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Seven Ways to Keep Your Custom Closets Smelling Fresh

Brando Salazar • Sep 22, 2020

Nothing is more embarrassing than opening your closet and finding that your things don’t smell great. You don’t have to live with the musty smells coming from your closet.

Moisture in the air, be it from not quite dry clothes or seasonal humidity, can cause your clothes to smell. Using air fresheners, baking soda, and even essential oils can combat closet odors.

In this article, you’ll learn eight ways to combat those harsh smells and keep your custom closets smelling fresh.

Linen Sprays & Air Fresheners

Sometimes, old clothes hanging in the closet for an extended period may begin to get a musty smell. Often the musty smell is due to the clothes not being appropriately dried before being placed in the closet. To temporarily remove these odors from the fabrics, you can employ a linen spray or air fresheners.

There are air fresheners such as Febreze, available at department stores. As air fresheners are commercially processed, it’s a good idea to test the spray beforehand to ensure no permanent staining. These sprays are generally inexpensive and formulated to temporarily remove offensive odors from fabrics of all types. They come in various scents to make your clothes smell like they are fresh from the laundry.

You can also opt to make your own linen sprays. Take a clean spray bottle and add a few drops of your favorite essential oils. Fill the bottle with water. Use the spritzer to lightly coat the fabrics for a fresh smell. Ensure that you space out your clothes to thoroughly dry once you spray them to prevent musty odors from returning.

Baking Soda

Dampness in the air can cause mildew and mold to grow. The growth can attribute to the odors in a closet. To combat mold and mildew, you need to remove the dampness from the cabinets. Baking soda can help absorb the moisture and also the foul odors on soft surfaces.

The first step is to remove all clothing and hangers from your closet. Take out the shelves if possible and anything on the floor as well. Once the cabinet is empty, put baking soda on the carpet and let it sit for at least an hour. Allowing the baking soda to remain undisturbed on the floor gives the powder time to absorb odors and moisture. After at least an hour, use a vacuum to remove the powder.

Once your closet is clean, leave a small bowl or open box of baking soda in any one of the corners. The exposed baking soda will help to finish removing musty odors from your closet area. Remove the exposed soda after 24 hours.

Baking soda is also great for temporarily alleviating stinky shoe smells in your closet. Add a sprinkle of baking soda inside your shoes to help eliminate foot odors.

Vinegar

For hard surfaces, use a mixture of half water and half white vinegar. Before spraying on all of the hard surfaces, test a small spot to ensure that the mixture won’t react adversely. If there are no issues with the test spot, spay all of the hard surfaces, including shelves, walls, and ceiling. The vinegar smell will disappear after the liquid evaporates.

Essential Oils

Essential oils have natural sanitizing elements that can help clear the air. Different oils have different properties. Popular choices for eliminating odors in your smelly custom closet include:

Pine : anti-bacterial
Rosemary :antibacterial and antiseptic
Lemon : antibacterial and antiviral
Lavender : soothing and anti-Bacterial
Peppermint : anti-bacterial and can also be used to repel insects naturally
Eucalyptus : natural germicide and can fight against mold and mildew

Automating the process of deodorizing your closet can make it simpler. Using a diffuser to release essential oils is an ideal way to do this. You may need to clear some shelf space to place the diffuser, but having it already in your closet allows you to know that you’re killing the odor-causing bacteria and giving your wardrobe a fresh scent.

Removing or Cleaning the Dirty Clothes Hamper

The dirty clothes hamper is one of the more common causes of a funky smelling closet. Bacteria breaking down, skin cells, sweat, and other bodily fluids left on clothing articles is the cause of the smell. The scent of the clothes as the bacteria breaks down on the clothing can make the other soft surfaces, i.e., clothes and linens, begin to smell.

While washing your clothes and emptying your hamper does help, it is not the only way to stop your closet from smelling foul. The hamper itself can continue to emit odors long after you empty it. If the hamper has a removable fabric liner, you should wash the liner with the rest of your clothes.

If your hamper doesn’t have a removable liner, there are still ways to remove the hamper’s stench. Start by rubbing the inside and outside of the bin with a disinfecting wipe. Once the hamper dries, spray it down with air freshener. Rub the air freshener in with a stiff brush to make sure it penetrates any irremovable cloth layers, leaving your hamper smelling fresh.

Plan on cleaning your hamper regularly. The best time to do so is when you wash your laundry, as it will be empty.

Mini Dehumidifier

Dampness causes most closet odors. The moisture could be due to humidity in the air or your clothes not being completely dry before being stored. Adding a mini dehumidifier to your wardrobe will combat the moisture in the air.

There are dehumidifying machines that require power to help them pull moisture out of the air. These machines are relatively expensive and may be too large for some closets.

However, there are many non-powered mini dehumidifiers that you can purchase at your local box store. Some are in small containers that sit on shelves while others hang on the clothing rods next to your clothes. Both designs work well in removing excess moisture from your closets. Always remember to read the package instructions to know when you need to replace the dehumidifier and how to dispose of it properly.

Bar Soap

If your closet includes drawers for your clothes, you might consider using small soap bars to help keep them fresh. The bars can be either scented or unscented. Each piece also shouldn’t be less than 1 x 1 inch.

Take each bar of soap and wrap it in a thin cloth. The lighter the fabric, the better the smell emits when left in your closet drawers. The soap will remove foul odors over several days and weeks. You should replace the soap bar after approximately one month.

Activated Charcoal

Activated charcoal is chemically treated charcoal containing a more significant amount of oxygen than traditional charcoal. The oxygen infusion creates a more porous surface to trap foul odors.

You can find activated charcoal at department, home improvement, and pet stores. It can also be purchased online. Some packets come in ready to use, cloth pouches that only require you to hang them in your closet area. Others come in plastic baggies, which involve placing the pellets into a breathable cloth pouch. Older nylon stockings or cheesecloth are typical choices.

Conclusion

There are many ways to remove offensive smells from your closets. While each of these methods do the trick, it’s not a bad idea to use three of them to fully achieve an odor-free closet in the long run.