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De-Stink Clothes Without Washing

Photo by: Bigstockphoto
Photo by: Bigstockphoto

Did you know you can eliminate the stink off your clothes without washing them? That’s right! Some household items do double duty as odor eliminator from clothing and shoes. When you can’t be bothered to wash your clothes, use these household items instead:

Cat Litter

Cat litter works to eliminate cat poop odor. It works to de-stink clothes and shoes too! There’s nothing to it, just get a clean container like a drinking glass or bowl. Add a handful of cat litter and put it near your stinky shoes. The dank odor should go away. To de-stink clothes, just place the container filled with cat litter inside your closet. Let the cat litter soak up all the stink for an hour or two. Your clothes should come out smelling fresher after.

Activated Charcoal

Activated charcoal neutralizes all the bad odor from clothes, shoes, and beddings. It works great to remove unwanted odor from the fridge too! Again, just get a clean container and pour the activated charcoal. Place it near the odorous articles of clothing. You want to do this in a closet. The confined space helps draw out the bad smell. Just leave the container in the closet for several hours to de-stink your unwashed clothes. The same thing goes for de-stinking the fridge. Just chuck the container in the fridge, leave it there for a day and the fridge becomes fresh smelling.

If you can’t find activated charcoal, use regular charcoal instead. If that’s unavailable, substitute charcoal with baking soda.

White Distilled Vinegar

Spray your troubles away with white distilled vinegar. Get a spray bottle and mix equal parts of water and distilled white vinegar. Spray the solution on problematic areas like the armpit areas of the clothes. The solution will quickly neutralize unwanted odors. Vinegar will also kill bacteria on contact. Because vinegar is acidic, its compounds will break down armpit stains too! Spray away to eliminate odors emanating from the fridge, shoes or even on moldy areas of the home.

Lemon Juice

Just like distilled white vinegar, lemon juice is an excellent odor eliminator. Mix a tablespoon of lemon juice with ¾ cup of water in a spray bottle. Shake the bottle well to incorporate both liquids together. Now, spray it on problematic areas of the clothes like the armpits or collar. The bad smell should dissipate within minutes. You can also use this solution to remove stains from clothes or to get rid of grout! It works great as a window cleaning solution too.

Air Freshener/Perfume

Mask any unwanted smells using air freshener or perfume. If you’re using the former, simply leave an opened air freshener inside your closet. Use a couple of spritzes of your favorite perfume to mask the stink from dirty clothing.

Take it Outside

If all else fail, take your smelly clothes outside. The ultraviolet rays of the sun will remove the stink from your clothes effectively. It will also bleach stains and kill bacteria! If you washed your clothes, take it outside to dry as well.


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