available the problem is to the enzyme. I will say that her cats pee in the same spot even after the nature's miracle, but mine never did after a good vinegar/baking soda round. Her cats tend to pee inappropriately more than any I've owned though (stress response to anything, even running the vacuum will stress one out and he'll pee for a couple of days), so it may be more about the cat than the product.