How To Get Vitamin And Fish Oil Smell Out Of Clothes

After reading this article, you will have all the knowledge and techniques on how to get vitamin and fish oil smell out of clothes.

Daily reminder: Never leave your vitamin and fish oil capsule in your pocket. Because once the capsule breaks, your pants will smell like dead fish. And if you wash it, that fishy odor can spread to an entire load of laundry.

But life happens, and laundry accidents like this are unavoidable sometimes. Now you need to act fast and remove that nasty smell before your whole house stinks. Here’s how:

Why Do Fish Oil And Vitamins Stink?

Fish oil is the oil extracted from the tissues of oily fish ⁽¹⁾ . Despite that, fish oil supplements should not smell fishy. If they do, it might be because they are rancid.

The omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil can spoil easily. When omega-3 oxides, their molecules will break down into byproducts. These byproducts, also known as lipid peroxides, give off the unpleasant smell and taste of spoiled fish  ⁽²⁾.

Additionally, seaweed-based vitamin products can also produce spoiled, fishy odors. B vitamins, flaxseed, and assorted other supplements tend to have a strong smell  ⁽³⁾.

How To Pretreat Fresh Fish Oil Stains

When the stain is still new, the first thing you should do is clean up all the oil. If you let it sit for too long, it will be much harder to remove the odors later.

Step 1: Lay It Out

Lay your clothes on a flat surface. Then put a piece of cardboard, a notebook, or something flat between the layers of clothes.

Step 2: Blot It

Grab a cotton ball or a clean cloth and blot the stained area. Do not wipe it to avoid spreading the oil to other areas.

Step 3: Add Cornstarch

Pour on the stain a generous amount of cornstarch so it can absorb the oil. Alternatively, you can use other types of fine powder, baking soda, salt, or chalk.

Massage the starch with your fingers and let it sit for at least 1 hour. Turn your garment inside out and repeat this step on the underside of the stain.

This method won’t eliminate the odor, but it will prevent the oil from seeping into other parts of your clothes and spreading its smell everywhere.

Step 4: Hang The Clothes Under The Sun

If possible, leave your clothes in the sun for at least 2 hours before moving on. The UV rays from direct sunlight can break down the odor-causing substances and help fade the fishy smell, making the cleaning process easier and more effective.

4 Easy Ways To Remove Vitamin And Fish Oil Smell

The smell from vitamin and fish oil is unpleasant, but the good news is that you can get rid of it easily in the comfort of your own home. In this section, I will show you 4 simple yet effective methods to deal with this problem. Let’s have a look, shall we?

1. Baking Soda

Baking soda is a well-known natural odor eliminator. So if you need something cheap and natural to neutralize the vitamin and fish oil odor, baking soda is the go-to method.

Step 1: Soak It With Baking Soda

Put your clothes in the sink and fill it with warm water. Add ½ cup of baking soda and give it a good mix. Let it soak for a few hours, preferably overnight. The longer you wait, the more effective it is.

Step 2: Wash It

Wash your clothes in the washing machine with any detergent. However, bio laundry detergent (detergent that contains enzyme) works best. Or you can replace detergent with a cup of baking soda.

Use the highest water temperature that your clothes can withstand for the best result.

Step 3: Dry It

Once the washing machine finishes its cycle, check for the smell one last time. Optionally, you can give the clothes a stretch while they are still wet to minimize shrinkage.

Do not put it in the tumble dryer if it still smells. The dryer’s high heat can bond the smelly substance to the fabric. Also, the odors can spread to other clothing in the dryer. If possible, try to hang the clothes under the sun to keep them smelling fresh and clean.

If you are confused about how to put baking soda into your washing machine, this can help you!

2. Lemon Juice

Another effective product that you can use is lemon. The citric acid in lemon can also neutralize the unpleasant fishy odor, leaving you clean clothes with a fresh, zesty scent.

