After months of being banished to the back of the wardrobe, you may notice your cosy winter clothes smelling worse for wear – luckily this cheap expert trick can help
After a long few months stuffed in your cupboard, you may notice your winter clothes needing a bit of a refresh – luckily, this 50p trick can help.
As the weather begins to cool down, many of us will be rearranging our wardrobes and pulling out retired cardigans, jumpers and woolly socks. Unfortunately, after several months of being piled in the back of cupboards and storage baskets, you may notice your warmer items smelling a little musty.
This musty smell primarily comes from the growth of mould and mildew, which occurs when clothes are stored in damp, humid or poorly ventilated spaces – like the back of a wardrobe.
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Worse still, this can also result in grey, brown, green or even black stains developing on your clothes, which can be a nightmare to get off.
Fortunately, this doesn’t mean your clothes are ruined. Melissa Denham, storage expert at Hammonds Furniture, has revealed an incredibly cheap hack to battling bad smells – all you need is baking soda.
She says: “Baking soda is great for picking up musty smells and even a superb disinfectant if you find your clothes have gathered mould whilst in storage.”
She explains: “Either soak your affected garments in baking soda for 30 minutes, or even use a half to a full cup directly into the washing machine and wash as normal, which could work out as little as 50p of baking soda per load.”
It’s an ingredient you likely have lying around in your cupboard, but if not, baking soda can be picked up cheaply. For example, a pack of baking soda can be picked up from Sainsbury’s for just 59p.
However, it’s not the only kitchen ingredient that is effective at banishing mouldy odours. Melissa also recommends using white vinegar to give your clothes a refresh.
She says: “White vinegar can also be used and is a fantastic, versatile household staple, which is great for removing stronger, more prominent smells from your clothing – similarly to baking soda, you can pre-soak in water, with a cup of white vinegar mixed in for a few hours, or even fill the fabric softener tray with up to half a cup per load.”
After washing your clothes, Melissa advises that another way to get rid of weird smells is to dry them by exposing them to the elements.
She says: “Fresh air brings natural airflow, and the sunlight helps to speed up the drying process, both of these help enormously in aiding you to get rid of those nasty smells and revitalising your winter wardrobe once again.”