I lost most of my prep stuff in the Midwest floods this summer. One thing I tried to salvage was my stuff sacks. These were exposed to flood water as well as sewage back up.

A couple of nights ago, I tried washing them per manufacturer's instructions, but after washing and drying they still smell like flood water.

These are mostly Granite Gear stuff sacks and Granite Gear Ultra Light stuff sacks.

Any suggestions for getting rid of the smell? Is it even possible?

I also had a couple of AMK Heatsheet Bivys and Heatsheets that were in the flood. Any hope for them?

Contact a crime scene cleaning company and see if they have any non-destructive methods. If that doesn't work trash'em

My wife just reminded me of a product made for cleaning wet suits and PFDs we have used in the past for hockey equipment. It was a biological soap that we soaked the gear in and it "ate" the funk. Cannot remember anymore, check a dive shop.

I don't know what this will do to your stuff...

But I've heard lemon is a wonderful cleaning and deodorizing agent.

sterilising fluid gets rid of all odours, not sure it's called that in the US, but it,s what mothers clean baby stuff with.

the sock

Sewage back up? For the cost of new sacks I think I'd just toss my old ones.

I'm not about to guarantee it would work, but I have become a big fan of oxygen bleach. In the past couple weeks, I have been rebuilding a fence that was rotted. The fence was built to reduce road noise and it built next to a wall, so the two function as one. The prior property owners used the fron of the wall as the site for their compost pile, mostly from grass clippings. The pile is a big dark, dirty, stinky mess. I walk through it and pull myself up on the wall, and then need to work on the wall both sitting and kneeling on it. My clothes have been covered with some dark and stinky stuff. A couple scoops of oxygen bleach and hot water in the washing machine does a good job. Try it.

Put a little ammonia in the wash water, or just soak them in an ammonia solution for a while, then wash them...

Try soaking the items in a baking soda solution for few days and then rinse real well. If they still smell, try the baking soda solution again. Make sure you rinse and dry real well. If they still smell, the only thing I can think of, which might work, is a weak chlorine bleach solution, make sure you rinse well.

Pete

Just don't use the ammonia and the chlorine together. You won't like the side effects of the gas that comes off.

Nature's Miracle

Pet stores.

Has to be clean of all soaps etc. first or it will kill the
active enzymes.