Why clothes smell musty

Damp smell in the wardrobe? Take everything out of the wardrobe. Grab a torch if necessary and give your wardrobe a thorough search for potential sources of the smell. If you find mould, tackle it with a mould cleaner suitable for whatever your wardrobe is made of. If you find a pet urine stain, there are commercial pet urine neutralisers that can help. Leave the doors completely open and the wardrobe empty for a couple of days. When body oils, grime, and dirt build up, they causes fabrics to release odors when exposed to moisture.

This is especially true when it comes to fabrics like towels. But, you can get rid of these smells altogether with some laundry know-how. Before washing, add Downy to the drum for odor protection according to the size of your load. Remember to pour Downy directly into the drum, and not in the liquid dispenser or the dryer. For impossible odors, try Tide One Wash Miracle , formulated with innovative deep cleaning technology. Fortunately, odors in towels and clothes can be eliminated or avoided when you follow our tips above on how to get rid of musty smells.

Downy is especially good for preventing and removing off-putting odors from towels, but you can also try some of the following tips for keeping towels nice and fresh.

Hang your towels up to dry after each use. Dry towels immediately after washing. Only store your towels when they are completely dry. It also helps to keep the lid open in-between washings but be careful about the safety hazards of leaving laundry machines open if you have pets or young children.

If the manufacturer's cleaning instructions allow, wash your clothes in the hottest water possible to eliminate odors. Add a cup of vinegar or a cup of baking soda to the wash to combat odors. Consider using a clothesline to dry your clothes outside to get a fresh outdoors scent.

Use half a cup of pine-scented cleaner in the washer the pine smell will be eliminated after a cycle in the dryer.

Put musty, dry clothing in the freezer. After a couple of hours, you will notice that the musty smell has disappeared. Search Now. Clean the closet from top to bottom — sweep the floor thoroughly and wipe down any shelves and walls white vinegar is a great natural deodorizer — HowtoCleanStuff.

Make sure to read our blog post on home deodorizing tips as well. If pet urine is a problem, instead of using a household cleaner buy a pet urine neutralizer from a pet store.