TOP 20 ways to clean and get rid of unpleasant odors in the wardrobe
Permanently closed cupboard and cabinet doors contribute to the formation of a special microclimate inside the furniture with its own humidity and often with a smell. Many housewives, with an unpleasant surprise, often notice that things taken out of the closet have a characteristic aroma, different from the smell of freshness, cleanliness and softener. Let's consider how to eliminate odor in the closet, as well as the main ways to prevent its occurrence.
Reasons for the appearance
All apartments and houses have an individual smell, which is shaped by the characteristics of the life of the inhabitants. Closed objects and laundry in closets are constantly piled up in a confined space. To know how to effectively remove unpleasant amber from things, you need to know why it appears.
Congestion
Congestion, lack of freshness and oxygen flow lead to air stagnation, accumulation and retention inside the wardrobe of peculiar smells from rooms and clothes. Foreign bodies are trapped in the closet and get into clothes and linens.
Humidity
At high humidity, fungi and other microorganisms multiply rapidly. They make things smell musty and damp. Poorly dried items placed in the closet dry slowly and contaminate other clothes with a damp smell.
Dust
Small particles of dust, dirt and debris are present on used clothes placed in the closet and also enter from the premises. They can introduce various unpleasant odors to the clean laundry.
bacteria
The ubiquitous bacteria are everywhere - in dust, undried laundry, washed and worn clothes. Their waste has various unpleasant odors, which intensify with prolonged storage.
tobacco smoke
Tobacco smoke permeates clothing and spreads through the closet. The old smell of tobacco can become dominant in the apartment, it is not easy to get rid of it if someone in the apartment constantly smokes.
Old clothes
Old things stored in the closets for a long time collect all the aromas of the apartment. Large items smell especially strong - old synthetic and natural fur coats, blankets, fur coats. When stored for a long time, the smell of old age and mustiness appears, even washed things acquire a specific aroma of attics and basements with old ones.
Ironing
It is very difficult to steam things while ironing until the water is completely out.If piles of laundry are immediately put away for storage, folded items will take a long time to dry. Washed laundry will smell musty and damp.
What not to use
To eliminate unpleasant odors in cabinets, you should not use the following methods:
- aromatic chemical agents (sprays, air fresheners) - they will only damage clothes;
- any other flavor - before the audit is carried out, general cleaning and drying of the cabinet.
Mixing musty smells, stale laundry and any perfume, even the most sophisticated, will make things even less pleasant.
Ways to fight
Before you start working on eliminating the smell, you need to understand the reason for its occurrence, after which it will become easier to choose measures. In any case, the first step is to thoroughly rinse and dry the cabinet.
Complete cleaning and overhaul
First you need to check and clean the closet:
- All things must be removed from the wardrobe, washed and sorted. If necessary, dry clean anything that cannot be washed by yourself.
- It is necessary to move the cabinet away from the wall. Rinse from the outside, remove dust accumulations, check the walls for mold.
- Remove the shoe boxes from the closet.
- Hang things in the fresh air to dry them well and eliminate the smells of detergents.
- If items have not been used for more than a year, transfer them to another location, pack them in vacuum bags, discard old items.
- Wash the wardrobe from dust, remove debris. Treat all surfaces with disinfectant cleaners.
- Dry and ventilate the cabinet well, leaving all doors open for a few days.
- A very old cabinet, which cannot be ventilated, can be painted inside with varnish or paint.
You can put things back in their place if the cabinet has completely lost the unpleasant smell.
How to remove mold
Items that are rarely used and stored for a long time without being removed and ventilated acquire a musty smell. Let's take a look at some simple ways to get rid of mold.
Aeration
Bringing in some fresh air is the best and most affordable way to freshen things up in your closet. Before leaving the house, it is worth periodically opening all the doors, pulling out the drawers. While nobody is at home, things can "breathe".
broken
A small household appliance creates fresh air ventilation and cools the air well. The breather provides multi-step cleaning and removes the musty smell from things.
Cleaner-disinfectant
Industry produces special air purifiers that kill germs and bacteria. Disinfectants inhibit the activity of microorganisms, a common cause of unpleasant odors.
