Washing Hunting Clothes

schur7559

FNG
Joined
Mar 3, 2023
Messages
24
I just throw a bunch of baking soda in with my clothes, probably a quarter of one of the smaller boxes. I actually thought that would be a more common response on this thread.
 

Ho5tile1

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 6, 2022
Messages
218
I use grangers on all of my tech clothing. It gets expensive washing rain gear merino and down and all the others but it’s worth it when you pay 5-800 for a jacket and the same for bibs and 100 plus on pants and shirts…


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Tater86

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Aug 3, 2017
Messages
183
Location
Pennsylvania
Weird. I had bought some All Free and Clear last week to wash my bed sheets in because my dog has been breaking out. But mine doesn't list the fluorescent brightener
Interesting! I'm going to have to check the bottles again when I go back to the store. Thanks for letting me know what yours says.
 
Joined
Mar 16, 2021
Messages
3,023
Location
Western Iowa
I use a free detergent and some unscented dryer sheets. Used to believe the scent control hype years ago and bought scent killer this and that. Switched to normal stuff and my success rate has not been impacted at all. My wallet is a little fatter though... ;)

Been on a couple week long elk hunts in the mountains, and we never washed our clothes the entire time. We had campfire smoke, food, body, and horse odors on us and nobody used scent control products. As mentioned, the wind is your scent control, and it's your #1 priority.
 
Joined
Jul 30, 2015
Messages
5,858
Location
Lenexa, KS
The All Free & Clear used to be 'approved' or whatever for US military use, but I don't think it is any longer because of the brighteners. It's kind of in my head and a problem I intend to solve before fall. I know there are UV killers you can buy.
 

WCB

WKR
Joined
Jun 12, 2019
Messages
3,345
I use Nixwax for all hunting related stuff...mainly because my "technical" clothing recommends it or it is what was recommended. might as well just do everything in it.
 

taskswap

WKR
Joined
Oct 6, 2021
Messages
391
Dead Down Wind detergent and a DDW dryer sheet. I can't say it makes any difference. I mean, they don't have UV brighteners like other products do. But your breath, sweat, and other items are probably 10x stronger after a day outdoors than your pants. IMO if your plan doesn't cover those other things too, you shouldn't worry much about clothes.
 

TheHammer

WKR
Joined
Aug 1, 2022
Messages
582
Location
juneau wi
I hand wash all my hunting clothes/gear before and after season, hang dry it and store it appropriately.. like many have mentioned, the scent killer detergents, baking soda, unscented detergents. This n that, have tried several different products. But if you have a base layer you can’t get that stink out of after a 13 day hunt.. I tried this Lysol sanitizer. Seemed to work. 3rd party tested.😂😂
 

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Turkeytider

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Apr 9, 2023
Messages
266
I always finish my hunting clothes in the dryer with a Febreze. For some reason I haven`t even seen a deer in 10 years. I don`t know why.
 

bz_711

WKR
Joined
May 7, 2012
Messages
718
Tide/Gain...whatever the wife has. Elk hunting opened my eyes to the scent game...the wind direction is all that matters.
You definitely don't hurt anything using the scent free stuff or storing clothes...but I wash my camo with my daily clothes and just leave my camo in back of yukon all season.

You can't fool an elk or whitetails nose. I'm even convinced in most whitetail areas that have a lot of human presence...detergent smell is far less alarming to a deer than human BO/odor.

Wind direction!
 

KurtVH

FNG
Joined
May 23, 2024
Messages
3
What do you guys like to wash your hunting clothes with? Mainly referring to clothing used for whitetail and scent concerns. I have some first lite base layers and some bibs that could use a wash.
Any unscented detergent and then, if at all possible, I line-dry the clothes outside.
 

JRS3

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 24, 2022
Messages
110
I use the All Free & Clear then air dry everything. I try to hang stuff outside when possible but at least let my clothes dry on a folding rack vs machine drying.
 
Joined
Apr 1, 2013
Messages
2,739
Thank you.

I probably should have been a little more clear when I said scent concerns. I didn't mean something to control scent or eliminate it, I just meant something that wasn't scented like normal laundry detergent.
Just pick a Free & Clear, no dyes or fragrance is the big craze now for soccer moms
 

Yoder

WKR
Joined
Jan 12, 2021
Messages
1,410
I wash mine with whatever my wife bought to wash the rest of our clothes, then throw in a fabric softener sheet. A deer can smell what you ate for breakfast three days ago, I really don't think your detergent is going to matter.
 
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