Richard Johnson I am pretty sure that if you slice DNA of a Polish person, you would see that we are composed of equal part Vodka, Cabbage, Potatoes, and bread.
It's an old dry-cleaners' trick. Febreeze, and other similar products work on a similar principle - that the volatile elements evaporate off with the alcohol, and that gets rid of the smell. 5 parts water to 1 part vodka is what I've heard in the past.
Hey Matt, I ran this tip past my mom, who is actually a movie costumer/costume designer/... (whatever it is called in English) herself. She says she knows the vodka myth (she has used it herself in the past). However, she wasn't very convinced about it working very well. She said the alcohol mostly evaporates before it kills anything and clothes mostly smell of vodka without getting rid of the real stinky odours. What she actually advised to remove smells is using cat litter (as that stuff is made to absorb unpleasant odours). Put the object (in this case the mask) in something like a cotton bag(so it doesn't touch the litter itself) and put is inside a bag/box of cat litter. I haven't used it myself, but I'm gonna run with the authority argument here. So if you have a cat you can maybe try this hack too ;-) cheers!
Matt Easton starring in "Drunken Master II"? ;) The Mythbusters did a bit on the various uses of vodka and I believe that one of them was eliminating foot odour.
Leave it in boiling water for about 30 minutes, then wash it with Vinegar or Lemon Juice. If that didn't work then you will have to send it for painting with powdercoating.
+yomauser The boiling thing will do the trick if it was a bacterian problem, with both the metal mask and the fabric protection, then It should be washed in a washing-machine along with other clothes. The repainting will solve the metal-human skin problem; that "octenone" thing. ;)
+yomauser Using 100°C on a Kevlar-like-material can let it shrink. As an alternative you can just put it in the oven above 45°C. That should do the same microbial massacre.
Of course, if you do want to buy a new one, word on the street is that the LP HEMA Mask will be out in a few weeks. I'm running the prototype at the moment and it's pleasantly bombproof. Highly recommended piece of kit.
Consider popping in the freezer overnight. Cover it in plastic wrap first so your food doesn't smell like fencing mask. The freezing temperatures kill the stinky critters as well as any disinfectant. You can do this for shoes as well.
Shoes right next to the food? Ugh, wrapped or not, that makes me cringe! Also, most (?) bacteria aren't really killed by freezing, just temporarily "deactivated".
I recommend getting the X-Change-Mask from Leon-Paul. It's completely dividable into bib, padding and cage. Everything can be cleaned separately. If you can take the bang you should pick the ice padding. It's worth it. I suggest taking a saber mask, because of the strip connecting both meshes being made of metal instead of rubber. And another thing : The coaching equipment is cheaper because it doesn't have the standard piercing resistance as it's not being used in tournaments.
+scholagladiatoria You are wrong. Puncture rating for mesh is lower than the bib. Both Allstar and PBT fencing masks have 1600N for the bib but only ~1100 and ~1000 respectively for the mesh . Info coming directly from manufacturers. Curious, isnt it?
+Wreqt Quite a few solvents you could try. I am lucky (well depending on how you look at it) as a research Chemist because I have access to quite a range of solvents.
Vodka has a higher alcohol content then most rubbing alcohol and isn't poisonous so for something your going to have on your face I'd opt for the vodka. Plus I'd bet a gallon of cheap vodka is cheaper then a gallon of rubbing alcohol if you are going to submerge it lol.
Hand sanitizer also works but Everclear tends to be cheaper. You can also do what my friend did for his LARP gear that couldn't be washed: once you've sprayed it down with the everclear and let it dry you put it into a 5 gallon bucket turned upside down and then burn either incense or use a essential oil diffuser as a sort of DIY fume tent.
As a few other people suggested, vinegar also seems like a potential idea. Maybe you should do a double-blind test where you test the smelliness of masks cleaned with different methods.
