How to Make Dirty Clothes Smell Good Fast Without Washing

How to Take the Smell Out of Clothes Without Washing Them

When my daughters were growing up and I returned to work full-time, it was everyone for themselves when it came to laundry. I was still responsible for the household laundry, such as linens, but my girls had to learn early how to do their own laundry. This resulted in a few mornings when it was time for school but there were no clean clothes to wear!

My daughters had to learn how to improvise. It is amazing how clever we can be when we have to. Using a few common household supplies, there are ways to make your clothes smell good when there's no time for the washing machine!

9 Methods for Removing Odors From Clothes (Fast!)

Here is a list of methods for quickly removing smells from clothes—musty smells, sweat smells, and more—and the items you need for each. And here's the best part: These are common household items, and you probably have most of them already!

1. Dryer Sheets

Time Required: A few minutes
Supplies: 3–4 dryer sheets, clothes dryer
How It Works: Freshens odorous clothes

If you don't have time to wash an item you are about to wear and it doesn't smell fresh, one easy trick is to use a dryer sheet. No matter what the dryer sheet brand or fragrance is, it is bound to smell better than the unwashed clothing you want to wear. The important thing is to get the clothes mixed up with the fabric sheet.

What to Do

1. Throw the item you want to wear in the dryer. Add 3–4 dryer sheets.
2. Let everything tumble for a few minutes.

You may end up smelling like "spring flowers" or "mountain air," but your garment will be wrinkle-free, and you won't offend anyone with a dirty laundry smell!

Tip: If you can plan ahead (of course not! You wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place if you could!), buy "linen-scented" dryer sheets and keep a box around for these emergencies.

2. Air Freshener

Time Required: 10+ minutes
Supplies: 1 can of air freshener
How It Works: Masks odors

Air fresheners like Febreze don't help rid your dirty clothes of odor, but they do mask it. This is alright as a temporary fix, especially if you are going to an outdoor event.

What to Do

This method is simple!

1. Spray the air freshener over the clothing, both front and back.
2. Let it air out for at least 10 minutes before putting the garment on.

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3. White Distilled Vinegar

Time Required: 12+ minutes
Supplies: White distilled vinegar, water, spray bottle
How It Works: pH neutralizes odors

Vinegar has a low (acidic) pH level, which actually removes odors in clothing. The proportions are 1:1 vinegar to water. Make sure you only use white vinegar; do not use balsamic or red wine vinegar!

What to Do

1. Start by turning the garment inside out.
2. Next, mix equal parts of vinegar and water in a spray bottle.
3. Before you spray the entire item, test the vinegar solution on an inconspicuous area, such as a lower seam that is hidden from view. Squirt a small amount on the fabric. If the color does not run or change appearance, it is safe to use throughout the entire piece.
4. Spritz the vinegar onto the clothing without worrying that you will smell like vinegar; the vinegar scent will dissipate as it dries.
5. Next, hang the clothing up to dry and air out, preferably outdoors. An open window, bathroom shower, or spacious closet will also work.

4. Lemon Juice

Time Required: 12+ minutes
Supplies: Lemon juice, water, spray bottle
How It Works: Neutralizes odors and refreshes clothes

Lemon juice seems to be the answer to so many problems, and stinky laundry is one of them.

What to Do

1. Make a solution of one tablespoon of lemon juice to one cup of water. Place in a spray bottle.
2. Test the lemon juice spray on an inconspicuous part of the clothing first. Lemon juice can discolor certain fabrics.
3. If the test works, then mist the shirt or garment all over.
4. Hang it up in an area that has good air circulation. Once dry, your clothes will have a fresh smell.

Baking soda can remove odors from clothing.

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5. Baking Soda

The baking soda technique is easy. There are two versions of it, depending on how much time you have!

Method 1: Baking Soda Paste

Time Required: 20+ minutes
Supplies: Baking soda, water, stiff brush
How It Works: Deodorizes

1. Mix baking soda and water into a nice paste.
2. Apply the paste to the smelliest areas of your clothing.
3. Turn the item inside out and work the paste into the area again.
4. Allow it to dry thoroughly.
5. Once the area has dried, take a stiff brush and vigorously brush away any white residue. Your clothing will have a nice, fresh smell.

Method 2: Baking Soda in a Bag

Time Required: 10+ minutes
Supplies: Baking soda, garbage bag
How It Works: Deodorizes

1. Place the clothing into a plastic garbage bag.
2. Add a half cup of baking soda to the bag and close it up.
3. Vigorously shake the two together.
4. Leave the bag undisturbed for about 10 minutes, and then remove the item and shake off the baking soda.

