Clean Clothes Can Still Smell. Here's How To Fix It.

Have you ever been looking for clothes to wear, only to pull out a pair of jeans or a top and curl your nose up at the smell? You're absolutely certain you washed these clothes, in fact, you have sometimes taken them straight off the drying rack and they still smell! 

First of all, don’t worry - that scent isn't stemming from your own body odor, so you can rest easy there. Still, why the heck do clothes sometimes seem to smell - well, yucky - regardless of their being clean? Generally, we can narrow it down to one of three reasons. Jump to below for all three as well as how to stop this from happening over and over again!

Your washing machine makes them smell

Do your clothes stink after they've just been washed and dried? The chances are your washing machine is the problem. Now, it might be because the machine is dirty, but most of the time it's a simple case of your clothes being too wet and damp from the wash. Or, you haven't used a good enough detergent, so they just smell wet all the time. 

A few things can be done to solve this:

• Clean your washing machine (try pouring two cups of white vinegar into the drum, then running a full, normal cycle at the highest heat)

• Use more detergent

• Use a fabric conditioner for an added scent

• Don't overload your washing machine

• Unload the wet clothes right away to dry them

Try a mixture of these ideas and you will find your clothes smell so much better after each wash, removing the damp scent altogether. 

They've been stored in a wardrobe for too long

Storing your clothes in a wardrobe for too long can mean they get all musty and nasty. This is just because they don't really have any room to breathe in there, and the natural smell of the wardrobe seeps into them. Or, and this happens a lot, clothes moths get in and around your clothes, making them stink. 

Here, there are only really three things you can try. 

Firstly, try to avoid keeping your clothes in the wardrobe for too long before wearing them again. Secondly, find a good clothes moth killer or moth spray kit to keep these creatures out of your wardrobe and away from your clothes. Thirdly, purchase some scented sachets to put in your wardrobe, diffusing a much nicer smell onto all of your clothing!

You let them dry in the kitchen

Lastly, your clothes might smell bad because you left them to dry in the kitchen and didn't put them away quickly enough. A lot of us have clothes drying racks in the kitchen, but the problem is that all the smells from your cooking can diffuse onto your clothes as they dry - or when they're already dry and hanging up. 

Instead, try to avoid drying clothes when food is being cooked. Drying them outside is the best approach for fresh clothing, or try to dry them in your bedroom, living room, etc.

See, these three reasons can be why your clothes always smell bad despite washing them regularly. Use the tips and advice given throughout this post to counter these problems and have clothes that smell glorious once more.