I really like to wear a bandana under my fencing mask. I wrap the bandana over my lower jaw and tie it at the back of my head to cover the jaw area where the mask sits. To protect the top of the head it's also a good idea to wear one of those infinity bandanas basically just a tube of fabric) over the head. You could also try a cotton snood. It provides protection against the mask scratching up a part of your head on strong impacts and protects it from sweat and mainly from dead skin, which is really what makes it stink the most. And bandanas are super easy to wash, even at events! Not to mention you could get one with a cool pattern :)
You can spray your mask with tea tree oil spray (usually used for shoes). It kills bacteria etc... you can also use febreze, but tea tree oil spray is more effective in removing stench and has been tested for really smelly shoes by myself time and again :)
Hey Matt, I have a similar problem with my boxing gloves and everything else I use. I came up with a solution of 1/3rd kitchen bench spray, 1/3rd windex and 1/3rd water + a capfull of dettoll. in the original bench spray bottle and everything. works amazing.
One reason your LP mask has no dents is that LP has a policy that ALL of their mask shells are FIE...meaning they can withstand a mask punch of 25kg (where a non-FIE mask is only rated to 12kg, which is the strength of the spring-loaded punch anyway). The only diff between an LP FIE and non-FIE mask is in the puncture rating of the bib (350 newtons for non-FIE, 1600N for FIE),.
The first thing that crossed my mind was 99% isopropyl alcohol. Humans are oily, and bacteria love oils. Alcohols are both grease cutters, and disinfectants. So there you go.
You can also just use hand sanitizer. It's probably more effective because the alcohol percentage is higher, as well as cheaper since there is no booze tax on hand sanitizer. Vodka is only Ethanol mixed with water. Gin would also work, but smell of juniper afterwards, which might be nice. I do not think that there will be any smell left after a few hours, since the ethanol will be gone even faster than the water can dry. Also you can use the same method (or use some smell-less alcoholic deodorant) on the armpits of tshirts to make them last longer.
Tea tree oil kills fungal stuff which can also smell, and the cheap vodka works just as well as the expensive from what I heard, the vodka just kills the bacteria via high alcohol content. Also vodka is good about non bacterial smells for some reason too, it helps with cigarette smoke on clothes for example, not sure why though.
If you buy cheap vodka by the gallon and cut it with equal parts water in a spray bottle and you have the cheapest disinfectant money can buy. I've done theatre for a long time now and it is all about cheap, effective solutions. A costumer friend of mine (a sweet little midwestern woman) loves to tell the story of the time she walked out of a local liquor store with a huge plastic jug of cheap vodka that made the wino begging for change outside take a look at her and go "damn"
tea tree oil gets my vote!@ as an SCA( societry for creative anachronism) fencer, my mask was FOUL, untill i doused it in tea tree oil!!! got an extra two years service out of it, untill it failed the puncture testing we conduct regularly on our gear, due to metal fatigue!
I'd use vinegar to clean it. Works just as well. Also might be worth trying one of those anti bacterial rubbing alcohol sprays. Douse it plenty and hang it outside over night (Balcony or something like that), should take care of the any smell.
Bellet companies do this, too, as does the costume-department in every theatre. It gets rid of decades of smell and musk, if needs be. I have worn 20's style suits made and stored in the 20's that underwent that treatment and ended up smelling of... nothing.
vodka actually works really well, it's a very strong scent so it overpowers nearly any smell and over a very short period of time evaporates thanks to the high alcohol content. so it makes as a great cleaning product. so do that, and you should have a much nicer smelling fencing mask. I'm personally tempted to do the same for gambiesons cause after a while they really do wiff
+IGCommissarJake Gin carries a flavour. this flavour hangs about after the alcohol dries, making it less good. Good vodka should be extremely neutral flavour and not noticeable after the wetness dries off.
Rather than dousing in vodka you should use a spray bottle as the other guys do as this'll keep the surface area of your vodka high and allow it to evaporate more efficiently, as the vodka evaporates it should take the odor with it.
Because vodka is just distilled alcohol. The cheap stuff is exactly the same as the expensive stuff. They distill it, ship it in tanker cars to some bottling plant and stick it in different bottles; or just change the label.
