Aibu to ask you to help me get rid of the smell?

[Dinomom52]

That’s it really.

Our clothes smell. Mostly in then wardrobes. Some from the drawers.

I don’t get it. I do enough laundry for the whole town and can’t shift the musty smell in the wardrobes. Everything’s dry & smelling great until they get put away???

Then bam-musty city 😖

It’s getting worse and I don’t know how to get rid of it

Are you sure it’s dry when you put it away?
You could try some odour neutralising drawer inserts and for your wardrobe. Is your bedroom damp?

I did find once there was 1 particular item that smelt like this even when washed and throwing it away stopped everything else smelling

We had exactly the same problem. You need to air the house more often and avoid condensation.

1. Take out all the clothes / fabrics out of the room. Wash the smelly ones again. Put in plastic bags in an unsmelly room.
2. Air the wardrobes, spray them with mold spray and wipe down. Apparently bicarb of soda absorbs smells.
3. Buy a moisture condensation trap and place in the smelly rooms.
4. Very important! Air your rooms by opening the windows everyday.
5. Always open the bathroom window when showering.

6.always use the extractor fan when cooking.

1. Never dry washing in a room without opening a window.

Basically avoid moisture at all costs! We had that problem for ages and since we have been super careful, we have reduced the problem massively. I still smell the odd damp fabric or see green mold, but I am quick to keep on top of it now. Hope that helps.

Ps totally sympathise, it drove me mad! I was constantly hunting down smelly fabric.

I also lacquered the porous wood inside and out to stop it absorbing moisture and also found that helped.

Definitely dry. Washing is only dried downstairs. No mould, windows are opened every morning in our room. I will work on airing the wardrobe & rewashing every piece of fabric we own.

Thanks for the tips 👍

I had this problem in a previous rented house and I'm pretty sure it was the wood the wardrobes and drawers were made of. The furniture was already in the house and I presumed it was maybe quite old furniture

As PP's have said you probably need to clean and air out the cupboards/wardrobe. I like to put scented things in there too, like potpourri bags or similar, but I know a lot of people dislike those smells.

Another tip is drawer liners.

We had awful smells in one wardrobe then found a dead mouse decaying at the back!

We’ve got this in a cupboard rather than a wardrobe. What I discovered by extensive googling is.......

If you have a cold spot in a cupboard, moisture condenses there. The more moisture and the bigger the temperature differential the worse it is.

I had this problem in a previous rented house and I'm pretty sure it was the wood the wardrobes and drawers were made of

This. I used to pick up dd's friend for an activity and she reeked of damp mixed with febreeze. Her mother was very fastidious and houseproud so I knew cleanliness was not an issue. They were in an old rented house with built in wardrobes so I assume the wood was damp/musty over time. Get a new wardrobe if you can.

Is the wardrobe raised off the floor eg on wooden feet so the air can get under it?

I'd rewash everything, scrub out inside of wardrobe with mould cleaner then put a dehumidifier in it a few days before refilling. When refilling put moisture traps in each corner and a couple of hanging ones, you'll be surprised how much water they collect!

Bio detergent seems to keep clothes fresher for longer. And make sure you air them for 24 hours even when they feel dry, before putting away. We have an IKEA rail in our laundry room for that purpose, near the ceiling, so dry stuff can be aired.

Neutrodol cubes can help in the wardrobe

What’s behind your wardrobe? My next door neighbours used to dry all their clothes in a bedroom with its windows shut that was adjacent to mine - then put their (still damp) clothes into the built in alcove cupboard.

My wooden wardrobe was against the same wall as their built in cupboard and I was driving exP mad, saying I could smell damp and our clothes smelled, despite me tumble drying them or drying them downstairs with the windows open.

Turned out the wall beteeen the houses was covered in mould when they prised some of the inside of their cupboard away after me begging their landlord to intervene - and the back of my wardrobe (and a picture on that wall) was damp and mouldy.

Easily solved by moving the wardrobe away and washing it down and totally resolved by them moving out!

What temperature do you wash your clothes at?

