What to do to make clothes smell like fabric softener

Not hanging clothes correctly is one of the most common mistakes after washing, and is also one of the main causes of bad smell in clothes. If you do not spread the clothes properly when you take them out of the washing machine, the fabric softener smell will disappear as soon as they are dry and there will be more moisture concentration, causing the clothes to smell bad when they dry.

In addition, it is advisable to hang clothes in drafty places or directly outdoors whenever possible. On the other hand, to enhance the good smell of the fabric softener, it is advisable to place the clothes on the clothesline with space between them, so that they are as spread out as possible. In addition to avoiding wrinkles, you will make the fabric softener smell last longer. Test it!

Moisture is a great enemy of clean clothes. If you have picked up your clothes from the clothesline ahead of time and they are not completely dry, the musty smell in the clothes will be enhanced when you store them in the closet. To prevent this from happening we have a home remedy based on rice.

Place a bowl of uncooked rice inside the cupboard. The rice grains will absorb the moisture that has been impregnated in the clothes and will prevent their odor from appearing. If you like keep the fabric softener smell longer and eliminate humidity, rice can become a great ally.

In addition, rice is also an excellent remedy for eliminate closed smell of the closets. Discover more tricks like this in our article How to remove the closed smell from closets.

Know how to wash clothes by hand and make them smell good? When washing certain items of clothing by hand, such as delicate items or underwear, it is advisable to use your favorite essential oils during the process so that your clothes give off the aromas you like the most. Follow the following steps to make it a success:

1. First, spray the clothes with the essential oil you like the most. To do this, we recommend using a sprayer with water and add a few drops of essential oil. Go for fresh and clean smells, such as flowers or citrus fruits.
2. Afterwards, wash your clothes by hand as usual, using cold water and the specific soap for this purpose.

If you don’t have an essential oil, you can use scented soaps, which will help you perfume your clothes even if you wash them by hand.

Likewise, you can use essential oils to aromatize your entire house. We tell you how in our article How to make an air freshener with essential oils.

To maintain freshness and ensure a long-lasting fabric softener smell, we recommend you take note of this advice. Prepare a water-based mixture and fabric softener in a diffuser and then spray the clothes with it before ironing them, this way you will ensure that the good aroma remains in each garment for longer.

Tip: remember that fabric softener can cause new stains to appear on the garment if used in large quantities. Therefore, we recommend that you spray the clothes from a certain distance, to make it smell much better without staining it.

Clothes should be washed properly so that they retain the fabric softener smell for longer. There are other tips that will help you achieve the perfect wash, taking into account that each garment must be treated with specific care. Take note:

Choose the correct washing program

Choosing the right washing program is the first step to achieving a perfect wash. To do this, you should pay attention both to how dirty the clothes are and also to the type of garment, as there are certain fabrics that require more or less frequent washing, including specific programs or treatments.

If the clothes are very dirty, long washing cycles are recommended to achieve a better rinse. If the clothes do not have many stains, you can choose a shorter program with which you will save energy and achieve a better result for the clothes, preserving the fabric softener smell for longer.

To ensure that you are washing each garment correctly, we recommend:

• Consult the symbols on the clothing label to know the necessary washing conditions. In this article you will see What do laundry symbols mean?.
• Wash underwear, socks, sports clothes, stockings, leggings or cotton t-shirts (garments that tend to retain the bad smell) after each use.
• Avoid washing dirty towels, rags or cloths with the rest of the laundry.

Take out the clothes quickly

Another tip to ensure a good wash is to take out the clothes directly once the programmed cycle has finished. The longer wet clothes spend in the washing machine, the more they will retain their moisture and, therefore, the fabric softener scent will be lost.

The amount of fabric softener we use will also determine the scent it leaves on our clothes. There are people who believe that the more fabric softener or scented detergent you add to the wash, the better the clothes will smell, but could be counterproductive. Adding more than the recommended amount can cause stains due to excess product, so you will have to wash it again.

To make sure you use the correct amount, check the manufacturer’s directions for your fabric softener or detergent. Usually a plug will be enough.

Sometimes, some clothes smell bad and give off a particularly strong odor, such as that of humidity or sweat. If you want to know how to remove musty smell from clothes, these home remedies are perfect for you. The best way to put them into practice is to wash the clothes by hand before doing the common wash with the rest of the clothes in the washing machine.

Water and baking soda

To make the first hand wash more effective, we suggest using a mixture of two parts water and one part baking soda, with which you will be able to neutralize the bad odor. Once you have washed the garment with this mixture, you can include the garment in your next washing machine.

Water and white vinegar

Another good trick before washing the bad-smelling garment in the washing machine is let it soak for a few hours with a mixture of water and white vinegar. White vinegar is a powerful cleaner and odor neutralizer. Another option is to add a capful of vinegar along with the detergent in the wash cycle.

One way to keep your clothes smelling even after a long time in storage is by cleaning closets and drawers frequently. You can perfume them so that they also maintain their good aroma.

Another trick to enhance the smell of fabric softener is to place cotton soaked in fabric softener inside the closet, to ensure that the stored clothes continue to smell good. Failing that, you can put tea bags and infusions, bars of soap or even an unlit aromatic candle between your clothes. You will keep the good smell for longer!

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