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• Method 1 of 3: Getting the mothball smell out of clothes and rooms
• Method 2 of 3: Getting the mothball smell off your hands
• Method 3 of 3: Store clothes without mothballs

Mothballs can leave an unpleasant odor in rooms, clothes and on your hands. Agents that absorb odors, such as vinegar, can get mothball odor out of clothing. Washing your hands with agents such as toothpaste and lemon-scented dish soap can get the mothball smell off your hands. Fortunately, once you have removed the mothball odor, there are some proven techniques to prevent the problem from now on.

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Method 1 of 3: Getting the mothball smell out of clothes and rooms

1. Use activated charcoal. If you keep your clothes in a closed room, the mothball smell can get stuck not only in your clothes, but also in the room itself. In this case you can use activated charcoal tablets to get rid of the smell. Leave a bowl of activated charcoal in the locked room where you keep your clothes. The activated carbon should absorb the bad air in your clothes and the room.
   • You can usually buy activated charcoal in tablet form at pet stores, drug stores, and department stores.
2. Treat washable clothes with vinegar. If the garments can be washed, wash them with vinegar to get rid of the mothball smell. You can hand wash the clothing in a mixture of equal parts vinegar and water. You can also wash the clothes in the washing machine and use vinegar instead of your regular dish soap.
   • You should be able to get the mothball smell out of your clothes with either washing method. However, you may have to hand wash delicate clothes. Check the care labels in the garments to see if you can wash them in the washing machine or if you should wash them by hand.
3. Put bowls of vinegar in closets and rooms. If a stubborn mothball odor lingers in a room and you can't wash your smelly clothes, put a bowl of vinegar in the room. Place the bowl in the part of the room that smells the most. This should help get the smell out of the room and clothes.
   • If you don't have white vinegar, you can also use ground coffee.
4. Ventilate the room. A cool breeze from the outside can help get the mothball scent out of your clothing naturally. Keeping your clothes in a place like an attic will open all windows on a windy night. Remove the items of clothing from locked storage boxes and crates and hang them or lay them flat. Expose the clothing to natural air flow to get rid of the mothball odor.
   • This can also help get the mothball smell out of a room.
   • Make sure to keep an eye on the weather forecast when using this method. Do not leave the windows open if there is a chance of rain or other precipitation.
5. Try pieces of cedar. Place pieces of cedar wood in drawers, chests of drawers, and cabinets with garments that smell like mothballs. You get the mothball smell not only from the clothing, but also from the drawers and cupboards themselves. Cedarwood easily absorbs bad odors.
   • You can buy pieces of cedar wood at most hardware stores.

Method 2 of 3: Getting the mothball smell off your hands

1. Wash your hands with lemon-scented dish soap. Lemon scent is strong enough to mask and remove odors, and the grease-dissolving ingredients in dish soap can remove unwanted odors. If you want your hands to stop smelling of mothballs, use lemon-scented dish soap and wash your hands thoroughly after handling mothballs.
   • In the case of a very strong mothball scent, sprinkle baby powder on your hands after washing them and rub the powder into your skin. This will help remove the mothball odor even further.
2. Use toothpaste. Spread toothpaste (not gel toothpaste) on your hands and wash your hands with it the same way you would with hand soap. An amount the size of a 2 cent coin should be enough to get rid of the unwanted mothball odor.
3. Try baking soda. Baking soda is very good at absorbing and removing unwanted odors. To get rid of a mothball smell using baking soda, mix some baking soda with water in a bowl until you have a thin paste. Spread the paste on your hands. Let the paste work for three minutes and then rinse your hands.
4. Try tomato juice. Tomato juice is great for removing unwanted odors and odors. To use tomato juice, fill a bowl with it. Soak your hands in the tomato juice for five minutes and then rinse them clean. If this method works for you, your hands should smell less like mothballs.
5. Use oranges. Citrus scents can help get unwanted smells off your hands. Peel an orange and rub the peels over your hands. This should help keep your hands from smelling of mothballs.

Method 3 of 3: Store clothes without mothballs

1. Wash and dry items of clothing before putting them away. To prevent a mothball odor from now on, store your clothes without using mothballs. To do this, wash and dry your clothes before putting them away. This helps repel moths by removing odors that attract them.
2. Keep clothes in closed storage boxes. Instead of using mothballs, store your clothes in locked storage boxes. This will help keep moths away without having to use mothballs. Vacuum bags are particularly helpful in repelling moths.
   • You can buy vacuum bags on the internet, as well as from household items such as Hema and Xenos.
3. Use natural repellants instead of mothballs. Store your clothes along with bowls of natural repellants. Herbs like rosemary, cinnamon sticks and eucalyptus leaves are excellent natural repellants and don't leave such a strong odor. You can also use herbal remedies such as wormwood and peppercorns.