How to remove fragrance from clothes: Learn an effective method to eliminate perfume smells from clothing and enjoy fresh, clean baby items and other clothes again.

how to remove fragrance smell out from clothing

When my first son was born, we lived far from any family members and our friends did not have any kids yet. We didn’t get any hand-me-downs at all and I had to buy everything new. After my first traumatic birth, I was pretty resolved about not having any more children, so I got rid of most of our baby items.

On top of that, we moved to a different country, so we started from scratch in more ways than one after the amazing Freebirth of my second son on our farm.

We had plenty of friends and family members who all gave us hand-me-downs, and I was so excited about this. Until I opened the sacks and caught the overpowering whiff of fragrance coming from the pile of baby clothes in front of me. We are a fragrance-free household, so fragrance is pretty jarring. But some of those items went beyond what I would call “usual levels” of laundry detergent fragrance. The thought of putting those on my perfect, newborn, never bathed and never touched by anyone else baby was repulsive.

But wasting all those gorgeous pieces seemed like such a shame too! So I resolved to get those nasty smells out and use the clothing we were given. This took many different attempts and I went down the list of different methods. Some worked better than others, but in the process, I was able to identify the components that worked the best and assemble them together to make my own. I’m proud to say that in the end, I was able to remove the perfume smell from about 95% of all the pieces we were gifted.

Today I want to share with you my step-by-step guide for how to remove fragrance from clothes.

water flowing in the green tub with clothes

Why You’ll Love This Method for Removing Fragrance from Clothes

Economical: Used clothing, hand-me-downs or thrift shop finds can save you so much money. Especially if they’re in an otherwise great condition, it would be such shame to discard them because of the perfume scent.
Environmentally Friendly: Let’s face it, whether you believe in all the things relating to the environment or not, reducing the amount of waste we produce is never a bad idea. After all, handing clothing down from one person to another has been done for hundreds of years. It actually allows for more high quality items to be made & sold, since they last for that much longer. This method for how to remove fragrance from clothing will help you do the same with beautiful pieces you may have been given or found in a thrift store.
Easy: While it may take some time, this is the easiest method I have found to remove fragrance from clothes, without using synthetic chemicals.

What You’ll Need

baking soda
white wine vinegar
sodium carbonate peroxide powder
fragrance-free laundry detergent.

Tools

large bucket/pail
clothes line outdoors

Instructions

Load all the clothes you are removing fragrance from into a large pail or bucket. Sit the pail in your shower/tub, and fill with hot water.
Add a generous pour of white vinegar and a sprinkling of baking soda. The mixture will begin to foam.
Using the end of a broomstick or other long stick (to prevent burning your hands in the hot water) stir the mixture thoroughly.
Allow to sit until the water has fully cooled. Make sure that your bathroom is well ventilated, you will be able to smell the first bits of fragrance evaporating from the clothing & into the air.
Once fully cooled off, drain the water and squeeze as much water from the clothing as possible. If you still smell a very strong fragrance smell, you can repeat all the steps up to this point one more time.
Carry the pail to your laundry room, and transfer clothing to your washing machine. Add the fragrance-free laundry detergent, as well as more white wine vinegar, baking soda and about 1 cup of sodium carbonate peroxide powder.
Wash on the highest temperature that the clothing can handle.
Once the washing cycle is done, smell the clothing. If the smell is still very strong, you can run the washer one more time.
Take all the clothes out of the washer and hang outside to dry in the fresh air. If you only smell a little fragrance after completing all the steps, allowing the clothing to dry in the sun will probably do the trick.
If more fragrance still remains, hang you clothing on the clothes line, and leave it there. Let it get rained on, and let the sun work it’s magic afterwards. For pieces that smelled of fragrance very strongly, I left them to outside even for several weeks.
Smell the clothing regularly. Once you feel that the smell has diminished at least a little bit, take them down and repeat all of the above steps from the beginning.

Tips

Sometimes removing fragrance is easier, and sometimes it’s more difficult. This depends partly on what type of laundry liquid the previous owner used, how many times the clothing was washed in it but also on the specific materials used in the clothes themselves.
Some pieces are very easy, and one cycle of the above method is sufficient. Some others are more difficult and require you to repeat the process several times.
If you still register a small amount of fragrance after going through all the steps above, you can either:
- Throw in the hat and get rid of that particular piece.
- Begin using it and continue to wash frequently. This usually does the trick.
Another helpful tip is to use Borax powder. This is not as common in Europe, but very easy to find in the US. Just add 1 cup of borax to the wash cycle.

clothes soaked in water and soap to remove fragrance

FAQ

A simple solution is to dab the affected areas with a little dish soap and warm water, then rinse thoroughly.

