Hunting Wives: Don’t Mess With the Scent-Free Process

If your hubby is a hunter, most likely your deck is littered with camo clothing and gear just before the season kicks off. You know it’s all about being scent-free … so much so that you don’t even dare give him a good-bye kiss while wearing raspberry lip balm before he heads into the woods.

But if you’re new to being a hunting wife, you might be scratching your head right about now.

Well, let me assure you … you’re not the only one whose house looks like it got TP’d by RealTree.

Let us enlighten you on the all-important scent elimination process … and lay some ground rules!

The hanging of hunting clothes outside is to make them as scent-free as possible (or at least rid them of any human scent). But what you may not realize is that there are several more steps that take place before they’re hung outside.

First, the clothes have to be washed and dried, but even before that happens, the washing machine must go through a cleansing cycle. This means you run an empty load—with no clothes—as a rinse before the scent-elimination cycle can begin.

Then it’s time for the actual washing and drying.

But the clothes must be washed using only a special kind of scent-free soap. Then they’re dried using only a scent-killing or earth-scented dryer sheet. This is very important, so don’t skim past this too quickly! 

Never—ever—should regular laundry detergent or dryer sheets be used here. If so, it’s quite possible that those garments will be banned from hunting … forever. Even if you wash them again and can no longer smell the fresh linen scent, your husband will be convinced the deer still can. You might as well get rid of those hunting clothes. They’re useless now.

So, given the washing and drying cycles go well, it’s only then that they’re hung outside to air out as an additional scent-eliminating measure.

And if you think the clothes hanging outside will be there for just a day or so, think again!

This is their permanent home until they’re worn for hunting OR packed away in an airtight plastic container or scent-trapping bag. It’s quite possible they’ll be moved into a designated incubation location with an ozone generator to reduce the presence of airborne contaminants.

Seriously … when it comes to being scent-free, our hunters don’t mess around!

Now, you might be thinking that with the clothes hanging outside for so long, you might get some strange looks from the neighbors. True, but I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Because once they see a deer strung up from a tree in your backyard, the clothes strung out on the porch will be the least of their worries. Trust me.

So, forget the neighbors, and let’s get back to talking about the clothes. Because I haven’t mentioned the most important rule of the scent-elimination process…

Do not mess with these clothes!

Don’t move them. Don’t touch them. Don’t sneeze on them. Don’t even get close enough that the molecules from your strawberries and cream scented shampoo might waft through the air and fall upon one of the items.

If the clothes have been compromised, the process has to start all over again! 

Frustrated hubby. Frustrated you. It’s just not worth it!

But there is one exception for touching the clothes … just one.

If a thunderstorm rolls in while your hubby isn’t home, go grab the clothes before they’re lost to the wind. By all means, save the clothes! 

If you knew how much they cost, you wouldn’t hesitate! 

Now, I realize it may be a really big thunderstorm rolling in—perhaps tornadic in nature—but it would be ideal to find a stick in the yard that you could use to transport them hands-free. So, just keep that in mind.

But if you don’t have time, do what you have to do and grab the clothes with your bare hands. Confess to your husband what you’ve done, and he will forgive you. Just make sure the washer and dryer are available that night for further decontamination.

And take my advice on this one: If his boots are out there with the clothes, save those first! 

There’s nothing worse than cold, wet feet during a hunt, so even if you can’t grab everything, be sure to grab those boots! Not only will he forgive you for touching them, you’ll be a hero! You might even score some bonus points as the best hunting wife ever.

Here’s to a happy (and always adventurous) hunting season!

Can you relate? Let’s hear it! What do you do to help keep your hunting hubby’s gear scent-free?

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Shared By: Jackie Bednara

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