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How to Get Rid of Your Garage's Unpleasant Smell

January 27, 2022

It’s almost instinctive for us to throw something into the garage when we don’t have a place for it in our home. One, it’s accessible. Two, it’s convenient because of the open space it offers. But because of this throwaway habit, we rarely notice when the garage is already full of clutter. And when we do notice, it has already become so overwhelming for us to clean and declutter. Relax. There’s no rush to finish cleaning your garage so don’t make such a big fuss about taking longer than expected to finish decluttering. If you want to have your dream garage, then take your time, ask for help from others, do your research, and thoroughly go through each phase in the cleaning process. Of course, with dirt and clutter, your garage might already have this unpleasant smell. It might be musty which is indicative of the presence of mold or mildew in your space. Experts say that this is caused by poor air ventilation and low air circulation. It can get worse and cause your garage items to malfunction or be damaged. To get rid of this smell, we listed some steps that you could follow. 1. Try and test out different products to clean the mold. You may use vinegar, tea tree oil, or bleach to get rid of it. When using bleach, mix one cup of it with one gallon of cool water. 2. Apply the solution in your garage by using a spray bottle. Thoroughly scrub down the mold using a sponge or cloth. 3. Do not rinse the surface anymore after scrubbing it down. This is to prevent future mold growth through the bleach.
How to Prevent Mold, Mildew, and Stench from Building Up
1. Regularly clean your garage to avoid an unpleasant or musty smell. If the garage regularly undergoes cleaning, then mold and mildew will be less likely seen. 2. Declutter. Organize the items you store in the garage. Make use of smart solutions such as overhead storage racks or wall shelves from FlexiMounts. You may also use the brand’s bike racks. Ensuring that everything is in proper storage will help protect your items if in case there will be a buildup of molds or mildew. 3. Have proper ventilation in your garage. Regularly open the garage door to invite fresh air in. If your garage has a window, open it every now and then. You may also use a dehumidifier. 4. A trick that experts will tell you is to place boxes of baking soda in your garage. Leave these boxes open and make sure to check on them and replace them every month. Baking soda can absorb the bad odors in your garage.

Steps to Organize the Garage

You may organize the garage so that regular cleaning of it is easier and less overwhelming.
1. Take all of the items out.
The first step is to take out everything in the garage and move it first to the driveway. In the driveway, you may separate the items and categorize them based on what you want to keep, sell, donate, or discard. In the empty garage, it will be easier for you to visualize how organized you want it to look. You will also have the chance to think of the smart storage solutions that you will put in place for your items.
2. Decide what to keep or what to discard.
This is the perfect opportunity to get rid of items that aren’t of use to you anymore. The garage has gotten full and messy so it’s most likely that there are many items there that you don’t need or don’t serve you in any way. Throw these out, sell or donate them. Those that you will keep should be placed in clean and secured containers in the meantime. Ask yourself if you’ve used the items more than once in a year. Check if it is in good condition. And then assess if the item is difficult to borrow from family or any of your friends. Hopefully, this will help you decide what to keep and what to throw away.
3. Decide what to do with the items in your discard pile.
Look at the items that you are going to throw away and decide what to do with them. The first option is to donate. These items could still be of good use to others and another community. You could also take photos of your throwaway items and share them online so that you could give them away to your friends or acquaintances who are interested. The next choice is to sell. If they are not appropriate to donate or you need some extra bucks, then you could also sell the items in your discard pile. You may use the Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist to look for some potential buyers. You may also host a garage sale. The last option is to throw it away. Discard the items because they aren’t any use to you or they can’t be of use to others anymore as well. Maybe the items don’t work anymore or are not in good condition.
4. Thoroughly clean the garage.
Start from the top of your garage down to the bottom. Scrub the cabinets with a damp cloth. Wipe the garage walls with household detergent and a sponge mop. Afterwards, use a flat head mop with a microfiber cloth to dry it out. Then that’s the time you could move on to the floor. Sweep, mop, and hose it. If there are no stains in the garage, then you’re lucky because all you might need is to do basic cleaning using baking soda and water. The formula is half a cup of baking soda with a gallon of warm water and then use this cleaning solution as your floor scrub. This will hopefully remove the dirt and stains in your garage. If you want, you could also use laundry detergent and mix it with water to clean.
5. Organize the items you will keep.
Last but not the least is to install smart storage solutions in your garage so that everything will be organized. It’s easy to steer away from clutter when there are proper storage options in place. Of course, it depends on what you will be stored in your garage. FlexiMounts has varied storage options you will love.