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Scent Free - Laundry Process: What do you do?

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Scent Free - Laundry Process: What do you do?

Old 09-23-2009, 02:07 PM
  #11  
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I do all the above including running a hot water only wash cycle through to wash out the soap residue from the regular wash, then I run a scent free soap wash through with no cloths to wash out the regular soap, then I wash my hunting cloths. I also vacuum the lint filter from the dryer out, then I spray it down with Dead Down Wind, as well as the inside of the dryer. I also run the dryer on hot by itself for 30 mins to get any smell out of it. Towels and cloths go into a sealed plastic bag, then inside of a plastic storage container.

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Old 09-23-2009, 02:09 PM
  #12  
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Another tip... don't get dressed until you are in the woods and change before leaving the woods. Some guys go to all the effort of being scent free and then they get dressed and hop in their truck and stop at a gas station for drinks, snacks etc then track the oil, gas, grease, you name it in the woods with them- especially on the soles of their boots.
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Old 09-23-2009, 06:47 PM
  #13  
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I haven't read threw everyones responce's here so sorry if this is a duplicate.

Here is my yearly routine I usually hunt 3-5 times a week from September 19th-November 15th and longer if I haven't filled my tags. I don't own the high dollar scentlok stuff if you ask me its just another way to get us hunters to waste money all I have is just camo clothes I got at either Walmart or Gander Mountain. I rarerly if ever get winded and I've found I don't have to play the wind nearly as much if I follow my routine.

Step 1. Run a complete cycle on my wash machine with no clothes in there but a double dose of scent free laundry soap.

Step 2. Wash all my hunting clothes (hats,gloves,face masks,pants,shirts,jackets) with scent free laundry detergent.

Step 3. Go out in the yard and dig a hole and throw my rubber boots in there and cover it up and let them sit for 2-3 days if they are new boots you'll want to let them sit for a week or more.

Step 4. Take all my clothes etc that I washed and hang them on the line in the woods in the back yard till there dry once there dry spray them down with scent killer spray and allow them to dry again.

Step 5, Wash out my plastic bin with scent free soap and spray with scent killer let it air dry once dry put all my clothes in there and wait for my boots once they've sat for a couple days in the dirt I take them out and spray them down with the hose and dry them off and spray with scent killer being carefull to not get the insides wet usually I stuff some newspaper in them to soak up any moisture trying to get in.

Once I have everything washed nothing returns in the house. Once my boots are done I take my bin up to my hunting land where I dug a hole approximatly the same size as my bin and put my bin the hole and cover it up with brush and sticks (I also spray painted my bin camo) if you have to do this make sure you do it right after the season and leave it outside until you need it so the scent goes away. I usually start this whole ordeal about 2-3 weeks before the upcoming season. Once thats done I have another bin at home and I'll wash 5 towels and 5 sets of under clothes (flannel pants,boxer shorts,socks,tee shirt) in scent free soap and hang them to dry on the line and spray them with scent killer. Once dry they go in the bin which I spray with scent killer as well and they stay outside so I have 5 sets of clean stuff ready to go. Once I'm down to my last set of under clothes I know its time to rewash my outter clothes so at the end of that hunt I'll bring them home and repeat the process except I don't do anything with my boots just leave them outside.

The day of a hunt I'll shower in scent free soap and put scent free deodorant on then put my already scent free clothes on and head out the door I don't stay in the house more than a minute or two once I get dressed out of the shower I also never stop on the way to my hunting land if I need gas I do it in the morning or the day before I hunt.

Once I get to my land I get dressed in my camo and reapply scent killer spray to my camo and body paying special attention to my boots and legs and underarms and hands. I also use one natural earth scent wafer on my hat which I replace every 5 hunts on average. You can never use to much scent killer IMO. I then spray the grip on my bow and my realese with scent killer along with my arrow and quiver and wipe them off with a paper towel. I carry a little bottle of scent killer in my pocket and when I get to my stand and have climbed up (I use climbers) I spray my stand down really quick mostly where I have touched it with bare hands and when it gets cold and I wear gloves this isnt' needed. I almst hate to admit this but another thing I do is get a haircut the day before the season and get it cut as short as my wife will let me....believe it or not alot of scent is on the top of your head.....no facial hair during deer season either.

