Costume smells

[Shanazel]

Ugh. My sympathies to you. I hope you can match the sequins.

 

[Azeeza]

Thank you for your sympathy, Shanazel.

I do have matching sequins, but I have to take them off a string, unfortunately. That takes time, plus if I take the sequins off the costume, I think a whole bunch of beads will come off with them as well.

I've got to really dedicate time to this project.

Azeeza

 

[Shanazel]

Can you sew the beads down individually before removing the sequins? This must be one gorgeous costume for you to go to all this trouble. I hope you will post pictures sometime.

 

[belly_dancer]

this is months late to help Azeeza.... & it is hear-say BUT... an old (as in age!) friend used to be ina theater company in the 40's.... she says they would spray their costumes with VODKA to get the odors out!... she swears it works....& that the alcohol smell goes away.... I have not had the guts to try it though.... has anyone heard of/tried this???

 

[Shanazel]

VODKA? No, haven't heard that one. I'll get my teenaged son to stick some scraps of satin and chiffon under his work clothes some warm day to get 'em nice and smelly, then try the vodka solution. Ha, I can imagine the look on his face when I ask him to do this. He's 17. Maybe I'll get my husband to do it instead- he has a sense of humor. I'd do it myself, but naturally, I don't sweat, I glow...

 

[teela]

Yes I have heard of using Vodka. I was going to suggest it but it was already suggested. That is one of the things recommended by folks I know in the costume industry. Put it in a spray bottle and use accordingly. It does not leave an alcohol smell, is clear and can be used in alot of situations for getting the smell out including your plastic ice chests. I have used the Vodka on things and it works.

 

[belly_dancer]

VODKA? No, haven't heard that one. I'll get my teenaged son to stick some scraps of satin and chiffon under his work clothes some warm day to get 'em nice and smelly, then try the vodka solution. Ha, I can imagine the look on his face when I ask him to do this. He's 17. Maybe I'll get my husband to do it instead- he has a sense of humor. I'd do it myself, but naturally, I don't sweat, I glow...

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!!!! my boy is only 6.... he doesn't smell..... yet!!!

Teela.... have you actually tried it on costumes... what kinds of fabrics... ??does it leave a stain???????

 

[Tarik Sultan]

I got a really nice costume made in Turkey. The first time I wore it it was ruined. I don't know if I was detoxing that night or what, but the next day my entire apartment smelled like raw onions! I spayed it with heavy colone to mask it, nothing doing. It just smelled like colone and onions! At one point I washed it with Ajax, but it always has a faint oder that never went away and this is 5 years later.

Last night I got military and sprayed my vest with 409 and soaked it in cool water over night. Then I rinsed it out this morning and hug it up to dry. It was fine tonight.

This costume suffers from stealth arm pit oder. It will be fine when I take it out of the closet, but the second I sweat, the funk is reactivated! I've sprayed it with all kinds of deoderizers, baking soda, vodka, mild detergent and nothing worked. 409 did the trick. I can get away with it on this costume because the sequines are black and salmon and the color is solid all the way through as versus painted on. Holagram sequines are also washable as are some of the irradescents. Red, forget it! Gold holds up better, but you have to be very gentle with it. Mild soap, like dish washing liquid and cool water.

You might just have to take off all the old sequines so you can soak it properly, then reembroider it. 409 girl. When the funk is neulear GET NEUCLEAR! It worked for me.

 

[Wulpsie]

I need help please. One of my dancers house has burnt down. They managed to save a lots of items including her dancing costumes. The problem is how to get that soot ash acrid smell out. Her costumes are beaded, satin, organza and chiffon and also a tribal one which the coins have gone a funny rust with the heat.
Thanks

 

[Shanazel]

What a terrible thing to have happen! I hope everyone escaped with no injuries. My condolences to your dancer.

About twelve years ago, our small rural area suffered a huge wildfire. Though only one house, some outbuildings and about 700 acres of grass, sagebrush, and greasewood were burned, everything in our houses smelled like smoke for a long time. I spent a lot of time hanging things that couldn't be washed out in the open air and just letting the wind blow through them. When it snowed, I hung them in the greenhouse and turned the fan on them. Some people had good luck with dry cleaners. Something else you might try is one of the commercial sprays that is made to deal with cigarette smoke and pet odors. I had good luck on furniture with a combination of airing out and using this spray, but it took several weeks. If you use it on costumes, you need to check to see if it stains or discolors coins and trim before you use it.

 

[jenc]

One thing I use for wee smells (pets and boys) is WHITE vinegar. cheaper than apple vinegar and not coloured. Mix with water and spray on. Works on sweat but don't know about smoke

 

[Farasha Hanem]

:think: Hmmmmm...

I love the costumes I see online, here and at bellydance stores, but I'm wondering, would it be better (and less expensive) to use washable costumes? :think: I know washing would be impractical for every costume a dancer might want to wear (I love my coins), but it wouldn't hurt to have a few washable costumes, would it? :think:

 

[Bellydance Oz]

I'm fascinated by this thread! I've often seen second-hand costumes for sale at festivals and fairs, but I've been reluctant to buy them because of the fusty (or even funky) smell that hovers over them. I worry that it would smell a lot worse when I get hot while dancing. Some of these suggestions are great!

Luckily the fashion here in Australia seems to be for plainer costumes with a lot less beading. As a relative beginner, I am still just at the hip-scarf stage anyway, although I'm sorely tempted to buy a proper costume just for the fun of wearing it!

