One thing I like is a good bargain, and there are several large thrifts stores in this area. Unfortunately, most of the items carry various and sundry odors. The strongest ones to me are dust, mildew, and the perfume they spray on all the clothing and cloth items. Not sure if the perfume odor is from a delouser, or something to cover up the original odor. Most hard surface items are usually easy to clean - just some soap and water, and a bit of Goo Gone to remove the sticky residue from the price tag. Dust on clothing usually comes out in the wash. Mildew, now, that's a different story, but bleach used spareingly may get the job done. But for perfume sensitive people like myself, the "nice" perfume odor on the clothes is the most difficult to remove. Even several washings in scent-free detergent, vinegar in the rinse water, and Oxy type cleaners won't remove it. Some people say use Febreeze ! What, and make the perfume odor even more strong? Febreeze products leave perfume odor on every thing they touch; it's a cover-up, not an odor remover.
Dryer sheets are no good either. When heated, they create sort of a mist of wax, which coats every inch of the cloth inside the dryer, and the dryer itself. Even using dryer sheets ONE TIME in a dryer, will make that dryer smell like perfume for many months or years. Actually, the wax coating will never wear off. So if you have difficulty with perfumes, think long and hard about buying a used dryer unless you've done the smell test.
However. I have found a solution that usually works for me. First, find some alcohol, just regular alcohol like goes on cuts and scrapes. Buy in bulk to get cheaper prices. Take a container, bucket, whatever, and put a gallon of water in the bucket, and about 2 cups of alcohol per gallon of water. Sort the perfumed clothes by color - whites, lights, darks, reds, blacks. DON'T put whites and colors in together, and DON'T use this method with dry clean only items. Use common sense, like you would when washing clothes. Watch carefully, as this solution may remove some of the dye in the clothing. If that happens, and you're not happy with a faded item, pull it out immediately and rinse well in running water. I have had some deep, dark colors fade a bit, but since I can't wear the clothes with the perfume, it's a bit of a tradeoff. Let the clothes soak for at least 45-60 minutes, and wash as normal, using scent-free laundry detergent, and dumping the alcohol water mixture into the washer if it isn't too discolored. This gets the perfume out of most clothes.
Apparently, alcohol is used to dilute perfumes, and dissolves the oily fragrance. It's a trick known in the theatre world where there are costumes worn by many different people. I've read they even spray some of the problem items with vodka, which I guess would work as well, maybe better, since it would have a higher percentage of alcohol. Hang the clothes to air dry (or lay flat if necessary), and do the sniff test after they dry. Sometimes particular fabrics are more stubborn at releasing the perfume, and I've had to re-treat them, at times leaving them in the solution overnight, or making my solution stronger. Every once in a while, nothing seems to remove the perfume except hanging the offending item in my garage for a few months.
Good luck, hope this perfume removal method works for you.
