YOKUU BLOG

ASK JORIS: WHAT DO THE BACTERIA IN THE LAUNDRY PRODUCTS ACTUALLY DO AGAINST ODOURS?

Last Friday, during our first ever Ask YOKUU on Instagram, someone asked:
“What do the bacteria in the laundry strips actually do for odour?”

To answer that, we need to start with sweat.

Sweat doesn’t smell. Bacteria do.

Fresh sweat is odourless.

But certain bacteria - like Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium - break sweat down into smelly compounds (like isovaleric acid, which smells like old cheese).

Some people carry more of these bacteria than others, which can lead to stronger body odour. And when you wear clothes, especially in areas like the armpits, those bacteria transfer into your textiles.

Over time, they settle in. That’s when permastink happens: odours that stick to your clothes and don’t come out, even after washing.

Why it’s so hard to wash out

When bacteria feel threatened (by heat, disinfectants, or chemical cleaners) they defend themselves by forming a biofilm: a protective sugar layer that shields them from attack.

Once they’ve built that film on your textiles, they’re incredibly hard to remove. Classic laundry products often don’t reach them - especially now that most people wash at 30 to 40°C, where bacteria can still thrive.

How YOKUU solves it

YOKUU’s probiotic laundry sheets contain good bacteria selected specifically to:

  • Break down biofilm
  • Degrade smelly compounds
  • Build up a healthy microbe layer on your textiles

We’ve tested this over multiple washes, and here’s what we saw:

  • Our good bacteria increased on the fabric over time.
  • We observed a reduction in biofilm, which helps prevent odour build-up.
  • And the smell disappeared - from both the clothes and the machine.

We’re continuing to study this further with microbiological testing and mass spectrometry - a method that can detect specific odour molecules.

TL;DR?

If your clothes smell even after washing, permastink is probably to blame.

YOKUU’s probiotic laundry sheets are designed to fix exactly that.

Discover more

  • Why you sneeze more in spring... and why cleaning with chemicals barely helps

    Why you sneeze more in spring... and why cleani...

    You vacuumed. You washed the sheets. You took your allergy pill. And you're STILL waking up with a stuffed nose and itchy eyes! Here's the thing: most of those things...

    Why you sneeze more in spring... and why cleani...

    You vacuumed. You washed the sheets. You took your allergy pill. And you're STILL waking up with a stuffed nose and itchy eyes! Here's the thing: most of those things...

  • The YOKUU Manifesto

    The YOKUU Manifesto

    We believe modern society has got it wrong. Somewhere along the way, we started scrubbing, spraying and sterilizing the life out of our homes. We declared the war on bacteria,...

    The YOKUU Manifesto

    We believe modern society has got it wrong. Somewhere along the way, we started scrubbing, spraying and sterilizing the life out of our homes. We declared the war on bacteria,...

  • Open Letter: Stop the Misleading “Kills 99.9%” Marketing Claim for Household Cleaning Products

    Open Letter: Stop the Misleading “Kills 99.9%” ...

    Dear regulators, policymakers, and responsible authorities, In 2024, the Poison Control Centres of Belgium and the Netherlands registered a combined total of 7,718 incidents concerning household cleaning products. Additionally, there...

    Open Letter: Stop the Misleading “Kills 99.9%” ...

    Dear regulators, policymakers, and responsible authorities, In 2024, the Poison Control Centres of Belgium and the Netherlands registered a combined total of 7,718 incidents concerning household cleaning products. Additionally, there...

1 3