At my boxing practice we had a trick to get the smell of gloves off one's hands - you just had to wash your hands with a bit of laundry detergent. I am not sure if this would be useful for you - it might not work on the mask itself and understandably you may not want to wash your head with laundry detergent. But maybe you will find some use for that tip.
I was about to comment that you should try spraying your mask with ethanol solution. Vodka is typically around 40% and I don't understand why would they dilute it down, it would be less efficient. You could also use any low grade of alcohol not fit for consumption e.g. so-called "methylated spirit" (although some of those sking pretty badly), or alcohol-based disinfectant spray like Klericide 70/30.
Matt, in the days before kevlars we used to take the helmet liners out of our "brain buckets" and light a piece of sandalwood incense under them to remove strong odors while in the field. Never tried it with a kevlar, don't know what the effect would be on a fencing mask. Interesting problem, let us know if you solve it. Dante.
I know Vodka is used for smelly shoes. If it works on that then I don't see why it wouldn't work for a mask. Cheap vodka works just was well as the good stuff. I keep a bottle of Aristocrat solely for cleaning purposes. Gin is actually good for getting out stains for some reason.
I'm using a PBT and it's going great so far. Paint gets scratched up, but really, who cares. It's protected my face from highland broadsword and polish sabres, and I ask nothing more of it. It doesnt stink (yet) but I have a few old LP's, which I will subject to this treatment soon.
Presumably the dishwasher trick only works for x amount of uses if you've switched to vodka as a means of cleaning and removing smells? Interesting video though......I'm seeing a lot of newer masks now come with removable fabric which can be washed separately.
I mean, like others have said, it would seem bacteria is the cause of the smell. So, really, anything antiseptic should work for cleaning... at least in theory.
Couldn't you wash it? For the smell you could add wash it with salt solution. Salt, being a high strenght ionic eluent could remove the odorants as well as kill the offending bacteria.
i like the vodka idea, when i start hema and get a mask, i dont even care if its smelly and dirty or not ill scrub it with vodka just for the fuck of it
Matt if you have some time could you cover the topic of messers and fencing with them? (one handed and this longswordish type). As for the mask, it's only ethanol or any alcohol will do?
there is antibacterial available for sale that deals quite well with stuf like this, my father used some (sadly cannot find the name of the product) on his leather vest that he uses on bike rallies, and its started to get a bit.....smelly, one treatment dealth with that however
I've successfully deodorized smelly hiking boots by baking them in an oven (maybe 80C) or leaving them out in bright sun. Freezing also works. Or just soak in MiraZyme.
Tea Tree oil is a strong anti fungal. Maybe that is why they are using it. I might warn you though, Matthew, that tea tree oil has a very strong, and to some, objectionable smell all it's own.
I was thinking about how different parts of the body are more or less likely to be hit with different kinds of attacks, like your torso would be the main target for thrusts while limbs, neck and head are more likely to get cut or bashed. Is this at all true? If yes, is this reflected in armour design?
That's a really good tip. That was always one the things that got me when i first started fencing and had to borrow a club mask they always stank to high heaven. Oh my the dame things stunk lol Still what is an immune system for eh?
I had stinky breath today when I woke up so I tried your tip, it took nearly a whole bottle but I can't smell anything now :p
+Manic Demise I knew it would work!
+Manic Demise I guees you cant walk neither.
I am Polish, so I am well aware that Vodka is nectar of life with more uses than Duck Tape :)
+Marek Dohojda
The holy triune of slavs -- duct tape (or blue electric tape), WD-40, and Vodka.
Richard Johnson I am pretty sure that if you slice DNA of a Polish person, you would see that we are composed of equal part Vodka, Cabbage, Potatoes, and bread.
+Marek Dohojda No sir, whiskey is the water of life. That's what uisce beatha means. :P
Bah! Whiskey is for sipping, but real man down sip they down ;)
Marek Dohojda What are you talking about? Scotch Whisky is for sipping, but Irish whiskey is for drinking!
I'm picturing a very merry Matt at the next training session XD
I douse my life's failures in vodka.
