Who doesn’t love the smell of fresh laundry? While getting that just-out-of-the-dryer scent isn’t hard, keeping your linens smelling fresh when you store them in a closet is a different story. The enclosed space of a linen closet is the perfect breeding ground for mold and bacteria that can leave your clothes, towels, and bedding smelling musty. Luckily, there are measures you can take to ensure your linens maintain that fresh, clean smell until it’s time to use them. Here’s what you need to know, so you never have to worry about handing a stinky towel to a guest ever again.
Why Do Linens Tend To Smell or Get Musty in Storage?
An enclosed space with poor ventilation like a linen closet is ripe for the growth of mold and bacteria that cause musty smells. Moisture can originate from various places, including bedding or towels that didn’t get completely dry in the dryer, perspiration and body oils left on poorly laundered towels and sheets, and even moisture from a steamy shower. Even a slight amount of dampness on a sheet or towel folded and stacked tightly in a compact closet can lead to mold growth.
How to Keep Your Linen Closet and Linens From Smelling Musty
Dry Your Linens Thoroughly
Even a slightly damp sheet, comforter, or towel can be a breeding ground for mold and mildew. Give your linens a feel test after they go through the dryer and throw them back in for another round if they aren’t completely dry.
Use Linen Spray
Lightly spritz your bedding and towels with a linen spray (letting them dry before folding and putting them in a closet). The spray gives them a fresh smell, while also acting as a preservative that inhibits mold growth.
Add Air Fresheners
A scented sachet, a scented candle or a cloth soaked in a little essential oil are perfect linen closet fresheners. Not much for scents? Place an open box of baking soda in the rear of the closet. It will absorb odors in your linen closet just as it does in your fridge.
Use Fabric Storage Over Plastic or Cardboard
If you need to store your linens inside of something, go with a cotton bag or box instead of an air-tight plastic container or cardboard box. Plastic containers inhibit airflow, creating a great environment for mold growth, and cardboard boxes attract pests and hold moisture. Instead, stack them loose in an open plastic container or use a cotton or flax bag that allows the linens to breathe.
Related: I Tested Over 25 Rain Jackets—These Are the Top Picks That’ll Keep You Dry, Inside and Out
How to Store Bulky Bedding
Bulky bedding is notoriously difficult to dry in a dryer, so it’s easy to end up storing them without noticing a damp spot. Check a comforter carefully to make sure it’s dry before storing it, keeping in mind that you may need to run your bedspread through more than one cycle to dry it completely. Once dry, lay the bedspread flat, fold it into thirds, roll it tightly, then store it in a cotton or canvas bag. (Rolling leaves fewer creases and wrinkles than folding). Unlike plastic, cotton and canvas are breathable, so they won’t trap moisture inside. If space is really at a premium, you can use a vacuum-sealed storage bag to compress the bedspread down to a more manageable size.
How to Store Towels
As with other types of linens, only store towels in your linen closet after you’ve laundered and dried them. Use a towel bar or hook to air dry towels between showers and do not store them in a linen closet. Even after a towel that you’ve used to dry off post-shower has dried, it still has body oils on it that can create smells if confined to a linen closet.
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How Often Should You Replace Bedding and Linens?
Bedding and linens can survive many trips through the washer and dryer, but they won’t last forever. Here’s how much life you can expect to get out of your linens and how you can make sure you get the most out of them.
Sheets
A nice set of sheets will last up to five years or more when properly laundered. Sheets that are 100 percent cotton or, better yet, Egyptian cotton, are pricier than synthetics like microfiber and polyester, but they also last a lot longer.
Comforter
A good comforter can keep you warm and cozy for many nights. You can get around 15 years out of a quality comforter if you launder it about every two to three months (more often if you sleep with pets).
Duvet
A duvet cover can last up to five years, but you’ll need to take care of it to get that kind of mileage out of it. Wash your duvet cover about once every two weeks to keep it fresh.
Towels
You’ll get between two and five years out of a bath towel, depending on its quality and how often you use it. Given that a towel’s purpose is to soak up moisture, it’s the linen that’s most vulnerable to mold and mildew. Getting a mildew smell out of a towel once it’s taken hold can be a real challenge, so allowing a towel to dry thoroughly after use is crucial. Hang a towel on a towel bar without folding or bunching it to shorten its dry time and minimize the potential for mildew growth.
How to Freshen up Guest Room Sheets for Visitors
Most of us like to keep the guest room bed made and neat even when there are no guests on the immediate calendar. While those sheets may sit unused, you’ll want to launder them just before your guests arrive. Even sheets that haven’t been slept on can accumulate dust and dust mites and absorb odors from the house. Consider adding a little vinegar to the load to make the sheets extra soft, and spritz a little linen spray on them before making the bed as an added touch.
