How to Get Mildew Smell Out of Clothes
Updated July 2026
The short answer
A mildew or musty smell in clothes means moisture stayed in the fabric long enough for mold spores to settle in — from damp storage, a humid closet, clothes put away not-quite-dry, or a washer that harbors residue. The fix is a strip-and-kill wash: wash hot-as-the-label-allows with your normal detergent plus an oxygen bleach or a vinegar cycle, then dry completely — sunlight is the best finisher. Then fix the moisture source, or the smell returns: fully dry clothes before storing, air out the closet, and keep the washer clean and open between loads. If your problem is one forgotten load sitting wet in the washer since yesterday, that acute situation has its own quicker fix — see the related guide.
Before you start
You need: oxygen bleach or white vinegar, your normal detergent, a hot-capable wash cycle, and a sunny drying spot if possible.
Sort the smelly items — mildew transfers, so wash them together and separately from fresh laundry.
Check labels: delicates that cannot take warm water can be soaked in cool oxygen-bleach solution instead of washed hot.
Visible black or green spots are mold colonies, not just odor. Treat those items with an oxygen bleach soak first, and accept that mold spots on some fabrics leave permanent marks.
Steps
- 1Run a strip wash: warmest water the labels allow, normal detergent, plus oxygen bleach dissolved per its label. Alternative: a cycle with 1 cup of white vinegar and no detergent, followed by a normal wash.
- 2Smell the clothes damp. Faint remaining mustiness means run one more cycle before drying — drying a half-fixed load locks the smell back in.
- 3Dry completely, ideally in the sun. UV and thorough drying kill what the wash loosened. Machine drying works too — bone dry, not almost.
- 4Soak stubborn items overnight in cool water with oxygen bleach, then rewash.
- 5Fix the source: never store anything slightly damp, leave the washer door open between loads, and if the whole closet smells, treat the closet too — see the musty-closet guide.
What not to do
- Do not mask mildew with fabric softener or scent boosters — the mold stays and the mix smells worse.
- Do not put musty clothes back in a musty closet; you are re-inoculating them.
- Do not store any garment that is not fully dry — this is the root cause in most homes.
- Do not mix vinegar and chlorine bleach anywhere in this process.
- Do not tumble-dry a load that still smells damp-musty; rewash first.
Frequently asked questions
Why do my clothes smell mildewy even after washing?
The spores and residue survive a standard cycle. A strip wash — hottest label-safe water plus oxygen bleach, or a vinegar cycle followed by a detergent wash — removes what a normal wash cannot. If the smell returns on clean clothes, the washer or the closet is re-seeding it.
Is a mildew smell the same as a sour smell?
Related but distinct. Sour usually means bacteria from residue or a load left damp briefly — sharper, vinegary. Mildew is mustier and earthier and means mold spores established themselves. Sour fixes with a boosted rewash; mildew needs the full strip-and-source routine.
Can mildew-smelling clothes make the whole closet smell?
Yes, and vice versa — fabric and enclosed spaces trade spores and odor freely. Fix both in the same effort: strip-wash the clothes, and clean, dry, and ventilate the closet before restocking it.
Does vinegar or oxygen bleach work better on mildew smell?
Both work by different routes: vinegar dissolves the residue harboring growth; oxygen bleach attacks the organisms and the staining. Stubborn cases get both — a vinegar cycle, then a detergent wash with oxygen bleach. Never combine either with chlorine bleach.
Not sure if the smell is mildew, sour residue, or sweat? Use the Stain Rescue Tool to narrow down the cause first.
Use the Stain Rescue Tool