Help, clean linen smells from being in the closet!

I'm not sure why this happens, but every time I wash my linen & store it away in the closet, the next time I take it out to use it it has an awful smell. Is there any way of preventing this? or getting it out once the beds are made?

Platinum Member Joined: Mar 07 2007 Posts: 10429

1. are you sure the linens are 100%, completely, bone-dry before putting away? Any bit of moisture will foster mildew, which will smell.

2. How long are you leaving things in the closet and how jammed is it? Fabric needs air to circulate if musty odors are not to develop. Anythig, no matter how clean, will eventually smell if deprived of air. OTOH that takes time to develop, more than a week or two, unless the closet itself is already musty-smelling.

If the closet isn't musty and the linens are not damp, use sachet. The easiest and cheapest is fragrant soap--I recommend yardley's English Lavender, which is a traditional linen storage fragrance, but any pleasantly fragrant soap will do. Just tuck several bars between the linens, which will absorb the fragrance. After a few years, when the soap no longer smells, put in new ones and use the old ones in the shower.

3. For immediate use, spray with Febreze.

I had a set of sheets that had that awful "been-in-an-airless-closet-too-long" smell. Nothing I did helped--not washing over and over, not sachet, not febreze. No one else in the family could smell it, and it was just this one set. Eventually I gave it to Goodwill. Maybe I was hallucinating, but I wouldn't take the chance of offending a guest with as keen a nose as mine.

Wow! Thanks for taking the time to respond! I fold my linen right when it comes out of the dryer (when its still warm) but I make sure its not wet. Maybe the heat turns to moist? should I wait til its not warm anymore? I also like to fold it very compact & neat. Perhaps thats why there is no air. I keep it on top shelf of closet behind other things & it could sit there for about a month. you mentioned storing it with soap. should I leave the soap in the plastic or take it out? will the soap melt or get on the linen? thnx!

Platinum Member Joined: May 15 2008 Posts: 5044

I put a fabric softener sheet between the layers and on the sides of the piles of sheets. It always smeels like it just came out of the dryer.

Gold Member Joined: Jun 24 2010 Posts: 1311

Gold Member Joined: Jul 09 2006 Posts: 1937

I fold and put in 2 gallon ziplock bags when I know they'll be sitting in the closet a while. It also helps the sets stay neat and organized.

Executive Member Joined: Sep 11 2008 Posts: 329

Another approach is to see if the shelves themselves smell - maybe a fresh coat of paint or some contact paper on the shelves.

Platinum Member Joined: Mar 07 2007 Posts: 10429