#AskPedro – how to get rid of that “vintage” smell

This question comes from reader Jeanette:

I bought a lady’s tweed jacket from the Toronto Vintage Clothing Show for #tweedtuesday. It has that classic vintage store musk attached to it, and I’m wondering the best way to freshen it up? Any home remedies, or is dry cleaning the only option?

My response:

As you may know, I’m a big fan of vintage clothes. But I’m not a big fan of that funky vintage smell, that intoxicating combination of moth balls, mold and old sweat. I have tried some home remedies in the past, but before I get to those, I can’t ignore my mother’s voice yelling in my head “Someone could have died in that jacket, dry clean it!” And to a certain degree I agree with her (not the dying part): not only should dry cleaning get rid of that particular smell but it also gets rid of some of the “ick” factor. I’d recommend Careful Cleaners to do the job.

If for whatever reason you don’t want to dry clean (calm down mom), I’ve found that charcoal is great for getting rid of smells. Try to get “active charcoal”, the stuff they put in fish tanks, but don’t let it make direct contact with your clothes. Put a large pile of it in an enclosed space with the jacket for a few days – a space small enough that there isn’t much room, but not so small that the jacket gets charcoal all over it.

Another product to use is vinegar, a wonder cleaner which will pretty much solve all your problems. Again, you can try putting a bowl of vinegar in an enclosed space with the jacket for a few days. It would be best of the jacket could hang over the vinegar, so the fumes could get into every nook and cranny. Perhaps a small closet? If that doesn’t work, you can actually spray the vinegar (mixed with 50% water) on the jacket and leave it to air dry. As the vinegar evaporates, it should take the smell with it. However, I would use direct contact with the fabric as a last ditch effort.

[I heard back from Jeanette who tried putting the jacket in a small closet with a bowl of vinegar for a couple of days. The result? “It still smells vintage, but not bad smelling like it was before. I just will smell like a pleasant old man.” I think my mother just left the room.]