How to Remove Odors From Shirts: Sweat, Musty and Stale Smells - Gulf of America®

How to Remove Odors From Shirts: Sweat, Musty and Stale Smells

To remove odors from a shirt, turn it inside out, pretreat the smelly spots with liquid detergent, wash it according to the care label with less detergent than you think you need, and dry it completely. Musty smells need a vinegar soak first. Sweat smells in polyester need a pretreatment and a thorough rinse, because the fabric holds on to body oils. The details below cover each case, so you can match the fix to the smell.

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TL;DR

  • Turn shirts inside out, pretreat underarms with liquid detergent for 30 minutes, then wash. Skip fabric softener and dryer sheets.
  • Musty shirts: soak in hot water with 1 cup of vinegar for at least 1 hour, then wash with detergent and half a cup of baking soda in the drum.
  • Polyester holds odor more stubbornly than cotton. Use less detergent, not more, and never leave sweaty shirts bunched up and damp.
  • Dry shirts fully before storing them, and clean your washer monthly so it doesn’t put the smell back.

Table of Contents

Why shirts keep smelling after you wash them

Most shirt odor comes from bacteria feeding on sweat and body oils. A quick wash often removes the dirt you can see and leaves the oils behind. Laundry research reviewed in a 2021 state-of-the-science paper notes that odor-producing, water-repelling compounds cling to polyester more strongly than to cotton, and that detergent alone has a harder time removing them.

Two habits make it worse:

  • Too much detergent. Excess detergent leaves residue that traps odor-causing bacteria. Art of Manliness says you can use 30 to 50 percent less than the detergent maker calls for on synthetic shirts.
  • Leaving damp shirts in a pile. Keeping dirty clothes dry rather than bunched up is vital to preventing odor from setting in, according to the American Cleaning Institute’s Brian Sansoni, as reported by Consumer Reports.

The same review describes laundering as a system: soaking, agitation, temperature and detergent each contribute to cutting the microbial load. If a shirt still smells, one link in that chain is weak. The sections below help you find which one.

Work out which smell you have

The fix depends on the smell, so match it first.

Smell Likely cause Best first move
Sour, sharp underarm odor Sweat and body oils held in the fibers Pretreat with liquid detergent, then wash
Odor that returns as soon as the shirt warms up Residue or oils left in polyester Cut the detergent, wash again, dry thoroughly
Damp, earthy, “basement” smell Shirt stayed wet, or the washer is dirty Hot vinegar soak, then baking soda wash
Stale smell from a shirt in the closet Stored while still slightly damp or worn once Rewash, dry fully, store with airflow

The basic wash that fixes most shirts

Start here before you reach for anything else. Persil’s laundry guide boils the routine down to a few steps:

  1. Turn the shirt inside out so the wash action hits the side that touches your skin. Sweat and odors get trapped in the fibers there.
  2. Pretreat the smelly areas with detergent, usually the underarms, collar and lower back.
  3. Wash according to the care label, using the recommended amount of detergent for the load size. For synthetic shirts, the trimmed-down amount mentioned above is worth trying.
  4. Skip fabric softener. It coats fibers and can lock odor in.
  5. Take the laundry out promptly. A wet load sitting in the drum is how a clean shirt turns musty.

Sort by color as you load. Consumer Reports suggests separating whites, brights and darks for workout clothes, which also keeps dye from bleeding while you run a longer cycle.

Does water temperature matter?

Yes. The 2021 review calls temperature the most critical factor in microbial control and points to temperatures above 40 to 60°C (104 to 140°F) for proper inactivation of microbes. In practice, wash at the warmest setting the care label allows. A shirt that says cold water only should stay on cold, with a pretreatment and a soak doing the extra work.

The Art of Manliness piece offers a useful reality check: manufacturers often recommend delicate settings for synthetic apparel, yet real-world experience suggests that stubborn odors often need hotter, heavier cycles. If you go that route, check the care label first and test one shirt you don’t mind risking.

Getting sweat smell out of underarms

Underarm odor is the most common complaint, and it responds well to a pretreatment that sits long enough to work.

Liquid detergent pretreatment

The University of Georgia’s textiles extension advises that if perspiration odor remains after laundering, you should pretreat the area with liquid detergent and let it stand for 30 minutes before washing. Work the detergent into the fabric with your fingers, wait, then wash as usual.

Liquid detergent on a shirt underarm

Salt soak for older odor

For a shirt whose odor has set in, the same UGA page suggests soaking overnight in warm water with 3 or 4 tablespoons of salt per quart. Wash it afterward. If the smell is still there, go back to the 30-minute liquid detergent pretreatment.

If the underarms are discolored too

Perspiration can change fabric color as well as smell. UGA notes that a few drops of white vinegar on old stains, or ammonia on new ones, may help restore color, as long as you test the fabric for colorfastness first. Test on a hidden seam before you treat the visible area.

If the underarms are discolored too

Polyester and performance shirts

Synthetic shirts need a little more patience. They don’t absorb sweat the way cotton does, so oils sit on the surface and in the weave. The steps that help most:

  • Wash right after wearing. If you can’t, let the shirt dry as quickly as possible rather than leaving it in a damp heap, as Consumer Reports advises.
  • Use less detergent so no residue is left behind.
  • Avoid dryer sheets and fabric softener.
  • Dry thoroughly. Art of Manliness recommends drying completely so no moisture remains for bacteria to breed in, and using air-drying or low heat if you worry about damage.
  • Rewash with a pretreatment rather than wearing a shirt that only smells “mostly fine.”