+StoreBrand many drunk ex's ?
It's an old dry-cleaners' trick. Febreeze, and other similar products work on a similar principle - that the volatile elements evaporate off with the alcohol, and that gets rid of the smell. 5 parts water to 1 part vodka is what I've heard in the past.
I'm going to try the same tip with my stinky life!
Thanks Matt!
Hey Matt,
I ran this tip past my mom, who is actually a movie costumer/costume designer/... (whatever it is called in English) herself. She says she knows the vodka myth (she has used it herself in the past). However, she wasn't very convinced about it working very well. She said the alcohol mostly evaporates before it kills anything and clothes mostly smell of vodka without getting rid of the real stinky odours. What she actually advised to remove smells is using cat litter (as that stuff is made to absorb unpleasant odours). Put the object (in this case the mask) in something like a cotton bag(so it doesn't touch the litter itself) and put is inside a bag/box of cat litter. I haven't used it myself, but I'm gonna run with the authority argument here.
So if you have a cat you can maybe try this hack too ;-)
cheers!
Matt Easton starring in "Drunken Master II"? ;)
The Mythbusters did a bit on the various uses of vodka and I believe that one of them was eliminating foot odour.
I thought you were going to auction off the mask to your fangirls. like you said you get quiet hot. lol
+Luggstern I wish.
"Vodka-the ultimate cleaner! Clean your mask! Clean your car! Clean your children!"
I'm going to douse this ice in vodka.
+KatayokoNoTenshi That ice surely smells!
I Love Matt when he's just this charming.
Hey Matt have you considered making a video on blades that are "wavy" or flame-bladed swords, I think it would be an interesting video.
Cheers.
+T1JumpTIX Yes, it's one of the most common requests I get :-) I will do it, eventually.
The tea tree oil is also a disinfectant. Growing up we used it when treating cuts and bruises (I grew up in an area in which the plant is endemic).
Leave it in boiling water for about 30 minutes, then wash it with Vinegar or Lemon Juice. If that didn't work then you will have to send it for painting with powdercoating.
+yomauser The boiling thing will do the trick if it was a bacterian problem, with both the metal mask and the fabric protection, then It should be washed in a washing-machine along with other clothes. The repainting will solve the metal-human skin problem; that "octenone" thing. ;)
+yomauser Using 100°C on a Kevlar-like-material can let it shrink. As an alternative you can just put it in the oven above 45°C. That should do the same microbial massacre.
Washing my clothes in vodka from now own thanks for the tip!
Of course, if you do want to buy a new one, word on the street is that the LP HEMA Mask will be out in a few weeks.
I'm running the prototype at the moment and it's pleasantly bombproof. Highly recommended piece of kit.
Consider popping in the freezer overnight. Cover it in plastic wrap first so your food doesn't smell like fencing mask. The freezing temperatures kill the stinky critters as well as any disinfectant. You can do this for shoes as well.
Shoes right next to the food? Ugh, wrapped or not, that makes me cringe!
Also, most (?) bacteria aren't really killed by freezing, just temporarily "deactivated".
"I already have the vodka..."
Of course you do.
I recommend getting the X-Change-Mask from Leon-Paul. It's completely dividable into bib, padding and cage. Everything can be cleaned separately. If you can take the bang you should pick the ice padding. It's worth it. I suggest taking a saber mask, because of the strip connecting both meshes being made of metal instead of rubber.
And another thing : The coaching equipment is cheaper because it doesn't have the standard piercing resistance as it's not being used in tournaments.
Couldn't you just use any alcohol sanitizer rather than specifically vodka?
+Wednesday Addams I like the idea of using vodka though. :-)
+scholagladiatoria You are wrong. Puncture rating for mesh is lower than the bib. Both Allstar and PBT fencing masks have 1600N for the bib but only ~1100 and ~1000 respectively for the mesh
. Info coming directly from manufacturers. Curious, isnt it?
+Wednesday Addams From the beginning of the video I was thinking that I'd dunk it some 10% Isopropyl and let it air for a week.
