Clothes Smell After Washing
If your clothes smell after washing, there are several reasons why this could happen, but ultimately, it’s because your laundry is still dirty. Yep, that’s right! Just because you jammed all of your clothes into a washer and dumped in some detergent, doesn’t guarantee that your clothes will be sparkly clean after it’s all said and done.
And dumping scent beads onto dirty laundry will only mask the problem for a time. Getting your laundry clean, requires some good old-fashioned know-how.
The Most Common Cause of Smelly Laundry
Odor-causing bacteria is the most common cause of smelly laundry. Another reason is mold and mildew, and remember that leaving your damp, dirty laundry set too long before washing will amplify both of these problems.
Laundry Best Practices
Here are some best practices that will help you conquer smelly laundry once and for all.
- Use the hottest water possible. (Due to the large amount of oily components in body soil, one should strongly consider washing in hot water to get the best removal possible.*)
- Pre-treat problem areas
- Wash like materials and colors together
- Don’t over/under load the machine
- Buy a quality detergent (We like Tide Hygienic Clean)
- Try a laundry sanitizer for bacteria issues
- Use Clorox 1 or 2 for mold and mildew
Smelly Laundry Summary
Sort your laundry by color and material. Pre-treat any stains or underarm areas. Gently load the washer until it is full enough that you can fit a football on top of the load of laundry. Add your laundry pods to the washer drum. Be sure to follow the quantity on the label (Too much detergent will keep your laundry dirty.).
Add Clorox or a laundry sanitizer as needed. Choose the hottest wash possible, and don’t skimp on the rinses. Three rinses will help to remove all of the dirt and chemicals from your laundry.
Place your laundry loosely into the dryer. You will be able to see half the back of a properly loaded dryer. Remove promptly and fold/hang.
Note: If you want to use fabric softener, we suggest that you get your laundry clean before you do this. Fabric softener will add a film to your laundry that can actually trap bacteria and mold/mildew making it harder to get clean.
*Statement source the Clorox website
**Note these are only recommendations and cannot guarantee clean clothes. Follow all label instructions and never mix chemicals.
