Figs scrubs smell bad primarily because they’re made from synthetic fabric that traps oil-based odor compounds from sweat and resists releasing them in the wash. The problem isn’t unique to Figs, but their specific polyester-heavy blend makes them particularly prone to developing a persistent, unpleasant smell that many wearers describe as metallic, sulfuric, or like wet dog.
What the Fabric Is Made Of
Figs uses a proprietary blend called FIONx, which is 72% polyester, 21% rayon, and 7% spandex. That high polyester content is what gives the scrubs their stretchy, moisture-wicking, wrinkle-resistant feel. It’s also the main reason they develop odor problems.
The fabric does include Silvadur antimicrobial technology, which is designed to inhibit bacteria growth and provide odor protection. In practice, though, many wearers report that whatever benefit this treatment provides fades over time or simply can’t keep up with the odor-trapping tendencies of the polyester itself.
Why Polyester Holds Onto Smells
Polyester is oleophilic, meaning it attracts and absorbs oils rather than water. Your sweat contains both water and oily compounds. Cotton and other plant-based fibers soak up the watery portion and let much of the rest rinse away. Polyester does the opposite: it repels the water but pulls in the oily, odor-causing compounds and locks them into the fiber structure. Research from the University of Alberta confirmed that polyester absorbs more of these odorants specifically because they don’t dissolve in water.
Here’s the counterintuitive part: polyester doesn’t actually harbor more bacteria than cotton. A study published in the Textile Research Journal found that bacterial counts after one day of wear were similar across all fabric types, and bacteria actually declined faster on polyester than on cotton or wool over the following weeks. The smell isn’t about living bacteria multiplying in your scrubs. It’s about oily odor molecules physically binding to synthetic fibers and refusing to let go. That same study rated polyester fabrics at an average odor intensity of 71.8 on a 100-point scale, compared to 33.8 for cotton and 24.4 for wool.
What the Smell Actually Is
Wearers describe two distinct smell problems with Figs scrubs. The first is a “new garment” chemical odor right out of the package, which some people notice lingers even after initial washing. This likely comes from dyes, finishing chemicals, and residues from manufacturing.
The second, more common complaint is a smell that develops after repeated wear and washing. People describe it as metallic (“like coins held in your hand”), sulfuric, or biological (“wet dog,” “musty basement”). The pattern is remarkably consistent across reports: the scrubs smell fine coming out of the dryer, then develop a foul odor within a day or two of hanging in a closet. Any exposure to moisture, even a small water spill or light sweating, reactivates the smell immediately.
That reactivation is the hallmark of oil-trapped odor compounds. They sit dormant in the dry fabric and release volatile molecules again when moisture or heat is introduced. It’s why the scrubs can seem clean and then suddenly stink the moment you start your shift.
Why Cold Water Washing Makes It Worse
Figs recommends washing scrubs in cold water and tumble drying on low heat. This is good advice for preserving the fabric’s stretch, color, and antimicrobial treatment. It’s bad advice for removing oily odor compounds, which dissolve and release more readily in warm or hot water. Cold water simply doesn’t have the energy to break the bond between those oil-based odorants and the polyester fibers, so each wash cycle removes less odor than it should. Over time, the buildup compounds.
How to Reduce the Smell
You don’t need a specialized detergent. What you need is a pre-treatment that breaks down the trapped oils before your regular wash cycle.
- Vinegar soak: Fill a basin halfway with warm water and add one cup of white vinegar. Soak the scrubs for at least an hour before washing. Vinegar is acidic enough to break down bacteria and loosen oil-bound odor molecules from synthetic fibers.
- Baking soda treatment: Add baking soda directly to the wash water to neutralize odors deep in the fabric. For stubborn areas like the underarms, mix baking soda with water into a paste, rub it into the fabric, and let it sit for at least 15 minutes (overnight is better). Test a small area first to make sure it doesn’t affect the color.
- Warmer water: Washing in warm rather than cold water will release more trapped oils per cycle. This may slightly reduce the fabric’s lifespan, but it makes a meaningful difference in odor removal. Avoid hot water, which can damage the spandex.
- Turn them inside out: Figs does recommend this, and it matters. The inside surface is where sweat oils concentrate, so exposing that side directly to water and detergent gives your wash cycle the best chance of reaching the problem.
If you’ve had the scrubs for months and the smell has built up significantly, you may need to repeat the vinegar soak two or three times before a normal wash cycle can maintain them. Some wearers find that once the odor is deeply embedded, no amount of washing fully eliminates it.
The Tradeoff With Synthetic Scrubs
Figs scrubs are popular for real reasons. The polyester-spandex blend is lightweight, stretchy, dries fast, and holds its shape through long shifts. Cotton scrubs absorb more liquid (including blood and other fluids), wrinkle easily, and feel heavier by the end of a 12-hour day. The odor problem is the cost of those performance benefits. Every polyester-dominant athletic or medical garment shares this tendency to some degree. Figs just happens to be the brand worn by enough healthcare workers that the pattern became widely discussed.
If you’ve tried the cleaning methods above and still can’t tolerate the smell, switching to scrubs with a higher cotton or rayon percentage will reduce the problem. You’ll trade some of the stretch and moisture-wicking performance, but cotton-blend scrubs score roughly half the odor intensity of polyester-dominant fabrics after equivalent wear.