+Wreqt Quite a few solvents you could try. I am lucky (well depending on how you look at it) as a research Chemist because I have access to quite a range of solvents.
Vodka has a higher alcohol content then most rubbing alcohol and isn't poisonous so for something your going to have on your face I'd opt for the vodka. Plus I'd bet a gallon of cheap vodka is cheaper then a gallon of rubbing alcohol if you are going to submerge it lol.
"It offends me." Classic!
Hand sanitizer also works but Everclear tends to be cheaper. You can also do what my friend did for his LARP gear that couldn't be washed: once you've sprayed it down with the everclear and let it dry you put it into a 5 gallon bucket turned upside down and then burn either incense or use a essential oil diffuser as a sort of DIY fume tent.
As a few other people suggested, vinegar also seems like a potential idea.
Maybe you should do a double-blind test where you test the smelliness of masks cleaned with different methods.
I really like to wear a bandana under my fencing mask. I wrap the bandana over my lower jaw and tie it at the back of my head to cover the jaw area where the mask sits. To protect the top of the head it's also a good idea to wear one of those infinity bandanas basically just a tube of fabric) over the head. You could also try a cotton snood. It provides protection against the mask scratching up a part of your head on strong impacts and protects it from sweat and mainly from dead skin, which is really what makes it stink the most. And bandanas are super easy to wash, even at events! Not to mention you could get one with a cool pattern :)
You can spray your mask with tea tree oil spray (usually used for shoes). It kills bacteria etc... you can also use febreze, but tea tree oil spray is more effective in removing stench and has been tested for really smelly shoes by myself time and again :)
Hey Matt,
I have a similar problem with my boxing gloves and everything else I use.
I came up with a solution of 1/3rd kitchen bench spray, 1/3rd windex and 1/3rd water + a capfull of dettoll. in the original bench spray bottle and everything. works amazing.
One reason your LP mask has no dents is that LP has a policy that ALL of their mask shells are FIE...meaning they can withstand a mask punch of 25kg (where a non-FIE mask is only rated to 12kg, which is the strength of the spring-loaded punch anyway). The only diff between an LP FIE and non-FIE mask is in the puncture rating of the bib (350 newtons for non-FIE, 1600N for FIE),.
His poor shiny head that always carries him to tactical victory! Lol. It's the stink of success, my friend!
Vodka solves all problems.
You could pour boiling water on it, but rubbing alcohol did the trick for a while with my boxing gloves.
Fortuitous timing - I was just wondering how to clean my mask today.
Vinegar, if you don't want to waste vodka.
+Matthew “Arkhane” Brown It didn`t work by me.
+Matthew Brown “Arkhane” And then youll have the stench of vinegar.
I usually dilute some baking soda in water, and let it sit for a little while. It neutralizes most of the smell.
Matthew Brown Uhm I see.
The first thing that crossed my mind was 99% isopropyl alcohol. Humans are oily, and bacteria love oils. Alcohols are both grease cutters, and disinfectants. So there you go.
You can also just use hand sanitizer. It's probably more effective because the alcohol percentage is higher, as well as cheaper since there is no booze tax on hand sanitizer.
Vodka is only Ethanol mixed with water. Gin would also work, but smell of juniper afterwards, which might be nice.
I do not think that there will be any smell left after a few hours, since the ethanol will be gone even faster than the water can dry.
Also you can use the same method (or use some smell-less alcoholic deodorant) on the armpits of tshirts to make them last longer.
Tea tree oil kills fungal stuff which can also smell, and the cheap vodka works just as well as the expensive from what I heard, the vodka just kills the bacteria via high alcohol content. Also vodka is good about non bacterial smells for some reason too, it helps with cigarette smoke on clothes for example, not sure why though.
If you buy cheap vodka by the gallon and cut it with equal parts water in a spray bottle and you have the cheapest disinfectant money can buy. I've done theatre for a long time now and it is all about cheap, effective solutions. A costumer friend of mine (a sweet little midwestern woman) loves to tell the story of the time she walked out of a local liquor store with a huge plastic jug of cheap vodka that made the wino begging for change outside take a look at her and go "damn"
Thanks for the tip. My TKD uniforms are 1) old & consequently 2) getting pretty rank, so this could turn out to be very useful.