Removing a musty smell from shirts

Musty odor means the shirt stayed damp too long, or it picked up the smell from a washer, a hamper or a closet. Martha Stewart’s mildew-smell guide gives a method for cotton, polyester and blends:

  1. Soak the shirts in hot water with 1 cup of vinegar for at least 1 hour.
  2. Wash with your regular detergent and add half a cup of baking soda to the drum.
  3. Remove the clothes promptly and dry them thoroughly.

Check the care label before using hot water. For anything that can’t take heat, use the warmest water the label permits and give the vinegar soak more time.

Let the sun help, carefully

The same Martha Stewart article notes that air-drying in direct sunlight can help kill odors through UV exposure, while experts warn it can fade delicate fabrics. Dark graphic shirts and colored prints are the ones to keep out of strong sun. Turn them inside out and dry them in the shade with good airflow.

Stop the smell from coming back

  • Don’t leave wet laundry in the washer.
  • Dry shirts fully before they go into a drawer or closet.
  • Store them somewhere cool and dry with airflow, not crammed into a sealed bin.
  • Clean your washer monthly. A smelly drum will re-scent every load you put in it.

When you can’t wash a shirt right away

Sometimes the wash has to wait: a gym bag, a long drive, a day on the job site. The goal is to keep the shirt dry and keep bacteria from settling in.

  • Shake the shirt out and hang it somewhere with airflow instead of balling it up.
  • Turn it inside out so the sweaty side can dry.
  • Wipe skin down before changing. A pack of biodegradable body wipes in your bag means less sweat and oil gets onto the clean shirt in the first place.
  • Wash it at the first opportunity, with a pretreatment on the underarms.

A stronger option for whites and tough loads

A 2021 laboratory study from Slovenia found that adding a 3% stabilized hydrogen peroxide solution to liquid detergent in a 40°C main wash disinfected laundry without discoloring it or reducing its tensile strength. That is a lab result with a specific product and a specific cycle, so treat it as a reason to look at oxygen-based laundry boosters rather than a recipe. Read the instructions on any booster and the care label on the shirt before you combine them.

A step-by-step routine for a really stubborn shirt

If a shirt has smelled for weeks, work through this in order and stop when the smell is gone:

  1. Inside out and pretreat. Rub liquid detergent into the underarms and collar. Let it stand for 30 minutes.
  2. Wash with less detergent, at the warmest temperature the label allows, with no softener.
  3. Smell the shirt while it is still damp. Don’t machine-dry a shirt that still smells, because heat can make the odor harder to remove. Rewash first.
  4. Salt soak overnight if the smell is sweat-based, then wash again.
  5. Vinegar soak if the smell is musty, followed by a wash with baking soda in the drum.
  6. Dry completely, in the shade with airflow or on low heat.

The point of the order is to go from the gentlest fix to the most intensive one, so you don’t stress the fabric more than you need to.

What we’ve learned about keeping shirts fresh

We’re a veteran-owned shop, and a good shirt, to us, is one you actually wear: to work, to a ballgame, to the range, on a long weekend. Shirts that get worn a lot get washed a lot, and the habits above are the ones that matter most. Wash promptly, use less detergent, dry thoroughly and give a shirt room to breathe.

That’s also why we focus on premium materials for comfort and durability. Our goal is a shirt or hat that stays comfortable and keeps looking the way you bought it, wash after wash. We stand behind every order with a 30-day money-back guarantee, because we want you to feel confident wearing what you buy from us.

Look after your gear and it will look after your pride in wearing it.

Erik

Wear your pride in something that lasts

If your favorite shirt has finally worn out, or you want a fresh one for the rotation, take a look at what we make. Our shirts start at $34.99 and our hats start at $29.99, all themed around American pride and heritage, and every order is covered by our 30-day money-back guarantee. Your purchase also supports a veteran-owned business.

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FAQ

How do I get sweat smell out of a shirt that already went through the dryer?

Rewash it. Turn the shirt inside out, pretreat the underarms with liquid detergent for 30 minutes, and wash with a reduced amount of detergent. If the odor persists, try the overnight salt soak from the University of Georgia’s textiles guidance (3 or 4 tablespoons of salt per quart of warm water), then wash again.

Can I use vinegar and baking soda together on shirts?

The method in Martha Stewart’s mildew guide uses them in sequence rather than mixed in a bowl. Soak the shirts in hot water with 1 cup of vinegar for at least 1 hour, then wash with regular detergent and half a cup of baking soda in the drum. Check the care label for water temperature first.

Why does my polyester shirt smell worse than my cotton ones?

Polyester holds on to body oils and the odor-causing bacteria that feed on them, and odor compounds attach to it more strongly than to cotton. Use less detergent, skip softener and dryer sheets, and dry the shirt completely. A 30-minute pretreatment on the underarms helps too.

Is it better to air-dry or machine-dry smelly shirts?

Either works if the shirt ends up fully dry. Leftover moisture is what lets bacteria multiply. Sunlight can help with odor but may fade delicate fabrics, so dry dark or printed shirts inside out in the shade. If you’re concerned about damage, use low heat.

Sources

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