If you try to get rid of unpleasant odors from your clothes, you will often face a hard job which sometimes makes you quit. Needless to say, having experience with handling any type of odor from last night's dinner, sweat after a workout, or a spill, it is essential to know how to tackle them perfectly. This is a straight down advice that will effectively guide you in getting rid of the eight most popular forms of odor from your clothes, thus securing your clothes free of odor.
#1. Remove Perfume Scent From Clothing
Some perfumes remain long to give the clothes the desired scent, it can become very strong to the point where it is annoying. The essence of perfume oils and alcohol behave like glue, coating your garments.
Method 1: Air Out
To make the item of apparel odorless, hang it outside in a well-aired environment for several hours and let the smell go away by itself.
Method 2: Baking Soda
Step 1: Fill a large sink or bucket or your cold water. Mix a quart of baking soda with 400ml of hot water and add the solution to the cold water.
Step 2: Soak the garment in water with baking soda dissolved in it for at least four to five hours.
Step3: Wash as usual and smell the garment, if the smell still persists, repeat the previous
Step4: Then dry the garment according to the care label
Method 3: Vinegar Soak
Step 1: Take water in a spray bottle and mix equal amounts of white distilled vinegar.
Step 2: Spray the mixer on the odor-affected area of the clothes.
Step 3: Make sure the mixer fully covers the affected area and let the garment soak for around 30 minutes to an hour.
Step 4: Then wash the garments in the usual way and make sure to dry them properly before storing them.
#2. Remove Sweat Odor From Clothing
Method 1: Pre-treat with Enzyme Cleaner
Step 1: Read the care label on the clothes and make sure that using an enzyme cleaner is safe for that garment.
Step 2: Apply the enzyme cleaner directly on the sweat odor-affected areas. For instance Underarms and collars.
Step 3: keep it for 15-30 minutes and then use a gentle detergent and wash the garment as usual.
Step 4: Make sure to check the clothes before drying If there is still a presence of sweat smell then repeat the washing steps.
Method 2: Use White Vinegar
Step 1: Take a spray bottle and make a mixer using the same amount of white vinegar and water then spray the mixers in the areas like underarms because this area causes strong sweat smells. Then keep it for about 10-15 minutes before washing. (This step is for pre-treatment for the garments that contain sweat odor).
Step 2: Another effective way is to add warm water and add one cup of white vinegar in a sink or basin then keep clothes in the solution for soaking for at least 30 minutes. Keeping it for a few hours or overnight would be more effective.
Step 3: Use regular detergent and for more freshness add half cup of white vinegar in the washing machine.
Step 4: Both air drying and tumble dryer are preferable for drying those garments.
#3. Remove Gasoline Odor From Clothing
Gasoline odors are especially annoying because of the strong chemicals, above all. They can dig in very deep and become seemingly impossible to remove.
Method 1: Pre-treat the stains
As we know gasoline is an oil-based stain, so it would be efficient to use an enzyme-based stain remover or a heavy-duty detergent for pre-treating gasoline odor from clothes. Keep it for around 15 minutes before washing.
Method 2: Baking Soda Paste
Add baking soda and water together to make a paste apply the paste to the odor-affected area and keep it for around an hour before you wash it.
Method 3: Add Ammonia as another option
Step 1: Use cool water and add one cup of ammonia (that is used for household activities).
Step 2: Keep it for at least 30 minutes and let the garment soak. The ammonia will help to remove gasoline odor from the garment.
Step 3: After completely soaking get it out of the ammonia solution.
Step 4: then wash it using cool water it will remove all the presence of ammonia from the garment and it will remove the gasoline odor effectively.
#4. Remove Cooking Odor From Clothing
The components of garlic, onion, and fried food are notorious for throwing off clothes. These strong odors are too tricky to be fully eliminate though.
Method 1: Wash the garment correctly
Firstly you need to read the care label of the clothing and wash your garment in the perfect level of hot water that is recommended in the care label of your garment.
Use heavy-duty detergents if you want to remove the oily stains. Also, you can add one cup of baking soda or one-half cup of borax to your washing machine. This will boost the cleaning power of the detergent you are using
Method 2: Double Wash
If the first attempt failed to remove odors from your clothes then use hot water add two cups of baking soda into it and presoak it for approximately two hours. After that wash the clothes as usual way.
#5. Remove Musty and Mothball Odors From Clothes
The dampness and the lack of air circulation usually give stale smells whereas, the chemical smell of mothballs comes from the chemicals used to safeguard clothes from insects.
Method 1: Use Activated Charcoal
Put a piece of the activated charcoal in a baggie that can breathe, and keep it with your clothes to remove residual odor.
Method 2: Air-Dry
Air-drying clothes outside for several hours can remove the musty and mothball smells effectively.