Step 1: Soak It With Lemon Juice

Just like before, fill your sink with warm water. Squeeze out the juice from 2 lemons (about ½ cup) and add it to your sink. Mix it well and let it sit.

Another option for this is to combine the lemon juice with some baking soda to boost its strength. Mix together lemon juice with baking soda until it forms a paste. Apply the paste to the stained area and leave it there for about 1 hour.

Step 2: Wash It

Give your clothes a wash using any detergent and the highest water setting. You can also use some fabric softener to add a pleasant smell to your clothes.

Step 3: Dry It

When dealing with bad smells from clothes, line-drying is recommended. But if this is not available to you, simply air dry your clothes. Only use the tumble dryer when the smell is gone.

3. Vinegar

Vinegar is very versatile. Not only is it a must in many salad recipes, but it is also effective in fighting foul odors in clothes. Remember to stick with white distilled vinegar. Other types might stain your clothes.

Step 1: Soak It With Vinegar

Pour 1 cup of vinegar into a sink filled with cool water. Place your clothes in and slosh them in the vinegar wash. Make sure that it is entirely soaked. Leave your clothes undisturbed for 30 minutes or so.

Step 2: Wash It

Wash your clothes the usual way with your detergent of choice. You can also add 1 more cup of vinegar to the machine for better results.

Step 3: Dry It

Smell your clothes one more time after taking them out of the washer. Rewash them if the odor remains. Then allow them to air dry or hang them under direct sunlight.

Let’s learn more about how to put vinegar in the washing machine!

4. Dish Soap

Not only is dish soap effective in getting rid of stains, but it also does an excellent job of removing odors from clothes. When dealing with fish oil smell, you should choose dish soap with a lemon scent.

Step 1: Soak It With Dish Soap

Fill your sink with warm water and fully submerge your clothes in it. Pour some dish soap on the stained area and rub it well to work the soap deep in the fabric. Then allow it to soak in the soapy water.

Step 2: Wash It

You can either hand wash your clothes or use the washing machine. Remember to carefully rinse out all the dish soap residue on your garment before placing it in the washing machine.

Step 3: Dry It

Drying clothes under the sunlight is the best solution when dealing with bad smells. You can also air dry your clothes or use the tumble dryer if the stains and odors are completely gone.

Tutorial On Removing Vitamin And Fish Oil Smell From Washing Machine

If you accidentally leave a vitamin and fish oil capsule in your washer, as time goes by, it will smell like rotting fish. To remove this horrible odor from your machine and prevent your other loads of laundry from smelling fishy, take a look at this step-by-step tutorial:

Step 1: Use Baking Soda

Pour 2 cups of baking soda directly into the drum. Then run the machine using the hottest water setting and the longest cycle that you can.

Step 2: Use Vinegar

Once the first cycle is finished, add 2 cups of baking soda either in the detergent dispenser or the drum. Additionally, add a few drops of essential oil to the mixture for extra fragrance. After that, give the machine another spin.

Step 3: Wipe And Dry It

Allow your washer to air dry with the door open. You can also speed up this process by giving it a thorough wipe with a clean cloth.

Take a look for more tips on how to keep your washer clean!

FAQs

Need more information about getting vitamin and fish oil smell out of clothes? Take a look at these FAQs to see if you can find the answers you’re looking for.

Fish Oil In Clothes? It’s Not A Problem Anymore!

Vitamin and fish oil are very beneficial for your health, but getting their smell out of clothes might be challenging.

However, with all of the advice I’ve given you in this post, I’m confident that you’ll be able to deal with this problem and effectively eliminate vitamin and fish oil smell from your clothes.

Remember to like and share this post if you find these recommendations helpful. Do you know any more hacks to get rid of fish odors? Leave them in the comments section below.

Reference

1. Wikipedia, 2021. Fish oil
2. NCBI, 2015. Fishing for answers: is oxidation of fish oil supplements a problem?
3. Fitday, 2021. Why Do Vitamins Smell Weird?