Laundry odours make garments feel unclean and unpleasant to wear! Removing odours from your clothing can be a challenge, but we're here to help guide you through the process. Follow along and your clothes will go from smelly to super fresh in no time at all!
Causes of Odours
Body Odours: Approximately 70% of laundry dirt is caused by body oils. If you don’t effectively wash away body oils, they'll saturate into your clothing causing undesirable odours!
Moisture: Mould and mildew love a moist and dark environment. Laundry that has been left damp for too long is the perfect place for mould and mildew to start growing.
Pollutants: Environmental containments such as gas, car exhaust, food, and perfume are also the cause of smelly clothing.
Washing Machines: Sometimes your washing machine needs to be cleaned as well! Check out how to wash a washing machine here!
How to Get Rid of the Odours
Hot Water: Although washing with cold water is more environmentally friendly, hot water is far superior for cleaning. Check the labels to make sure your clothes can handle the heat before throwing them in the wash. Body oils and residues tend to harden in cold water, so hot water will do the trick.
Good Detergent: A quality detergent is a must for getting out odours. Make sure to choose an HE detergent, as well as one that isn’t heavily perfumed. Heavily perfumed laundry detergents can mask odours for a while, but when the scent fades, odours can start smelling again.
Dry Your Dirty Laundry: Seems counterintuitive, right? Let us explain. Drying towels, athletic wear, and other fabrics that are wet often need to dry out before they sit in a laundry hamper. Damp clothing can accumulate mould and mildew within 6 to 12 hours! Odours can transfer between clothing, so maybe consider a separate basket for things that are often damp.
Wash More Often: These days, you can wash a lot of laundry at once with most modern laundry machines, but don’t let your laundry pile up for too long. The longer dirty clothes sit around, the easier it is for odours to set into clothing.
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