Washing Clothes: Baking Soda?

[NHguy12]

#5144

So, in a tight economy I passed up buying the many kinds of Hunter’s Clothing Detergent for sale. Most are about $25 an ounce and made me think that people should give up selling drugs and start selling this stuff on street corners. LOL

All kidding (kind of) aside, is there anything wrong with just washing your hunting clothing in a couple of cups of good old fasion Baking Soda in a warm wash and cold rinse?

Is there something provided in the $$$ Hunter’s specialized detergents that Baking Soda does not provide?

“Pssst! Hey Kid, you should try an ounce of this Scent-Elimination detergent, it will rock your world. First ounce is free.”

[turtlebunting]

#37836

all i use is baking soda i dont waste money on that stuff.

[Steve Branson]

#37837

Baking soda works fine, just make sure the detergent dispenser is clean of detergent prior to washing. I like to run an empty cycle first, and I line dry mine outside to avoid fabric softener residue from smelling them up.

[David Petersen]

#37862

I have used it, and while it seems to get rid of odors it doesn’t “clean” like detergent does. But no problem — at season’s end just was with regular detergent. I have also showered with baking soda and the same can be said. Now that you’ve reminded me, I think I’ll go back to that traditional alternative. dp

[Hiram]

#38313

I just wash my clothes in a generic unscented, or as close as I can get detergent. Air dry outside if thee are no foreign odors present. Good ole outside air is hard to beat!
I also use Ivory hand soap to shower with, seems the thing to do. Much ado but, being clean and downwind is the best precaution! Avoiding a vehicle ride with you hunting clothes on is also wise, unless you are sure no air fresheners, perfumes, or other stink is present in the vehicle. I think if they can smell you at all, their gone!:)

[Ireland]

#38673

Hiram wrote: I just wash my clothes in a generic unscented, or as close as I can get detergent. Air dry outside if thee are no foreign odors present. Good ole outside air is hard to beat!
I also use Ivory hand soap to shower with, seems the thing to do. Much ado but, being clean and downwind is the best precaution! Avoiding a vehicle ride with you hunting clothes on is also wise, unless you are sure no air fresheners, perfumes, or other stink is present in the vehicle. I think if they can smell you at all, their gone!:)

Great information for all…

In 38 years of bow hunting, I have found Sport Wash by ASTKO to be one of the best products for cleaning my hunting clothes. DO NOT wash your clothes in regular detergents because most contain artificial fragrances and brightners. Sport Wash does not. Plain old baking soda works just fine, but does not remove the oders as well as Sport Wash. Astko makes a great hair and body soap as well.

Good luck!

[strait-aero]

#38721

I use baking soda in my boots and have dusted my armpits with it on occasion:lol:. Mainly, I wash my clothes with Sportwash andthen use Scent Killer to spray on my clothes and boots. But there’s nothing like hanging them out in the fresh air in the shade to freshen up your clothes. I also wash with Ivory soap before heading for the woods.

[SteveMcD]

#38739

I use Arm & Hammer detergent with Baking Soda and a Scent Elimination Spray (Ti4 from Scent Shield). And it seems to work well. I had 3 bears within 10 yards last year, so that tells ya something about how it works.

[Stephen Graf]

#39655

I’ve been using a cedar oil spray the last few years and it seems to work well. 1 part oil, 9 parts water, and a dash of ivory dish soap. Put it in a spray bottle and shake. The cedar smell lasts for days between spraying. Very cheap too.

We have a lot of red cedar around here, so it blends in. If you don’t have cedars around, probably not a good idea…

[RedTape]

#39891

I typically just run them through water and put them out on the line to dry after every hunt. Doing it that often, I’ve found little need to fancy soaps. As long as the wind’s in your face you’ll be fine. I do use Sports Wash when my clothes are really dirty (and at the beginning and end of each season).

[NHguy12]

#39963

Thanks. Good to know how to save some dough while going for doe.

