Alright, let’s talk about getting rid of that perfume smell that just won’t quit. Had this happen with a jacket I got secondhand. Nice jacket, but someone must have bathed in their perfume before letting it go. The smell was strong, like walk-into-a-room-and-everyone-knows strong. Not my style.
First thing I did, the obvious one: just hung it outside. Left it on the porch for a good two days, hoping the fresh air would just blow the stink away. It helped a bit, took the edge off, maybe? But nah, the core perfume scent was still deep in the fabric. Open the closet, and bam, there it was.
Trying the Wash Cycle
Okay, plan B. Tossed it in the washing machine. Used my regular detergent, cold wash, gentle cycle, ’cause I didn’t want to wreck the jacket. Pulled it out, sniff test… still there. Fainter, maybe slightly mixed with detergent smell, but definitely still perfume. It’s like this stuff bonds with the fibers.
Vinegar Time
Heard about vinegar being good for smells. Sounded weird, didn’t want my jacket smelling like a salad. But I was getting desperate. Did another wash. This time, I skipped the detergent and poured about a cup of plain white vinegar right into the drum with the jacket. Ran another cold wash cycle. Then, I ran one more cycle with just water to rinse out the vinegar smell.
The result? Better. The perfume smell was much weaker. The vinegar smell? Gone after the rinse and air dry. But, if I put my nose right up to the fabric, I could still get a tiny hint of that perfume. Unbelievable.
Baking Soda – The Last Stand
Right, time to bring out the big guns, relatively speaking. Baking soda. Made a paste, just baking soda and a bit of water. Thick stuff. I laid the jacket flat and rubbed this paste onto the areas where the smell seemed strongest – mostly the collar and cuffs. Let it sit there, dry out completely, for maybe half a day. It looked ridiculous, all caked white.
Then, I took it outside, shook off as much of the dried baking soda as I could. Finally, I washed it one last time, normal detergent, cold water. Let it air dry completely.
Success? Yeah, finally! Sniffed it all over. Nothing. No perfume, no vinegar, no weird paste smell. Just clean fabric. It took a few tries, way more effort than I expected, but the combo of airing, vinegar wash, and then the baking soda paste treatment did the trick.
- Airing it out first helped a little.
- Vinegar wash definitely weakened the smell significantly.
- Baking soda paste seemed to be the knockout punch for the stubborn leftovers.
So yeah, that was my little adventure fighting off a perfume ghost. Bit of a hassle, but beats smelling like someone else’s signature scent all day. Got the jacket smelling neutral in the end.
