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What is a good way to remove the odour of commercial disinfectants from clothes? I'm thinking about the stuff they spray in the luggage holds of aircraft, or that they marinate used clothing in.

Washing doesn't seem to help much, not does hanging on a clothes line in the sun for a couple of days.

I have a beautiful woven Mexican hoodie that I got at a used clothing store, but it's so stinky with disinfectant that I can't go near it without my eyes and sinuses burning. It can only be washed in cold water.

I've never heard of this, is it peculiar to your side of the Atlantic, Keith?

As for getting rid of the smell, I'm not sure really. All smells fade with time but in the short term you could try spraying it with an essential oil (of your choice) in water. I'm not sure it would get rid of it though.

The only other thing I can think of is getting it dry-cleaned - it'll smell awful when it comes back but at least that does disappear after a few days or hanging out in the sun!

Green Aura wrote:I've never heard of this, is it peculiar to your side of the Atlantic, Keith?

Apparently, it is everywhere...

The requirement to spray the passenger cabin (and luggage hold) of certain aircraft is laid down by the International Health Regulations (IHR) and overseen by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Each national Government is responsible for implementing the regulations.
http://www.allergyuk.org/art_aircraft.aspx

EDIT: It probably is more common on this side, due to the highly-publicized bed-bug scare.

Upon further research, the chemical that is bothering me is most likely d-phenothrin, an insecticide, which is alleged to be harmless, but known side-effects are eye and respiratory irritation, which am feeling in spades. It it not soluble in water, which explains the difficulty in washing it out. I am thinking that dry-cleaning may be the only way to get rid of it. Not that dry-cleaning chemicals are any less toxic, but they don't burn me the way this stuff does.