Published on
26 Aug, 2026
Updated on 26 Aug, 2026
5006During the rainy season, a bad, wet smell starts coming from the clothes we all hate. Even after washing our clothes with heavy detergents and soap, the smell doesn't go away. We end up thinking, is this because of the wet fabrics, or has our whole house become trapped with this humidity and moisture? The answer is that the annoying wet smell is the mixture of both. When the sun doesn't come for days, and you are forced to dry everything inside the house, the humidity and the damp air create the perfect environment for the bacteria to grow inside the threads.
Why Do Clothes Smell Bad In The Rainy Season?
In the rainy weather, the environment and the surroundings become already damp and humid, and wet clothes need air and sunlight so that the moisture in them can evaporate.
- No Sunlight: The monsoon creates a damp and humid environment because the sun usually stays behind the clouds for days. Sunlight has UV rays and natural heat, which kill the bacteria that create smell in the clothes. So the absence of sunlight keeps the cloth fabric damp long enough for bacteria and mold to multiply.
- Germs Attack: Clothes remain wet for more than 48 hours due to the absence of sunlight, which gives a perfect environment for germs to attack and create a foul odour in the clothes that does not go away even after washing them again and again.
- High Humidity: Rainy weather creates extra moisture and humidity in the environment, which stops wet clothes from drying quickly.
- Hidden Dampness: You may feel that clothes are dry from the outside, but the smell sometimes is the indicator that they still are not dry and have moisture and wetness left in them, so it also creates a bad odour in them.
- Using A lot of Detergent: If you use extra detergent with the thought that it will clean the clothes more efficiently, the truth is that using too much detergent can leave residue in the clothes if rinsing is not done properly. This residue can trap odour and make clothes feel stiff and damp.
- Indoor drying: Due to the weather, we have to dry the clothes inside the house and our rooms. But drying the clothes in a closed room or on a balcony that has no air exchange can create a smell in them.
Smell in clothes during monsoon is not entirely your fault; it is the environment that creates more humidity and dampness in the environment.
Is Your House Trapping Too Much Moisture?
Rainy weather itself creates so much humidity in the air and the surroundings, which naturally creates more moisture in the house as well. If you keep your house windows completely shut for a long time and don't have exhaust fans or ventilators in your house, then it can create more moisture in your house. When you keep your windows and doors shut for a long time and do not allow any passage for airflow, then more humidity and moisture will be created in the house. And it will not only create a foul smell in the clothes but in your house as well.
Simple Ways To Get Rid Of Bad Smell From Clothes
To prevent bad odour from developing in your clothes, you can follow the following steps:
- Improve Airflow: Don't just hang clothes on the rod; run a ceiling fan or small fan so that the remaining wetness can go away properly.
- Add Vinegar: Pour a bit of vinegar while washing the clothes. Because we know how long the rainy weather will last, it will help in removing or preventing the smell from the clothes.
- Run Extra Spin Cycles: If the weather has humidity and wetness, then run a double spin cycle in your washing machine so that most of the water can be removed from the clothes.
- Rewash Clothes: If the smell has already set in, then it's better to rewash the clothes because drying alone may not remove the smell from the clothes.
- Space Clothes Apart: Do not hang clothes too close, as it will not give any channel for the air to flow between them. Clothes need space so that the air can pass through them properly.
- Don't leave wet clothes in the washing machine: Leaving wet clothes in the washing machine can also create a smell in them, so remove them from the machine after cleaning.
These simple steps can help in getting rid of or preventing bad odour from your clothes in the rainy weather.
How To Prevent Indoor Moisture?
Monsoon creates humidity and moisture in the environment, which also creates dampness in our houses as well. To prevent it, you can follow the following ways:
Open Windows & Doors: Keep your windows and doors open for an interval of 20-25 minutes in between. It will help in passing air inside and outside the house.
Use Exhaust and Ventilators: Run exhaust fans or ventilators while cooking and taking showers; it will pass the extra steam from the house.
Move Furniture: Keep the furniture away from doorways and vents, so that air has a path to travel outside the room, as furniture that stays close to the doorways, walls, and vents keeps the air trapped and gives no space for the air to travel, which creates more humidity in the air.
Run Ceiling Fans: Small fans or ceiling fans help in removing the trapped moisture and air that gets stuck in the corners and in the house due to humidity in the surroundings.
Conclusion
The stubborn laundry smell is more than an annoying chore- it's trapped indoor moisture and slow-drying of clothes. We do love rainy weather, as it comes after the hot and sizzling summer, which literally dries us all. The calmness and coldness we get when it rains feels very refreshing, but it is for some time. The aftereffects are what we don't like, as coldness and calmness it creates humidity and stickiness in the environment. This stickiness creates more humidity and dampness in our houses as well, which results in a damp smell in our clothes and even in our houses.
But following simple ways such as improving airflow, adding vinegar to your clothes, washing them properly, along with opening the doors and windows in between and running fans in the house for better airflow, can also help in preventing the damp smell.
References
What Is a Monsoon? | NESDIS | National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service
