COLD water laundry question

[Minmom3]

Question for all your knowledgeable folk -

I only have cold water in my laundry room.  If I want a hot water wash, I boil water on the stove, or drive in to the laundromat (which is really pricey!).  99% of my laundry is just fine with a cold water wash.  EXCEPT for my stocking socks.  I wear compression hosiery knee socks every day, in clogs, and they get smelly as hell.  Foot odor supreme.     The cold water wash does very little to reduce that.  Boiling pots of hot water is a pain in the patoot, and driving in to town requires money (and seems ridiculous for such a small load). 

Anybody have any good ideas for stench reduction?  Vinegar in the wash?  Any other ideas for me that I can do every time I do laundry?

I also put Gold Bond foot powder in the clogs, which helps a little bit, but I really need a good way to reduce the smell in/on the stockings themselves, as they are world class awful after a few hours, regardless of how clean my actual foot is.

[Amara]

I haven't tried it but I would do a wash using only vinegar (two + cups). Then wash them in your regular detergent. Hang them outside in the sun.

[Redneck Gravy]

Try adding baking soda - cheapest alternative I know of.

And you might try Borax (I think that is soda ash) - may not be much difference between baking soda and soda ash but worth a try.

I do not wash anything in hot water.  Cold has always worked good for me.

 

[Judah]

I wash everything in cold except sheets and towels. It works well except for my exercise clothing which can get REALLY smelly. The best solution I've found is to fill the fabric softener receptacle with plain white vinegar. This works great, plus it eliminates that weird musty smell front loaders can get sometimes.

[Oh Joy]

I'm thinking of my thicker cloth diapers, which get smelly too fast if they haven't gotten clean and dried reeeeally well.  I'd try the vinegar wash, then lay them in direct sunlight until completely dry all the way through.  If that works, you have an extra clue.  Sun can work magic.

[TootsNYC]

Do you not have hot water anywhere in your home?

If you do have hot water in the kitchen sink (or even warm water), I'd say what about a 15-minute hot-water soak with OxyClean or other oxygen bleach. Then dump the whole bucket into the washing machine, add the other clothes, and launder in cold. You don't need as much hot water, and the OxyClean will work on the odor (I think).

[Outdoor Girl]

Do you not have hot water anywhere in your home?

If you do have hot water in the kitchen sink (or even warm water), I'd say what about a 15-minute hot-water soak with OxyClean or other oxygen bleach. Then dump the whole bucket into the washing machine, add the other clothes, and launder in cold. You don't need as much hot water, and the OxyClean will work on the odor (I think).

I agree.  I think this would work well.

You might want to try a detergent supposedly designed to work better in cold water, too, if you aren't already using one.  I don't know if they are a total gimmick or if they really do work better.

[doodlemor]

I started using cat pee cleaner/neutralizer in smelly sneakers, and it works.  I've also used half white vinegar and half water for the same purposes.  The vinegar is cheaper, but the specific cleaner works better.  Maybe this would work on your socks.  It is available at pet stores, walmart, and supermarkets.

[kckgirl]

My compression socks say not to use hot water. I wash them in warm water (by hand when needed sooner, but usually in the machine) and dry on a rack. After my morning shower, I put scented lotion on my feet before socks, and I mostly wear Crocs. My socks don't smell like anything other than the lotion.

I would try the OxyClean soak suggestion just as Toots mentioned. Soak in warm, then dump the whole bucket into the machine and wash as usual.

[artk2002]

As an aside, if your apartment doesn't have hot water, please check your local habitability laws. In many places, the lack of hot water would mark the place as "uninhabitable."

[MrsJWine]

I put a little bit of OxyClean in all my washes because my workout clothes stink to high heaven otherwise. It seems to do the trick. I've also had success with putting vinegar in the rinse cycle and just plain old baking soda. But I like OxyClean the best for sweat odors.

[MrsJWine]

Also, try to find out what kind of water you have. We have very hard water here, and it makes it tricky to get some things clean. When our kids were in diapers, we used a liquid water softener (Calgon, in the laundry aisle) in each load, and it made a huge difference. It might be the water quality, not the cleaners you're using, or maybe some combination.

[WillyNilly]

I wear compression hosiery knee socks every day, in clogs, and they get smelly as hell.  Foot odor supreme...

I also put Gold Bond foot powder in the clogs, which helps a little bit, but I really need a good way to reduce the smell in/on the stockings themselves, as they are world class awful after a few hours, regardless of how clean my actual foot is.

Have you cleaned your clogs?
Often foot odor is from dead skin cells and sweat and debris (which can include powder) all mixing up. If your feet are clean, and you are cleaning your stockings, that leaves one other component: the shoes. Your skin cells can move through the stocking, and certainly your sweat can as well, where it will all mix with the powder and then... just stay in the shoes.

I would suggest at the end of the day when your clogs are all warmed up and moist from sweat (and yes even if you don't notice the sweat, feet are constantly sweating) take your clogs off and give them a good scrub with soap and water.

[jpcher]

Try adding baking soda - cheapest alternative I know of.

You also might try "storing" your socks (after use) in a large baggie of sorts with some baking powder sprinkled inside as a "pre-soak de-smellifier." The baking soda will also help absorb some of the sweat moisture from the socks.

On laundry day dump the socks and fresh baking powder in the washer with the rest of your load.

[BigBadBetty]

I don't know if your compression socks are made of a similar material, but I just read an article on Jezebel about cleaning workout clothes. My boyfriend has some synthetic workout clothes that just hold the stink even after washing. He got rid of most of these clothes so I haven't had a chance to try it. She suggests soaking in vinegar and also has other suggestions. You can read the article here:

http://jezebel.com/what-to-do-when-your-gym-clothes-reek-1141402734