Question from Judith
I am very chemically sensitive and I recently purchased clothing at two chain retail stores, Coldwater Creek and Chicos. .I discovered a perfumy chemical smell.. possilby some type of deodorizer or something they put on the clothing. I normally do not shop in such stores.
I also purchased some pillows and chair pads from Costco that have the same odor. Too late to return, have washed many times yet the odor remains and it transferred to the furniture I had it on.
I washed and soaked and aired in the sunshine many times. I realize I cannot purchase anything with spandex again as it holds that chemical odor.
Even though I washed my hands and, as my norm, threw what I wore shopping outside right away putting on a hooded robe and bathing soon, the smell lingers in my house and it really bothers me.
I have heard that some companies are using scents that are meant to entice the buyer to purchase. Does anyone know what these chemicals might be? They are the worst ever. I will never go back to those stores nor purchase decorator pillows from Costco. I imagine the chemicals are being used widely, not just in those stores.
I also had terrific trouble with deodorizers used at Trader Joe’s recently. I had not been there for a very long time.
Debra’s Answer
I don’t know what those specific chemicals are in those specific fabric finishes. Readers, any ideas?
One way to avoid some of the chemicals that clothing acquire in stores is to skip them altogether and buy from a catalogue that ships your product from a warehouse rather than a retail display.
The chemicals you smell on clothing and in many stores are synthetic fragrances, which, in fact, are neurotoxins, poison to the brain, as I was told by an MD. I have the same problem with many stores, including Macy’s. The neurotoxins are used in the store like a room freshener. I have even smelled it in banks and on paper money. I even had to leave a dentist appt. because they were using the ‘room freshener’ which they had bought from a…salesman! The smell is even in the Goodwill stores!
I have experimented and found that soaking most clothing and other items (soaking polyester does not work as well) in the enzyme product OXO BRITE…NOT the OXO Clean product WHICH HAS FRAGRANCES/SYNTHETIC FRAGRANCES IN IT…be sure that you buy the OXO BRITE product only…you can buy it online at Vitacost.com:
http://www.vitacost.com/productResults.aspx?NttSR=1&ss=1&x=41&y=15&ntk=products&Ntt=oxo%20brite
To soak, use one scoop of OXO Brite in just enuf warm water to cover the item and soak for at least an hour. Usually one soak does the job, if not, soak it again in a new scoop of OXO Brite.