OK, I’ll drop the puns 😀

I do use the dryer but I use scent remover and throw in a earth sentes dryer sheet. As stated, wind in the face is the best policy but I like to account for those odd wind shifts that happen as well as thermal ups and downs on the hills.

[William Warren]

#42873

I have used baking soda, the Arm and Hammer detergent and I have used unscented detergent. The baking soda seems the most scent free. Then I hang my clothes outside like overnight. But I don’t leave them out all the time.
Also have used the cedar oil or pine oil on a cotton ball closed up with my clothes in a plastic bag if I have to transport my clothes in my vehicle. Then I change right before going into the woods.
This way I’m not wearing my hunting clothes or boots into the store if I have to stop to get gas or something or even in my vehicle.

[Danny Klee]

#45210

I hate to be the unpopular one here but when i went hunting with my dad and his brothers it seemed none of them washed their clothes in anything other than what my mother and aunt used to wash the clothes. Two of my uncles were serious cigar smokers and the rest of them were cigarette smokers who regularly smoked while they hunted. Almost all of them were successful each and every year, either bow or gun hunting. I just dont see the need for expensive clothing nor do I see the need to wash your clothes in baking soda. At least not after seeing those fellas getting deer after deer all the while smoking right in the field. I personally don’t smoke but I don’t know that it matters all that much. I’m sure quite a few of you will disagree with me and that’s fine but I only know what I have seen in the past with my own eyes.

Dan

[William Warren]

#45237

Danny,

I know guys like that too. It’s really about paying attention to the wind, but if a deer happens to get too close I feel like I have a better chance if I try to keep as scent free as possible. All I can say is I’ve had deer feeding within arms length of me completely calm, the air current in my face. One would think they would be all in my scent pool but they never knew I was there. My closest kill was a 6 point taken at 9 paces and the air was calm so the wind was not necessarily in my favor. And what the hey, baking soda is cheap.

Duncan

[Ireland]

#45677

[quote=Danny Klee]I hate to be the unpopular one here but when i went hunting with my dad and his brothers it seemed none of them washed their clothes in anything other than what my mother and aunt used to wash the clothes. Two of my uncles were serious cigar smokers and the rest of them were cigarette smokers who regularly smoked while they hunted. Almost all of them were successful each and every year, either bow or gun hunting. I just dont see the need for expensive clothing nor do I see the need to wash your clothes in baking soda. At least not after seeing those fellas getting deer after deer all the while smoking right in the field. I personally don’t smoke but I don’t know that it matters all that much. I’m sure quite a few of you will disagree with me and that’s fine but I only know what I have seen in the past with my own eyes.

Dan,
You are not unpopular, you are just reporting what you have personally observed first hand. I have observed similar strange events of hunters smoking or going into the woods without any type of scent reduction procedures in place and harvesting big bucks. Through science, personal observations of hundreds of hunters and quality research, we know enough about whitetail behavior to do our best to be scent free and yes, hunt the wind. Hunters that do, have the greatest success rates year after year. Scent reduction takes some time and effort, but will pay great rewards in your personal success rate.

Ireland

[NHguy12]

#45907

Danny Klee wrote: I hate to be the unpopular one here but when i went hunting with my dad and his brothers it seemed none of them washed their clothes in anything other than what my mother and aunt used to wash the clothes. Two of my uncles were serious cigar smokers and the rest of them were cigarette smokers who regularly smoked while they hunted. Almost all of them were successful each and every year, either bow or gun hunting. I just dont see the need for expensive clothing nor do I see the need to wash your clothes in baking soda. At least not after seeing those fellas getting deer after deer all the while smoking right in the field. I personally don’t smoke but I don’t know that it matters all that much. I’m sure quite a few of you will disagree with me and that’s fine but I only know what I have seen in the past with my own eyes.

Dan

LOL, That is because they were southern deer and had a smoking habit themselves. They probably approched those hunters hoping to bum a smoke.