Coming up in the news: "Drunk fencing master comes up with new martial art"
Thanks for the helpful video Matt!
tea tree oil gets my vote!@ as an SCA( societry for creative anachronism) fencer, my mask was FOUL, untill i doused it in tea tree oil!!! got an extra two years service out of it, untill it failed the puncture testing we conduct regularly on our gear, due to metal fatigue!
I'd use vinegar to clean it. Works just as well. Also might be worth trying one of those anti bacterial rubbing alcohol sprays. Douse it plenty and hang it outside over night (Balcony or something like that), should take care of the any smell.
Bellet companies do this, too, as does the costume-department in every theatre. It gets rid of decades of smell and musk, if needs be. I have worn 20's style suits made and stored in the 20's that underwent that treatment and ended up smelling of... nothing.
I have honestly never noticed the smell of my fencing mask.
Giving a heavy smoker's clothes a few spritzes of diluted vodka is known to be highly efficacious as well.
If vodka does not help try vinegar on a sponge and let it out under direct sun light to dry for a week.
Maybe I put a little vodka into my washing machine for my next laundry.
Been recently re-watching Sharpe and enjoying the fairly well choreographed duels...
has Matt done anything in Sharpe?
vodka actually works really well, it's a very strong scent so it overpowers nearly any smell and over a very short period of time evaporates thanks to the high alcohol content. so it makes as a great cleaning product.
so do that, and you should have a much nicer smelling fencing mask. I'm personally tempted to do the same for gambiesons cause after a while they really do wiff
+IGCommissarJake Gin carries a flavour. this flavour hangs about after the alcohol dries, making it less good.
Good vodka should be extremely neutral flavour and not noticeable after the wetness dries off.
Rather than dousing in vodka you should use a spray bottle as the other guys do as this'll keep the surface area of your vodka high and allow it to evaporate more efficiently, as the vodka evaporates it should take the odor with it.
Because vodka is just distilled alcohol. The cheap stuff is exactly the same as the expensive stuff. They distill it, ship it in tanker cars to some bottling plant and stick it in different bottles; or just change the label.
At my boxing practice we had a trick to get the smell of gloves off one's hands - you just had to wash your hands with a bit of laundry detergent. I am not sure if this would be useful for you - it might not work on the mask itself and understandably you may not want to wash your head with laundry detergent. But maybe you will find some use for that tip.
I was about to comment that you should try spraying your mask with ethanol solution. Vodka is typically around 40% and I don't understand why would they dilute it down, it would be less efficient. You could also use any low grade of alcohol not fit for consumption e.g. so-called "methylated spirit" (although some of those sking pretty badly), or alcohol-based disinfectant spray like Klericide 70/30.
Matt, in the days before kevlars we used to take the helmet liners out of our "brain buckets" and light a piece of sandalwood incense under them to remove strong odors while in the field. Never tried it with a kevlar, don't know what the effect would be on a fencing mask. Interesting problem, let us know if you solve it. Dante.
I would try a ultrasonic bath. Acetone or just plain 90%+ rubbing alcohol. White gas might also work.
I imagine white vinegar would do the job nicely, wipe it down, leave it a minute, then rinse off with water.
I just take a good deep sniff of my mask to get into my battle frenzy.
I know Vodka is used for smelly shoes. If it works on that then I don't see why it wouldn't work for a mask. Cheap vodka works just was well as the good stuff. I keep a bottle of Aristocrat solely for cleaning purposes. Gin is actually good for getting out stains for some reason.
Vinegar soaks work well. Destroys mold
A tip put the mask in the freezer over night it will kill the smell .I do that with my running shoes.
Re the stink...if it's bad enough to make your opponent's eyes water, that's a tactical advantage.
