How to remove musty smell from clothes
The musty smell of clothing is very unpleasant, since even if the garment is clean it will always feel dirty. And, believe it or not, this is a very common problem, for example, it usually occurs when you change your wardrobe or when you take clothes out of the washing machine.
If you have found yourself in these or other situations in which your clothes have become damp and smell bad, pay attention to the following article. Below, we give you some tips so you can learn how to remove musty smell from clothes quickly and easily. Take note!
You may also be interested in: How to remove musty smell from towels?
Topics Covered in This Article
Dry clothes in the sun
Drying clothes in the sun after washing them is the first tip to keep in mind so that moisture does not remain in the fabrics. As soon as the washing cycle is over and with the clean clothes still damp, it will be time to remove them quickly , since if they remain inside the drum for a long time they can become impregnated with a musty smell that is difficult to eliminate.
Therefore, the best measure to ensure that the clothes do not smell musty is to hang them directly when the washing program ends and if it is in airy or ventilated areas, outdoors or in the sun, much better, since this way they will dry naturally. . Of course, before picking them up from the clothesline, make sure that the clothes are completely dry, since if you keep them still wet in the closet the smell will be enhanced.
Avoid humidity
Preventing clothing from gaining moisture before, during and after washing is essential if you do not want its bad smell to remain in your clothes. By removing moisture from the clothing, you can prevent it from settling in the fabric and giving off bad odors.
However, if a garment becomes damp, you should wash it immediately or leave it in the sun to air it properly. Remember that the use of dryers can cause bad odor, so always choose to hang it outdoors immediately.
Eliminate moisture in cabinets and drawers
The musty smell of clothes may come from having the clothes locked in closets or drawers for a long period of time. Although washing them could help eliminate the bad smell, we also recommend keeping the closets and drawers ventilated and well ventilated to prevent moisture from settling back into your clothes, thus giving off a bad smell. In this article we tell you some tips on How to remove the closed smell from closets.
Now, in addition to properly cleaning drawers and cabinets, dehumidifying boxes that absorb ambient humidity, redirecting it to a container and preventing it from penetrating the fabrics, can be useful. You can install one inside your closet.
Another effective trick is to place absorbent bags with coarse salt inside the drawers or closet , inside some mesh bags or old socks. The salt will be responsible for eliminating moisture and keeping the clothes free of their bad odor. Anyway, we leave you this other post with more tricks to make the drawers smell good.
Wash clothes with baking soda
Sometimes clothes smell musty after having been left in the washing machine for too long before hanging them. If that is your case, the solution is to wash it again but this time replacing your usual detergent with a cup of baking soda .
Here we leave you this article so you know How to use baking soda to remove bad smell from clothes . If you are trying to wash a few clothes again, a teaspoon mixed with the detergent will suffice . Baking soda is an ideal product to eliminate bad odors, since it has neutralizing properties.
Wash clothes with vinegar
If you have already put into practice the previous tips on how to remove the musty smell from clothes and it has not worked, you can try washing the garment again using a natural cleaner: vinegar, preferably white or apple wine. You can add a cup of vinegar to the wash or soak the garment in a mixture of water and vinegar in the shower, which you should rinse after a few minutes.
Do not worry about the smell of vinegar impregnating your clothes, since, although it is a strong smell, it will disappear during washing. If you want to increase the effectiveness of the trick and increase the neutralizing power of the bad smell of vinegar, you can also add a glass of lemon juice to eliminate the musty smell of your clothes.
Finally, remember that it is very important to let the clothes dry in the open air so that they can air properly and permanently eliminate the bad smell of humidity.
Soak clothes
Another way to eliminate the musty smell from clothes is, although it may seem contradictory, if it does not disappear from your clothes after airing them, soak the clothes with some soap with a pleasant fragrance. In this way, you will be able to hang your clothes again, after having rinsed them, having put an end to the bad smell left by humidity. Fast and easy!
Use fabric softener
Another good trick to get rid of the bad smell of humidity in your clothes is to use fabric softener with a pleasant fragrance . Above all, in cases where you can wash clothes on a short cycle, fabric softener may be just enough to get rid of the musty smell. Test it!
In this article we tell you what to do to make clothes smell like fabric softener if you need help so that the smell of the product remains on the clothes after washing.
Use tea tree oil
Another way to remove musty smell from unwashed clothes is to steam the clothes. What we recommend to get rid of that bad smell is to do a steam bath on the garment accompanied by a fragrance that helps eliminate that stench, such as tea tree oil.
It is an essential oil from the distillation of this tree and is effective in eliminating musty odors given its antiseptic and antibacterial properties . Just a few drops of tea tree oil on the water that you will spray on the garment will be enough to say goodbye to the musty smell.
Use vodka to eliminate bad odor
Sometimes, the smell of humidity does not affect the entire garment or there are only a few garments that have been impregnated by this bad odor. If this is your case, perhaps from now on vodka will not only be used to prepare cocktails, but will also become an ally in removing the musty smell from your clothes.
The trick is simple: soak a clean cloth with vodka and rub the garment, paying special attention to the area where the most musty smell has concentrated (especially if it is areas such as cuffs, collars or areas with elastics or gathers). ) and you will see how the bad smell disappears in a few moments.
Apply cold to dispel the musty smell
Did you know that cold is effective in dispelling bad odor? How do you hear it! So if your problems with moisture odor in clothes are not over yet and it is a mild odor, you can try the following tricks:
- Use the freezer to eliminate the bad smell. Placing the clothes in a plastic bag and placing them in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes will eliminate the musty smell.
- Use ice water to wash clothes if the smell is not excessively strong. Works!
You may want to know more tips to remove musty smell from clothes. To do this, we leave you the following articles on
- How to remove musty smell from towels
- How to remove musty smell from shoes
- How to remove musty smell from a coat
If you want to read similar articles to How to Remove Musty Smells from Clothes , we recommend that you visit our Home Cleaning category .