White cider vinegar and apple
Different types of vinegar help get rid of the unpleasant smell of things and the wardrobe itself. Apple cider vinegar and table vinegar are used in several ways:
- poured into a bowl and placed in a closed cabinet;
- add to water and wash cabinet walls;
- when washing, poured into water during rinsing or with powder.
The smell of vinegar disappears quickly, and clothes and linens take on a fresh scent.
coal
Filters and odor absorbers are made from different types of carbon. Charcoal is poured over water and placed in a bowl in the cabinet. Activated charcoal tablets are tied in loose cloth napkins and placed in cupboards.
Air outlet
For built-in wardrobes, it is convenient to make air vents that will pump in fresh air and remove stale air. They are included in the process of assembling furniture and built into the ceiling of the cabinet.
Moisture and mold
High humidity in cabinets is what causes the smell of dampness and mold. This is usually typical of humid apartments, where the air constantly contains excess moisture.
Salt
Table salt absorbs water well. It is placed in cabinets in small containers - in the corners, in drawers. If necessary, replace with a new portion. Too much water also leaves an unpleasant smell.
tea bags
The tea bags will help eliminate the smell of dampness. They are stored in the closet, changed once a week.
A soda
Baking soda is placed in open saucers in the corners of the cabinet, periodically replaced with a new one.
silica gel
Silica gel is a convenient way to extract moisture from the air. It is placed in bags in the cupboard.
Steam generator
Modern steam generators help sanitize things. They remove odors, kill germs. The inside of the cabinet can also be treated with a steam generator and then dried well.
Antifungal agent
The growth of fungal colonies often occurs when there is excess humidity, especially if poorly washed shoes, socks and tights are stored in closets. To eliminate the smell, antifungal agents are used, which are used to treat the walls of furniture and are added when washing.
Eliminate the cause
Dampness in closets usually appears due to high humidity in the apartment.Cabinets adjoining wet rooms - bathrooms, kitchens, toilets - are particularly affected.
To eliminate the cause, a whole series of works will be necessary:
- maximum removal of the cabinet from the wall, detection of mold and treatment with antifungal agents;
- establish ventilation in rooms with high humidity - clean the outlets, install forced ventilation;
- use of automatic dehumidifiers.
Cabinets should be regularly ventilated, all contents should be removed, and doors should be left open more often. Mold does not like air and sunlight. Ventilation holes can be made in the rear wall - at the bottom and at the top.
milk bath
Milk is an excellent odor absorber. To remove extraneous flavors, you need to boil the milk in a saucepan with a wide bottom, put it in the cabinet until it cools completely (30-40 minutes). This old folk remedy has been used by many generations of housewives.
laundry bag
Scented herbal sachets help eliminate damp smells. But first you need to rinse and dry your wardrobe.
Tip: special odor absorbers will help remove unpleasant odors from the wardrobe.
The smell of tobacco
The following methods can remove the tobacco essence from the cabinet:
- air and wash things, wash the wardrobe;
- suspended inside a damp towel;
- fold out roasted coffee beans.
Quickly eliminate the smell of tobacco by placing burnt bay leaves in the cabinet.
If animals have been
Cats can sneak into any place and leave their mark.
Special and home remedies will help remove amber from cat urine:
- pet store odor absorber;
- citric acid solution (0.5 tablespoons per liter);
- hydrogen peroxide.
To get rid of the mouse smell, treating the walls with water and vinegar or a cloth soaked in hydrogen peroxide will help.
Naphthalene
Mothballs are often used to protect wardrobe items from moths. Eliminating the unpleasant spirit of mothballs will help:
- dry mustard scattered on the shelves;
- ground cloves;
- coal, soda.
An industrial odor absorber can be placed in the cabinet.
Shoe chest
For storage, the shoes are sent pure, well dried and cleaned. To get rid of the smell of shoes and chests of drawers:
- treatment with alcohol, vinegar solution, hydrogen peroxide;
- special air fresheners with fungus protection;
- coffee beans, citrus sachets, sachets - packed inside the shoe.