Yes, you can mix a cup of water with a few tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar in a spray bottle and mist the clothing. Just beware that the lemon juice in combination with sunlight might bleach and/or stain certain garments.

Washing clothes with a whole cup of vinegar and hanging them in direct sunlight can effectively remove musty smells.

Placing clothes in a plastic bag with activated charcoal or coffee grounds can absorb foul odors over time.

Washing with warm water is generally more effective for removing detergent smells from synthetic fabrics.

Yes, hanging clothes in direct sunlight can naturally break down and dissipate unpleasant smells.

Yes, products like enzyme cleaners and fabric refreshers can target and eliminate perfume odors effectively.

For dry clean only clothes, take them to a dry cleaner and mention the issue. They have specialized methods to remove odors. However, this usually involves the use of harsh chemicals.

Follow the instructions above.

Be cautious with high heat as it can damage some fabrics. Always check the care label for the recommended water temperature and dryer settings.

Yes, adding a tablespoon of lemon juice or citric acid to the wash can help neutralize bad smells.

Soaking clothes in a vinegar and water solution before washing can effectively remove cologne smells.

Spritzing with a mixture of water and essential oils or using fabric refreshers can provide a temporary solution.

Some people may have an allergic reaction or respiratory problems due to synthetic fragrances. Fragrance also often contains neuro-toxins that directly affect the way your brain works. In our house, we air on the side of caution and stay away from as much fragrance as possible.

Yes, placing clothes in a sealed container with coffee grounds can help absorb unpleasant perfumes over a long time.

For best results, use a whole cup of vinegar in the wash cycle to neutralize strong smells effectively.

Yes, similar methods like soaking in vinegar or using enzyme cleaners can help remove both body odor and perfume smells.

Natural fabrics like cotton and wool tend to retain fewer odors compared to synthetic fibers.

How to Get Fragrance Smell Out from Clothing

How to remove fragrance from clothes: Learn an effective method to eliminate perfume smells from clothing and enjoy fresh, clean baby items and other clothes again.

Materials

baking soda
white wine vinegar
sodium carbonate peroxide powder
fragrance-free laundry detergent.

Tools

large bucket/pail
clothes line outdoors

Instructions

Load all the clothes you are removing fragrance from into a large pail or bucket. Sit the pail in your shower/tub, and fill with hot water.
Add a generous pour of white vinegar and a sprinkling of baking soda. The mixture will begin to foam.
Using the end of a broomstick or other long stick (to prevent burning your hands in the hot water) stir the mixture thoroughly.
Allow to sit until the water has fully cooled. Make sure that your bathroom is well ventilated, you will be able to smell the first bits of fragrance evaporating from the clothing & into the air.
Once fully cooled off, drain the water and squeeze as much water from the clothing as possible. If you still smell a very strong fragrance smell, you can repeat all the steps up to this point one more time.
Carry the pail to your laundry room, and transfer clothing to your washing machine. Add the fragrance-free laundry detergent, as well as more white wine vinegar, baking soda and about 1 cup of sodium carbonate peroxide powder.
Wash on the highest temperature that the clothing can handle.
Once the washing cycle is done, smell the clothing. If the smell is still very strong, you can run the washer one more time.
Take all the clothes out of the washer and hang outside to dry in the fresh air. If you only smell a little fragrance after completing all the steps, allowing the clothing to dry in the sun will probably do the trick.
If more fragrance still remains, hang you clothing on the clothes line, and leave it there. Let it get rained on, and let the sun work it's magic afterwards. For pieces that smelled of fragrance very strongly, I left them to outside even for several weeks.
Smell the clothing regularly. Once you feel that the smell has diminished at least a little bit, take them down and repeat all of the above steps from the beginning.

Notes

Tips

Sometimes removing fragrance is easier, and sometimes it's more difficult. This depends partly on what type of laundry liquid the previous owner used, how many times the clothing was washed in it but also on the specific materials used in the clothes themselves.
Some pieces are very easy, and one cycle of the above method is sufficient. Some others are more difficult and require you to repeat the process several times.
If you still register a small amount of fragrance after going through all the steps above, you can either: 1. Throw in the hat and get rid of that particular piece. 2. Begin using it and continue to wash frequently. This usually does the trick.
Another helpful tip is to use Borax powder. This is not as common in Europe, but very easy to find in the US. Just add 1 cup of borax to the wash cycle.