let's get serious. is it possible to de-funk polypro baselayers?

[peace_coast]

I'm far from squeamish about human body odors, but my synthetic baselayers are starting to get unbearably funky. Like, so bad that even though they look fine and work fine, I'm considering throwing them away. I don't even think I could give this shit away to the smelliest bum in SLC. No matter what I was them with (regular detergent, sport wash, nikwax base wash) they smell fine when they come out of the machine, then as soon as I wear them and work up a sweat, I smell like a pile of dead construction workers. I tried soaking a particularly fowl capilene T-shirt in diluted vinegar at someone's recomendation, and that did jack shit. It just smelled like vinegar AND polyproylene rotting asshole death stench.

Any detergents, chemicals, household substances, voodoo incantations, etc, I might try? I'm all ears.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

I think fire would work well.

[2FUNKY]

Cap full of bleach when washing.

[meter-man]

polyproylene rotting asshole death stench.

Any detergents, chemicals, household substances, voodoo incantations, etc, I might try? I'm all ears.

Nothing can extinguish that stench. I gave up and switched to wool.

[2FUNKY]

Merino wool ftw. I do have a couple poly items and the bleach gets the funk out.

[That was Pontus]

Baking soda pre-wash perhaps.

[Moeghoul]

Add some febreze in the rinse cycle. Synthetics recommend cold water washing, which doesn't kill shit, so a little bleach might work as well.

[My Pet Powder Goat]

My hippy sister recommended vinegar. Worked great, but I've switched to 100% wool

[t-the-east]

+1 on the wool. But Tide sport with febreeze works incredible on the worst poly stench. I was in the same boat of wanting to throw it away even though it "performed" fine. Downfall is you smell like a 70 year old grandma that just had a perm. And I've had occasional tongue numbness. But it really does work.

[ill-advised strategy]

Somebody probably has one of these around Salt Lake...

http://www.sani-sport.com/sanisport-findus.asp

do that then wash with some bleach...that should kill whatever is still living in there.

[El Chupacabra]

Oxiclean?

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Like I said, try fire and then buy some wool.

[spook]

I've use various manifestations of Thieves essential oil and it seems to work. I love the oil anyway and it can be used a lot of different ways. my cotton hand towel that I use for bikram has gone south too and I can't get rid of the smell. smells okay dry but as soon as it starts getting wet from sweat it reeks.

[XXX-er]

The lightest wool t-shirts as a base layer is cheapest, won't stink and then wear the plastic layers on top of that cuz the thing with wool is it does not wear well

I got wool that has worn trhu at the elbow in < 1 year of walking around town whereas plastic lasts forever

[That was Pontus]

The lightest wool t-shirts as a base layer is cheapest, won't stink and then wear the plastic layers on top of that cuz the thing with wool is it does not wear well

I got wool that has worn trhu at the elbow in < 1 year of walking around town whereas plastic lasts forever

Heh, wool for when you want to look like a homeless person, polypro for when you want to smell like one....

[coldfeet]

Wool, but also, after wearing a poly base layer, when you get back to the house right away take the poly and either soak it in the sink or toss it on the floor of the tub while you shower (I'm assuming you wash regularly, though I don't know if that's TGR standard). Don't toss it in the laundry basket and let it fester for a week. This doesn't de-funk already stinky baselayers, but it delays the development of funk in a new garment.

[powtario]

I've use various manifestations of Thieves essential oil and it seems to work. I love the oil anyway and it can be used a lot of different ways. my cotton hand towel that I use for bikram has gone south too and I can't get rid of the smell. smells okay dry but as soon as it starts getting wet from sweat it reeks.

The thought of that avatar in Bikram even creeps me out.

Do a 48-72 hr soak in baking soda + water, changing it once or twice.

[sb]

Dr Bonners will also help clean and cover up any lingery smellage.

+1 on the vinegar, great on wet suits and foul bootie stench

[Benny Profane]

This works well http://www.campmor.com/Product___10601 but give it a few washes for bad cases. Dick's or Sports Authority carries a sports wash that works pretty good, too. Also, try Boraxo in the wash.

[Sessiøn]

Vinegar.

[iamchappy]

Hydrogen peroxide

[LiveLarger]

If you are not using wool, you are doing it wrong.

[oldirty]

I've heard if you put them in a zip lock bag and throw them in the freezer for a few days it will kill the bacteria and thus the smell. Haven't tried it myself yet, but it's worth a shot.

[XXX-er]

Heh, wool for when you want to look like a homeless person, polypro for when you want to smell like one....

My 80 yr old dad used to wear wool t-shirts way back in the day in the tropics (WWII) so he was stoked to find out Merino wool was popular again we got him some to wear for extreme TV watching and they all developed holes

I got at least 5 different brands of merino and they just doesn't hold up like plastic so buy the cheapest lightest short sleeve merino t-shirts and thro your poly on top

If you are in a hut for a week your friends will love your merino > they love you

If you are near a washing machine often just wear plastic and wash often

[GeezerSteve]

Polypro? Does anyone actually still make polypro base layers? AFAIK, all current synthetic base layers are polyester, which can get da stink but nothing like the uberreek of 1970s polypro (e.g., Lifa).