I just picked up a fleece sleeping bag liner, and it has that "military surpus storage" smell to it. It's got some international symbols on the tag (it's form Switzerland) but I can't make heads or tails of some of them.

One is a bucket of water with "40*" in it. I'm guessing that's washing instructions, but is that *F or *C?

One is a triangle with an X through it. No clue

One looks like an old flat iron

One is a circle with a P in it. I can using for parking?

One is a square with a circle in that with a dot in that. No clue

Can this go in a regular washer and dryer?

Bucket of water with "40°" in it:
>Use cold water. (I believe the temp they indicate is C, which is about 110°F, which isn't much more than tepid, so just use cold.)

Triangle with an X through it:
>Do not use bleach.

Looks like an old flat iron
>Fleece is plastic, heat melts plastic, so I wouldn't iron it. If the flatiron has one dot in it, it means you can iron with low temp CAREFULLY.

Circle with a P in it:
> Dry clean with solvents other than Trichloroethylene.

Square with a circle in that with a dot in that:
Dry on low heat for just a short time (10 min. probably more than enough), but since fleece tends to pill in the dryer, I would hang it to dry if I could. Even hanging to dry, it dries quickly.

Washing with some baking soda added to the detergent might help the odor, too.

Sue

Thanks Sue, you're the best.

I wash my fleece in cold water, on gentle and hang dry. You can try Woolite or a some scented shampoo added to the washer to get rid of the smell.

Dave

I use warm wash/cold rinse cycle on the gentle cycle, light on the detergent, and NO softener. You might want to check to confirm that your washer's definition of warm water isn't too hot. Mine tends to be fairly cool, but not cold. Shower-type warmth shouldn't hurt it.

NEVER put fleece in a hot drier, it will never be the same. I just pull it out of the washing machine and hang it to dry. If it is real big (like a sleeping bag liner or blanket) then drape it over some water-resistant chairs or similar so the weight of the wet itme doesn't stretch or damage it.

Results:
I used cold wash with just a touch of warm to get the detergent (Wisk) to suds, then cold rinse. Dried it over a 4' high drying rack. Came out perfect, good and fluffy and no smell. Thanks everyone.

*sigh* Don't you just love a good laundry story with a happy ending? <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I always just put mine in the regular washing machine with my other stuff and then drip dry it (no dryer), haven't had any problems. It dries fast.