How To Get The Smell Out Of Musty Bed Sheets

All kinds of situations can make us sweat in our sleep. It could be a run-of-the-mill reason, like being too warm or having a stressful nightmare. There are also conditions that can contribute to heavy sweating while sleeping, like puberty, menopause, diabetes, anxiety, and more. We all sweat for one reason or another, so it’s good to have a few tricks up your sleeve for dealing with sweaty, musty bed sheets.

The treatment that I’m sharing with you today digs deep to help eliminate odor and oils that can get trapped in the fibers of your bed sheets. It’s not really for “cleaning,” per se, so if you have spills or stains that need to be washed out, you’ll probably want to wash those out first before starting this process. Here’s how it works!

How To Remove Odor and Oil From Bed Sheets

You’ll need:

Sink or bucket
Hot water
White vinegar
Dish soap
Baking soda

Directions:

Step 1 – Soak

Fill a sink or bucket with hot water. Add 1 cup of vinegar and a tablespoon or so of dish soap to the water.

Put your sheets in the water, and use your hands to swish the sheets around a bit. You just want to make sure they’re completely saturated while they’re soaking.

Allow the sheets to soak in the sink or bucket for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.

Step 2 – Wash

Place 1/2 cup of baking soda directly into the drum of your washing machine.

Remove the sheets from the water and wring them out a bit, then toss them into the washer.

Start your washer using the “heavy soil” setting (if your washer has one) and the hottest water setting.

Step 3 – Smell Test

Remove your sheets from the washer and do a smell test to see if the odor is gone. If they’re not quite as fresh as you’d like them to be, simply repeat steps 1 through 3 again. After a second cycle, even the smelliest of sheets should smell great!

Step 4 – Line Dry

Hopefully you’ll be doing this process on a nice day, because drying your sheets out in the sun is a big bonus! Direct sunlight can help kill germs and whiten your sheets, and the fresh air will leave them smelling fresh and clean. Then replace your sheets and enjoy a clean and fresh-smelling night’s sleep! :-)