If your bedroom, bathroom or laundry room has a musty, moldy, sweaty or just an unpleasant odor, your laundry basket is a possible culprit. While it’s normal for worn clothes to have a slight odor, it should not be strong enough to fill a room. 

Smelly laundry is also a sign that it might be developing mold or mildew, which can stain and damage clothes. 

To protect your clothes and prevent your laundry basket from fouling up your home, here are 5 tips to keep dirty laundry from stinking. 

1. Use a Well Ventilated Laundry Basket/Hamper 

The most important tip is to use a breathable laundry basket or hamper. If your laundry basket is not well ventilated or if you just throw your clothes in a random container or bag, then it could be building up with moisture. 

This causes mold and mildew, giving the clothes a musty or moldy smell. A poorly ventilated laundry basket also allows smells from dirty and sweaty clothes to build up and fill the room.

Alternatively, you can go the other way and get a full enclosed laundry hamper complete with lid designed to contain odors from dirty laundry. These kinds of odor-proof hampers are great for bedrooms and other spaces where you don't want even a whiff of dirty laundry smell. 

2. Don’t Put Damp Clothes in the Laundry Basket

The most common cause of a smelly laundry basket is moisture. That’s why we highly recommend a ventilated basket that keeps the clothes inside dry. 

But even a mesh laundry basket won’t help if you put damp clothes in the basket. If you’ve just had a sweaty workout, have been rained on or you have a load of wet swimwear, you have two options. 

One, put the damp clothes in the washer immediately. This is the best option as it prevents mildew and mold from developing on the clothes. Two, dry out the clothes outside before you put them in the laundry basket or mix them with other dirty clothes. 

3. Watch Out For Extra Dirty or Sweaty Clothes 

It’s not a good idea to mix in your extra-sweaty gym clothes with the rest of your dirty laundry. Same goes for any clothes that are extra dirty.

Sweat, dirt and smells can transfer onto the rest of your dirty laundry, causing the entire laundry basket to stink.

As with wet clothes, the best solution is to launder any clothes that are too sweaty or dirty immediately. Anyway, keeping them unwashed for too long can cause smells and stains to build up and settle deeper into the fabric. 

Another option is to store the extra-dirty stuff separately. You can use a separate laundry basket or get a partitioned laundry hamper. 

4. Use a Deodorizer to Reduce Odor 

A deodorizer can help reduce odors from your laundry hamper. You don't have to spray down the laundry basket or dirty clothes with a freshener spray. A simple homemade deodorizer will do. 

Put some baking soda in an open container and carefully position it inside the laundry basket. It will absorb odors. You can also just sprinkle the dirty laundry with baking soda. It will easily wash out in the washing machine. 

For moisture control, a couple of activated charcoal bags will absorb excess moisture in the air to keep clothes from getting musty. Activated charcoal can also prevent mold and mildew from forming. 

5. Change Your Wardrobe

Granted, this is a bit radical but changing the kind of clothes you wear can keep your laundry basket from smelling. If most of your wardrobe consists of synthetic clothes made from polyester, nylon and other artificial fabrics, they will stink more compared to clothes made with natural fabrics like cotton and wool.

Wearing cotton, wool, silk, linen, hemp and other natural fabric clothes not only prevents your dirty laundry from smelling, it also keeps you smelling fresher even when you sweat. 

You can further eliminate odors by getting antibacterial clothes like our very own HercShirt. Such clothes kill odor-causing bacteria, so they smell fresh even after they’ve been worn several times. 

Additional Tips

• Wipe down the laundry basket often with a mix of water and vinegar. If you are using a machine washable laundry bag, launder it regularly. 
• Take the laundry basket out of your bedroom. You can put it in the hallway, bathroom or laundry room where the odor won’t affect you as much. 
• Don't let dirty laundry pile up too much. Wash clothes at least once or twice a week.