Smelly clothes are a constant battle that we are left dealing with each and every day. The majority of people regularly do laundry almost every single day with stinky fabrics piling up consistently. This is especially true for larger household that house more people (both adults and kids) that are contributing to this endless buildup of laundry. But what do you do when you notice that all your laundry efforts are for nothing? Nothing seems to be happening when you wash your clothing and linens other than more odors collecting onto these items – leaving them with a worse odor than before you threw them into the washing machine. Sometimes this will happen, your clothes will smell after washing and this can be incredibly frustrating! This can mean either wearing smelly clothes or starting the washing process all over again.

How can you avoid smelly clothes after washing them and what is the reason behind your washing machine clothing odors? Find out by reading below! 

My Clean Laundry Smells Bad After Washing!

Have you ever gone through the whole laundry process, washed the clothing & dried them, only to realize while you are folding the clothing that they still reek? Talk about frustrating! Sometimes the foul smell shows up right away, while other times it appears only when the item is placed on your body. Odors have a clever way of hiding within the fabric of your clothing hidden behind fragrances and other masking agents that we use in our laundry care routine. So just imagine how embarrassing it would be to walk around smelling like a mix of floral fragrances and B.O. That fresh laundry smell that is advertised by laundry detergent companies is really a trick to make you think the product works, but in reality, it isn’t washing away the odor – rather it is actually making your odor problem much worse!

The Reasons Your Clothes Are Not Smelling Fresh After Washing

There are several factors that can play a role in the way your clothes come out of the washer smelling. Some of these factors you may have never thought about and some you may know is your major laundry problem. The laundry detergent you use, the level of maintenance you’ve performed on your washing machine, and how long you leave your clothing in the washer for are all potential players in your laundry odor issues. What are the effects of each of these factors and how can you eliminate these issues from your laundry care routine? We are going to discuss what you should do below!

Laundry Detergent

The key ingredient to our washing machine process, laundry detergent is believed to be the magical liquid/powder for your laundry odors. However, what if you found that your laundry detergent was actually doing more harm to your clothes than good? As we discussed earlier, fragranced detergents will actually do a good job of masking the odors and dirt on your clothes rather than removing them. Over time this will lead to a massive build-up of bacteria, odors, and dirt on your fabrics that will need to be removed – and chances are you will need to use something other than your detergent to accomplish this.

What is the Best Smelling Laundry Detergent?

When consumers are purchasing a laundry detergent, they look for the best smelling detergent that they can find, so they can spread the wonderful scent onto their clothing. However, the best smelling laundry detergent are the ones that don’t smell at all! Rather than using a detergent that smells like lilacs or ocean breeze, you may prefer the simple smell of clean. The introduction of ‘free & clear’ laundry detergent has given the option of a fragrance-free laundry detergent for those who are sensitive to smells or even those who rather their clothes smell clean rather than scented!

Washer Stinks

It may seem counterproductive that you need to wash an item that actually ‘washes’ your clothing, but according to consumer reports it is important that you regularly clean and maintain your washing machine. Washing machines are known for holding moisture which can conversely lead to potential mildew and mold growth within your machine. When mildew and mold develop it will result in both fungal and bacterial growth, as well as an odor that will contaminate the whole environment. This is one of the major reasons why you need to perform regular cleanings of your washing machine – especially in front load washing machines where mildew/mold and bacteria will gather inside the lip of the machine that will cause a putrid odor that will travel onto your clean clothing.

How to Clean & Deodorize Washing Machine

When your washing machine develops a foul odor or even if you want to give your washing machine a monthly clean-out, there are a couple things you can do to clean and deodorize the machine. Many people will turn to vinegar as a solution for cleaning their machines, and although this is a natural cleaner that is typically useful for deodorization it can be somewhat damaging inside your washing machine. Vinegar is corrosive and can break down the rubber hosing of your washing machine if you use an excess amount of the cleaner. Instead, you may want to use a noncorrosive & earth-friendly washing machine deodorizer inside your washer to clean it. The OdorKlenz Washing Machine Deodorizer uses a patented earth mineral technology that is highly reactive against many odors and chemicals to completely break-down the odor. Simply place ½ a cup of the OdorKlenz Washing Machine Deodorizer into your washing machine on an empty cycle with hot water and your machine will be completely cleaned & deodorized.  

Leaving Clothes in Washer Overnight

We all know the struggle of remembering to move our wet clothes from the washing machine to the dryer. I have been guilty of leaving clothes in the washers for days after I washed them, which means I have to do the whole laundry process over again. However, this is really not good for your clothing – as bacteria and mold can grow on these fabrics while waiting wet inside your washing machine. In order to make sure that you don’t forget to switch your wet clothes from out of the washing machine and into the dryer, try setting an alarm to remind yourself.

How to Make Laundry Smell Good

If your laundry still smells after correcting these simple laundry mistakes above, then chances are you may not be doing anything wrong! Well, where does this leave you then? This leaves you with smelly clothes that won’t be removed from the fabric of the apparel and will require a more effective odor neutralization method to expel the remaining smells on your clothes. The OdorKlenz Laundry Additive is an odor-eliminating laundry additive that you can use alongside your regular detergent to help fight off and destroy pesky odors. OdorKlenz utilizes a patented earth mineral technology that is able to effectively break-down and neutralize a broad spectrum of noxious and chemical odors from the surface of your clothing. Simply add in the suggested amount of OdorKlenz Laundry Additive into your washing machine with detergent and run the cycle on a warm water spin, and you will be flabbergasted by the capabilities of the additive to remove stubborn laundry odors. Therefore, if you want good smelling laundry finally, use a laundry additive to complete the job!