Dan, Nothing wrong with posting what you have seen in real life. 😀

[bruc]

#45976

I kindda agree with Dan, for me during my hunting years that if you got downwind of a whitetail, no matter what you had done to cover your scent, you were pretty much done for. A few exceptions,foggy wet weather, being high in a treestand and a few others. I think it is hard for humans to ascertain the nose capabilities of these animals. Bird dogs are likely about the best example!!
Bruce

[rraming]

#8137

I have used baking soda for a few seasons and get busted more often than seasons using the Hunters something stuff (white crystal powder) I beliieve there must be a difference. As with anything you need to find it on sale or clearance. Most of this sort of stuff I can find on clearance and the end of it season at Walmart (they all have a clearance section) – Come December they give it away, I look for cleaning and cover sprays and use them the next year.

[Jarhead]

#8280

NHguy12 wrote: [quote=Danny Klee]I hate to be the unpopular one here but when i went hunting with my dad and his brothers it seemed none of them washed their clothes in anything other than what my mother and aunt used to wash the clothes. Two of my uncles were serious cigar smokers and the rest of them were cigarette smokers who regularly smoked while they hunted. Almost all of them were successful each and every year, either bow or gun hunting. I just dont see the need for expensive clothing nor do I see the need to wash your clothes in baking soda. At least not after seeing those fellas getting deer after deer all the while smoking right in the field. I personally don’t smoke but I don’t know that it matters all that much. I’m sure quite a few of you will disagree with me and that’s fine but I only know what I have seen in the past with my own eyes.

Dan

LOL, That is because they were southern deer and had a smoking habit themselves. They probably approched those hunters hoping to bum a smoke.

Dan, Nothing wrong with posting what you have seen in real life. 😀

Maybe it was because they knew how to work the wind and avoid detection? Just say’n they were successful were they not? Bruc was spot on, it doesn’t matter what lengths one goes to cover your scent if in wind conditions favorable to a wary animal your busted!

[blade]

#14010

I agree with Danny Klee,I just wash all my hunting clothes in with all my reg. clothes with scented detergent.I try to keep the wind in my favor and just hunt.It must work because i have been killing deer every year for the last 20 years with most of my shots under 15 yards.I had a buck put his head in my blind this year and another one walk past my blind at 4 yards any he never knew i was there.I just don’t see why alot of hunters feel they need to use all the scent free products on the market when hunters have been killing deer long before the were around.

[sbostic]

#35132

Sport Wash, Arm and Hammer and baking soda all work great, but I have found that the Sport Wash cleans dirt and retains the color of my camo like new. One cap full is all you need for a load. Cleaning the dispenser IS a good idea also!

[rnorris]

#36942

I wash my non wool clothing in baking soda and cold water. Never dry them in the machine. For my wool….which I wear most of the time….I air them out LOTS. I also roll around in and crush local pungent plants, and rub them into my clothing every time out. By the end of the season I smell something like a cedar swamp:)

[Don Thomas]

#40848

In my opinion it doesn’t matter one single bit. Pay more attention to the wind and don’t worry about how you wash your clothes. That’s how I’ve done it for decades. On extended wilderness trip you rarely have an opportunity to wash your clothes in anything. The results are the same. If the wind allows them to smell you, they’re going to smell you, and vice versa. Don

[rnorris]

#40852

To add to Don’s comment, I often say, “we aint huntin’ the downwind deer…”

[makesmoosecry]

#44289

i go to great lengths to de-scent myself,, i wash my clothes in scent free sportsman soap, line dry, spray again with primos silver, store my gear and clothes in plastic bags with hunters specialties scent wafers earth scent (i cant say enough about these wafers!!!) i dress outside of my truck and never wear my boots or hunting clothes in my truck… if the deer are down wind it’s a 50/50 if i get busted.. but i hunt hard and get my deer sooner or later.
i use to smoke in my stand lol, cant believe i did that and i did get lucky back in those days…when i quit doing that i got “lucky” way more often
recently got the Fred Bear DVD collection…watch Fred and his buddies sit by a campfire, then hunt in the same clothes!!! and we all know how strong a camp fire’s smoke is.. hard to even wash it out!! -they got their game.
-Just try your hardest to set up down wind no matter what you do or dont do!

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