How to Get Mothball Smells Out of Clothes

How do you get rid of mothball smell without washing?

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: February 28, 2023

From Clothing and Rooms

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From Your Hands

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Ways to Keep Your Clothes Odor-Free

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Video

Blech! Mothballs can sure leave behind an unpleasant smell in rooms, on clothing, and even on your hands. You don't need to hold your nose for much longer, though—odor-absorbing materials like vinegar can help remove the mothball smell from your clothes and living space. Have a nasty smell on your hands? Washing your hands in things like toothpaste and lemon-scented soap can help eliminate the mothball smell from your hands. We've even outlined some ways to keep your clothes smelling great, so you don't have to worry about mothball odors in the future.

Things You Should Know

Clear away mothball odors from your clothes and living space naturally with activated charcoal tablets or white vinegar.
Erase the scent of mothballs from your hands with lemon-scented dish detergent, toothpaste, baking soda, tomato juice, or orange rinds.
Keep your clothes smelling fresh by washing and drying them before sticking them in the closet.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

From Clothing and Rooms

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Use charcoal. If clothing has been sitting in an enclosed room, a mothball scent may get stuck in the room as well as on the clothing. In this case, activated charcoal tablets can be used to remove the scent. Leave a bowl of activated charcoal in an enclosed room with your clothing. The charcoal should absorb odor from the clothing and room.^{[1]
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- Charcoal tablets are usually sold at pet or department stores in pellet form.
2
Treat washable clothing with vinegar. If clothing can be washed, wash it in vinegar to remove the smell of moth balls. You can either hand wash the clothing in equal parts white vinegar and water. You can also wash the clothing in the washing machine using vinegar in place of your regular detergent.^{[2]
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- Both the washing machine and hand washing should get the smell of mothballs out of clothing. However, delicate clothing my require hand washing. Read the manufacturer's label on an item of clothing to help you decide whether to hand wash the clothing or wash it in a machine.
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3
Leave bowls of vinegar in closets and rooms. If a mothball smell remains in a room, or if clothing cannot be washed, place a bowl of vinegar in the room. Leave the bowl near the strongest smelling parts of the room. This should absorb the odor from the room and the clothing.^{[3]
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- If you don't have white vinegar, you can use coffee grounds instead.
4
Ventilate the space. A cool breeze from outdoors can help naturally remove mothball smell from clothing. For clothing stored in a place like an attic, open any windows on a breezy night. Remove your clothing from any closed storage containers, like boxes or trunks, and hang them up or spread them out. Allow clothing to be exposed to a natural breeze in order to strip away the mothball odor.
- This may also remove the smell of mothballs from a room.
- Make sure to keep an eye on the weather forecast if you use this method. Do not leave windows opened if there's a chance of rain or other precipitation.
5
Try cedar chips. Place cedar chips in drawers, dressers, or closets with clothing that contains a mothball smell. In addition to removing the mothball smell from the clothes, this may eliminate the smell from storage areas. Cedar chips easily absorb odor.^{[4]
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- You can purchase cedar chips at most hardware stores.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

From Your Hands

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Wash your hands with lemon-scented dish detergent. Lemon scent is strong enough to mask and remove odor and the grease-fighting ingredients found in dish detergent can strip away unwanted scents. If you want mothball odor out of your hands, use a lemon-scented dish detergent to wash your hands thoroughly after handling mothballs.^{[5]
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- For very strong mothball smells, sprinkle baby powder on your hands after washing them and rub it into your skin. This helps further remove mothball odor.
2
Use toothpaste. Rub a non-gel toothpaste into your hands and wash your hands with it the same way you use hand soap. About a dime-sized amount of toothpaste should sufficiently strip away unwanted smells from mothballs.^{[6]
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Try baking soda. Baking soda is excellent at absorbing and removing unwanted odors. To remove mothball smell with baking soda, mix baking soda and water together in a bowl until you have a fine paste. Then, rub the paste into your hands. Let it sit on for three minutes before rinsing it off.^{[7]
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Try tomato juice. Tomato juice can effectively remove unwanted smells and odors. To use tomato juice, fill a bowl with tomato juice. Soak your hands in the tomato juice for five minutes before rinsing them off. If this method works for you, this should significantly reduce the smell of mothballs in your hands.^{[8]
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Use oranges. Citrus scents can strip away unwanted odors from your hands. Peel an orange and then rub the rinds into your hands. This should help reduce the smell of mothballs on your hands.^{[9]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Ways to Keep Your Clothes Odor-Free

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Wash and dry clothes before storing them. To avoid mothball smell in the future, store your clothing without mothballs altogether. To do this, you should wash your clothing and dry it prior to storage. This will help repel moths by removing odors that attract them.^{[10]
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Store clothes in sealed containers. Instead of using mothballs, store your clothing in sealed containers. This will keep moths away without having to resort o mothballs. Vacuum-sealed bags are especially effective at repelling moths.^{[11]
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- Vacuum-sealed bags can be purchased online.
3
Use natural repellents instead of mothballs. Store your clothing with bowls of natural repellents. Herbs like rosemary, cinnamon sticks, eucalyptus leaves make great natural repellents and do not leave behind as strong of a smell. You can also use plants like wormwood and peppercorns.^{[12]
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