How To Remove That Damp Musty Smell In Your Laundry
In this article, we look at some easy ways to remove that damp, must smell in your clothes, linens and laundry.
10/01/2021
When it's rainy season, laundry baskets tend to fill up with dirty washing in the hope that a sunny day will arrive. Unfortunately, the damp weather also means that the clothes and linen and the laundry basket can also be a bit smelly - more so the longer it stays in the laundry basket. I myself have a problem with forgetfulness and often put a load of laundry into the washing machine, only to forget and remember in the morning. In that time, the laundry takes on a nasty mouldy smell that can be difficult to remove.
The smell in question is the buildup of mildew on clothing and fabrics, If left for too long, you would eventually find green stains and mould growing on clothing, and that's not something you want at all.
Rather than resort to using the tumble dryer while waiting for dry weather, we offer a few tips on how to remove that smell from your laundry:
Don't be embarassed by smelly laundry; mould spores thrive on moisture and warmth. It only takes a rainy day and hot weather for mildew and mould to attack a laundry basket.
DON'T TRY TO COVER UP THE SMELL
I have heard of people recommending that you throw a couple of laundry sheets into your washing basket to disguise the smell, but that doesn't work and neither does trying to hide the smell with fabric softener. If you have mildew in your laundry, you need to exterminate the mildew (mould) spores in your washing to kill them off and leave your clothes smelling clean and fresh.
As the most popular eco-friendly cleaning products on Earth, every home should have white spirit vinegar and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) in the pantry.
USE VINEGAR AND BICARBONATE OF SODA (BAKING SODA)
1. Place laundry into your washing machine
Place all your smelly laundry into the washing machine (front or top loading). Remove any delicate items or dyed clothing and wash these separately by hand using white spirit vinegar to wash and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) to rinse.
2 Turn up the heat
Set for a hot wash cycle and pour white spirit vinegar into the detergent dispenser instead of washing detergent. The combination of heat and acetic acid in the vinegar will sanitize your washing load and kill off any bacteria or spores.
3. Rinse out germs
Rather than using fabric softener, place a quarter cup of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) in the detergent dispenser, or manually add this to your top loader for the rinse cycle.
4. Freshen with sunlight
Do one more rinse cycle before hanging your clothes on the line to dry. Sunlight is just another one of Mother Nature's ways to kill off germs and keep your laundry smelling fresh.