How to Remove Smells from the Closet: Guide to Saving Your Clothes

You wash your clothes with the best detergent, use a softener that smells like heaven, dry them perfectly... and when you go to put them on a week later, they smell "closed," rancid, or worse, musty. It's a story I hear constantly in my laundry. People think they washed the clothes badly, but the culprit is not the washing machine, it's the furniture where you store them.

Closets are dark spaces, with poor ventilation and often attached to cold walls: paradise for mold and mites. If you want to know how to remove smells from the closet once and for all and protect your favorite garments, follow this guide based on my experience treating thousands of garments.

Step 1: Empty and "Reset" the Closet

Don't try to put air fresheners without cleaning first. It's like putting on perfume without showering: the mix will be worse. You have to attack the source.

1. Take EVERYTHING out: Clothes, shoes, boxes. Take the opportunity to wash what smells bad (read my guide on how to remove musty smell from clothes if you need it).
2. Inspect: Look at the bottom and the corners. Do you see little black spots? That's mold. Is the wall cold or damp? You have an insulation problem.
3. Clean with Vinegar: Prepare a mixture of water and white cleaning vinegar (equal parts). Wipe all interior walls, shelves, and bars with a well-wrung cloth. Vinegar kills mold spores and neutralizes rancid odor.
4. Total Drying: Leave the doors open and, if you can, put a fan or dehumidifier focused on the inside until it is completely dry.

Step 2: Odor Neutralizers (Not Air Fresheners)

Before scenting, you must absorb what remains. These home remedies are miraculous:

Baking Soda

The infallible classic. Put a bowl or an open glass jar with baking soda at the bottom of the closet. It absorbs moisture and acidic odors. Change it every month.

Activated Charcoal

It is more powerful than baking soda for strong odors or intense humidity. They sell specific bags for closets or you can use charcoal (for barbecue, but natural and without additives) in a cloth bag.

Ground Coffee

If you like the smell of coffee, it is a very powerful natural deodorant. Put coffee beans or dry ground coffee in a cloth sack. It will absorb bad odors and leave a subtle aroma.

Step 3: Prevention so it Doesn't Return

Now that it is clean and neutral, keep it that way:

• Never store used clothes: That jacket you wore once and "isn't dirty" has skin cells and traces of sweat or pollution. In a closed closet, those bacteria proliferate and generate bad odor.
• Daily ventilation: Get used to leaving the closet doors open for 10-15 minutes in the morning while airing out the room.
• Space between garments: If you squeeze clothes like sardines in a can, air doesn't circulate. Clothes need to "breathe".
• Rice or Chalk: Some pieces of school chalk or bags of rice in the drawers help absorb ambient moisture without adding odor.

The Final Touch: Scenting

Only when the closet is clean and dry can you add scent. My personal recommendation is cedar wood (balls or blocks) because besides smelling clean and woody, it naturally repels moths. Dried lavender is also a classic that never fails for bedding.