Fish dishes are healthy, tasty and loved by many people, however, despite all their advantages, fish and fish oil have a very specific and persistent odor that can cause a lot of trouble. For example, once the smell of fish gets into clothes, it can ruin the item, because it is not so easy to get rid of the smell. But still, there are effective ways of eliminating the smell of fish.
Washing with detergent
The first thing that comes to mind when trying to solve the problem of smelly clothes, is of course washing them. If your the clothes aren’t too dirty, try washing the soiled item the same you usually do, using powder or liquid detergent, in the washing machine or by hand. If you are sure that this will not be sufficient, use the products at hand, like lemon juice. If you add it to a soap solution and wash the item in it, Citric acid will neutralize the unpleasant smell of fish. At the end of the washing process, you can add a fabric softener with a pleasant smell.
Simple baking soda can help remove fish smell. Just replace the powder detergent in the washing machine with one cup of baking soda and wash the clothes at the highest possible temperature.
Soaking
To cover all the bases, you can soak things in a good-quality, thick solution of laundry soap with a high content of alkali before washing. You can prepare this solution quickly by adding grated soap to hot water, you can grate it using a conventional kitchen grater, and then mix it with water thoroughly. Keep in mind that the color of the soap depends on its effectiveness, the darker it is, the more alkali it contains, and the alkali will help with removing dirt.
To get rid of fishy smell you can also soak the clothes in a vinegar solution. Leave soiled clothes for 40 minutes in warm water with two tablespoons of vinegar added, and it will be much easier to get rid of stains and the smell of fish while washing.
According to many housewives, high-quality dish soaps perform an excellent job of getting rid of grease and its effects on clothes. If you need to get rid of the smell of fish, it is better to use a dish soap with lemon scent. Apply the product on the stain and let it sit for a while, and then hand wash the item.
Please note that after soaking with dish soap, the item should not be washed in the washing machine and you should not add the dish soap during machine washing. Such products create a large amount of foam, which affects the water level sensors of the washing machine. This will not only fail to help you get the smell of fish out of your clothes, but can also cause a serious equipment failure.
If you don’t care about the color of some pieces, you can soak them with bleach. It is best to choose one that does not contain chlorine, which harms the fabric. Leave clothes in a bleach solution for 40 minutes and then wash with powder detergent.
Boiling
If you need to clean white clothes, you can use “heavy artillery” and boil them in a “strong” solution of water and laundry soap. Pour the solution into a large pot or basin, put the clothes into it, put the pot on the stove and bring it to a boil. After that, boil over low heat for about 40 minutes, adding water to the pot if necessary. This should help you get rid of any dirt easily.
Important nuances
To effectively get rid of fish smell and stains, you must follow some recommendations:
- If you have to deal with the fishy “aroma” on clothes on a regular basis due to working with cutting and preparation of fish, try to remove the smell and stains from several items at once. That way you will be able to save time, cleaning products, and water.
- If you don’t need to wash the clothes right away, you can wrap the clothes for a few days in newspapers, they do a great job of absorbing odors, and then you can remove the stains after they “gave” much of the “flavor” to paper.
- Add a little vinegar into the rinse water. It can neutralize substances with an unpleasant smell, and will help to get rid of fishy smell faster. After such treatment, rinse the clothes well, and even better if you do it several times.
- After washing, the clothes should be dried in a well-ventilated area or outdoors. The best way is to dry outdoors in freezing temperatures, so the frost can also help to get rid of unpleasant odors. Particularly “fragrant” pieces should be left in such conditions at least overnight.
Chemical mode on
If all your efforts were in vain, or the item is too delicate to use radical methods of getting rid of unpleasant odor on, it’s time for the dry cleaners. This is not the cheapest way, but specialists have more ways of removing unpleasant smells and complex stains, so you can be fairly certain that they will be able to remove the smell.
The smell of fish on clothes can ruin anyone’s mood, but if you know how to remove it and get rid of it in time, it will soon leave you and your favorite things forever.