No matter how clean you are, there are still times that your deodorant or antiperspirant will let you down. Body odor can make you self-conscious at times. We know that you’ve tried washing your odor-stricken clothes with every laundry chemical you have. However, that may not be enough.
We’ve gathered every trick there is if you don’t know how to get odor out of clothes! Read on.
Trick No. 1: Soak Your Clothes.
- Separate your whites from your dark clothing pieces. Do not skip this step or else you’ll be left with discolored clothes. Also, sort them according to the type of fabrics. You can also check the clothing tags to see if it requires a certain water temperature.
- Next, prepare a basin of warm water and baking soda. The warm water should be enough to ensure that all the clothes are soaked. Add two cups of baking soda while stirring it – just enough to properly disperse the baking soda. Leave it for a few hours or overnight for best results. You can also soak them in the washing machine following the same procedure.
- After soaking them, the next thing to do is wash them by hand or by using your washing machine. You can use your go-to laundry detergent for this. Make sure that you remove every bit of baking soda and detergent.
BONUS: If you don’t have baking soda in your home, you can use vinegar and do the same procedure. However, you should wash off the vinegar with bleach-free detergent. Mixing bleach and vinegar is toxic and might put you at risk. - Lastly, hang your clothes outside to dry. If this isn’t doable, wring and lay them out on top of a towel. It will take roughly 48 hours to dry. We do not recommend that you use your dryer because this can hold the odor which beats the purpose of what you did.
Trick No. 2: Pre-Treat Your Clothes.
- Locate the specific area where the body odor is. This second trick is what you call “spot treatment”. It specifically targets the part of clothes with body odor. These are usually the crotch of your pants or the underarms of your shirts.
- Next, prepare the solution. There are commercial products available that claim to remove body odor effectively. If you don’t have time to go out, you can use your preferred detergent. You can also make a paste out of baking soda and water, which is an excellent natural odor remover for clothes. You can also try using an uncoated aspirin. It contains salicylic acid that can eradicate awful body odors.
- After pre-treating your clothes, you can wash them as usual. Don’t forget to sort them according to color and type of fabric to avoid damaging your clothes. You can also use warm water if possible.
- Just like the last step on trick number 1, do not use your machine’s dryer to dry your clothes. You can either hang them outside or use a towel to dry.
Trick No. 3: Eliminate the Body Odor Without Laundering.
- This trick is also “spot treatment” so you’ll have to figure out the areas with an unpleasant smell.
- Vodka is a natural odor remover for clothes. It is proven to be effective to remove the odors without having to wash them. You can spray it on the area generously. Spraying it lightly will not do the trick. If you don’t have vodka, you can use hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, or isopropyl alcohol.
- Lastly, air out your clothes to dry. If a subtle smell is still there, spray it again with the vodka treatment.
Now that you know how to remove bad odor from clothes, it’s time to give these tricks a try. It can be time-consuming, but it will all be worth it when the unpleasant smell is gone. If you simply don’t have the time, we at Kelly’s Dry Cleaners offer the best Durango, CO laundry services. You can put your trust in us that we’ll completely get rid of any unpleasant smells lingering in your favorite clothes. Drop by our shop now!
