How to Deodorize Really Stinky Laundry

Wash stinky towels or clothing with mildew and body odors with regular laundry soap, and 1 cup of washing soda. Washing soda is not baking soda or borax; it is a product that cleans and deodorizes laundry. Washing soda is a powder-type product available in the laundry supply area of most stores, near the laundry soap and bleaches.

Fill the washer with hot water and add 1 1/2 cups of bleach; use color-safe bleach if the load you are washing contains bleach-sensitive fabrics. Add the stinky laundry and soak it overnight. Wash it in a hot water cycle. Dry it thoroughly as soon as the wash cycle is done.

Add 1/2 cup of lemon juice and 1 cup of vinegar to a wash cycle of color-safe clothing. Use the lemon juice and vinegar in addition to the regular laundry soap.

Sun-dry musty-smelling clothing on a clothesline. The heat and sunlight along with the fresh air will remove mild odors.

Add 1/3 cup of hydrogen peroxide to a load of color-safe laundry that has body, pet, smoke or mildew odors. Pre-soak for 15 minutes and then wash as normal. Do not add the peroxide directly to clothing because it may damage the color or fabric. Instead, dilute it in the wash water before adding clothes.

Use a natural pine cleaner in a load of laundry to remove stinky odors and add a fresh, clean scent. The pine scent may remain in the clothing after laundering, so do not use this technique if you are sensitive to pine scent.

Wash stinky clothing with a commercial fabric refresher designed to remove odors and replace them with a fresh scent. Purchase one that removes scent rather than masking it. Use the product according to package directions.