6. Activated Charcoal or Coffee Grounds

Time Required: 10+ minutes
Supplies: Activated charcoal or unused coffee grounds, garbage bag, coffee filter, string
How It Works: Deodorizes

These are two additional odor-absorbing products that you can try. You need fresh coffee grounds, not used ones! The method is nearly identical to using baking soda in a bag.

What to Do

1. Put half a cup of unused coffee grounds or a few pieces of activated charcoal in a coffee filter. Tie the filter closed with the string. This will prevent the coffee grounds or charcoal from getting all over your garment!
2. Place this sachet of coffee grounds or charcoal in the garbage bag with your item.
3. Leave the bag undisturbed for about 10 minutes, and then remove the item and check the smell. You can put it back in the bag if it needs more time.

7. Perfume or Baby Powder

Time Required: 2–5 minutes
Supplies: Perfume and/or baby powder
How It Works: Masks odors

Fair warning: This method is very fast, but your clothes will noticeably smell like the perfume or powder afterwards. Hey, it's better than smelling like sweat!

What to Do

1. Spray the perfume or sprinkle the powder over the stinkiest areas of the clothing.
2. Let it sit for a minute.
3. If you used powder, brush and shake it off until no visible powder remains.
4. Put on the clothes and go on your way!

I memorably used this method myself as a child. Check out my funny story about it at the bottom of this article!

8. Vodka

Time Required: 5–10 minutes
Supplies: Vodka, spray bottle
How It Works: Neutralizes odors

Use vodka—but not to drink! Spritzed onto clothing, vodka is supposed to remove odors. Although I have not used this technique, I have researched it a bit, and I feel confident recommending it.

What to Do

1. Add vodka to your spray bottle. There is no need to dilute it first; just add it straight.
2. Spritz the vodka on your clothes.
3. Once all odorous areas are covered, hang up the clothing to air out.

Don't worry about smelling like alcohol: When the shirt or other item is dry, there will be no vodka smell present.

9. Clothesline

Time Required: 10–20 minutes
Supplies: Clothesline, sunny day
How It Works: Uses the sun to kill odor-causing germs

Take your problem outdoors and hang unwashed clothing in the air and sun. Sometimes this is the simplest solution there is! Body sweat produces bacteria, but sunlight can kill that odor-causing bacteria.

What to Do

1. Turn your shirt (or other clothing item) inside out, hang it up on your clothesline, and leave it in the wind on a sunny day.
2. The longer you're able to leave it, the better, but you can check it after 10 minutes, 15 minutes, etc.

If this isn't possible—on a rainy day, for example—taking the shirt out of the closet to air can also reduce the problem.

How Do You Remove a Musty Smell From Clothes Without Washing?

If the odor you're dealing with is musty, then sunlight is your best bet. Let the item hang outside in the sun as long as possible, checking the smell periodically. For deeply musty items, this may be a multi-day process!

You can also use an odor-absorbing product, like baking soda, but you might want to combine it with something that smells good. For example, you can put a lavender sachet into a garbage bag along with your musty item and half a cup of baking soda. The baking soda will absorb the odor, and the lavender will mask any lingering mustiness.

How Do You Get a Sweat Smell Out of Clothes Without Washing?

For sweat odors, try the baking soda paste method or the white vinegar method described above. Baking soda neutralizes perspiration, while vinegar fights bacteria (remember that the B.O. stench is caused by bacteria).

I haven't tried this personally, but you can also use white aspirin in place of baking soda for sweat odors. Crush three white aspirin pills and mix them with 1 cup of warm water to form a paste (just like the baking soda paste). Rub this into the armpits of your stinky shirt, let it dry completely, and scrub away the residue with a stiff brush.

My Story: Removing Odors With Perfume

I had my first success freshening up a smelly clothing item when I was just ten years old. My sister was eight, and our grandmother Nonie was taking care of us. It was picture day at school, and we came home for lunch and to change into our dresses.

Nonie greeted us with freshly laundered slips to wear under our dresses. Ladies, do you remember those one-piece cotton slips? I felt so grown-up when I was allowed to switch to a silky half-slip as a teen.

After lunch, my sister and I went into the bedroom we shared to change into our Sunday best. Poor Nonie. She was a poorly educated woman from a rural town in Montana, and she didn't know what to do with a stubborn granddaughter like me.

