Karla's Bonanza

I’ve seen this tip a few places online recently: if you find clothes that have a bit of a “funk” (usually mothballs) you can spray them with a concoction of one part vodka and two parts water to remove the odor.

I decided to try this out on a shirt I recently found at a thrift store. This shirt falls into the “so ugly it’s just about cute” category. It has a snakeskin-ish print…and a few sequins. It also, quite charmingly, has Surf misspelled – a backward “B” instead of an “R.” I find pieces like this sometimes, and my heart just goes out to them. It’s a mixture of pity and love.

In my enraptured state, I purchased the shirt for $2, despite its slight mothball odor (even after washing). So I gave the vodka trick a shot. (Well I started by taking a shot myself, then I gave it a try). And it worked! I sprayed the vodka mixture on quite liberally, then let the shirt air out, and the funk is gone!

Vodka, baking soda, and other odor neutralizers are a much better choice than conventional air fresheners, which may contain some bad stuff: synthetic petrochemicals, well -known toxins, and phthalates (a neurotoxin linked to endochrine disruption and cancer).