Tip: How to get rid of Fish/Fish Oil Smell from Clothes

Ever wondered about how this can be done? Of course not.

Unfortunately for me, I accidentally spilled cod liver oil on my hubby's favourite shirt. Well, it's not 100% my fault heheh... I know he won't agree with this part. You see, he just couldn't wait while I was doing something in the kitchen and while he was carrying our baby in his hands, he asked me to spoon-feed him with 2 tablespoons of cod liver oil.

Shock, horror! A bit of the last spoon spilled on his shirt. Later, I washed it as normal but after it dried the fish smell was still there and the worst part is, it had spread all over the shirt. I tried to get rid of the smell by washing it again, but the unpleasant smell was still there.

At this stage I was kind of nervous to tell my husband because I just know that he will be majorly p**sed-off to hear about it (who wouldn't be slightly mad when one's £100 favourite shirt is ruined?). Don't blame me again though, hehe... So, feeling guilty, I Googled on how to solve my problem, searching both in English and Malay. Somehow, I couldn't fine anything in Malay to solve my problem in my initial search.

Malays and usually the older generation are fond of their own traditional ways (so-called Petua) to solve problems like this and normally they always work. Disappointed, I Googled again and this time I found a few discussions in a forum about this topic in English or should I say, a Western Petua. There were lots of good responses on the topic. Maybe the older Malay Mak Ciks just don't go online?

Anyway, the options either cost a lot of money or involved things that you might find in your kitchen cabinet. So, naturally I chose this one that I've tried myself and won't cost you a fortune. It's either this or getting a new £100 limited-edition designer shirt that probably costs twice the amount to buy these days!!!

Washing instructions:
Get 1 cup of white wine vinegar. Wash your shirt using the vinegar alone in a washing machine without any soap or detergent. Hang it as usual, (after it has dried, if the smell is still there, run it again with another cup of vinegar). If the smell has gone, wash the shirt in a washing machine with detergent (and fabric softener) as normal.

Note: You can soak your shirt in water with a cup of vinegar overnight as well but this might cause the colour of your fabric to fade. Also, remember NOT to wash fish oil-stained clothing with other clothes as the smell will spread to the other clothes.

I can't remember which forum I went to but thank you to whoever you are for the tip and saving lots of Euros! Well to others, give it a try...if you have the same problem.:-)