An embarassing dilemma.... FEMALE ADVICE NEEDED!?

Question

My best friend shipped a huge box of maternity clothes for me to borrow when I was pregnant last year, as there are no maternity shops anywhere close to where I live. She saved me HUNDREDS of dollars. What a great friend!!

Out of the 30 or 40 garments that she loaned to me, a few of them arrived with a really bad smell. Like she had worn them and then done a big workout or something. I think you know what I mean.

I had these items drycleaned, 3 times, in the hopes of wearing them myself, however unfortuantly the stink just did not come out.

Here 's the problem. She now wants me to ship the clothes to her sister, who is pregnant. I'm afraid that the sister is going to think that I am stinky and couldn't be bothered cleaning the clothes! I'm not sure how to handle this without hurt feelings.

I thought about "omiting" the offending garments, but there was at least one item that my friend kept asking "have you worn the pink dress yet?" as this was her favorite.

WHAT SHOULD I DO

Answer 1

Skip the dry cleaning. That's just unhealthy anyway. Soak the pieces in baking soda, with hot water. You can also soak them in vinegar, but not at the same time, since that could cause corrosion. Make sure one is completely rinsed out before you do the next soak.

If that still doesn't work (though it should), just tell your friend that these pieces were damaged accidentally and exclude them. Or you can just tell her the truth. She sounds like a good friend who would understand.

Answer 2

Not long ago there was a tv program on that talked about how most things that say "dry clean only" can be carefully machine washed, even if they shouldn't go into the dryer. Use a lot of detergent (maybe not store brand detergent, which tends not to be as good).

Just a note: There is a chance that some garments could be made of a synthetic material that could have developed a chemical odor while packed away. (I had three new synthetic sweaters years ago, and they were unwearable because of some chemical smell.) There is also the chance some rhodent or cat could have gotten at the stored clothing. Cat urine (I don't know about rhodent urine) can smell like what you've described

I think if you want to wash them, leave them out to dry, and send them clean that would be fine; but I also think you ought to just tell your friend, "Actually, I never wore a couple of the things because I think they picked up a chemical smell from being packed away."

You could then send the offending garments wrapped up separately when you send the clothing, and put a note on them that says the same thing.

You have to figure, if there's the chance a cat got in on the packed clothes at some point your friend would want to know and would understand. If, on the other hand, she just packed up some "BO" clothes in a moment of innocent oblivion then maybe she's not the type to worry a whole lot about this type of thing and would laugh about it.

Having said all that, I lean toward wrapping up the offending items and putting a note, "I never wore these. They have some problem."

Answer 3

Honesty is always the best policy. Tell the generous friend that the pink outfit ariived with a smell, you thought, and what you did about it, that you never wore it, what a shame, you really wanted to.
Let the new owner be the judge of the smell.
You might want to wrap the offending garments in plastic before shipping, so the smell does not go all through the other clothes. And to make sure it is still there when it arrives.
If she is your best friend, she will understand, and send her a little something for her trouble.

Answer 4

I keep wanting to think up white lies too for you to tell her, like you spilled vinegar on the dress and you can't get the smell out, or bleach on the offensive garments and they're ruined. But it might hurt her feelings that you were so careless with her clothes.

Could you say, "The pink dress is really pretty but, my pregnancy must've done something to my sense of smell because, it's just always smelled a little funny to me"?

How about placing the garments in a plastic bag with something that smells nice, like baby powder, potpourri, perfume... Make sure the bag is sealed tight, let it sit for 3 days, and see if that helps mask the bad odor?

Good luck, and congratulations on your pregnancy!

Answer 5

I would add lavender oil to the washer when you wash them. OR let them soak in warm water for a long long time with Woolite. Baking soda comes to mind as well...

The queen of clean always has good ideas too.

Here is what she says:

Perspiration Stains
After wearing a garment for the first time, prior to laundering, work in some warm water and Fels Naptha® Laundry Bar Soap, available in the bar soap section of your local supermarket (usually on the bottom shelf), into the underarm area. This will prevent the yellow stains from forming.

If you have a garment that has only been worn once and odor is present, apply warm water to the area and work in 20 Mule Team® Borax, which is a very effective odor remover.

If you already have stains, try dampening the fabric with warm water and working in laundry detergent and Biz Activated Non-Chlorine Bleach. Allow this mixture to soak into your garment about 30 minutes prior to laundering. You can also try heated white vinegar on existing stains. Spray it on the fabric, then work in 20 Mule Team® Borax. This is very effective on any odor or stain that might be present. If the color has changed in the fabric, try spraying with sudsy ammonia, let it sit about 15 minutes, then launder as usual.

Answer 6

if it were me, i would omit the offending garments...
if you're not comfortable telling the truth, then you might say "darn it, i got a huge stain on the front of that pink dress and had to throw it out...i feel terrible that your sister won't get to wear it...." and you can offer to pay for it...
or you might use an excuse like "unfortunately when i got your package a corner of it was damaged, like it had been exposed to some liquid, and a few of the garments had a really funny smell and i had to throw them out" ...that way you're kinda telling the truth, but not blaming anyone for the smell

Answer 7

What I would do is wash them in the washing machine. I can't imagine the funk wouldn't come out.

If the funk is as tenacious as you say, then write a note to the next recipient saying how great it was to receive some hand-me-downs and give her 'friendly opinions' or commentary on which ones you liked the most e.g. " really liked the the denim dress and the knit skirt because they were so comfortable but dressy enough to wear to work". Then you can also write, "I never got a chance to wear the XXXX (insert names of the stinky clothes here), but I'm sure XXXX (insert friend's name who gave them to you) can you give you reviews on them!"

That way she knows you didn't wear them and they must have gotten their aroma elsewhere.

Answer 8

You should try washing these clothes rather than drycleaning them. All drycleaning does is add chemicals to your clothes -- you need soap and water to get the funk out. Try soaking them overnight in borax as well as detergent, even if the clothes say "dry clean only" (I wash "dry-clean-only" stuff all the time). If the offending garments are ruined, you can just apologize and say, oops, and no one's feelings will get hurt.

Answer 9

Well there are a lot of handy hints there.. you know when you ship the garments you can place something smelly in there.. like one of those scented bags.. and hopefully by the time they get to the next person, they will smell a bit better.. I know I had one of those scented bags in my draws for a while and they made eveythign seem loveley

Answer 10

That is tough. I see what ya mean. I would spray everything down with ALL Fabric Freshner. Its better than Fabreze, (in my opinion). Keep spraying them...Each item. When you get them all packed in a box, spray them again. Then seal the box. When she gets the box, she may not even notice a smell, other than a good smell. Not everyone will notice a bad smell like others. She may actually think they smell good when she gets them.

I personally wouldnt worry about it. You know that you didnt make them stink. Let her think what she wants. Its no biggie. lol