For washable clothes, start with the care label and the likely source of the odor. Pretreat visible sweat residue, wash with enough detergent in a load that can move freely, and use the warmest water the fabric allows. Dry the garment promptly and completely. If the smell remains, adjust the wash or use a fabric-safe treatment rather than covering it with fragrance.
Start with the garment and the likely source
Odor clues can help you choose a cleaning approach, but a musty smell alone does not prove mildew. Before treating the garment, check whether the odor seems related to sweat, damp storage, smoke, or something else, and look for visible stains.
Read the care label first. Sort clothes by color, fabric type, and washing instructions, then follow any limits on temperature, cycle, or cleaning method. Delicate or dry-clean-only items should not be put through a standard wash unless their labels permit it. The American Cleaning Institute’s laundry basics explains how sorting and care instructions guide washing.
For sweat smell, pretreat visible residue
Sweat-related odor can remain when soil and residue are not removed. For visible perspiration stains, pretreat with a prewash stain remover or rub the area with bar soap, then wash at the hottest temperature safe for the garment. If marks persist, enzyme products or oxygen bleach may help with stubborn stains when used according to their labels and the garment’s care instructions.
#1 Best Overall
- RINSE OUT ODORS: Our fabric rinse breaks down and fights stubborn set-in odors at the source in just one wash better than the leading value detergent in 3 washes
- REFRESH LAUNDRY: Downy Fabric Odor Remover Rinse adds freshness to your laundry and leaves behind the light, breezy scent of Cool Cotton
- FAST AND EASY: Simply pour Downy Rinse fabric odor remover directly into the fabric softener dispenser after adding detergent, no soak or pretreat needed
- SAFE ON ALL WASHABLE FABRICS: Use Downy Rinse fabric rinse on all your smelly clothes—activewear, everyday clothes, towels, delicates, baby clothes, pet bedding, blankets and more
- GENTLE ON SKIN: Downy Rinse laundry odor remover is free of dyes and heavy perfumes
ACI’s stain removal guide recommends pretreatment and the hottest safe water for perspiration stains. Do not raise the temperature beyond what the fabric label permits.
Fix the wash if clothes still smell after laundering
If an ordinary wash leaves odor or soil behind, check how the washer is being used before adding extra products. Insufficient detergent, low wash temperature, and overloading can all interfere with soil removal, according to ACI’s laundering problems and solutions.
Rank #2
- Use what Your Vet Uses: Thornell is an excellent provider of pet odor eliminator for home and laundry products to the veterinary industry in North America. Use what the pros use! This powerful dog and cat odor eliminator concentrate for laundry can be used safely on towels, bedding, blankets, clothing, and all other machine-washable items.
- Tough on Strong Odors: Use this pet odor remover laundry concentrate to permanently and immediately remove odors from the first application, saving you time and money. This concentrated laundry deodorizer for clothes penetrates the source of the odor whereas other pet deodorizers for home and laundry only treat surface problems.
- Easy to Use & Cost Efficient: Add L.O.E. animal odor eliminator clothes additive to the pre-soak or auto-soak cycle, or directly with the detergent. For moderate odors, use only ½ oz per load. Our 32 oz bottle of dog and cat smell eliminator is good for 64 loads of laundry!
- Not an Enzyme, Not a Mask: Our pet smell odor eliminator concentrate features a unique non-enzymatic formula that works regardless of what application you have used before. Odorcide L.O.E works where other odor absorbers for home laundry products haven’t and won’t.
- Safe for Small Pets & Children: No need to fear, pets and children can safely be around anything treated with L.O.E. pet smell and cat urine odor eliminator immediately after use. Our concentrated deodorizer odor eliminator is non-toxic, non-irritating, non-carcinogenic, and biodegradable.
- Measure and use sufficient detergent for the load, following the detergent label.
- Leave enough room for clothes to move freely instead of packing the washer full.
- Choose the warmest water the garments safely allow.
After washing, dry clothes promptly and fully before putting them away. ACI’s laundry sequence includes drying and putting laundry away; follow garment-specific drying instructions.
For confirmed mildew stains, use only a permitted treatment
If a washable item has mildew staining, use bleach only if it is safe for that fabric, and follow the product directions and garment label. ACI advises using the hottest temperature recommended for the item and notes that badly mildewed fabric may be damaged beyond repair. See its stain removal guide for mildew guidance. Do not treat a musty odor by itself as confirmation of mildew.
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Rank #3
- One 5 lb box of OxiClean Odor Blasters Versatile Odor Eliminator and Stain Remover Powder laundry booster to get out tough stains and stubborn smells
- Oxygen-based, water-activated laundry booster gets out tough dirt, persistent spots and set-in stains, plus eliminates sweat, musty towel and body odors with OxiClean stain remover
- Works with regular detergent as a clothes stain remover and odor neutralizer to get clothes extra clean. For best results, use as a presoak before washing
- This OxiClean powder stain and laundry odor remover can be used as a kitchen cleaner, bathroom cleaner, and fabric odor eliminator for machine-washable fabrics so you are ready for any mess
- Tough on stains yet gentle on fabric, this chlorine-free, color-safe, fabric stain remover formula removes odors and stains to help keep the clothes you love look newer, longer
What vinegar and baking soda can—and cannot—do
Vinegar
Vinegar may help remove unpleasant odors during cleaning, but it can leave an odor of its own. ACI also states that vinegar is not a disinfectant and is less effective than an EPA-registered disinfecting product. It is an optional cleaning aid, not a guaranteed fix for every clothing odor. See ACI’s guidance on cleaning with vinegar.
Baking soda
ACI includes baking soda in specific laundry directions, including whole-load treatment for crayon and presoaking heavily soiled sports uniforms. Those use cases do not establish it as a universal deodorizer for clothes or support a general odor-removal dose. Follow the directions for the particular cleaning task in ACI’s stain removal guide and uniform-cleaning guidance.
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