Embarassing laundry question

[Ninabike]

Mary - This might be kind of on the expensive side, but if all else fails, maybe you could get a pair of bike shorts with a chamois and take the chamois out and sew it into your tights.

[Thistle]

btw: I dislike stinky clothes as much as anyone else, but it is a bit weird our common idea that human beings should be these squeakyclean, odourless aliens.

How rude was that person who wrote on the website about you smelling Of course we smell when we exercise. Der. I really cant believe that out in the open air when you're cycling it's that noticeable... and i have a damned good nose for smell

Try the vinegar and the good friend ideas. Sounds better than believing this other unpleasant person. So sorry you have been the target of her angry little personality!

[mary9761]

I want to thank everyone for their responses. I washed the tights again in vinegar after letting them soak all day yesterday while I ran errands. It did the trick. I never use fabric softner on my cycling clothes so I knew it wasn't softner, but I think I'll be using vinegar in my rinse from here on out or if I have to wash the tights separately, I'll do that too. Weird thing is it's just those tights (same fabric as the shorts I've made) and it's only since I moved the crotch insert from where it was. The instructions had said to sew it in strangely so they fit weird and were uncomfortable. I took it out and sewed the seam like I would any other pants then sewed the insert OVER the seams. Since then, I've started having the problem with them not smelling clean after washing them. Looks like I will be investing in a BIG bottle of vinegar just to keep in the laundry room.

[Bikingmomof3]

Mary,
I am glad you were able to save the tights.

[kelownagirl]

Yay Mary! People are ignorant and thoughtless and just plain rude sometimes. I'm sorry you had to go thru that embarrassment...

[bambu101]

Glad to hear that the vinegar did the trick! I keep a gallon of it next to the washing machine, and pour a little bit in when I wash towels. I read somewhere that it will help remove soap residue. I don't like the strongly scented detergents and dryer sheets, so vinegar is a staple in my house.

[Meaux]

That's just tacky of someone to say that. To paraphrase my dad, I'm sure that the person who posted that doesn't smell like Chanel No. 5. We all smell after a ride. I probably smell just from a normal day at my office job.

[Daggett]

I used cloth diapers for my son and found that using borax in the wash and vinegar in the rinse worked wonders.

My son is now 14 and is in the boy scouts. He brings home some really stinky clothes. Using borax and vinegar gets rid of even 14 year old boy stink and that is a very powerful stink.

[wannaduacentury]

But Mary, maybe you should ask a close friend how much these odor issues are real vs someone being mean spirited. If they are real, there are medical issues that can cause odors that you might want to discuss with a doctor.

I second this, perhaps you have a infection you aren't aware of. I'm sorry that person was so mean to you, that's inexcuseable for what they said. Kudos to you for wanting to make your own clothes, I wouldn't mind doing some colorful jersies if I could find the right fabric. Jennifer

[mary9761]

Thanks again for the feedback. I have a feeling that I'll be taking the insert off again and trying another type of fabric to cover the seams. When I wash the tights again yesterday (with other bike clothes AND rinsed/soaked in vinegar, the problem was back. Sooooooo unless I have to wash these by hand, then machine by themselves and soak in vinegar every time (NOT necessarily convenient to do) I think I'll experiment with a cotton blend material like the tightie whities are made out of, at least it will be breathable and perhaps won't cause whatever irritation must be causing the problem in the first place. It's JUST these tights and none of my biking shorts.
The thing again about the situation with the person who said the nasty things is that I don't know that I've even MET the person. I don't know that they've been close enough to me to have smelled anything real OR imagined. I don't notice anything except these tights myself. The strangest thing about the person who said these things is I have no idea what I might have done to anyone for them to think they needed to say them. I hope I don't find out that I know the person. I'm just hypersensitive right now and somewhat walking on eggshells. I've always had lower self esteem and had to deal with this sort of things in Elementary and beyond, but this is making me angry for the fact that it was said and that I'm not able to shrug it off. Oh well, they've been quiet again for a while so, maybe they gave up again.

[Brandi]

OMG! That is awful!!!!!!! I hope you don't ride with this person? I am beside myself and don't know what to say.

[Tuckervill]

Mary, it's not you, it's them. Sometimes things can feel personal (and sure, this was directed at you, personally), when they're not personally about you, at all. It's about them. Their need to feel superior. Their need to lash out. You may have just been an easy target.

I think it's coincidence that these tights are a problem at the same time as this poster. Sometimes things are just coincidences.

One time I got a phone call in the middle of the night from someone who was trying to scare me. Thing is, I was house-sitting at someone else's house and very few people knew I was there. (before the days of cell phones and caller ID) I really, REALLY thought that someone was trying to target me. I was scared for days and days. I was so scared that I can still call up that feeling just by thinking about it. I mean, what if someone who did know I was there told someone casually and that person told someone who knew me, you know? Maybe someone followed me there. Who knows?

Well, I know now that it was just a coincidence. It had to be. They would have gotten the homeowner on the line if I had not been there.

Do NOT let this jerk wreck one minute of your existence. So your tights smell because they're polyester. It's just a coincidence. Don't give the guy the satisfiaction of taking up your time and essence over this. Just don't. You're GREAT. You're an inspiration. I haven't been on my bike since October 1st. Thanks for keeping on riding. When I grow up I want to be YOU.

Karen

[doc]

The thing again about the situation with the person who said the nasty things is that I don't know that I've even MET the person. I don't know that they've been close enough to me to have smelled anything real OR imagined. I don't notice anything except these tights myself. The strangest thing about the person who said these things is I have no idea what I might have done to anyone for them to think they needed to say them. I hope I don't find out that I know the person. I'm just hypersensitive right now and somewhat walking on eggshells. I've always had lower self esteem and had to deal with this sort of things in Elementary and beyond, but this is making me angry for the fact that it was said and that I'm not able to shrug it off. Oh well, they've been quiet again for a while so, maybe they gave up again.

Maybe you could get friends who post on the same board to shame him. If there were several entries that stated what a huge uncharitable jerk he is, and how logic would suggest he must therefore be perfect in every way, perhaps he'll at least get the message that it isn't OK to do.
Another point could be that a person could be helpful e.g. quietly tell a person (privately) that there is spinach in their teeth or they can be mean and destructive and laugh at someone else's expense. You might be pleasantly surprised at how many other posters agree with your friends!
A final point could be made at what a coward he is to hide behind an anonymous board.

[Ninabike]

Mary,

You have been such an inspiration to so many of us on the TE forum. The article you published some time back was so beautifully written and revealed what a person of strong character you are. I know it's difficult to shrug aside insults, but take comfort in the fact that you have helped more people than you know. I have referred a few people to your article, but you might want to post it again for new TE'rs. You go girl!!!

Nina

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Article? What article??
Wanna READ it!....