We have been encouraged to wash at low temperatures to save energy, but unfortunately this doesn’t kill bacteria. The bacteria build up in the washing machine, especially in hard water areas and your laundry will smell. Immediately after washing it might be OK as it will smell of leaning liquid & softner, but once those smells have worn off you get left with residual-charity-shop-musk.

To turn this round.
Wash some towels on the hottest temperature possible & add a capful of zoflora if you have it. (Detol is an alternative, but you need to use more).
If your washing machine has a tub wash function use it, and add a capful of bleach if recommended by the machine manufacturer.
Always leave the door and - if you can - the powder drawer when not in use.
Do a hot wash at least once a week, every week. Towels, bedding & tea towels etc should be fine on a hot wash.
Don’t wash at low temperatures unless you have to!
If you are in a hard water area, use calgon tablets (or the cheaper supermarket version, it’s the same chemical) every wash.
Consider giving up fabric softener - you won’t need it if you use softner tablets and it gunks up your machine, making it easier for the bacteria to breed.

I use moisture traps from Amazon in my wardrobes and cupboards. It's amazing the amount of water they collect.

In our old house we had wardrobes which were a bit wiffy! When we renovated the house the smell went with new wardrobes so perhaps it's in the wood etc - what about painting the wood inside to freshen it up a bit?

Smell everything before you put it back after cleaning it all out. Something like jumpers tend to hold onto some smells then re infect everything else with a smell, so don’t put those ones back

What temperature do you wash your clothes at?
We have been encouraged to wash at low temperatures to save energy, but unfortunately this doesn’t kill bacteria

This. And also that smell will have been washed into the clothes so I would rewash anything stinky on a 60degree wash with powder detergent and that should get rid of it out of the clothes.

For us it was one of DH thick tshirts. I think he’d put it away when it wasn’t thoroughly dry a couple of times and it smells really mouldy. It was then infecting his other tshirts in his wash basket, and then anything else that was washed with it until everything smelled.

After giving everything a good sniff when it had been in the wardrobe for a while, it was obvious which pieces were worse. So we quarantined them and rewashed all the other clothes, and the smell went.

Have you checked behind the wardrobes? I had this once and the wardrobe was rotten in the back but because the plasticky laminated surface it wasn’t obvious.

I have had this problem over the course of about 5 years, and it has followed me so I must just be stinky. Here are the steps I have taken:

Thrown away everything infected (originally it was a bedset and a pair of old jogging bottoms)
Moved house and bought new furniture
Replaced 2 washing machines
Have all windows vented permanently
Clean the newest machine monthly
Put all washes through a full cycle as hot as I can risk - avoid quickwash
Only use biological powder and minimal softener
Ensure everything is fully dried and aired before putting away
Anything that gets the slightest whiff of that aroma is immediately soaked in bicarb, then washed in solitary with white vinegar added to the wash
Charcoal sachets in all drawers and wardrobes
Dehumidifier run in winter when drying washing indoors

Yet I still occasionally pull out a pair of pyjama bottoms or something not in regular use and it stinks.

I despair. But I do have self-diagnosed hyperosmia so I can smell one molecule of damp at 100 paces...

Will respond fully once I’ve got the kids in bed but-

You can put zoflora in the washing machine

Are you sure you are using enough washing powder? My drawer is almost full Everytime due to considerations of the stains on fabric, type of water we have and the size of washing machinem

Also the right type.
Living in a hard water area I know it's better if we use bio powder and we have to add extra because of this!!
I started doing this when DD was born and everything has been coming out much nicer smelling!!
I know that things like soap nuts just do not work around here.

Also on top of that how often do you clean your washing machine and do you leave it open to dry after a wash? This can really help

Fairly new furniture. Smells have followed us from previous house so not structure related.

I’m beginning to think a couple of smelly clothes have infected everything else.

Will clear everything out & start washing at a higher temp. I’ll get some neutrodol cubes as well & drop them in everywhere.

Washing machine not cleaned probably as often as it should be but door always left open after washing.

Will have a look out for some bio washing powders.

Seems to be the items that don’t get worn too often that start smelling & then it won’t go away 😫