Call me nuts but my deer sightings have gone up 100% since doing this and I have never REPEAT never been winded in the last 4 years. I have been busted but it was when I moved but I've never had a deer come in put there nose in the air and high tail it outta there. In fact on Sunday I had a doe directly under me at the base of my tree and she never new I was there.

Last edited by jellio5; 09-23-2009 at 06:56 PM.
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Old 09-23-2009, 08:59 PM
  #14  
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i put towels in the washer. run that to get the other soap out of the washer. then i put my non scent lok shirt thermals and jackets gloves ect... with scent free detergent. then wash that. then clean the dryer out then dry everything. and throw in a scent free sheet. then when thats done wash my hands arms in scent free soap. then fold the clothes. put them in the big zip lock bags. with a dryer sheet that smells like dirt. then at the begining of each season. i wash my scent lok the same way. then i take my bag that i take to the stand with me. i spray that down stick in a big zip lock bag. with a dirt smelling dryer sheet. and i store all of that in my scent tote. witch is a big scent lok tote from cables. then i keep my rubber boots between my bed and cab of my truck. then before each hunt. i take a scent free shower. put my scent lok clothes on. spray down my truck really good. jump in drive to the stand. spray down everything from head to boot. includeing my bow arrows. then walk to the stand. spray down again. and i have watched deer come down wind of me. and never knew i was there. and have yet had a deer blow at me and bust me.
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Old 09-23-2009, 09:27 PM
  #15  
Nontypical Buck
 
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Jellio5~~ WOW I think that is the most I have ever heard of someone doing to stay scent free!!

I believe if I went through all that trouble before hitting the woods I wouldnt even feel like hunting every year!

I have no doubts whatsoever that you do not get winded!!



Myself....I wash all my camo clothing and a undershirt or two and throw in a plastic rubbermaid bin with earth scent dryer sheets. I use unscented dove soap, spray down everything before heading to the woods and thats about it!! I have been very succesful with not getting winded the past few years I have been strict to my routine!!
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Old 09-24-2009, 10:23 AM
  #16  
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This is what happened......believe it or not.......5 years ago (my second year bowhunting) I didn't have really a routine and didn't pay much attention to scent well one day I was in a hurry to get to my stand I threw my clothes on and even my boots at home it was cold out so I had my hat,gloves and all my camo on and headed out the door. So I get to my spot and get my bow out and head to my stand it was later in the winter so it got dark pretty early so I had about a 2 hours sit before it would be dark out. Now keep in mind I wasn't used to seeing alot of deer maybe one deer ever 5-6 times out I just didn't now enough yet. Anyway about 30 minutes into my sit a doe comes out to the edge of the field about 40 yards away sticks her nose in the air smells for a minute and promptly turns and heads back in the woods...I shook my head and wondered what had happened...then it hit me the wind was at my back and went right over the deers nose....as I cursed at myself I had 4 more deer come in from various points in the field and promptly turn and leave all does then it happened,,,,about 10 minutes of legal shooting light left and a big and i mean big buck stepped out if you ask me how many points this deer was I couldn't tell you all I knew is that it was big. Sure has heck the deer was about 35 yards away and at that time a shot like that just wasn't an option he looked around sniffed the air stood there for a second and turned around and left.....I was so mad I could have thrown my bow....instead I turned into a scent junky...call it an addiction from that day foward this is the only way I'll go into the woods it may take a minute or two longer to get ready when you hunt but it's well worth it.

