How To Deodorize Curtains?

How Do You Deodorize Curtains? Curtains add privacy and a comfortable ambiance to a home. Curtains may also absorb odors, many of which may not be pleasant. Everything from cigarette smoke, mold, pets, or food odors can permeate curtains.

This can cause the whole room to have an unpleasant aroma. Washing curtains every time they absorb unpleasant odors is not only hard work, but very time consuming and inconvenient as well. Here are some tips to deodorize curtains without washing them.

Tips For Deodorizing Curtains

Using an odor-neutralizing spray will help to eliminate absorbed odors in curtains, while simultaneously leaving a pleasant fragrance. The curtains should be carefully sprayed the entire length, using an adequate amount without soaking them.

• Using a high-pressure steam cleaner will remove unwanted odors while also cleaning the curtains.

• An aroma lamp used near the curtains will remove odors from the cloth.

• By keeping the room well ventilated, with lots of sunshine coming in, curtains can maintain freshness. Sunshine kills some chemicals that cause bad odors.

• Sprinkling baking soda onto the curtains and letting it sit for at least a half-hour will definitely remove odors. Baking soda can stick to some heavier fabrics though, so it is not a tactic for all curtains.

• Baking soda treatment involves placing the curtains into a large bag with about a cup of baking soda. Leave the curtains in the bag with the top closed, shaking the bag every hour or so. Simply shake the curtains when removed from the bag and hang them up. The odor will be removed.

• Curtains can be hung in the bathroom, with the bathtub filled with hot water and vinegar. With the door closed, the steam will permeate the curtains and remove odors. Vinegar can damage some synthetic fabrics, however, causing them to fade, so this approach must be used with caution.

• Right behind the curtains, or on the window sill, hang fragrant linen bags to deodorize. To make the aromatic contents for the bags, simply dry lemon and orange rind in the oven, then mix with coffee beans or dried flowers.
  
  Add a cinnamon stick, some vanilla, and a few drops of essential oil into the bag and place them behind the curtains.

• A cheap vodka, diluted in a spray bottle, will remove odors from curtains. Simply spray the curtains, not too heavily, then wait for them to dry and the odor will be gone.

Washing The Curtains To Remove Odors

If none of the above tips help to remove odors from the curtains, washing them may be the answer. Taking curtains down and washing them is not an easy chore, so here are some tips to ensure that the offending odors will be removed after you have gone to the trouble of washing them.

By using baking soda instead of detergent when washing curtains, the odors will be removed completely. Simply add one cup of baking soda to the load. Then, set the temperature of the washing machine on the highest temperature that the curtains can safely tolerate and the odor will be gone.

If the offending odor is from mold, fill the bathtub with warm water and add one tablespoon of vinegar, one tablespoon for each liter of water. If vinegar is not available, lemon juice can be used instead.

Soak the curtains in this solution for one to two hours, then rinse them off and wash them. The curtains should then be hung up to dry in a well-ventilated place.

Another way to soak curtains before washing is to soak them in a solution of vinegar and detergent (1:1). Let the curtains soak in this solution for thirty to forty minutes. The curtains should then be washed with detergent, then hung to dry in a sunny, well ventilated place.

After this particular treatment, the curtains will be fresh and clean, without any odors.

By simply changing the curtains outside on a sunny day for a few hours, offending odors can be removed. Mother Nature will clean the curtains, just by airing them out with a gentle breeze.

How To Deodorize Curtains? – Conclusion

Odors in curtains can be annoying, but removing those odors are not very difficult to achieve. Some of these tips can be used effectively to remove odors without having to wash the curtains.