Winter coats go through a lot of wear and tear when we need them most during brutal winter temperatures. With winter weather not letting up anytime soon, they’ll continue to play an important role in the coming months for those of us living in cold climates.
By midwinter, your winter coat may start to smell a bit… dank. But washing winter coats can be cumbersome and time-consuming.
Thankfully, a quick and easy solution can be found in your liquor cabinet, according to Patric Richardson, also known as “The Laundry Evangelist.” Richardson shared the brilliant laundry hack on Instagram, showing his followers how to refresh winter coats without putting them in the washer.
How to refresh your winter coat
According to Richardson, you only need two simple items: a spray bottle and vodka. In the video, he explains that this winter he had to pull his parka out from the depths of his closet due to freezing temperatures and noticed that it smelled.
“I haven’t worn it in like two years, and it smelled like the closet,” he said. “It had that musty, sort of house smell, and I didn’t have time to wash it.”
What he did instead? He sprayed it with vodka.
“Spray it, spray it, spray it,” he said. “You need to mist all over it. Let it sit for five or 10 minutes. Let it dry. And you’re good to go. If you get pulled over by the cops, you’re totally fine because vodka is odorless and colorless.”
He also recommends spraying vodka on other types of coats, like dress coats.
One viewer asked Richardson whether 70% alcohol, such as isopropyl alcohol, could be used instead. But it’s a no-go. “It will leave an odor,” he explained. “The denaturing process gives it a residual scent.”
Richardson also noted that spraying vodka on wool coats is totally safe and can help remove heavy scents from cooking or spices.
“Fill a spray bottle with the stuff and use it to remove odors from clothes that are stinky but not dirty. No washing required!” he shared in a previous Instagram post.
Vodka removes strong odors from your winter coat because it’s antibacterial, thanks to its alcohol content. In the United States, vodka must be at least 40% alcohol by volume (ABV), which helps neutralize the funky-smelling bacteria your coat may be harboring.
In an interview with Apartment Therapy, Richardson said that vodka can be sprayed on practically any clothing to remove unwanted scents:
“There’s this wonderful costumer that comes to my store, and she always wants to give me a hug, and when she leaves I smell like [perfume]. I go in the stock room and have one of my sales people spray me with vodka to take that away. … You can spray your gym bag with vodka; if you go to your favorite restaurant and you leave [smelling like food], you can spray that with vodka; If you stand next to a smoker, you can spray that with vodka.”
