Embarassing laundry question

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Mary,
First, how wonderful that you are not as sad and pathetic a person as that one who says mean hurtful things about people. What a nasty way to have to live!

Second,
I find a HUGE difference in body odors dpending on the particular fabric one puts next to the body. Some fabrics especially polyesther, tend to really amplify our natural odors and make them smell worse than they would normally be. I had to dump some very expensive cotton blend close fitting shirts once that made me have terrible BO. Now I wear different fabrics, and I don't have BO at all! Try a different fabric altogether and see if that eliminates the problem. Also, I think fabric softeners clog the fabric pores and cause bacteria to sort of glue themselves into the waxy fabric softeners molecules. The fabric can't breathe and therefore bacteria thrives. More bacteria=more odor.
Wash out that fabric softener all together if you are noticing odor problems.

[GLC1968]

I was going to suggest something similar to Lisa. Many synthetics will retain stink no matter what you do to them. I think this is why so many chamois fabrics are treated to prevent bacterial growth all together. I'd suggest trying to replace that panel with a more natural fabric that is still wicking (soft wool, perhaps??).

But definitely try white vinegar first...that stuff works miracles!

I'm so sorry that person said such hateful things to you! If he/she really does know you in real life, rest assured that they are clearly a spineless coward if all they can do is make annonomus and riddled insults about you on an internet message board! If they don't know you, they are even more pathetic. Don't let them get to you!!

[SouthernBelle]

Mary,

Sorry about that cretin. There are some fabrics that trap odors.

But what I wanted to suggest is that you can buy undies with a chamois built in. Then you can make whatever you want to go over them. I THINK I saw them in the Colorado Cyclist catalogue, but someone may correct me if I'm wrong.

HTH,

[BeeLady]

I try and dry all my riding clothes on the line, not a clothes dryer. I think this helps too. In the sun would be ideal.

[margo49]

Sunshine and inside-out.

[spokewench]

Mary - I'm so proud of you for riding your bike and persevering. People like the one you describe are ignorant and cruel. They deserve not one minute of attention.

I wear sports clothing, but sometimes, polypropelene (sp?) can really smell after several wearings. After a while, sometimes, I just throw those old undershirts away cause I can't get the odor out of that fabric. I have some problems with synthetics so I don't usually wear them to work, etc. cause they make me have BO. But, of course, I do wear them to work out and it is normal to sweat and smell a little when you are working out - everyone else does too!

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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