Damp smell on clothes

deedee_3

We moved house recently and stored a lot of stuff in my parents garage. A couple of month later we are gradually getting the boxes out and going through them. I opened a box to find that a box full of my lovely dry clean only clothes absolutley stink of damp. Has anyone any tips on getting rid of this nasty smell with out taking all to the dry cleaners?

Any ideas gratefully recieved.

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Pink.

Hi deedee,

It's not quite the same thing but this older thread has some ideas that may help:

Getting rid of fusty/damp smell on fabric

Pink

belfastgirl23

I've had this with damp gym stuff and washing in a mix of bicarb and biological powder, putting white vinegar in as fabric conditioner and then line drying did seem to get rid of the smell, though it wasn't probably quite as ingrained as yours. Worth a try on one load anyway...you might have to do it a couple of times to get it gone for good though...

Kataratarina

Recently my clothes (after being washed) are smelling of damp?
I use softener but it seems to be cardigans and towels? Its starting to get to me because i feel like eveyone can smell damp from me!
I dont leave the clothes in the machine long after the wash has finished.Could it just be because ive had the clothes on the clothes horse and maybe not had the heating on?

Rebekah24

I was having this issue - I started adding dettol to each wash, then hanging them individually to dry with the window open for a few hours at least each day

Seems to have resolved the issue

Hope that helps

Valli

Don't use fabric softener on your towels;)

if you are drying indoors and it's not warm then the length of tiome clothes take to dry will cause this...

spread things out as much as possible.

Dry - or 'lighten' thenm outsid eif possible

leave washer door ajar and I also leave detergent drawer ajar, too, to keep washe ritself fresh

HTH

mandi

I have this problem too, Try to dry them as quickly as possible ( I know it's not easy )

If they still smell when they are dry use a tumble dryer sheet on top of your clothes when you iron, they don't burn & leave a lovely smell .

OrkneyStar

Can you get them outside at all ? Even in rain ?
I find a blast on the rope somehow makes them smell better!
I realise this might be no use if you are in a flat.

russetred

It could be a build up of washing products in your machine causing this. I had this problem last year and after washing out all the filters and seals in the machine used a washing machine cleaner from Superdrug I think called oust.Problem gone, in fact I think Aldi is going to have a similar product in the next few days.

Shutsy

I had exactly the same problem and a friend of mine who's a washing machine repairer told me not to use liquitabs as they don't disolve properly (especially if you maching is cold feed only) as they clog up the filters. I also use a limescale/detergent and purifying remover made by a company called Proffesional. One of these in your machine a month and as mentioned on other posts leave the door ajar when not using will solve your problem I hope.

Phoolgrrrl

You could try putting some white vinegar, v cheap from asian supermarkets for loads, in the drawer and the machine and put it on a boil wash empty. Picked that tip up off these boards. It helps to get rid of 'gunk' in the machine. Then if you put vinegar in instead of conditioner once in a while it keeps the machine clean, I normally do a boil wash of towels with vinegar once a month.