Costume smells

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BigJim

BigJim

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I have beeen reading this thread with some interest as there is a cultural similarity here that I can't help thinking about... A.. I'm a male... B... I'm Canadian... C... I've seen my share of hockey rinks.... What does this have to do with smelly belly dance costumes you say... Well the typical Canadian hockey player will play for 1-1 1/2 hours and workup a real sweat... go to the dressing room and drink a couple of beers and throw all his equipment into a hockey bag and then forgets to take it out till he plays the next game... some guys have real bad memories... there is no smell out there that can compare to this when the bag is cracked open... (probably more than 1 divorce has happened over the wife being asked to do the laundry).... there are sporting goods stores here that have machines that are atomizers that kill all bacteria and smell from this hockey equipment... you could take in a bag of belly dance costumes and I'm sure they could fix the smell problem in an hour..... Only In Canada You say.... What A Pity... ( sorry... inside joke for the Canadian Members on the last bit)
 
sicilianwillow

sicilianwillow

Banned
I thought it was antiperspirant that leaves the yellowish stains, but I can't be sure. I would hate to see someone ruin a good costume by bad advice! Here's an url with lots of different advice including soaking them in vinegar and water.

Deodorant Stains On Clothing

She has it even trickier because the sequins can discolor. I would try to call up a prom or wedding dress maker and ask, maybe they would have an answer. Some resellers of prom dresses and wedding dresses would know what to do too.

Good luck and good advice to check before you add anything that might stain more.
 
Shanazel

Shanazel

Moderator
Ingredients used in deoderants that allow it to stay on the skin tend to be waxy or oily. I think maybe this is what causes staining. :think: If you rubbed deoderant on the inside of a heavily lined and beaded bra or hipband it probably wouldn't migrate all the way to the outside of the costume, but it might stain a skirt or veil that comes in contact with the inside of the belt.

Jim, any idea what the bacteria eaters are made of? Are they contained in vapor or liquid, or ???? You'll have an invasion of Canada if US dancers decide an answer to smelly problems exists up there.
 
nightdancer

nightdancer

New member
Yay!! There are US based ones, too!! Emailing right now :)


Shan, there is one in Fort Collins :)
 
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Daimona

Daimona

Moderator
Shanazel said:
Oooo, careful with that- some deoderants stain horribly.
Click to expand...

Somebody once borrowed a costume from me - and my costume had got terrible deodorant stains when I got it back. Thank God it was just a cheap costume, but I certainly learnt a lesson on lending costumes to others and costumes and strong deodorants. :rolleyes:
 
nightdancer

nightdancer

New member
Reply from Ty, the owner of one of the businesses in VA--

It would do great. My machine doesn't use heat, water, or any chemicals to do the sanitizing only Ozone. I know some other owners that are cleaning delicate furs and other clothing that have significant smoke damage. I would only need to figure out how best to arrange the costumes in my machines to get the most thorough sanitizing. Are they mostly dresses or pants and shirts/blouses?
Where are you located, maybe you could stop by and check out the
machines to see what I mean.

Thanks for your interest
Ty
Ps, how did you find my company?
Click to expand...


I have referred him here to the other pages to see what our needs are. If he can meet them, more power to us. :)
 
MissVega

MissVega

New member
BigJim said:
I have beeen reading this thread with some interest as there is a cultural similarity here that I can't help thinking about... A.. I'm a male... B... I'm Canadian... C... I've seen my share of hockey rinks.... What does this have to do with smelly belly dance costumes you say... Well the typical Canadian hockey player will play for 1-1 1/2 hours and workup a real sweat... go to the dressing room and drink a couple of beers and throw all his equipment into a hockey bag and then forgets to take it out till he plays the next game... some guys have real bad memories... there is no smell out there that can compare to this when the bag is cracked open... (probably more than 1 divorce has happened over the wife being asked to do the laundry).... there are sporting goods stores here that have machines that are atomizers that kill all bacteria and smell from this hockey equipment... you could take in a bag of belly dance costumes and I'm sure they could fix the smell problem in an hour..... Only In Canada You say.... What A Pity... ( sorry... inside joke for the Canadian Members on the last bit)
Click to expand...

LOL I know that smell. In my first year of University living in residence the boy who had a room next to the common louge was on the varsity football team and for a couple of days everytime I walked through the lounge I was always thinking "What is that smell?". Anyway one day he called out and asked if I wanted to play some video games so I said sure and BAM when I walked over to the room righ that the doorway...I thought I was going to faint, I actually dry-heaved. :rolleyes: He said after years of dealing with the smell he was immune to it....I however wasn't, and didn't get to play mario cart:(

Amazingly he is married now, but he no longer plays football.. hmmm he got rid of the smell to get a wife;)
 
sicilianwillow

sicilianwillow

Banned
You can make homemade deodorants by combining corn starch and baking soda in equal amounts, so one of the first combinations of stuffing a ball with rice and baking soda probably would do the same. I read of another dancer on here who doesn't wash hers after a dance, but stuffs it away as soon as it's aired out.

