My sheepskin mitt smells!

dshreter

New member
I tried searching the forum, but didn't find anyone posting a similar experience. Do other people find that their sheepskin wash mitts smell offensively? The first time I washed my car with one, a viking brand mitt, I kept smelling something bad, like a musty smell, or rotten or something, and couldn't place it. I finally realized it was the wash mitt. I washed and dried it with my towels in the washer and dryer, put them all away, and it still smells, and made my the towels I'd put it away with smell a bit poorly as well. Is this normal? Did I get the skin off a sick sheep?
 
dshreter I had the same problem, along with other problems that why i stopped using sheepskins. I now use the blue Zwipes brand microfiber covered sponge. I get them at walmart for less than 2 bucks each.



So far so good.



Jim
 
I wonder if you got a skin off some of the sheep that had Mad Sheep Disease....I hope you got your shots....LOL...J/K....I have a ton of wool mitts and never had one smell bad....soak it over nite in a bucket of water and a little shampoo...it may wash out the smell....I know some of the rinseless washes have a smell thats funky...but try a overnite soak in a lite solution of shampoo and water....



Al
 
OK, for you to say you've never had one that smelled bad means this one must be an abnormality; because it definitely has a smell that is no good. I'll go find another one I guess, and give it a good whiff before I buy it. I'll definitely look ridiculous! Although maybe I won't look as crazy as I do when polishing my white car.
 
try the ones at wal mart...thats where I get mine...4.95 each...they are called Euroes...plus you can go thru them and pick the plusher ones....great mitts for the money...its the choice of alot here that use wool mitts....



Al
 
hmm.... i've used many sheepskin mitts without any problems at all. after i'm done using it, i soak it a bucket of clean water (for about 15-20 minutes while i'm drying the car) and then squeeze all the water out as much as possible and then hold it by the cuff and swing out the remaining water. finally, i hang it on a pant hanger with clip's with the cuff open so it can breathe...
 
BigAl3 said:
hmm.... squeeze all the water out as much as possible. finally, i hang it on a pant hanger with clip's with the cuff open so it can breathe...
I do the same but turn in skin side out and let that dry 1st.
 
Mine from walmart smells like crap too. You are using a piece of skin and some wool though. Gotta remember that. :chuckle:
 
It's probably a cheap mitt. My Griots and Autopia sheepskin mitts don't smell.



I don't like MF mitts. They usually hold on to dirt. I like the dirt to rinse out between body panels.
 
Both viking mitts I've purchased have had a foul odor and shedding problems - definitely won't buy one again. I'm very happy with the Sonus mitts sold by Autopia. The Eurow mits sold at walmart are also nice if you dig through and find a plush one.
 
Maybe you got the a$$ end of the sheep?:rofl



Sorry for the bad joke. lol



I had a similar experience with the viking mitts, its a weird smell, cant quite describe it. The eurow and other sheepskin mitts Ive used I have never noticed this problem.
 
I've used Sonus and Eurow Sheepskin mitts exclusively to wash with for a long, long time and have never ever had this problem.



After I'm done washing the car, before I proceed to dry it I go ahead and rinse the mitt out with full pressure water including letting water build up on the inside of the mitt to get any soapy residue out of the inside of the mitt. (I rinse the car down well all over before doing this to avoid the risk of water spots). Rinse with water-wring out, rinse with water-wring out, rinse-wring.



Once I can squeeze/wring the mitt with no soapy residue coming out, then I wring as much water out of the mitt as possible and hang it up inside my house to dry. Once the mitt has dried enough - I stick my hand inside so the inside of the mitt hollows out and air can get inside the mitt as it finishes drying.



Using this process, my mitt always comes out soft and smelling like whatever soap I used to clean with - with no shedding.



If the mitt doesn't get rinsed out well, or isn't wrung out well before being left to dry - that could cause bacteria to grow and lead to an odor problem.





I'm currently using a Eurow mitt that I started using last October - still going strong with no problems or diminishment of effectiveness.
 
I use the same method as Milestones for cleaning and rinsing....I have some mitts that are 3 years old and still work great....I just hang mine outside on the porch to dry...then as Milestone said..once the are partly dried I open them up to get air inside...



this worked for years and still mitts are working good....just need to all the soap out..



AL
 
So it sounds like the Viking mitts are the only ones with this problem. I mean it smelled up on first use! I've already gone searching around the local Walgreens stores, but couldn't find any with wash mitts. I wanted a Walgreens one because I've realized how much I prefer thumbless after using this piece 'o crap mitt. I always wash on one side of the mitt, then flip it over so I'm washing with less dirt on the mitt. It lets me go a bit longer between rinse and resoap.
 
I e-mailed Eurow about their sheepskin mitts because they made my WHOLE house reek just from air drying... so, no, you are definitely not the only person who has a stinky wash mitt.



EDIT: ... AND Viking are not the only mitts that reek, since my girlfriend and my entire family can vouch for the "gas leak" smell Eurow mitts leave behind :( I'm hoping that mine was just defective or something. I'll post here when I get a response.
 
Well, I just got a Eurow, and the smell doesn't even compare to the Viking mitt I have. The viking smelled awful on its first use, and I have no problem at all with the Eurow. Will get washmitts from Walmart from now on I guess.
 
I actually wash mine in the washing machine, gentle cycle with Woolite and cold water. After the spin cycle they are pretty dry. Then I stick them over the top of a push broom to air dry.



They're clean and nice and soft.
 
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