Stinky Clothes No More

In the past, I have been one to let clothes sit in the washing machine a little too long. Then of course the clothes would come out smelling a little mildewy and I'd have to wash them again which of course didn't always help. I came across an article somewhere that gave me a simple "laundry recipe" for getting the smell out. You put in 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1 cup of vinegar into the wash and add your regular detergent and your clothes. I tried it and it worked like a charm! However, much to my chagrin, I think the smell was pemanently embedded in the washing machine itself since the laundry seemed to come out of there stinking even after taking it out immediately to put it in the dryer even after applying this "recipe" and running the machine with bleach water several times.
Then a couple of years ago, we got a new washing machine from Mercedes (she had barely ever used it and it was sitting in storage for quite some time). After this, I vowed to do my best to not let clothes sit in the washing machine anymore. On a rare occasion, it happens, and I just use the baking soda and vinegar. Voila! Fresh again!
Then this weekend, Ty took Aidan and Brogan on an overnight hunting trip to Lahontan, where they built a campfire. They came home reeking of campfire smoke. As I was about to wash these stinking clothes, I thought I should maybe add something else to them to help rid of the smell. Maybe a Tbsp. of bleach? Just enough to get rid of the smell but not ruin the clothes. No. Didn't want to take a chance. So I reached for the Borax and poured some in hoping it would work. Well it didn't. As I was tossing the clothes into the dryer, the smoke smell was still overpowering. So back in the washing machine they go. Trying to think of what I could do, I remembered the "laundry recipe". Not having enough baking soda, I decided to just try the vinegar. It worked! Hurray!
So if you ever have problematic stinky clothes, just remember the "laundry recipe".