To make your clothes smell better, wash your laundry in smaller loads with premium-scented laundry pods and a scent booster. Also, clean your washing machine to ensure it has maximum cleaning power.

There’s nothing like slipping into an outfit that smells as sexy as it looks. But if you’re reading this, chances are your clothes smell “meh,” even after putting them through your usual wash cycle—what gives?

If you want to make your clothes smell good, you might be tempted to spritz some cologne or fabric freshener and call it a day. But that’s not going to give you the lasting scent you’re looking for.

In this article, we’ll break down eight science-backed laundry hacks to make your clothes smell irresistible every time.

1. Switch to Luxury-Scented Laundry Pods

Not all laundry detergents are created equal. In fact, many liquid detergents are heavily diluted—some formulas are made of up to 90% water. That means you might not get as much cleaning power as you need.

By contrast, laundry detergent pods are more concentrated, giving you more active ingredients and fragrance per dose. For example, Laundry Sauce Pods are 4x more concentrated than standard liquid detergents.

Then there’s the scent. Some mass-market detergents contain weak fragrances that “burn off” in hot water during the rinse cycle or the dryer. But Laundry Sauce pods are infused with luxurious, long-lasting fragrances like Australian Sandalwood, Egyptian Rose, Indonesian Patchouli, and Siberian Pine.

These luxurious pods are built to keep your clothes smelling seductive for up to two weeks.

2. Use a Scent Booster

As the name implies, in-wash scent boosters enhance and extend the fragrance of your clothes, towels, and bed sheets.

These tiny scent beads dissolve during the wash cycle and deposit additional fragrance onto fabrics, leaving your clothes smelling like pure luxury. Just add the beads into the drum of your washing machine before putting in clothes.

Speaking of luxury…Laundry Sauce Advanced In-Wash Scent Booster comes in four signature fragrances: Indonesian Patchouli, Egyptian Rose, Australian Sandalwood, and Siberian Pine.

3. Wash Smaller Loads

Overstuffing your washing machine can prevent your items from moving around during the cycle. That means the water and detergent can’t work their way through all of your items, which prevents thorough cleaning.

Pro tip: run separate cycles for your towels, bedsheets, and gym clothes.

Overloading your washer might be tempting to save time, but you pay the price when clothes don’t come out with the fresh scent you’re hoping for.

4. Clean Your Washing Machine

If your clothes smell funky, your washing machine itself could be to blame. Over time, washing machines can develop a musty smell from water, dirt, and detergent buildup which can infiltrate your laundry.

If you suspect that’s the case, here’s how to clean, sanitize, and deodorize your washing machine:

• Empty your washer
• Add one quart of bleach OR 1-2 cups of white vinegar into the washer drum
• Run a water-only cycle on your washer’s hottest setting
• When the cycle is complete, check the rubber seals and gaskets and the inside of the appliance door or lid for leftover residue buildup or mold
• Do a final rinse cycle to wash away any remaining bleach before doing your next load of laundry

5. Wash Sweaty Clothes as Soon as Possible

The longer your sweaty clothes sit in your laundry basket, the harder it is to eliminate the odor—your body odor, that is. That’s because once sweat gets into synthetic fabrics, it bonds to the fibers. If you hit the gym, don’t wait too long to hit the laundry room.

Pro tip: If you only do laundry once a week, keep your dirty clothes in a separate, breathable hamper where the smells can escape.  

6. Don’t Leave Wet Clothes In the Washer

It might not seem like a big deal to leave your clean clothes in the washer. However, a wet washing machine can quickly turn into a breeding ground for mold and mildew.

Once your wash cycle ends, toss your clean laundry in the dryer ASAP to prevent bad odors from building up. We’re all guilty of getting side-tracked during laundry day, so set a reminder on your phone to put your clothes in the dryer.

Speaking of the dryer, make sure your clothes are completely dry before putting them away. Damp clothes can get stinky if they’re stuck in a closet or drawer.

7. Use Scented Dryer Sheets

Your washer isn’t the only machine that affects the smell of your clothes—your dryer does too.

As your clothes dry, the heat can “burn off” the fragrance from your laundry detergent, especially if you use a high-heat setting. To combat this effect, toss in a scented dryer sheet on a low-heat setting. This will leave your clothes smelling fresh and feeling soft as a cloud when they come out of the dryer.

Laundry Sauce Luxury Scented Dryer Sheets infuse your clothes with sophisticated scents while also reducing static cling and softening your fabrics.

8. Air-Dry Your Clothes Outside

If you have time, air-drying your clothes outside is a great way to make your clothes smell better naturally. The sun’s ultraviolet rays have natural disinfecting properties that kill odor-causing bacteria.

You can air-dry your clothes by hanging them on a clothesline or on a drying rack.

Laundry Sauce Is the Secret to Great-Smelling Laundry

The secret to making your clothes smell great is all in the sauce…the Laundry Sauce, that is.

We got bored with clothes that barely smelled like “spring breeze” and “fresh linen.” So we teamed up with scientists and perfumers to create the world’s best-smelling laundry detergent.

Laundry Sauce is the not-so-secret weapon that thousands of people use to make their clothes smell utterly divine, week in and week out. Ditch your supermarket goop and smell your best for just a dollar per load.