I'm using a PBT and it's going great so far. Paint gets scratched up, but really, who cares. It's protected my face from highland broadsword and polish sabres, and I ask nothing more of it.
It doesnt stink (yet) but I have a few old LP's, which I will subject to this treatment soon.
Now, I'd really like a vodka. Thanks Matt.
Check with your Dentist about a source for Enzymatic cleaner used to clean dental equipment.
Presumably the dishwasher trick only works for x amount of uses if you've switched to vodka as a means of cleaning and removing smells? Interesting video though......I'm seeing a lot of newer masks now come with removable fabric which can be washed separately.
I see the prospect of dousing your gear in vodka makes you really happy. :D
Another tip is leave it in the sun for a bit. UV kills off most things as well.
Make a video about how to do it, how is the mixture and if it works, I would love to know!
I mean, like others have said, it would seem bacteria is the cause of the smell. So, really, anything antiseptic should work for cleaning... at least in theory.
Couldn't you wash it? For the smell you could add wash it with salt solution. Salt, being a high strenght ionic eluent could remove the odorants as well as kill the offending bacteria.
+scholagladiatoria
So what are the proportions of vodka and water are we talking about? 1:1? 1:2?
It could be that it's about the alcohol in it, rather than vodka itself...
And then I will have two Vodka Bottles, one for mask, one for me.
Matt-is in here!
a small portable steam cleaner will work. It works on American football gear.
i like the vodka idea, when i start hema and get a mask, i dont even care if its smelly and dirty or not ill scrub it with vodka just for the fuck of it
Spraying them in disinfectant also works.
Matt if you have some time could you cover the topic of messers and fencing with them? (one handed and this longswordish type).
As for the mask, it's only ethanol or any alcohol will do?
I spray windex on everything and it works very well.
there is antibacterial available for sale that deals quite well with stuf like this, my father used some (sadly cannot find the name of the product) on his leather vest that he uses on bike rallies, and its started to get a bit.....smelly, one treatment dealth with that however
Hmm, there's an idea. Time to douse my underwear in vodka!
I added a removable liner with velcro to mine.
just goes to show that everything is better with Vodka!
Well... except *driving*
other things you can ditch in wodka: gummi bears.The best thing about this is: you can eat them after that - that you can't do with the mask ;-)
Surely the cloth parts can be removed for washing purposes? And wouldn't a simple steam cleaner do the job on the metal bit?
i did nt know about vodka...baking soda it s know to be very effective against foul odours as well
I've successfully deodorized smelly hiking boots by baking them in an oven (maybe 80C) or leaving them out in bright sun. Freezing also works. Or just soak in MiraZyme.
Tea Tree oil is a strong anti fungal. Maybe that is why they are using it. I might warn you though, Matthew, that tea tree oil has a very strong, and to some, objectionable smell all it's own.
One for the mask and one for yourself!
Bicarbonate of soda is meant to be really good for deoderizing. I would try making a solution and cleaning it with that. Probably cheaper than vodka!
Having read all comments I still don't know if this method actually worked. Did it?
A solution of vinegar and water should do the trick as well...
I was thinking about how different parts of the body are more or less likely to be hit with different kinds of attacks, like your torso would be the main target for thrusts while limbs, neck and head are more likely to get cut or bashed. Is this at all true? If yes, is this reflected in armour design?
+Murky Pool Yes limbs get most chops, bodies get most thrusts and heads get a bit of both.
you meant in HEMA and electric tag :D
Have you tried putting it in the freezer to kill the germs?
It works for shoes...
Who ever said alcohol won't solve your problems?
Are there any historical treaties on distracting your opponent with helmet smell, or would the answer to that simply be "context"?
Using Vodka to freshen clothes is an old trick, Febreeze also works (may not work on really nasty padding, worth a try tho)
get some baking soda, fill a tub up with water and a few spoonful's of baking soda,, leave it in there for 20 minutes and see if that works.
That's a really good tip. That was always one the things that got me when i first started fencing and had to borrow a club mask they always stank to high heaven. Oh my the dame things stunk lol Still what is an immune system for eh?