Since I had never been on a kayak until October, 2014, you probably don’t find it surprising that I didn’t realize that a frequently used life vest, now called a personal flotation device, can become really stinky.

You might find it surprising that based on the fact that I had never been on a kayak until October, 2014, I now am a partner with my husband in a small paddle sports business called Adventure Mendota.   Can you guess what else we do after you look at this picture?   We tube.

Besides doing tubing, I now love adore kayaking, and I own over 60 life vests.  All 60 go into the river pretty regularly.  On week 7 of our new business, we realized all 60+ had a stinkin’ problem.

Here’s how we fixed that:

Step One:    Mix 1 cup white vinegar  + 1 gallon water  (in our case, we multiplied by 8)

Step Two:    Submerge and swish the life vest around for about a minute

Step Three:  Mix 1/4 cup of a scented laundry detergent such as Gain in about 8 gallons of warm water

Step Four:    Submerge and swish the life vest around for about a minute.   Use a toothbrush on any muddy spots that are still there.

Step Five:     Rinse with hose.

Step Six:        Hang outside until completely dry.    This is my favorite part.

The life vests smelled so nice this evening when we brought them in.    We want to take care of them and use them for as long as we can, so I’m glad this worked so well.

That’s how we do it out in the country!!!