How to remove musty smell from clothes: effective methods and detergents

• June 16, 2019
• Country house
• Kristina Degtyareva

Clean, fresh and smelling good - this is how people want their bed linen, clothes and towels to look. Sometimes there are too many things, they lie in closets for a long time, and when the time comes to use a certain item of clothing, it is difficult not to notice its unpleasant musty smell. Surely you have encountered this problem: fresh bed linen, which has been well dried and ironed, does not smell fragrant, but exudes a disgusting aroma. When such a specific aroma appears, housewives try to remove it in a variety of ways - using aggressive household chemicals or gentle folk remedies. However, this is not so easy to do: sometimes the unpleasant aroma gets absorbed into the fabric. What to do in this case? How to remove musty smell from clothes? What means should be used? We'll tell you about all this right now!

Why does there be an unpleasant odor?

Experienced housewives know: when a large amount of clothing accumulates in the house, it is necessary from time to time to take it out of chests of drawers and closets and ventilate it, leaving it in direct sunlight for the whole day or in the fresh air at night. If your items have acquired an unpleasant odor, this may be the result of a variety of problems. The main one is mold spores, which multiply well in closed, stuffy rooms. This not only leads to a disgusting odor, but can even cause allergies, respiratory infections of the nose and throat, and asthma.

Often the cause of an unpleasant odor is insufficient drying. You should know that any washed items can only be put in the closet after they are completely dry. Even a small amount of moisture can provoke the development of dampness and, as a result, mold. Those things that you folded after ironing and immediately placed in the closet also smell unpleasant. Remember: after this procedure, the clothes must be left to cool down, and only then put back in their places.

A nasty odor can appear if you store clean things together with dirty ones. This is especially true if there is sportswear in the same chest of drawers with clean laundry. Sometimes housewives are faced with the fact that they follow absolutely all the instructions for washing, drying and storing things, but a specific smell is still present. Why is this happening? Most likely, experts say, the reason lies in the furniture where you store things. In this case, it is necessary to eliminate the musty smell from the closet with clothes.

Proper storage and aromatization of things

The best way to deal with odors is to prevent them from occurring. To do this you need to follow the rules:

1. Observe the washing mode and drying conditions.
2. Store jackets and other seasonal items well dried.
3. Ventilate and dry things periodically.
4. Immediately remove stains from strong smelling substances.
5. Do not store smelly items in the same closet with clean clothes.
6. Soak smelly clothes separately from other wardrobe items.
7. Keep fragrances and odor absorbers in your closet.

Eliminating odor at home: table vinegar

Thinking about how to remove musty smell from clothes? Experts say: it is absolutely not necessary to spend money on expensive cleaners and fresheners or purchase special laundry products. Sometimes you can get rid of an unpleasant odor using the simplest means that you can find in the kitchen. For example, table vinegar is such a remedy.

How to get rid of musty smell from clothes using this product? It is necessary to combine 9% vinegar with water: 3 parts water will require 1 part vinegar. Then the composition must be poured into a spray bottle and carefully applied to clothing. The item of clothing should be left for 10-20 minutes, then washed thoroughly using baby laundry detergent or laundry soap. You will see - you will forget about unpleasant odors.

Dry cleaning

Not all items can be washed or wet cleaned. For jackets, coats and fur items, dry cleaning only is permitted. Then, to remove the smell, the clothes are dry cleaned. If this is not possible, the procedure is performed independently.

It’s easier to do this with special household chemicals. For this, preparations that do not require subsequent rinsing are suitable. According to the instructions, prepare a solution and apply it to clothes from a spray bottle. Then hang the item in the sun to dry. If the smell does not go away completely the first time, repeat the treatment.

Baking soda

Another fairly inexpensive but effective home remedy to get rid of the problem is baking soda. It can be used both for washing and as a dry cleaner. In the first case, one glass of soda must be added when washing - as a result, you will get clean laundry without any foreign odors.

If you do not want to wash your clothes or the clothes can only be processed using dry cleaning, place them on a clean hard surface, sprinkle everything thoroughly with soda, after a few minutes turn the product over and sprinkle it on the other side. It is recommended to keep baking soda on clothes for at least 12 hours. After this, you just have to take the item outside and shake it out thoroughly. In order to completely remove any remaining baking soda, you can use a brush with soft bristles. Do not rush to put the item in the closet; let it dry thoroughly throughout the day.

Animals

Pets are not always well-groomed and washed. Having visited the toilet, a cat or dog immediately runs into the owner’s arms. Accordingly, things begin to smell like urine, or even worse, animal feces.

How to remove the smell of cat or dog urine? It is easy to get rid of this smell from clothes. There are many methods used at home.

Effective methods:

1. To remove unpleasant odors, rinse things in a large amount of water, then add hydrogen peroxide, citric acid and vinegar essence. Many housewives use a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
2. Bed linen, bedspreads or wardrobe items are washed with powders containing enzymes and adding apple cider vinegar to water.

If you can’t remove the smell with improvised means, professional cleaners will help. Quickly removes cat odor Dezosan, Odorgon, Monclavit-1, Zoosan, Urine Off, Nodor, Mr. spray. Fresh.

When removing odors from a cat, you should not use chlorine-containing products. Chlorine does not erode well and has a negative impact on health.

Hydrogen peroxide

How to remove musty smell from clothes? Experts recommend using a product such as hydrogen peroxide. It will remove any odors of organic origin: the smell of dampness, sweat and fungus. Peroxide also helps to deal with old stains left on clothes from juice, blood and grass. To prepare a detergent for washing clothes, you will need a liter of water and 100 milliliters of hydrogen peroxide. If you need to clean cotton products, the peroxide does not need to be diluted. It should be noted that you can soak the fabric in this composition for no more than 15 minutes.

