4 out of 5 leaves
It seems that the best looking, nicest pieces of clothing are also the same pieces marked “Dry Clean Only“. Dry cleaning is performed by professionals, using a (carcinogenic) solvent bath to remove soil and odors in the fabric. There are known health hazards from exposure to perchloroethylene, the main chemical used in dry cleaning, which remains in the fabric after you take it home. ”Green” dry cleaners are available in some areas, but how environmental friendly they are is debatable. Home dry cleaning kits are available, but seem to only mask odor through use of a very heavy fragrance. Often, the biggest drawback to wearing these delicate items multiple times is development of armpit odor. For many years, costumers have sworn by vodka to kill odor in the armpit area of clothing so actors can wear a costume for many performances in a row without washing. Can vodka kill residual armpit odor in clothing so dry cleaning is no longer necessary?
The Good
- Better for You – no carcinogenic chemicals in your clothing, or in your home
- Better for the Environment – less dry cleaning means less hazardous waste (the by-product of traditional dry cleaning)
- Saves Money – dry cleaning can be expensive, “green” dry cleaning doubly so. Vodka is cheap!
- Saves Time – no time spent running to the dry cleaners to drop off, and pick up
- Easy – a quick spritz when you’re hanging up your garment is all you need
- Vodka is odorless – does not leave any unwanted fragrances
The Bad
- Vodka is a deodorizer, not a cleaner – any stains must be managed separately
My Experience
My Little Laundry Secret!
While researching ideas for at home green dry cleaning options, I ran across the idea that vodka can be used to deodorize dry clean only garments. I was really excited to try this out, as I have several items in my closet that shouldn’t be washed often, but seem to get a little stinky in the armpits. (Fuzzy sweaters, silk garments, fancy dresses, etc).
I picked up some vodka and a little spray bottle to use with it. (Any type of unflavored vodka is fine — I recommend getting a cheap one if clothing deodorizing will be your only use for it). I tried this out on some of my everyday work clothes. Even though my crystal deodorant works great, a small amount of armpit bacteria can get into clothing throughout the day and smell a little ripe upon close inspection by nose. At the end of the day, I sprayed the armpits of my clothing, and hung on a hanger to dry until morning.
The first time I tried this, I did a light spritz of vodka, and there was no change to the clothing odor in the morning. The second time I tried, I did a moderate spray until the fabric was damp to the touch, and there was no change to the clothing odor in the morning. The third time I tried this, I sprayed the fabric on both sides until it was completely saturated. I let it hang until evening of the next day and found the odor was almost completely gone! It works! (Not all the way gone, but almost). I also found that it worked on some old odors I had stashed in my closet! I’m very pleased with this trick, and plan to incorporate this into my laundry routine ASAP.
A couple post scripts: Although I did not pre-test the vodka on an inconspicuous area of my garments to make sure they were colorfast, you totally should! Also, many “dry clean only” garments can be safely hand washed at home. Check out this nifty guide to learn more.
Do you have any secret laundry help tips and tricks?
My husband often gets a mixture of perspiration and deodorant staining the armpits of his shirts. If I just throw them in the wash without treating the stains, the material eventually becomes hard and stiff under the armpits from the build up of deodorant and perspiration as normal washing never removes it properly. I’ve found a mix of vinegar and bi-carb soda rubbed into it every few washes and left for an hour or so before washing is a good way to prevent it and get rid of any small build up. I’ve tried it on long-term build up, and, although it gets rid of some of it, it’s still stiff and horrible afterwards.
THanks for the great tip, Carol! I always had that build-up when I used to use “regular” antiperspirants. I neve knew what to do about it though. Does it also take care of staining?
Totally cool trick! I’m going to the liquor store on the way home. Thanks!
Thanks for stopping by Mindy!
I heard it had to be 100 proof vodka..does it?
I’ve been using 80 proof.
Very interesting. B
Why would you invest money in a nice outfit to spray vodka on it?
There is no more incidents of cancer with workers in the dry clean industry than the general public. It is all a scare tactic. For about 25 years, technology has advanced in cleaning where there is virtually no orders or solvent left in the garments
Hi Dave, thanks for sharing your thoughts. Vodka is a clear and odorless solvent and in general should not hurt the clothing anymore than the perc solvent used at the dry cleaners would. Do you have a link to the study you reference? I would be interested in reading it. Regardless, there are some who feel that anything they can do to reduce their family’s exposure to known carcinogens is worth it, even if the risk of harm is remote. If you feel comfortable with dry cleaning your clothing, and are not worried about the solvent used to do so, then this green idea is probably not for you.
Probably one of the worst ideas ever! My family spent 80 years in the dry cleaning business and I can assure you that spraying alcohol on your garments is one of the fastest ways to permanently ruin your clothes.
Any distilled or fermented beverage has a high alcohol content and is equally high in sugars. The alcohol will over time destroy the fibers in both the fabric and the seams. And the moment the sugar heats up, either in the wash, at the dry cleaner or on your body, those sugars caramelize and turn brown. This can even happen over time whilst the garment hangs in your closet.
When customers would bring garments into our plant I would always ask if there were any spots we should know about. We went over each garment with a fine toothed comb, but I would ask if any clear beverages were spilled or if a beverage was coffee, did it have cream and sugar, as these spots were treated differently than black coffee. Sorry, I am going off on a tangent.
If you would like more information on how to properly remove odors from a garment leave a reply.
So there you have it… Vodka = Sugar Sugar + Clothing + Time = Not even fit for Goodwill.
Tammy, I need your help! I’ve been scouring the internet. I have some dresses I wear to work and although of course I’m bathed and wear deodorant, they are stinky after one wear. The dry cleaner never seems to have any affect on them at all, even when I tell them specifically that the underarms need special attention. I’ve tried Febreze, natural enzymatic fabric refreshers, rubbing alcohol dabbed into the armpits, vinegar/water/lemon solutions, etc. Nothing seems to work.
Maybe these dresses are actually ok to soak in tepid water to remove the smells. Can you please let us know which garments or fabrics are actually ok to wash by hand and which are truly Dry Clean Only?
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