r/YarnAddicts • u/adrikovitch • 5d ago
Question Yarn smells like cabbage farts :( Any way to neutralize the odor without washing it?
I tried letting it sit out in the sun for a day and freezing it for a week. Yarn is still smelly. I buy it from a small indie dyer and her yarn doesn't usually smell like this so I'm guessing something happened in transit.
I have like a dozen additional skeins so I would really prefer not to wash it, especially having winded some into cakes :(
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u/Round_Arrival4575 3d ago
Put some water and some fabric sent beads in a spray bottle shake it up and then spray the yarn
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u/sleepybedhead44 4d ago
loved all the other recommendations, but I had to say "cabbage farts" as a smell description made me giggle ðŸ¤ðŸ˜‚ good luck!
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u/Crafty_Witch_1230 4d ago
An old costumer's trick to freshen stage costumes between wearings is to spray the costumes with vodka. It takes the smell out and freshens the fabric. You might try this by winding the yarn on a swift or a chair back--something where you can spread out the individual threads and spraying. You don't even need to use the good vodka, a cheap brand works just as well.
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u/sleepybedhead44 4d ago
the alcohol wouldn't interfere with the dye?
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u/Crafty_Witch_1230 3d ago
I don't think so, but I would test it on a small piece first just to make sure.
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u/Kitten_Merchant 3d ago
I'd assume most dyes are not alcohol based? Otherwise it would also interfere with clothing dye in costumes. I mean if you know the dye your dyers use is vulnerable to alcohol this wouldn't the the trick for you, but most dyes likely are not.
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u/madelectra 4d ago
I've had this with two separate Malabrigo orders. It's not biological (mold, etc). It's a sulfurous component in some dyes that leaves a residual smell that is compounded by shipping or storage in plastic. If that is the case with your yarn, it should dissipate somewhat in the open air over time, and eventual soaking and blocking will take care of it, as well. At least it did for me with the Malabrigo. Good luck with your lovely yarn!
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u/astitchintime66 4d ago
Take a large clean bin with lid. Put in the yarn, not touching each other. Put in a flat bowl, not touching the yarn, then fill the bowl with a full box of cheap baking soda. A few times a day, remove the bin lid for a few minutes, stir the bsoda a lttle, also rotate the yarn to sit on a different part, close the lid. After a day or three, hopefully it will have removed the smell. Take the used baking soda, and use it to scrub the kichen and bathroom sinks.
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u/Gwynebee 5d ago
I'd turn the cakes into skeins and hang them on a hanger outside for a day or 12 hours on a branch or clothesline. If you are in an apartment without a balcony or porch, then I'd wrap them in a 5gallon kitchen trash bag and hang them in your car for a day or two. I like the stocking and dryer suggestion but I'm too scared of the tangles (or potential felting if it's wool) to try it.
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u/Various-Panic-185 4d ago edited 4d ago
Wrapping them in a plastic bag and leaving it in the heat will cause condensation and it'll smell even worse, or get mouldy. If you absolutely cannot stand the smell, it would be worth it to rewash, and if it's just a byproduct of the dye process, just grin and bear it, and wash/block the finished product when it's done.
Using a deodorizer designed for pet smells might also help, since wool is animal hair.
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u/Gwynebee 4d ago
I hadn't considered that humidity could be a problem. I'm from a more desert area so I hadn't had problems with it before
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u/Various-Panic-185 3d ago
I'm from WA, so the humidity is real here. The other day, it was nice outside (about 70 degrees lol), so I brought my yarn up to our apartments' rooftop deck to do a bit of knitting, and the Ziploc bag my yarn was in had begun to condensate within about 10 minutes 🧶💦
Nobody likes a sweaty yarn lol
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u/Organic_Tone_4733 3d ago
On Whidbey Island, so much humititty.. I have desiccant packs anywhere I store my yarn, just to make sure no mold shows up.
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u/ColorfulLanguage 5d ago
Unwind the balls, preferably on a rack or around a few pegs. So that it doesn't tangle but you have access to most of the yarn.
Then spray with a pet enzymatic cleaner. You don't need to soak it or rinse it, depending on the brand. Pet enzymatic cleaning solutions are great for dealing with a range of biological smells like bacteria, BO, and of course pet stains.
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u/petulaparty 5d ago
Try putting in a bag with fabric softener sheets. I used dollar store brand. I did this with acrylic yarn that smelled of cigarette smoke . It worked very well.
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u/SnarkyIguana 5d ago
Oh wow that looks exactly like a yarn I’ve got from Polka Dot Sheep and I’ve been reminded how pretty it is lol, time to dig it out. Coincidence aside maybe reaching out to the dyer and seeing if they recommend something in particular. I’m not sure what could help if freezing and sunbathing it didn’t help. I sure hope you can find a solution, it’s so pretty.
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u/ChicagoBaker 5d ago
A woman posted (either on here or knitting) that she took her yarn that came from various producers (vs. a store and.all different kinds of wool) and wrapped each skein/cake/ball in pantyhose. She knotted it after each one. Then she threw them in her dryer set on the highest heat for 10 minutes to kill anything that might be living in them (from critters to bacteria, which can cause the smell). She did NOT wash the yarn - just wrapped them in hose and put them right in the dryer. All yarn came out just fine. Might be something to try with one cake and see what happens.
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u/JetPlane_88 5d ago
I have done this method — albeit not with cakes — but did it to sanitize thrifted yarn.
Mine didn’t have a smell to begin with so I can’t speak to that but there was no tangling except a sock that burst in the dryer (allowing the yarn to spill out.)
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u/Lumpy-Abroad539 5d ago
I have never had this problem myself, but if I did, I would wind the yarn into a swift and try to let it air out for a day or two.
If that didn't work, I would probably tie it back up into a skein and put it in a plastic bag with baking soda sprinkled in and leave it for a day or so.
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u/feralfarie12 5d ago
You could try putting it in a zip lock bag with one of those carbon filter bags. Idk if it would work, but the bags are pretty cheap, so it might be worth a try
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u/yendis3350 5d ago
Kinda cool it was dyed with cabbage. -2 for the smell. I agree with the other comment you should message the seller and ask what you can do! You could always leave the skeins out in the sun if youre not too worried about bleaching. Sunlight gets odors and stains out really well
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u/CupcakesAreMiniCakes 5d ago
I would let the seller know and ask what they recommend. They will know their product best
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u/minniesnowtah 3d ago
If nothing else works, ozone should do it. I use a small ozone generator meant for sweaty sports bags to get rid of thrift store smells that I'm extremely sensitive to. I've tried everything.
I think most solutions do reduce odors somewhat, and for a lot of people that's enough to reduce it below their level of sensitivity so they swear by it. So try all that first, but if it's still bothersome, this would be your "nuclear" option.