Salt

Table salt is simply irreplaceable if you need to remove unpleasant odors from clothes. There are several ways to use it:

1. You can simply wet the cloth and rub it generously with salt. After half an hour, you should wash your clothes, after soaking them in any washing gel.
2. Another way is to combine three tablespoons of salt with a liter of water. After complete dissolution, you need to soak your clothes in the composition and leave them for half an hour.

Ammonia

Let us warn you right away: this product can only be used in well-ventilated areas or outdoors. The thing is that ammonia has a toxic odor, which is quite dangerous for the lungs. You can wash items with ammonia in a washing machine or by hand (although you will need strong gloves for this). The second time the products will need to be washed with washing powder or washing gel. Please note: it is strictly forbidden to use this component together with any bleaching products. If you feel dizzy while working with it, immediately stop the washing process and call an ambulance!

Reasons for appearance

Several factors influence the appearance of a musty smell from clothes. Possible reasons why something starts to smell unpleasant:

• storing under-dried and damp things after a walk in the closet;
• no ironing;
• high indoor humidity;
• the presence of dirty things on the shelves;
• presence of debris in the pocket;
• low-quality furniture;
• ticks and other parasites;
• long-term storage of clothes without periodic sorting;
• presence of pets;
• smoking at home or the smell of tobacco from things.

With proper care of textiles, regular washing, thorough drying and the absence of external factors in the room, the likelihood of a musty smell is minimal.

Why do clothes smell bad?

The main reason why things smell musty is due to mold spores. This usually happens when clothes remain wet for a long time. For example, laundry was forgotten in the washing machine or was not dried well enough before ending up in the closet. There are other causes of unpleasant odor:

• Linen sent to the closet immediately after ironing often begins to smell unpleasant. To prevent this, the item must cool completely in its straightened form, only then can it be put back in place.
• Storing clean and dirty laundry together causes fresh items to acquire an unpleasant smell from worn clothing.
• Keeping it in the cupboard for too long also causes an unpleasant odor. If the owner rarely or does not wear certain clothes at all, it is necessary to let them air out from time to time.

Boiling

If you smell old clothes or mold, don't rush to throw away your wardrobe items, try boiling them. True, this method is only suitable for durable fabrics; clothes made of delicate materials will not tolerate such a procedure. To boil things, you will need a large pot to boil water in. It will need to be poured into a basin, all the wardrobe items or textiles that need to be processed should be placed in it and left for 5 minutes. After this, things must be washed and dried thoroughly.

How to remove second hand smell from clothes

Often people refuse to buy and wear second-hand clothes. The reason for this is the unpleasant odor that, for some reason, is inherent in used items. Experts explain: this pungent aroma is a kind of sign of quality; it appears after fabrics are treated with potent substances, such as formaldehyde or metal bromide. This is necessary for sanitary treatment, which can be used to eliminate fungi, various bacteria and insects that cause diseases.

True, this also has a negative side: the chemical smell is quite unpleasant. If you purchased such an item, treat it with two simple ingredients - ammonia and fresh air. The amount of alcohol is determined by the size of the item. So, to treat a T-shirt, skirt and other small items of clothing, you will need five liters of water and 20 milliliters of ammonia, but if these are large items, you will need 10 liters of water and 100 milliliters of ammonia. It is necessary to soak things from half an hour to 4 hours - this depends on the size of the product and the density of the material from which it is made. After treatment, the clothes should be thoroughly wrung out and kept in the fresh air for a couple of days, and then the items should be washed in a washing machine using powder and conditioner.

If none of the above methods help you get rid of disgusting odors, take your clothes to a dry cleaner - where specialists will use quite powerful chemicals that can effectively get rid of the musty smell. If you don't want your clothes to be treated with harsh chemicals, look for dry cleaners that offer to clean clothes with liquid carbon dioxide.

Eliminate smell from closet

We should also talk about how to eliminate the musty smell from a dresser or closet. First, the furniture must be washed with detergent and dried thoroughly. After this, the following items can be placed on the shelves:

1. A bar of soap. It should be wrapped in a thin cloth and then placed on a shelf or in a drawer. There will be no trace of unpleasant odors left, and your items will acquire a delicate aroma.
2. Herbs in bags. Natural fabric bags filled with aromatic herbs will also help eliminate unpleasant odors from your closet. Instead of herbs, you can use citrus zest or baking soda with a few drops of essential oil.
3. Natural coffe. To make this closet air freshener, take a small jar, fill it with coffee beans and place it on the lowest shelf.

Should you use store-bought air fresheners?

Of course, you can buy special air fresheners in the supermarket that are designed to absorb unpleasant odors. Sometimes such remedies are a real salvation. But remember that most often air fresheners have their own scent, and therefore can interrupt the aroma of your perfume. In addition, some substances present in the product cause allergic reactions upon contact with the skin.

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Preventive measures

In order to prevent mold from appearing in the closet, experts recommend taking a jar with a narrow neck, pouring a small amount of iodine into it and placing a ball of cotton wool on top. Another good tip is to listen carefully to your clean laundry. Better than all other means, fresh wind and sun rays fight dampness and mustiness. In addition, it is recommended to regularly ventilate all closets and chests of drawers, and at least once a season it is worth carrying out general cleaning and sorting out the laundry.

Separately, it is worth mentioning how often you need to wash clothes. So, underwear needs to be washed daily, casual clothes can be washed once every two days, holiday clothes - after each wear. Home clothes can be changed daily, every other day or once every 4-5 days: the time depends on how much a person sweats during the day. Those things that you wear outside need to be washed at least once a week.