I imagine they are expensive and hard to clean. It makes sense to me maybe to try metalic embroideries that are easier to clean. I think embroidery is underrated on costumes. I could imagine how heavy the beads feel. They make a person look like a Christmas ornament, but very beautiful! The costumes for bd are truly beautiful and are why many want to start dancing.

Do think people should use the sew on beads or the sequins? I don't think the sew on beads will change colors when cleaned, but very expenvise! I wonder if there is sheath seperate from the beading that can be worn? Sewing the beading on netting to place over another gardment? It would make them easier to clean.

The machine you are speaking of might be similar to the infrared devices used to kill bacteria on food, some new invention. It kills .99 percent of germs raw foods, so things like the spinach recalls would be a thing of the past. If it works on food, it can work on clothes. Killing bacteria doesn't clean a costume, but it can keep the dampness from growing any bacteria.
 
N

Nejmeh

New member
...is co-reading the tread since my sweet sweet kittiecat decided my favorite skirt could also do as a litterbox:(...
 
BigJim

BigJim

Member
It's been about a week and I've been waiting patiently to see if my claim to fame on this forum will not be my dancing but by being the one to come up with the best solution for getting rid of costume smells.... anyone tried the machine idea yet and if so how did it turn out....Jim
 
sicilianwillow

sicilianwillow

Banned
I have a new little kitten too, we threw her box away thinking she had learned to use the bigger kitty's box, boy what a mistake! She messed on the bed instead in the room where it was! Poor thing, she's little bitty thing though. She got her box back, she's now trained again. Never make any changes on the cat box, get new animals without expecting the same trouble, and if the cat gets attached to the other animal, then you give it away, they react as badly messing on things like the bathtub. Cats are strange.

There are urine remover sprays you can get at any hardware or grocery store. I hope that helps!
 
Shanazel

Shanazel

Moderator
BigJim said:
It's been about a week and I've been waiting patiently to see if my claim to fame on this forum will not be my dancing but by being the one to come up with the best solution for getting rid of costume smells.... anyone tried the machine idea yet and if so how did it turn out....Jim
Click to expand...

Honey, there are worse claims to fame than solving a serious problem for dancers. Apparently the nearerst machine to me is four hours away, so I'm not likely to be able to try it soon.

Tell us more about BigJim and we'll laud you for something else, if you like. ;)
 
N

Nejmeh

New member
sicilianwillow said:
I have a new little kitten too, we threw her box away thinking she had learned to use the bigger kitty's box, boy what a mistake! She messed on the bed instead in the room where it was! Poor thing, she's little bitty thing though. She got her box back, she's now trained again. Never make any changes on the cat box, get new animals without expecting the same trouble, and if the cat gets attached to the other animal, then you give it away, they react as badly messing on things like the bathtub. Cats are strange.

There are urine remover sprays you can get at any hardware or grocery store. I hope that helps!
Click to expand...

This little kittiecat is already 3 years old and was just protesting against me being busy.
I never trained my cats on a smaller litterbox, but they do seem to have some trouble if I move it. Just trow a bit of grinded black pepper on the old spot and they will change.
Those sprays mostly leave stains on delicate fabrics. I handwashed it first very carefully and then hung it in the shower while making a sort of steam cabin out of it with 'cai putih oil'(a asian product, smells really fresh and eucalyptic)...that got the smell out too.:dance:
 
BigJim

BigJim

Member
Well Shanazel... while we are waiting for someone to try the ozone machines on their costumes... and since you asked... I am basically a self taught dancer who has been learning mainly from DVDs for the last 6 years... I'm a member of our local Bellydance Association and whenever possible I try and take in the workshops that it and the other local teachers put on... every 2-3 months I also try and catch a private lesson to check that I'm not picking up to many bad habits or to get help with something I'm having trouble figuring out. I am proud to say that I have done 2 solos... one at a halfa and the other at a full scale show. My dancing is slowly improving.. I'm having alot of fun learning and I have met some tremendous people through bellydance. It took me a long time to get into it but I'm very happy I started and I'm very grateful for the acceptance that has been given to me by other dancers. Someday I hope to post a performance... but not yet!
 
Shanazel

Shanazel

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Cool. My husband fled North Dakota in the early seventies after two years of teaching all music K-12 in Edinberg just south of your vast wilderness of Saskatchewan.
 
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