Why Your Clothes Still Smell After Washing Them, and How to Get Rid of Lingering Odors

Does your closet smell like a gym locker and your bed sheets reek of rancid oil? The shelves in the laundry aisle are filled with products that promise to make your laundry smell great. But if you have lingering odors in your clothes and linens, it means that the fabric is harboring the soil and bacteria that cause the odor—and your laundry isn’t truly clean.

Odors can be caused by body secretions, fungal or bacterial growth, or external sources like perfume, chemicals (like moth balls or gasoline), and cooking odors. If the cause of the odor isn’t removed during cleaning, that means the odor molecules are still embedded in the fibers, causing the smell to linger. The good news? You can get rid of these lingering odors with several different methods.

Ways to Get Rid of Lingering Odors on Laundry

If you have extra-stubborn odors clinging onto your clothes, you may need to try several of these odor-removing methods to help keep your laundry odor-free.

Sort and Rewash Laundry

To get rid of lingering odors, sort the laundry and wash it again using the hottest water recommended on the care label and a heavy-duty detergent. The detergent should contain enough enzymes to break down stain and odor molecules so they can be washed away. Avoid overcrowding the washer or adding a fabric softener to the rinse because it coats the fibers and can trap odor-causing bacteria.

Add a Laundry Rinse Cycle Product

Odor-causing bacteria and molecules can become trapped in fabric fibers and adding a commercial rinse cycle product can help eliminate odor. Laundry sanitizers use quaternary ammonium compounds to kill bacteria and viruses on washable clothes without bleach. By killing the bacteria, the odor is removed.

Other rinse cycle products help strip away odor-causing dirt and detergent residue trapped in fibers caused by overloading the washer, using too much detergent, or using a detergent that doesn’t clean well.

Use a Baking Soda Presoak

Baking soda helps absorb and neutralize odors. For washable items, mix one cup of baking soda per one quart of hot water (4 cups) in a sink or plastic bucket. Stir well, submerge the smelly laundry, and allow it to soak for at least four hours before washing as usual.

For sweaty underarms and crotch areas on clothes, make a paste of baking soda and water and apply it to those areas. Use an old toothbrush or a soft-bristled brush to work the paste into both sides of the fabric. Let it work for at least an hour before washing the garment.

Soak in a Vinegar and Water Solution

Mix a solution of two cups of distilled white vinegar per one gallon of water. Submerge the smelly laundry and let it soak for at least one hour before washing as usual.

Grab Some Fresh Air

Smoking, cooking, and perfume odors can often be dispersed by hanging clothes outside in the fresh air for several hours. Don’t hang in direct sunlight to avoid fading. This works best on a dry, breezy day.

Head to a Professional Dry Cleaner

For tough odors that just won’t go away, head to a professional cleaner with stronger products and better equipment than most of us have at home.

Quick Tips to Refresh Clothes

While these tips likely won’t remove tough odors, they can help quickly refresh clothes in a pinch.

• Use a fabric refresher spray. Mist clothing lightly and allow to dry before wearing.
• Use steam. Hang clothes in a steamy bathroom, use a handheld clothes steamer, or toss in the dryer on the steam setting or with a wet, microfiber towel for a few minutes to help freshen clothes.
• Use a DIY refresher. Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture of water and distilled white vinegar plus a few drops of an essential oil, like lavender. Mist your clothing item lightly and allow it to air dry.