Fooling a deers nose is a top priority for many deer hunters. How we wash and dry our deer hunting clothes will help us be more successful at staying undetected by deer, extend the life our clothing, and keeping them functioning properly. So how do we do that?
When washing hunting clothes, use a scent-free free laundry detergent that doesn’t have UV brighteners in it. Hand-wash the clothing in a plastic storage tote to avoid contaminating them with the scented detergents we use in everyday washing machines. Washing machines can be used to wash hunting clothes if it’s only used for washing clothes with scent-free detergent.
If possible, hang-dry hunting clothes outdoors and away from foreign odors, such as smoke. If hang-drying isn’t an option, put them in a drying machine. Change the settings on the drying machine to “Air Only”, or something similar, so the clothes aren’t exposed to heat.
Lastly, use a dryer ball alternative instead of dryer sheets to remove static. When washing hunting clothes, do not use dryer sheets or fabric softeners of any kind. This includes the unscented dryer sheets that are sold for hunting clothes.
Directions for washing deer hunting clothes
Step 1
Put hunting clothes in a plastic tote or a washing machine that’s only used for hunting clothes, not our normal everyday clothing. Don’t put too many clothes in at once so they can be easily and properly washed. Make sure to zip up any zippers or snap any snaps to prevent damage to the clothing.
Step 2
Fill the tote or washing machine with cool water until the clothes are fully submerged. The water doesn’t have to be freezing cold. Cool water, or water at room temperature, will help the laundry detergent do its job better.
Step 3
Step 4
Wash the clothes
- If using a washing machine…
- Choose a setting on the washing machine that’s appropriate for the size of the load and the type of garments being washed. For example, wash large coats and bibs on heavy-duty and then gloves and base layers on a delicate setting.
- If washing by hand…
- Before getting your hands wet, wear long rubber gloves. Laundry-detergents are known to be skin irritants.
- Use your hands to agitate the clothing and water into a soapy mixture.
Step 5
- If you’re washing by hand…
- Let the clothes sit in the mixture for 30 minutes.
Step 6
- If you’re washing by hand
- Drain the dirty water outside or in a bathtub.
Step 7
Dry the clothes
- If hang-drying…
- Hang drying is the best method for drying hunting clothes to extend the life of the clothing and keep them scent-free. Hang them outside and away from foreign odors like smoke, pets, or vehicle exhaust. Hanging indoors can also work well depending on the foreign odors that the clothes are exposed to. Make sure there is enough air circulation to dry the clothes and use a fan if there isn’t. Let the clothes get completely dry before storing them away.
- If using a drying machine…
- Only use a drying machine if it has a setting on it called “Air only”, or different setting that doesn’t expose the clothes to heat. Did you know that drying machines can harm specific properties within the textiles of the clothes due to heat and fabric softeners (dryer sheets)? Many high-end hunting garments are made with technologies that make them breathable, quick drying, anti-microbial, and so on. Therefore, when drying hunting clothes, we want to avoid using extreme heat and fabric softeners like dryer sheets. Just to be clear, that includes not using scent-free dryer sheets that some companies sell for hunting clothes. Use these dryer balls instead of dryer sheets.
Step 8
Press or ring-out the excess water from your clothes before drying.
Step 9
Store clothes away after they are completely dry. Learn how I store my hunting clothes by reading this article: how to store hunting clothes for deer hunting or long-term storage.
Should deer hunters wash hunting clothes in the same washing machine as normal clothes?
No, hunting clothes should not be washed in the same washing machine that normal clothes get washed in. This assumes that normal clothes get washed with scented laundry detergents and not scent-free laundry detergent.
As deer hunters, we want to wash our hunting clothes in a way that best reduces the odds of deer detecting us. Even though hand-washing clothes requires more work than using a washing machine, it’s usually necessary. Most of us don’t have a 2nd washing machine that’s dedicated just for hunting clothes.
If you don’t have time to hand-wash your clothes, consider if they even need to be washed in the first place. It might be best to just hold off and wash them when you have time to do it correctly. In the meantime, consider hunting with a cover scent like Nose Jammer. (Make sure to read the last section of this article about ozone).
If a hunter decides to proceed with using the same washing machine that normal clothes get washed in, I suggest running the machine through a few cycles with scent-free laundry detergent and a few towels. This will help reduce the odors of the scented laundry detergent.
Should deer hunters dry their hunting clothes in a drying machine?
Deer hunters can use a drying machine to dry hunting clothes if it has a setting on it called “Air Only”, “No heat”, or something similar. Don’t expose hunting clothes to heat or dryer sheets, including the scent-free ones that many companies sell for hunting clothes. Instead, use dryer balls to remove static from the clothes.
The heat from a drying machine, and the dryer sheets themselves, can harm the textiles in the fabric of the clothes. The technologies in hunting clothes that make them breathable, quick drying, water-resistant, anti-microbial, and so on, do not hold up well to dryer sheets, fabric softeners, or high heat.
The best method for drying hunting clothes is to hang them outside. Hanging them outside reduces the likelihood of zippers, snaps, or tears that can happen by using a drying machine. Also, hanging the clothes outside should cut down on the exposure to foreign odors if a good location is chosen.
How often should deer hunters wash their hunting clothes?
At a minimum, deer hunters should wash hunting clothes before the first hunt of the season and before long-term storage at the end of deer season. Besides that, hunting clothes only need to be washed if they get sweaty, dirty, or exposed to foreign odors such as smoke, pets, and gasoline.
During the middle of deer season, I usually only need to wash the clothing that touches my skin and gets sweaty. I rarely wash my outermost layers unless I get them muddy. I’ve adopted a habit of only wearing outmost layers after I parked my truck and during the hunt. When the hunt is over and before I jump back in my truck, I place the outermost layers inside a scent-free bag which is then put inside a plastic tote with a lid.
If I shoot a deer, I have a separate set of clothing that I use for field-dressing and handling the deer. Keeping blood off hunting clothes reduces the number of times they need washed.
Should ozone machines be used to clean hunting clothes?
Deer hunters should avoid using ozone machines on their hunting clothes whenever possible. Even though ozone kills the odors that are caused from bacteria, ozone has its own unique odor. The smell of ozone on clothing is easy to smell by deer and humans. Also, ozone damages rubber. Therefore, it should never be used on rubber boots, elastic shoulder straps, elastic waist bands, gloves with a rubber grip, waste bands with a rubber grip, and so on.
With that being said, I use an ozone bag occasionally for my base layers when I’m away from home on hunting trips. I use the ozone bag just for my base layers most of the time. I will let the sweat or moisture on the clothes get dry before putting them in the ozone bag.
My base layers have an elastic waste band on them so I will put as much of the material inside the bag and zip it up with the waste band hanging outside the band. This helps to block the ozone from reaching the elastic waist band and extends the life of the garment.
Deer can smell the ozone on your clothes but their reaction to that smell can vary. Deer react to ozone like they do with many cover-scent’s like Nose Jammer. Deer may be curious about the smell and cautiously inspect where the smell is coming from, or they may run away from it because it’s unfamiliar to them. A deers response to odors depends on its individual personality and their associations with the smell of those odors.
Conclusion
Following all the advice in this article will help increase your odds of staying hidden from deer. However, there is something else you can do to drastically increase your odds of beating a deer’s nose. You can learn more about that by click this link and reading my article: How to manage your scent to see more deer.