Drying-shirts

How to Get Perfume Smell out of Clothes – 6 Smart Methods

After the excitement of putting on your favorite perfume and going out, the afterthought of removing the scent is way more common than you would think. The only problem is, your clothes are clean enough and you aren’t keen on doing the laundry all the time. So, how do you effectively eliminate the fragrance without washing your clothes? These is the most simple and effective methods to do so.

It’s not practical to launder clothes as frequently if you want to avoid early fabric damage.

Luckily, there are a couple of tricks you can try and we will show you six different methods along with some additional tips on how you can effectively remove the smell of perfume from your clothes.

6 Ways of Removing Perfume Scents from Clothes

Are you stuck with a shirt, jacket or pants smelling like there’s no tomorrow?

Don’t worry.

There are actually some really clever and simple ways of removing the scents from your clothes.

Here are the 6 best methods to remove perfume smell from your clothes, step-by-step.

1. Give It Air

The most accessible way to remove any trace of perfume is outside air. More precisely, letting your clothes sit outside for a night or hanging them in the summer sun and breeze.

This is a very plausible method to have your clothes free of any scent as sunlight and wind are known to be natural agents in removing foul odors and replacing it with a more crisp smell.

Just make sure you check your clothes before the morning dew sets in. Also, for best results, try pegging the clothes on a washing line.

Remember, stronger perfume means more time outside, so, be very precise in leaving your clothes out for the right duration.

But, in case you are at work, we suggest you take a walk or place your garment on top of a branch while you relax beneath it.

2. Give It Some Steam

This is for your fabric babies that are not specifically limited to dry cleaning alone. Steaming does not take much time and there are several ways on how you can pull this method off.

You can choose to steam using steam cleaners, showers, or even boiling water.

Yes, you heard it right! You can use a kettle and don’t worry, we will get there in a bit.

First off, the ideal way to steam would be to hang your garment and run it with a steam cleaner. This is quite easy to use and offers quick results, given, you don’t over steam it.

Another method you can try if you pay regular visits to the gym is hanging your clothes in a steamy room as you shower. Just make sure you don’t soak it completely.

Finally, forget about those fancy steamers and try some DIY steaming. You can boil a kettle while holding up the cloth several inches from the spout.

Make sure the kettle maintains consistent boiling heat to let the steam pass more evenly without scorching your hands.

3. Make Use of Coffee

By coffee, we don’t mean a delicious cup from Starbucks – unless you want a beautiful patch of caffeine artwork on your garment.

We mean the grounded and dry coffee beans that are great in absorbing all kinds of odors effectively. And if you think this is great, wait till you see how easy the steps are as well.

To remove the smell of perfume from a piece of clothing with coffee, you can follow these steps:

Step 1: Place dry, grounded coffee inside a cotton bag or you can also use a sock and then tie it up.

Step 2: Place the bag/sock of coffee inside a large bag along with the clothes.

Step 3: Leave it for some time and voila the scent will be gone.

4. Use Dryer Sheets

Dryer sheets are great for removing unwanted fragrances from an outfit. These thin sheets of dryer come packed with an aroma of its own to help eradicate foul odor or fragrance.

This means you have to be careful in choosing which pack to go with. You do not want to replace a faulty fragrance with yet another faulty smell.

The best way to patch up a quick fix is to take a sheet of dryer and rub it gently over the area of fragrance you want gone.

If you have plenty of time to spare then you can also place a couple of sheets on top of the garment and neatly fold it over.

For better results, we recommend you to leave it on for some time to fully mask and infuse the fragrance.

5. Hand washing with Soap Alternative

If it does not work the dry way, you can always go for some good old hand washing. But of course, you will have to use some effective products if you want effective results and castile soap is a great pick.

This is a detergent that is eco-friendly as well as versatile on the hands. This makes it an essential item for washing out unwanted scents and even cleaning up wounds.

Now, to get started with castile soap, make sure you follow these 4 simple steps:

Step 1: See That the Clothes are Dry

Similar to when washing your clothes with vinegar, your clothes need to be dry before you start with this particular hand washing method.

Step 2: Prepare a Bucket of Water and Add Around 4-5 Drops of Castile Soap

Usually, with detergents like Castile soap, you will have to dilute it by adding a few drops of soap into a bucket of water. The dilution does not require much soap and you can get an even mixture with just 4-5 drops. To avoid high concentration spots, see that you distribute and mix it throughout the bucket.

Step 3: Hand Wash and Rinse the Clothes with Warm Water

If you want to activate the soap to its fullest potential, you have to employ the use of warm water when washing your load, especially when you are hand washing it. Before rinsing and drying the clothes, you will want to soak the clothes in the bucket for an hour. After this, swish them around and give it another wash.

Step 4: Dry it Out

Once you are done with the hand washing, leave your garments out in the sun to dry. The ray of sun and heat will further help to activate the effect of the soap. We suggest you leave the clothes on for about a day to guarantee complete dryness and free of perfume.

6. Go Traditional With Detergent and Boosters

Another method that you can employ is opting for traditional cloth washing. You can simply try out the classic solution to removing any scents or fragrances from clothes.

Although it will require you to put in some work, the results will be effective, especially with the use of artificial scents.

Step 1: Add One-Half Cup of Detergent, Baking Soda or Booster

This is a process all too familiar to anyone who does laundry. Just like washing a regular load of laundry, pour the recommended amount of detergent or any other cleaning aid. Including baking soda may seem a bit unorthodox but it can further help with removing the scent.

Step 2: Use Warm Water to Wash the Clothes

As mentioned earlier, opting for warm water instead of cold will help increase the effectiveness of the detergent. This means you have a better chance at eliminating even the most compelling and high concentrated perfumes off your garment.

Step 3: Dry it Out in the Sun

Similar to the previous method, drying out your clothes under the sun is an effective way of removing the smell of perfume. The combined effect of sun rays and heat reacts actively with the detergent’s chemical composition and sweeps off the lingering scent of perfume.

Clothes You Might Want to Consider Spraying On

Certain fabrics can absorb perfume much better than others. Now, this does not seem like a bad thing.

After all, everyone wants their clothes to smell aromatic and fresh. But this can also be a downfall for people who enjoy switching perfumes every now and then.

This means you need to categorize your fabrics well if you aren’t too keen on sticking with a single fragrance or constantly keeping up with doing the laundry after making a single use of your outfit.

So, in terms of fabrics, cotton and polyester are two of the most used clothing materials and chances are, more than half of your wardrobe will be filled with either or both of these.

In comparison, cotton seems to absorb fragrances a lot better than polyester. This means you’ll want to spray as little as you can on cotton fabrics.

This does not mean you won’t smell good as you can simply spritz some perfume onto your skin.

As absorption is somewhat less in polyester, you can use your perfume without worrying too much about overusing the perfume.

Conclusion

Applying perfume can take you to a whole new level of sophistication. It is an expression of your unique personality and style. But it can also be unpleasant to mix different types of fragrances.

Luckily, there are plenty of ways for you to eliminate the scent from your garment.

Removing the smell of perfume from a garment requires great care if you wish to protect the dignity of the fabric. As each perfume comes with different levels of concentration and intensity, it can react differently to different fabrics.

So, whatever method you choose to follow, always keep both the perfume and fabric in mind.