"Ugh! This smells like fish!" An awful smell reeked from the cotton slips.

"What are you talking about?" Nonie asked. "It does not."

"Yes, it does. Danette, smell your slip. Doesn't it smell like fish?" I asked my sister.

My sister, besides being younger than me, was also much more passive. She innocently complied with my urging and looked at us wide-eyed.

"I don't think so," she ventured.

"It does so," I insisted. "You can wear yours like that if you want, but I'm not going to go back to school smelling like a stinky old fish!"

My grandmother was beside herself about what to do with me or about the situation. It wasn't that I didn't want to wear a slip under my dress, which was non-negotiable; it was just that I was not going to be humiliated by classmates who might think I smelled like a fish market.

"Denise," my grandmother began to say. "Just wear the slip. There's nothing you can do about it now."

I looked around the room and knew we would be late for school if we waited much longer. My eyes fell on the perfume bottles on our dresser. I grabbed them all and began spraying perfume and baby powder on both of our slips. My sister didn't have a chance to protest.

"There, that smells much better," I exclaimed.

My grandmother just stood in the doorway, shaking her head as Danette and I walked back to school. We no longer had to worry about smelling like fish. We returned to school smelling, as my grandmother said, "like a French whorehouse."

Stay Fresh and Odor-Free!

Even the best planners sometimes get caught short with stinky laundry. There isn't always time to run a load of wash, and there certainly isn't time to jump into the car, drive to the closest department store, and buy a new outfit. (Sadly, my husband actually did this a few times when his laundry basket was overflowing.)

It may seem ironic that the best way to plan ahead is to stock up on emergency household supplies. People who are organized enough to think ahead and buy the necessary items aren't usually caught in that dilemma. Nonetheless, let's assume that you are organized and also want to plan ahead for those "crunch" moments.

Keep your cupboards stocked with white vinegar, lemon juice, dryer sheets, vodka, and these other items, and you'll know you can always freshen up your clothes in a hurry. Good luck!

Further Reading

• How to Get Food Smells out of Clothes and Fabric
  Tired of your house smelling like the meal you just cooked? If you're like me, you like your home and your clothes to smell fresh and clean. Here's how to get rid of bad odors.
• Lipstick Stain Removal: How to Get Lipstick Out of Clothes
  Lipstick is basically an oily dye, which can make lipstick stain removal pretty difficult. These home remedies are here to help you kiss lipstick stains goodbye!
• How to Remove Stains From Clothes
  Clothes stained with various substances need to be treated differently. This article talks about how to remove stains from clothes with careful consideration of the type of stain on the clothes.

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

© 2012 Denise Handlon

Comments

Dale Anderson from The High Seas on August 20, 2020:

That's the second best us for vodka that I can think of.

Caroline unwin on June 27, 2020:

Can you use brown vinegar

Erin Horan on May 23, 2020:

You could have skipped all the unnessessary parts out? Like who cares about your grandma and your sister or what led up to you using these methods

Thomas joseph on April 12, 2020:

During winter I have been known to wear the same sweat shirt for weeks without washing by turning it inside after walks and putting it on a manger and spraying it with rubbing aohol. I can't speak for other people's reactions because no one has ever said anything. But I would smell it daily up close and personal while putting it on and never noticed anything offensive. I use a laundromat so everyday washing of heavy clothing is a major hassle. Of your choices I like the simplest - the vinegar and lemon solutions.

Priya on October 27, 2019:

I got this leather bag with fabric lining. It smelled like puke and I sprayed old perfume on it. But that perfume smells much sick and m unable to tolerate it. It gives me headache. How am I gonna pack clothes in it? I tried lemon juice spray, but hasnt worked

Jennifer Fredrick on October 11, 2019:

I picked up a pair of beautiful Ann Taylor black trousers from a 2nd hand store and they were just perfect. I had to go to a funeral today and put them on, only to find that they were sour smelling.

Nancy Taylor on September 26, 2019:

I purchased a cashmere coat at an estate sale. It smells strongly of moth balls. I have hung it outside for several days and it got damp when it started to sprinkle. I rushed it in and found that the humidity made the smell worse. Any thoughts?

Roiikka Ta on May 31, 2019:

Thank you for this. Especially helpful to those who travel and are active! Any types of herbal sprays that can be concocted into a spray bottle? Mint, possibly ?

Grayhog on July 30, 2018:

Been around some “Frebreeze” tour bus stinkers in the past. Please stop promoting this vile practice.