How to stop clothes from smelling sour?

[SKMT]

My clothes and linens get a sour smell whether they are stored in droors, passive vented closet, or just sitting in a pile on a shelf.

Live on the hook in a hot/humid environment. Boat is always open with airflow.

Any solutions?

[Hudson Force]

Please accept a few personal questions with my good intentions as living on the hook sometimes changes common cleaning and bathing behaviors:
1. Do you anchor in a salt or fresh water environment & how clean is the water?
2. Do you store temporarily worn clothing with any clothing not yet worn?
3. When you launder your clothes, what is your detergent, rinsing & drying practice?
4. Do you bathe in the water in which you are anchored followed by a fresh water rinse?

[boatman61]

Best is after being laundered, pressed and folded carefully pack into large zip lock bags for storage on shelves.
If you have the appropriate space, I have used 12" x 18" x 12" plastic bins with heavy duty bin liners cut to size and secured with a bungee cord under the lip but they can also come with lids these days.. kept the clothes dry and laundry fresh smelling.
For clothes on hangers, one can buy zip up protectors that work well.

[gs41escapade]

I'm a fan of the vacuum bags. Something like these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07XJNHCX7/?th=1

[Shrew]

My .02

We find it occurs when..

1) The clothes sit too long. We put clothes that we don't wear frequently (additional warm clothes, pants, etc) or spare clothes in vacuum storage bags. We also toss a fabric sheet in the vac bag.

2) We keep minimal clothes, and do laundry once per week.
-> 8 T-shirts (+1 for laundry day)
-> 2 'work' shirts (covered with paint and grease)
-> 2 button down shirts (For the occasional evening out)

3) We make sure to NOT put clothes away damp. This is trickier than it sounds. Often clothes don't 'feel' damp, when they are. Humidity is killer.

[SKMT]

1. Salt. Pretty clean.
2. No
3. Washing machine / air dry. But' i've had same issues after laundromat/dryer.
4. No

[Hudson Force]

'seems that moisture is likely promoting microbial growth on the cloth. As your open to the "salt air" you will have a salt residue that will continue to absorb moisture. I favor Boatman's answer using the sealed containers as well as Shew's advice about the fabric sheet. I assume that a "fabric sheet" is what I know as a "dryer sheet".

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

I favor Boatman's answer using the sealed containers as well as Shew's advice about the fabric sheet. I assume that a "fabric sheet" is what I know as a "dryer sheet".

Yes to both. We use the same vac bags that Boatman posted. We toss in a dryer sheet.

[gonesail]

Putting dry and clean clothes in big zip lock bags works wonders for me.

[denverd0n]

Remember also that any residual soap in the cloth will be a mold magnet. You have to be sure to rinse very thoroughly.

This, actually, applies as much on land as it does on a boat.

[SKMT]

Looks like a strong consensus on the vacuum bags.

So no point in trying computer fans or desiccants?

[boatman61]

You can try them.. we're just saying which KISS solution worked well for us..

[Kettlewell]

Never have a problem on our boat and I leave a lot of clothes onboard year-round even when the boat is in storage. But, we have continuous ventilation from several deck vents, a composting head fan sucking air out of the boat 24/7, and a couple of opening ports in the transom. A lot of clothes hang in a hanging locker, and I put an air freshener in there. I've found I like the "linen" smell. Dryer sheets are also good, but they need to be replaced once a month or so. I've tried a million different detergents over the years, but keep coming back to original Tide both for its cleaning ability and the nice smell it leaves behind that I find helps keep folded clothes fresh.

[Ike]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

'seems that moisture is likely promoting microbial growth on the cloth. As your open to the "salt air" you will have a salt residue that will continue to absorb moisture. I favor Boatman's answer using the sealed containers as well as Shew's advice about the fabric sheet. I assume that a "fabric sheet" is what I know as a "dryer sheet".

I only lived on a vessel when I was in the Coast Guard, but after I retired we lived in an RV for 17 years. I concur. Moisture is causing microbial growth. You can't see it or feel it but you sure can smell it. I particularly like wool shirts in the colder months and they are stored this way. I have stored clothes in zip lock bags and plastic bins for long periods without this problem. And yes drier sheets help to keep them smelling fresh. I don't vacuum seal them but I do squeeze out as much air as possible.

[SV Coronado]

I feel your pain since I also live full-time on a boat in the tropics. For starters, we try to avoid cotton. I never wear cotton clothes, they hold too much sweat and don't dry. The nylon/wicking type of fabric doesn't hold sweat and moisture (great when we have a lot of spray on you from a long dinghy ride.) They also don't hold stains as well, which is great when working on or around a boat all the time. As far as towels and things, we moved to microfiber and Turkish cotton type of towels. They're not as thick and as absorbate as regular cotton towels, but they also dry fast (just pin them in the sun on the lifeline for a bit.) All of this costs more than buying cheap cotton, but it lasts longer in an ocean environment.