How to Wash Camp Clothes to Get the Campfire Smell Out (Or Not)

The Post-Trip Laundry Reality Check

You pull into the driveway. The trip is over. The cooler is full of melted ice and floating hot dog wrappers. You drag your duffel bag inside, unzip it, and bam. A cloud of hickory smoke hits you right in the face. It is a badge of honor, but your washing machine might strongly disagree. If you are trying to figure out how to get campfire smell out of clothes without ruining your favorite gear, you have come to the right place.

We started Camp Life Shirts because we wanted camping gear that feels like camp. We camp in state parks, cook questionable meals over a fire, and argue about the best way to stack firewood. Because of that, we know a thing or two about garments that smell like they have been smoked like a brisket. That campfire smoke smell clings to cotton, fleece, and synthetic fibers with incredible stubbornness.

Doing laundry after a weekend in the woods is a different beast than your normal Sunday chores. If you just toss a weekend's worth of smoky hoodies into the wash with a standard pod, you are going to end up with clean clothes that still smell like a forest fire. You need a specific approach to break down those oils and ash particles.

Step One: The Mandatory Air Out

Before you even think about turning on the washing machine, you have to let your gear breathe. Taking a crumpled, smoke-infused shirt out of a dark duffel bag and throwing it straight into a dark washer drum is a recipe for disaster. The smell will just transfer to the water and coat the rest of your clothes.

Hang your smoky clothes outside on a clothesline, over a deck railing, or even on the back of lawn chairs. Let the wind and fresh air do the heavy lifting for at least a few hours. The UV rays from the sun also help break down the odor-causing bacteria that hitched a ride home with you.

If you live in an apartment or it is pouring rain, hang them in a bathroom with the exhaust fan running. The goal here is simply to let the loose ash and surface-level smoke dissipate before you introduce water. Much like knowing How to Pack a Cooler So Your Food Stays Cold All Weekend, a little prep work saves you a massive headache later.

Pre-Soaking Methods That Work

Now that your clothes have aired out, it is time to address the heavy hitters. We are talking about the hoodie you wore for three days straight and the jeans that took the brunt of the wind shifting the fire smoke directly into your face. These items need a pre-soak.

Fill a bathtub, a large utility sink, or a plastic tote bin with warm water. You do not want the water to be boiling hot, as extreme heat can set the stains and smells into the fabric permanently. Warm water relaxes the fibers just enough to let the trapped smoke particles loosen up.

Add one cup of standard white vinegar to the water and agitate it with your hands. Submerge your smoky clothes and walk away. Let them sit for at least an hour, though leaving them overnight is the best move for a really stubborn campfire smoke smell. When you pull them out, the water will likely be a murky grey color. That is the smell leaving your favorite gear.

The Magic of Vinegar or Baking Soda in the Wash

When it is finally time to run the washing machine, leave your heavily perfumed detergents on the shelf. Trying to mask the smell of burning pine with artificial mountain breeze scent just creates a weird, unsettling hybrid odor. Figuring out how to wash camping clothes requires going back to the basics.

You have two main weapons in this fight, but you must choose only one per wash cycle. Do not mix them unless you want a science fair volcano inside your washing machine.

• The Vinegar Method: Add half a cup of white vinegar directly into the fabric softener dispenser of your washing machine. Run the cycle with your normal unscented detergent on a warm water setting. The vinegar breaks down the smoke oils and acts as a natural fabric softener.
• The Baking Soda Method: Sprinkle half a cup of baking soda directly into the drum with your clothes before starting the wash. Baking soda is highly alkaline, which helps neutralize the acidic nature of wood smoke.

If your clothes still smell a bit smoky after the first cycle, do not panic. Run them through a second time using the opposite method. Just remember to keep the water temperature warm, never hot.

Why You Shouldn't Use High Heat in the Dryer

This is the most important rule of outdoor laundry tips. Never, under any circumstances, put your camping clothes in a hot dryer until you are completely sure the smell is gone. Throwing smoky clothes straight into a high-heat cycle is a rookie mistake. It is almost as bad as packing up a wet tent. Speaking of which, if you need help with that, check out our guide on How to Keep Your Tent Clean and Dry (Even When It Rains).

Heat bakes odors directly into the fibers of your clothing. If there is any residual smoke oil left on that long sleeve shirt, the dryer will fuse it to the fabric forever. Instead, pull your clothes out of the washer and give them a quick sniff test.

If they pass the test, the absolute best way to dry them is on a clothesline in the sun. Sun drying provides a final layer of odor elimination. If line drying is not an option, use your dryer on the lowest heat setting available, or use the air-fluff cycle. It takes longer, but it protects your gear.

Dealing with Heavy Duty Gear

Not all camping clothes are created equal. A lightweight summer tank top might drop its campfire smell after a quick breeze and a standard wash. A heavy, fleece-lined flannel jacket is a completely different story. Thick materials are essentially sponges for airborne particles.

For your heaviest items, you might need to repeat the soaking process twice. Another great trick for heavy jackets that cannot be washed frequently is the vodka spray trick. Mix cheap, unflavored vodka with water in a one-to-one ratio in a spray bottle. Mist the heavy garment lightly and let it dry outside. As the alcohol evaporates, it pulls the odor molecules away with it. It sounds weird, but wardrobe departments in theaters use this trick all the time to keep costumes fresh.

You can also store heavy camping gear in a sealed plastic bin with an open box of baking soda between trips. This helps pull the residual smells out of the fabric while the gear is waiting for your next weekend getaway.

For Those Who Love It: How to Preserve the Smell a Little Longer

Now, let us talk to the other half of the camping population. Some of us do not want to get campfire smell out of clothes. We like it. It smells like freedom, burnt marshmallows, and a weekend where nobody checked their email. It is nostalgia woven into cotton.

If you have a dedicated camp hoodie that you want to keep smelling like a state park fire ring, you have to protect it from the laundry room entirely. Do not wash it after a simple one-night trip unless you spilled hot dog chili down the front of it. Hang it up in the garage or a mudroom to let the worst of the ash fall off, but keep it out of the washing machine.

When you finally do have to wash it because it has reached the point of no return, wash it on cold with a very mild detergent and air dry it in the shade. It will knock the dirt off but leave just enough of that faint, woody scent to remind you where you belong.

Whether you want your gear smelling like fresh laundry or a roaring fire, the most important thing is that you get back out there. Grab your favorite shirt, buy a bundle of overpriced firewood from the camp host, and go make some clothes smell bad all over again.