How to Get Dog Smell Out of Clothes
Ten minutes of morning cuddles, and your shirt carries the dog to work. Pet owners stop noticing it; colleagues do not. Here is how to clear dog smell and hair from clothes quickly, and when it needs a wash instead.
How do you get dog smell out of clothes without washing them?
Remove the hair first with a lint roller or tape, then shake the garment out and air it in moving air. Treat the areas the dog touched, usually the chest, lap and sleeves, with a fabric odor spray from 15–20 cm and let it dry. Wash anything with slobber, mud or urine, and never spray the dog.
In this guide6 sections
The dog greets you at the door, you kneel down, and that is the shirt you are wearing to dinner. Dog owners live with a smell they stop noticing within days. Everyone else notices it straight away.
Why does dog smell stick to clothes?
Because the smell comes from oils and microbe by-products on the coat, and both transfer to fabric with the hair.
A dog's coat carries skin oils and a population of yeast and bacteria that produce volatile compounds. The American Chemical Society's explainer on wet-dog smell describes how those microbes' by-products are mostly quiet on dry fur and released when it gets wet, which is why a damp dog smells strongest. Every hug, lap visit and paw on the sleeve moves hair, oil and some of those compounds onto your clothes.
How do you remove dog smell before you leave the house?
Hair first, then air, then treat the contact zones.
- Hair offLint roller, tape or a damp rubber glove.
- Shake and airAt a window or outdoors.
- Treat contact zonesChest, lap, forearms: 4–5 sprays in total, 15–20 cm.
- Dry15–30 seconds, then go.
Drool, mud or urine: wash it instead.
- Remove the hair. Use a lint roller, packing tape wrapped around your hand, or a damp rubber glove. Hair carries much of the smell.
- Shake and air. Shake the garment outdoors or at a window and hang it in moving air for a few minutes if you can.
- Treat where the dog touched. Usually the chest, the lap of trousers and the forearms. Mist from 15–20 cm, 2–3 sprays per area, holding the fabric away from your body.
- Let it dry. 15–30 seconds, then go.
A 50ml clothing deodorant you can keep by the door makes this a 30-second habit. ODORSTRIKE traps odor molecules in fabric with HPβCD and neutralises them with Zinc PCA, with a light scent that fades instead of a heavy perfume layered on top of dog.
What needs a proper wash?
Anything with slobber, mud, urine or a lot of hair worked into it. A spray refreshes clean clothes; it does not clean.
- Drool or saliva patches.
- Muddy paw prints.
- Any urine accident. Use an enzyme laundry detergent, which breaks down the proteins in urine.
- Clothes the dog slept on.
Why does my laundry smell like wet dog even without a dog?
That is usually a laundry problem, not a pet problem.
The "wet dog" smell many people get from clean clothes is often a sign of slow drying or a damp machine. Japanese researchers traced the classic damp laundry smell to a bacterium, Moraxella osloensis, which tolerates drying (Kubota et al., 2012). Dry clothes faster and clean the machine seal; our guide to musty monsoon laundry covers it.
How do you keep pet smell off work clothes?
Separate the clothes, not the dog.
- Get dressed for work last, after the walk and the cuddle.
- Keep work clothes in a closed wardrobe the dog cannot sleep in.
- Hang a lint roller and a fabric spray by the door.
- Wash dog blankets and beds regularly, so the smell in the house is lower to begin with.
Can you use a fabric spray on the dog or its bed?
No to the dog, ever. ODORSTRIKE is for clothes only.
Pets are on ODORSTRIKE's list of surfaces it must never be used on, along with skin, hair and eyes. It is not made for dog beds, sofas, carpets or rooms either. For the dog, ask your vet about grooming and bathing; for its bed, wash it.
A fabric odor spray refreshes clean clothes that picked up smell. It does not remove hair, mud, saliva or urine, and it is never for pets, skin or furniture.
Sources
American Chemical Society Why does wet dog smell so bad? (Reactions). covered by Compound Interest, 2015. compoundchem.com
Kubota, H. et al. Moraxella species are primarily responsible for generating malodor in laundry. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2012. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get dog smell out of my clothes fast?
Lint-roll the hair off, shake the garment out, then treat the chest, lap and sleeves with a fabric odor spray from 15–20 cm and let it dry. Wash anything with drool or mud.
Why do my clothes smell like dog?
Dog hair carries skin oils and compounds made by microbes on the coat. They transfer to fabric with every hug and are strongest when the dog is damp.
Can I spray ODORSTRIKE on my dog?
No. Pets are on its list of surfaces never to use it on. It is for clothes only.
Why does my laundry smell like wet dog when I have no dog?
That is usually slow drying or a damp washing machine. Dry clothes faster and clean the door seal and drawer.
ODORSTRIKE — Fabric Odor Mist
50ml pocket spray for clothes. HPβCD traps odor molecules in the fabric and Zinc PCA neutralises them, instead of covering them with perfume. Dries in 15–30 seconds, up to 8 hours of odor protection on fabric under normal office/commute conditions. Fabric only, never skin.
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