DIY:Get rid of the Pesky Mothball smell

I thought I would write a lil tutorial on how to get rid of the dreaded moth ball smell out of used clothes. I had the pleasure this weekend of stopping by a yard sale with lots of vintage clothes and bags and unfortunately a few were mothy smelling. I took to the internet and did a little research and found how hard it is to get this smell off your clothes but not impossible.

these bags were a bit smelly

1st option: The Sun..... if you put your clothes outside for as long as you can, we are talking  days possibly the odor will naturally come off, its something to do with the ozone/sun/heat combination but this process is slow and if your in a hurry like I was (well not really but kind of lol) option 2 is better

2nd option:  Take your clothing or items to steam to a well ventilated area or outdoors (i did it outdoors for safety reasons, the gas that is expelled off the clothing can be harmful). Steam your items. A good steaming over every inch inside and outside, everything. I did 2-3 good steamings over each piece and can you believe it the smell was gone. (you can also put it in the dryer on air dry which allows the gasses to expel as well) I only used this method. (I steamed the inside lining of the bags too and i went over the outside and it worked on them so if you have bags try it.)

Final Step: If your clothes now have a basement smell if they are washable throw them in the washer with 2 teaspoons of baking soda and they should be refreshed.

If they aren't washable you could hand soak it in a bucket or sink with the baking soda and let it air dry.

The key to getting the odor off is heat and what actually is making your clothes smell is the gas the mouthballs emit that we cannot actually see on the clothes.

I steamed the clothes and it worked great, got some great stuff for about 10 dollars all vintage

hope it helps you

dimples