 

[Shanazel]

I tried to make sure my skirts and harem pants were at least hand washable and I basted thin felt or cotton into my bras and hip bands so I could replace the linings when they got too soiled. It's a bit of trouble, sure, but still less work than making a new costume. In a pinch, I could even handwash my coin bras (VERY GENTLY!!!) because I never used the kind of fabric stiffener you see in many bras and hip bands that dissolves upon contact with water.

 

[Jane]

Yes I have heard of using Vodka. I was going to suggest it but it was already suggested. That is one of the things recommended by folks I know in the costume industry. Put it in a spray bottle and use accordingly. It does not leave an alcohol smell, is clear and can be used in alot of situations for getting the smell out including your plastic ice chests. I have used the Vodka on things and it works.

When I was doing ballet costumes we used vodka. Don't put too much in a spray bottle at a time, it will evaporate quickly. Spot test it first in an inconspicuous area.

One spray for the costume and one for me...

 

[Samira bint Aya]

My costume’s bra has pressurized paper under the fabric for extra enforcement. I was too scared to hand wash it in case it disintegrated, so I bought Incosept in spray form from the Pharmacy.

It kills those foul smelling micro-organisms, and it is handy for disinfections around the house too!

 

[nitewindz]

I wonder if it is coming from the metallic beads that are interlaced with the glass beads?

Azeeza

Yeah it could easily be from the metallic beads. Sometimes things just have a funny odor.

I got a really nice costume made in Turkey. The first time I wore it it was ruined. I don't know if I was detoxing that night or what, but the next day my entire apartment smelled like raw onions! I spayed it with heavy colone to mask it, nothing doing. It just smelled like colone and onions! At one point I washed it with Ajax, but it always has a faint oder that never went away and this is 5 years later.

Last night I got military and sprayed my vest with 409 and soaked it in cool water over night. Then I rinsed it out this morning and hug it up to dry. It was fine tonight.

This costume suffers from stealth arm pit oder. It will be fine when I take it out of the closet, but the second I sweat, the funk is reactivated! I've sprayed it with all kinds of deoderizers, baking soda, vodka, mild detergent and nothing worked. 409 did the trick. I can get away with it on this costume because the sequines are black and salmon and the color is solid all the way through as versus painted on. Holagram sequines are also washable as are some of the irradescents. Red, forget it! Gold holds up better, but you have to be very gentle with it. Mild soap, like dish washing liquid and cool water.

You might just have to take off all the old sequines so you can soak it properly, then reembroider it. 409 girl. When the funk is neulear GET NEUCLEAR! It worked for me.

I don't think it was you, I think it was the fabric itself.

Years ago I got some gorgeous printed crinkle lightweight satin from an import store. I brought it home and it smelled a bit like a wet dog.

I washed it & dried it. If you stuck your nose right in and snuffed hard the odor was still faintly there, but really not noticeable. I thought it would eventually air away. I left the fabric on a chair in my project room. The next day was super humid and muggy, and the whole room smelled like a wet dog.

Spread it out, sprayed with with vodka, let it dry. Again the smell was almost but not quite completely gone. Put it in an old pillowcase so it wouldn't accidentally contaminate anything else and stuffed it in my fabric stash. Years later I pulled it out. The wet dog smell was as strong as ever.

Gave it the old vodka squirt again, and used it to make a ghawazee coat. Got loads of compliments on the coat, but I always freshened it with fabrezee, vodka, or white vinegar before wearing it.

Then one day I wore it to an outside festival. The clouds rolled in, the sky grew dark, and it started to drizzle. As soon as the first few drops of rain touched the coat, the smell began to ooze from the fabric...

I need help please. One of my dancers house has burnt down. They managed to save a lots of items including her dancing costumes. The problem is how to get that soot ash acrid smell out. Her costumes are beaded, satin, organza and chiffon and also a tribal one which the coins have gone a funny rust with the heat.
Thanks

Oh I'm so sorry to hear this. The destruction from a fire is terrible, my mother's house partially burned when I still lived with her back in the early 80s. The fire was not in my room but in a different part of the house.

All the furniture, curtains, everything out in my room had an oily, sooty coating. The bedclothes, rug, curtains, etc. had to be trashed. The furniture had to be either stripped and refinished or painted. Luckily the clothes inside the closet and dresser drawers didn't get coated, just saturated with a smokey smell. I washed everything with two cycles (ie, run the washer a full cycle, leave the clothes in, add more detergent and wash again), then hanging them outside in the sunshine to dry.

I'm not sure what direct sunlight would do to the beads. I'd suggest a good fabreeze or vodka spray, then hang them outside in light shade on a breezy day.

 

[Darbla]

I line mine with felt that I can take out and wash. And if I'm wearing a skirt I can't wash and it has no slits, then I wear a regular dress slip under it. I'm so germphobic, I have really been questioning why I got into a hobby that is so expensive and you can't wash your items!

You guys have just about convinced me out of buying used costumes! :shok:

 

[Azeeza]

I know what you mean.

There have been times where I've purchased silk tops from stores and they smell funny. I'm not sure if it's a chemical that is applied to the silk when the top was made or what.

Also, one time I purchased a costume from a fellow dancer and it smelled gross, like an old Middle Eastern meal or armpits or something. I soaked it twice in cold water and laundry detergent. The smell never went away, but the sequins started to separate and the beads started to lose their luster. I've not worn the costume once and this was three years ago. It's not quite so smelly, but there still some funk on it.

Another time I purchased a caftan and the pits were smelly. Learning from my above mistake of soaking in water, I used Febreeze, over and over and over again, letting it dry in between. The smell is still there, but not as bad as before. I've not worn this piece of garment either.

Azeeza

 

[amonjure]

You could try smoking it with incense! A friend of mine suggested it for me and it worked...