Need help with years of smell issue
Hello everyone, I am new to reddit and to this sub, so please bear with me.
I have been having issues with a weird smell coming from my shirts for YEARS now. It started in 2020 during COVID lockdown where my t-shirts started getting this weird smell. Over the years, I have tried hard to describe the smell; it is elusive. It smells musty, and mildewy, but mostly burnt (?). I, naturally, have tried many remedies. I have used different detergents, have moved 3 times (not for laundry reasons), have soaked the clothes in vinegar, have cleaned out my washing machine, have rewashed, have air dried, etc. Nothing has worked. The only time the smell didn't occur in newly bought clothes was when I was living in a building for one-year that had coin laundry and the industrial machine/landlord provided detergent kept the smell at bay. This smell only takes hold in my shirts, especially t-shirts. If the smell sometimes starts in a long sleeve shirt, or in a pant, usually rewashing and air drying will get rid of the issue. But not in t-shirts. No matter how many times I wash or whatever method I use, right out of the machine it keeps that smell or will develop the smell while drying. I am at my wits end. I have lost all my t-shirts to this plague. I have a whole laundry basket filled with just these unusable shirts that I hope to one day recover. I have read lots of posts and watched tiktok videos and god knows what else to fix this problem, to no avail. Back when this problem first started in lockdown, and now, I am living with my family. We all use the same washer/dryer, the same detergents, but I am the only person who experiences this issue. Additionally, when this problem first started, I had some breathing issues that would require me to use a humidifier in my room at night, which I have not used in years; I thought that might be causing the problem but apparently not. I thought it was a hygiene issue but I genuinely shower every day, change my bedsheets biweekly, regularly sanitize, air out my closet, and have used baking soda for deodorizing and dehumidifying.
Currently, I am using the Purex ultra concentrated cold water detergent, Downy Unstoppable Scent Booster, Tide Pods, and Kirkland ultra soft dryer sheets. But as I mentioned above, I have used many different detergent combinations. I always wash with cold water.
This is the last straw. I am willing to do what needs to be done to finally bring this agony to an end. So many vintage and sentimental shirts have been lost to this. I beg for help.