The shoe chest should be regularly aired, the walls should be washed with vinegar, furniture detergents.
Medications
Medicines have a pungent smell, especially alcohol solutions and tinctures. They must be kept tightly closed to prevent deterioration of the medicine. To eliminate the smell, help yourself:
- review and withdrawal of expired funds and drugs with broken caps;
- rinse the cabinet with a solution of vinegar, citric acid.
You can put on the shelves plates with roasted coffee beans, a cotton swab with essential oil.
Fresh purchase
When buying a new wardrobe, you should not immediately fill it with clothes - it will absorb all the smells of new materials. Clothes will smell for a long time of varnishes, paints and other substances used in the manufacture.
It is necessary to open all the doors, leave the furniture in a well-ventilated place. Then rinse the walls on all sides with water and vinegar (one tablespoon per liter of water), close the doors . You can place tea bags, charcoal inside.
Things pick up when the smell of new furniture has completely left the apartment.
How to fill with a pleasant aroma
To give things a special and pleasant smell to the owners, they use the simplest methods - regular washing, aromatic substances.
Important: perfumes refresh things pleasantly if they are free of foreign odors. The combination of unpleasant amber with any aroma will only aggravate the situation.
Maintaining cleanliness
The best and most reliable way to keep things smelling good is to keep everything in your closet clean. Store used items separately. For them, it is better to allocate a separate chest of drawers, a bedside table, and not a shelf in a common wardrobe.
It is also useful to keep objects that are no longer used elsewhere. Stored for a long time, they acquire a specific aroma of old linen.
Periodic Clothing Inspection
Everything in the wardrobe should be regularly ventilated. This does not only apply to fur products, which thus protect against moths. It's worth setting aside a day and pulling all the things out of the closet, shaking them out. Unused - discard or transfer to distant mezzanines.
Humidity level
To reduce humidity in cabinets, use salt, soda, silica gel, rice, zeolite. Special moisture absorbers are produced, which are used if other methods have not helped.
scented soap
Soap has long been used to protect clothes from moths and give them the scent of a fresh wash.
Coffee beans
The aroma of coffee is able to overpower many odors. Grains should be fried, placed in a cabinet whole or ground. The wooden cupboards keep the coffee spirit for a long time, and the clothes and linen are impregnated with it.
Citrus
Dry citrus peel retains the aroma of the fruit for a long time. Pockets with scabs are placed in different parts of the cabinet.
empty perfume bottle
Leftovers of your favorite perfume in an empty bottle will add a light scent to your clothes. It is better not to use one if men's and women's clothes are stored together in the wardrobe.
Vanillin bag
Leftover vanillin in the bag will add the scent of baked goods and feminine scents to things.
Essential oils
Your favorite essential oil drips onto the fabric and leaves it in a closed cabinet. Little by little, all things take on this aroma.
Storage rules
Proper storage will help prevent the appearance of an unpleasant odor in the cabinets:
- regular extraction and airing of the entire contents of the cabinet (1-2 times a year);
- keep the cabinet clean - remove dust, dry, treat with disinfectants against fungus;
- removal of unused items from the wardrobe;
- separate outfit from clean and used clothes - the smell of sweat, deodorants, streets will gradually permeate everything clean;
- keep doors closed so the smell of cooking and other aromas don't get into things; periodically it is useful to open it for several hours - the air stagnates in a closed space, microbes multiply;
- carefully dry clothes and ironed linen before putting them away in a cupboard;
- protect the cabinet from pets;
- to combat high humidity in the apartment (recommended - 40-60%).
When a characteristic smell appears from the closet, immediately carry out an audit, cleaning, without waiting for better times. Otherwise, the furniture will also absorb the unpleasant smell, which will be more difficult to remove.
Fragrances are used to give a touch of freshness to clean laundry, rather than to mask a bad smell.
Proper storage of things, taking care of their safety, will make the house clean and healthy. Bad smells are detrimental to health, make the air in apartments musty, heavy, provoke the development of respiratory diseases, allergies.