Method 3: Vinegar and Water Soak
Step 1: Make a solution of vinegar and water. 100 ml vinegar should be added with 400 ml of water.
Step 2: Then all you need to do is soak your odor-causing clothes in that solution for an hour.
Step 3: After soaking remove the garment from the solution and wash it in the usual way with cool water.
Step 4: For extra freshness wash the garment with mild detergent and hang it in a well-ventilated area for air drying.
Method 4: Wash with Borax
Step 1: While washing garments that contain musty and mothball odors make sure to read the care label on the garment to know the appropriate heat and chemicals that the garment can resist.
Step 2: Add half of a cup of borax to the washing machine with regular detergent.
Step 3: Lay the washed clothes out in the sun or hang them in a room with an open window to dry. Do not use the dryer until all odors from the detergent are fully eliminated.
Step 4: After washing check the presence of the musty or mothball smells. If the smell is still present on the garment then repeat the process.
#6. Remove Mildew Odor From Clothing
Fungus is developing in moist, darkest places. For clothes to last long, before storing them make sure they are fully dry, or else mildew would develop.
Method 1: Gentle Wash
Do not overfill your washing machine with other clothes while washing the mildew-odor-causing clothes at the same time. Overfilling can be hampered in the process of removing mildew odor.
Method 2: Vinegar Solution
Make a solution with one cup of white vinegar and water then soak your odor-causing garments in the solution.
Method 3. Wash with hot water
Add a cup of baking soda with the detergent and use hot water to wash garments that are mildew odor affected.
#7. Remove Smoke From Clothing
Cigarette smoke, fire, or cooked food all have their individual property of adhering to the fabric that makes removal quite a challenge.
Method 1: Baking Soda
Step 1: Add one cup of baking soda to the heavy-duty detergent and soak the garment in this solution for at least 1 hour.
Step 2: After soaking use regular detergent with another half cup of baking soda in the washing machine and give it a normal wash with warm water.
Step 3: After washing make sure to check if the smoke smell is remaining on the garment. If the smoke smell still remains then repeat the washing process.
Step 4: After washing hang the clothes outside for drying. If drying indoors then make sure the area is well-ventilated.
Method 2: Wash with warm water
Cool water might fail to remove smoke odors but washing with warm water can be efficient and it will eliminate the smoke odors from your garments.
#8. Remove Vomit From Clothing
Vomiting doesn’t just stink but it also messes up the clothes. Immediate action is really imperative to prevent the stink from becoming permanent.
Method 1: Pre-treat with Enzyme Cleaner
Use an enzyme-based detergent which will help in the reduction of protein substances in the vomit.
Method 2: Vinegar solution
Step 1: Read the care label of your garment carefully. Add detergent and 1 cup of white vinegar with 2 cups of water.
Step 2: Apply the solution to the affected area and soak it for at least 30 minutes. If the odor is strong keep it for an hour.
Step 3: After soaking remove the clothes from the solution and wash them with regular detergent. Also adding half a cup of white vinegar to the washing machine will remove the remaining odors if it still remaining on the garment.
Step 4: Before drying the garment make sure to check if any stains or odors are still remaining if it still remains then repeat the washing steps.
Method 3. Warm water wash
Wash the clothes in hot water using the powerful detergent and an extra rinsing cycle.
#9. Remove Foot Odour from Socks
Two main factors of the foot odor are primarily sweat and bacteria. Unlike any other part of the body, there are more sweat glands on your feet. When these get trapped in the socks, it creates an ideal home for the bacteria which the bacteria then eat and then release that unwanted smell.
Method 1: Pre-soak in Vinegar Solution
Mix 1 gallon of hot water with 2 cups of white vinegar. Add white vinegar to water and soak the socks within a half hour. Vinegar can be used for eliminating smells and breaking down bacteria.
Method 2: Use Baking Soda
Spit baking soda on the socks and keep it for 15 minutes before washing. It will absorb and eradicate the bad smells.
Method 3. Wash with warm water
As we know high temperature kills bacteria so washing with warm water will remove the odors from the socks.
One more thing, Before you start you need to read the garment's care levels. So that you will be able to know the garment should be washed. If it indicates dry clean only then only a professional dry cleaner will be able to remove the odor. Moreover, you need to have clear knowledge about the types of equipment and tools such as (a Washer or large sink, Soft-bristled brush, Clothesline or drying rack, Sealable plastic tub, and Mixing bowl) are being used in washing clothes. Also, you need to know about the materials that can be quite helpful in removing odors from the clothes which are (Baking soda, Heavy-duty laundry detergent, Distilled white vinegar, Scented dryer sheets, Enzyme-based stain remover, Household ammonia (for gasoline), Borax (for cooking odor). By using those materials you would be able to effectively remove odors from your clothes.