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15 hours ago
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As someone who's traveled a lot for work, I've learned a thing or two about flying. My first "real" luggage set was a three-pack of bright orange rollers that stood out on the carousel — but after logging 100k miles a year, they looked like they'd been through a demolition derby. Dents, cracks and broken wheels (I don't blame baggage handlers, they're dealing with a mountain of bags every day).
After one long-haul flight, I noticed my bag seemed a bit...damp. Turns out something smelly had spilled in the luggage hold, seeped through a crack and soaked half my clothes, which I'd lazily tossed in my bag loose (not my finest packing moment). Before I even got to the hotel, I'd ordered a weather-resistant duffel — the kind you see strapped to trucks on mountaineering trips — hoping I'd never repeat that disaster.
New luggage isn't the only way to keep your travel wardrobe smelling fresh. A few smart add-ons can make your clothes feel fresh from the laundry (without shelling out for those ridiculous hotel laundry prices).
Keep the moisture out
The easiest way to keep unwanted moisture out? Start with luggage that's water- or weather-resistant. If it can handle rain, snow, sleet or hail, it can handle whatever the plane throws at it. And if it does end up a little damp, packing cubes pull double duty — keeping your clothes organized and giving them a fighting chance of staying dry.
I have traveled all over the world with my Black Hole duffels. They've been thrown in the back of a truck on long road trips, rained on, snowed on and dropped onto the tarmac as they were being loaded onto a plane. While they have a scuff here and there, they still protect all of my clothing and gear like they did when they were brand new. It's also available in 40-, 70- and 100-liter sizes, the latter for those trips when you have to pack literally everything.
If you prefer one with wheels, they make those too, and they're currently on sale.
Not only are compression packing cubes great for maximizing the space inside your luggage, but if you have the water-resistant variety, they'll keep your clothes and shoes protected too. I like to throw a moisture absorber in each if I'm taking a long trip too, but more on that later...
Sometimes the odor is coming from...inside our bags! If you've yet to spill shampoo, makeup or lotion in your bag, consider yourself lucky; if you're a frequent flyer it's only a matter of time. Unless you snag some of these leak proof bottles, in which case you've avoided disaster for good.
Keep your dirty clothes separate from your clean ones
Most of the time I travel, I try to stay in one place — packing and repacking clothes every day of a trip can get exhausting, but sometimes it's unavoidable. If that's the case and you've got a bag of dirty, not-great-smelling clothes that tossing into suitcase with the clean ones, it's important to keep them separate if you don't want those odors to spread.
If regular compression bags aren't cutting it, try these vacuum-sealed ones. They come with a small electric pump that won't hog space in your luggage, and they'll keep your clothes safe from the elements. The trade-off? Your clothes might get a little wrinkled, but if you don't mind firing up that hotel-room iron, you're all set. They're also great for keeping your worn, dirty clothes separate from clean ones if you're moving from place to place.
I hate to say it, but after a full day exploring a new city or national park, your shoes aren't going to smell stellar. Throw them in their own bag to keep the foot funk from seeping into all of your other luggage.
Soak up moisture and odors easily
Forget trying to mask funky smells — get rid of them altogether. Most of the time, that just means keeping things dry from takeoff to landing, and these odor- and moisture-absorbers are great at it.
Activated charcoal soaks up smells like a sponge, thanks to millions of microscopic pores in each piece that attract and absorb moisture and odors.
Think of this as a supersized version of those little packets you find in every shoebox — only these are reusable and easy to refresh. They work in totes, too, so if you've ever unpacked last season's clothes and caught a whiff you didn't love, it's worth grabbing more than one to keep everything fresh and must-free.
Introduce a bit of scent, dryer-style
If you want to keep your luggage smelling just-out-of-the-dryer fresh, this hack is simple and cheap: throw a dryer sheet in each one of your bags. I even throw them in each of my packing cubes and my shoe bag.
Odds are you already have these at home. If not, consider this a good time to restock. A single dryer sheet in your luggage can keep everything smelling just-out-of-the-dryer fresh all trip long.
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