Remedy To Remove Mothball Odor In Clothing

Using mothballs is the easiest and most convenient way to protect your clothes from being worn out. Almost all of us store our clothes, especially the winter clothes, by putting a few pieces of mothball in the closet drawer, bags or boxes. These clothes emit an odor that makes it difficult to wear them next time. It is, then that we start looking for some remedies that would help us remove mothball odor in clothing. The odor is a suffocating one and needs to be removed before wearing the clothes. In the following lines, we bring you some simple remedy to remove mothball odor in clothing. The task of getting rid of mothball odor will need some time and patience. So, ensure that you have both of these when you set yourself for the work!

Removing Mothball Smell From Clothes

Sunlight Method

The first step to get rid of mothball odor from clothes would be to remove the clothes from the closet, boxes, plastic bags, or storage containers.
Hang the clothes outside, using the hangers, in order to let them get fresh air. Appropriate sunshine and fresh air are the most effective ways to remove mothball odor.
Proper sunshine helps the mothball odor to break down and hence make the clothes free of such odor. However, you need to be careful that your clothes are not exposed to too much of sunlight, as it can cause the garments to fade in color.

Other Methods

For clothes that can be washed at home, soak them in a bucket of water mixed with 1 or 1½-cup white vinegar. Then, wash the clothes properly and allow them to dry completely in the sunshine. If you are washing the clothes in a machine, you may need to run the load more than once, to get rid of the smell completely. However, before washing them, it is advisable to hang them in the fresh air for some time. This makes the removal of odor faster and effective.
You can also use a biological odor remover spray to remove the mothball odor from your clothing.
Try a fabric freshener or clothing freshener to get rid of the pungent mothball odor. It will make your clothes breathe an air of freshness.
Place some lavender blossoms and a bottle of cloves amid your clothes, to remove the mothball odor.
Never leave the clothes with mothball odor in the dryer for too long. Also, be sure that you do not use a high heat setting for such clothes. These can make your clothes smell worse. You may also find it more difficult now to remove smell from the clothes.
You can get varieties of odor eliminator from the market. Atmosklear is a popular name in this category, which comes in a spray bottle. It is non-toxic and biodegradable and can be safely used at home to remove the mothball odor.
Mothball deodorizer is another product that can remove the smell effectively. Hang your clothes and then place the pouch with the mothball deodorizer below them. Gradually, the smell from the deodorizer will be absorbed by the clothes and they will smell fresh.

How to Cite

Related Articles

See also

More in 'Home & Living'