I have a friend who used to laugh at me constantly about my scent issues when we hunted together he'd be ready to go before we got out of the truck at our hunting spot while I was minutes from being ready. Here's what I did for him. It was after the rut 2 years ago early December and my hunting was done for the year and I was gearing up for ice fishing but he had yet to shoot anything (gee I wonder why) anyway he called me one Saturday night after another fruitless day of hunting and wanted to now if he could hunt one of my stands as he was out of options so I thought for a second and decided to humor myself. I have a stand that is about 125 yards from a trail cam I leave out year round. I check the pics once every 2 weeks or so well I had noticed the last time I checked the camera which was 3 days before he called me a doe had been passing by everyday between 2 and 3pm for the last 12 days leading on a trail right by the stand. So we met up at my land at about noon the following day and he got ready and I ribbed him about being scent free which he laughed off. I led him to about 150 yards of were the stand was and told him what to expect and told him to call me if he shot anything. What I didn't tell him was I had my trail cam out there and that I knew this doe was coming down this trail daily he had no knowledge of that. So I went home and turned on the tv and watched some football till about 4PM at which point I got ready and grabbed my laptop and drove back to the land. My buddy who I knew would sit till dark was still in the woods so I waited and about 15 minutes later he came walking out and was suprised to see me. Thats when I laid my trap......I said well what did you see he said nothing all afternoon but a squirl. There was a slight swirling wind that day no more than 2-3 miles an hour. I told him to follow me as I headed back into the woods with my laptop he huffed and puffed but fell in behind me about 10 minutes later we arrived at the trail cam and by this time is was completly dark. I powered up my laptap and popped the card in and downloaded the pics and sure enough right there on the screen was the doe that walked down the trail that very day at 2:35PM. My buddy just shook his head and wondered what had happened I muttered under my breat I knew what happened but I don't think he heard me. I led him back toward the stand down the trail following the doe's tracks. Sure enough about 75 yards from the stand the doe turn right so I kept following the tracks pointing this out specifically to my buddy sure enough the doe tracks did a complete half circle right around the stand and back to the trail and continued on my buddy by this time he knew where I was goind and the gig was up....he said he knew what I was eluding to. I think I taught him a lesson that night but he still was to proud to accept defeat and said it could have just been luck,,,,,so with that in mind I told him I would hunt there tomorrow and if that doe came threw and winded me and did the same thing to me as it did to him I would wash his truck the next summer once a week if the doe showed up and I got a shot at it and killed it he would gut it and drag it out and butcher it. The next day came around and we decided to meet at my land so he new everything was on the up and up. He watched me get ready and I headed into the woods at 1PM. The weather conditions were almost identical to the day before. Well to make a long story short that same doe came by at 2:10PM and I loosed an arrow and she went maybe 30 yards and that was that. I promptly called my buddy and stayed in my stand until he got there. I had him grab my laptop out of my truck when he got there and head toward the stand when he arrived I climbed down and showed him the doe.....we walked down the trail and popped out the trail cam card and put it in the laptop and looked at the pic to verify I wasn't up to anything shady. He stuck to his end of the bargain and gutted and cleaned the deer and butchered it a day or 2 later at which point I gave him all the meat as I didn't need anymore which he was greatful for. The next summer he called me in August so that he could learn my scent control system. He still isn't as obsessed as I am but his hunting and deer sightings have improved alot in the last 2 years.

Last edited by jellio5; 09-24-2009 at 10:32 AM.
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Old 09-24-2009, 11:15 AM
  #17  
Dominant Buck
 
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I wash my clothes in baking soada. I then take them to my lab and impregnate them with activated carbon. Once done with that, I store them in plastic containers.

I bath at my cabin in scent free soap, head to the field , and change into my hunting clothes when I get to the field.
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Old 09-24-2009, 11:24 AM
  #18  
Nontypical Buck
 
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just stand near your campfire at night, thats good cover scent
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Old 09-24-2009, 11:32 AM
  #19  
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just a little tip to add to your process..when you put your clothes in the tubberware, take a few small pine limbs or some cedar and but in the container as well. you'll be able to tell the effects every time you gear up!
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Old 09-24-2009, 01:00 PM
  #20  
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I wash my clothes and towels in the Scent Killer soap and cold water or baking soda and cold water, depending on whatever I have on hand. Then I let air dry outside and seal inside big ziplock bags. I like to have several, a decent-sized bag that includes the clothes for the next hunt and then two more very large bags, one containing all my clothes for warm weather hunts and the other for cold weather.

I only spray down my clothes with Scent Killer after a hunt if I'm not washing them again and then I turn them inside out before doing so since that's where most of the smell will be if I was sweating. I do like to liberally spray down the outside of my boots each time I head out and the insides slightly when I come back so they'll have time to dry if I'm going out again the next day. The boots and my breath are actually what I pay the most attention to. Washing and sealing the clothes in the method described above should take care of 99 percent of the smell issues with them. But the boots and your breath need to be "pre-treated" every time you go out in my opinion. That said, I sometimes drink coffee on stand on my all day hunts, but only when the wind is right.
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