How to avoid unpleasant smells in boxes when packing your clothes?

When it comes to relocations, there is always talk about properly preparing, choosing the right moving company, and so on. But rarely do you see a solution to a really common problem. Unpleasant smells coming from boxes when unpacking them. There are several solutions to this problem, but the easiest one is to simply hire packing services from a moving company and make sure that your clothes are properly prepared for packing. In order to completely avoid unpleasant smells in boxes when packing your clothes, you need to do a bit of prep work. And that is exactly what we are going to cover in this article.

Avoid unpleasant smells in boxes when packing your clothes – How to do it?

Here are some simple solutions:

• Fully clean and dry your clothing first
• Use cloth garment bags if you want to avoid unpleasant smells in boxes when packing your clothes
• Cedar will keep your clothes smelling fresh

Fully clean and dry your clothing first

Most of the smells come from clothes that are not clean enough. Or not dry enough. The easiest solution is to either clean and dry your clothes thoroughly or send them for cleaning. The latter might be a bit expensive if your wardrobe is large, though. Even the best moving companies Columbus Ohio cannot do anything about the smell if your clothes are producing so much of it. Make sure to account for the time expenditure that this will bring, though. Cleaning and drying all your clothes might take a while. The best thing to do is to separate the clothes that you will be wearing and leave those on the side while cleaning and drying a couple of boxes’ worth of clothes each day.

However, sometimes even cleaning and drying properly is not enough to eliminate all the smells. Boxes can interact with your clothes in a funny way and produce smells that were not present at the time of the packing. What you might want to do is:

Use cloth garment bags if you want to avoid unpleasant smells in boxes when packing your clothes

Utilizing cloth garment bags is a great way to make sure that there are no unpleasant smells when unpacking. While this does add a bit to the whole packing process, it is well worth it if eliminating the smell is your main concern. There are many great garment bags on the market, something for everyone, and they will ensure that you will not feel any smell whatsoever. Of course, cleaning and drying your clothes is still a prerequisite. While these bags are great, they will not eliminate the smell on their own. Also, it might not be practical to put all of your clothes in such bags, and it might get expensive rather fast. Use them for the clothes that you know are susceptible to smelling bad while in transport.

Cedar will keep your clothes smelling fresh

Another great way to ensure the fresh smell is if you use cedar. This natural scent will serve as a freshener and it will repel bugs as well. Just make sure that your clothes do not come into direct contact with cedarwood. Use some sort of padding in between and you will be just fine. This is just one of the many tricks that people use for residential moving. Cedar will provide that extra freshness and will eliminate many of the smells. You don’t really need to use much of it, nor should you. A small block is usually enough for a box of clothing.

Avoid unpleasant smells in boxes when packing your clothes – What to use?

While in the process of packing your clothes, you can also opt to use some of the natural fresheners, such as:

• Coffee grounds
• Vinegar
• Air fresheners
• Bar soap
• Dryer sheets
• Perfumed tissue paper or cotton balls

All of these will definitely help with the smell and you can actually combine some of them to great effect. However, you might want to avoid mixing too much as it can produce unwanted results. Also, you can never go wrong with using these ingredients on your own. You might want to do a “test run” with a couple of boxes, before you move, just to see what kind of effect they have on your clothing. Also, the same thing as with cedarwood applies. Never have these directly touching your clothing. You can create a small pocket to put the stuff in, away from your clothing but within the box.

If your clothes are properly clean and dry, these scents will take over and you will not have to worry about any odd smells coming from the boxes. Simple as that.

Don’t forget to label boxes!

One last thing. Make sure to label moving boxes properly. This will ensure that both you and your movers know what is inside the boxes and where to put them. You can also put what you have used for freshening the box up on the label. This will serve you well if you need to relocate again as you will see what kind of a smell you like the most. You can use a variety of labeling systems, whatever you see fit, really. As long as it is clear and concise what is in the box and where it is supposed to go, the labels are serving their function.

In the case of seasonal clothing, put a special label on those boxes as you may not even need to unpack some of them until the right season. A simple label such as “cardigans” or “shorts” may save you a lot of effort down the line, when you need those items.