I keep my yardage on open shelves, and my fat quarters in dresser drawers. My scraps are cut into 5" squares and kept in plastic shoe boxes. If I do get any odor, I use a product called Fabric and Air by Glade. It does not stain fabric and works fabulously to remove any odors. I recently used it on a 70 year old dress before I cut it up to make teddy bears. There was no smell after spraying with Fabric and Air. It is an amazing product!
Sue in Bloomfield, NY

My problem was the cold. The closet in my sewing room is an outside wall. If I put anything against the wall in winter, heat cannot get behind it, and frost forms there. Then when it gets warmer, the frost melts and turns to mold. I have learned to put a small board for a spacer at the back of shelves to keep things away from those back walls. I got rid of the mold with a little bleach in the wash water and in the water used for wiping down the shelves.

I really think that storing fabric unwashed is the culprit. I remember years ago at some fabric stores, I could not go into them because of the reaction of the formaldyhde on the fabric and the flourescent bulbs. I would wash all the fabric and see if the odor goes away.

I use bars of soap.....box open and tucked between stacks of fab and also in linen closet between stacks of towels and bed linens and in lingerie drawer of dresser.......leave in for about a year, replace....with new. By opening the box the soap hardens and lasts longer when using.....learned that a long time ago from a scientist who was involved in making soap. He told us that soap used to be sold in just the bars but due to sanitary rules had to be boxed...just an idea......

My old batting scraps are the biggest problem!
 

I bought some Insulbrite a couple of months ago and went to check if it had an odor. Not noticeable and it's stored by itself. But then I got brave and did a 'sniff test' to every drawer/box/container in my room. My poor nose!
A couple of cloth/cardboard boxes in the closet with older fabrics smelled a bit musty. And, the dresser drawers that get hardly any air can use some freshening up. But what had the most noticeable smell is a Rubbermaid clothes hamper that contains my old batting scraps that I've saved up now for a few years (it's full). Though it has air holes, I think all it accomplishes is passing on a stale storage smell. Yuk.
That'll be my main target for elimination and odor control.
A big roll of batting I have in the closet is enclosed in plastic so I didn't open that up to smell it. But, I think with the plastic around it, it's not the culprit.
Whoever can tolerate a sniff test to all their drawers & storage places, it's a worthwhile undertaking, I suppose!

How very interesting! I'll look into this too! Thank you.

taking the soap bars out of the wrapping and tucking them around also is a two-fold job. If left to 'air dry' out the wrapper, soap will harden and last longer, too!
Personally, I tuck in used fabric dryer sheets.....my quilt room is in a well-dehumidified basement, but you can never be too careful. Once in a while, I will also spray 'clean linen' fragrance bedding sprays.

I was told not to store my fabric is the plastic boxes as the plastic is not good for fabric. You can drill holes in the plastic boxes fprventilation, without the fabric inside LOL) and it will help. I would think if the charcoal inserts are placed with the boxes it would be fine.

I washed everything I had stashed. I wash all new fabric before I store it. I bought a new cabinet that has an odor, probably because of the chemicals used in particle board. I read articles swearing that Johnny Cat Original Scented Maximum Odor Control kitty litter will absorb odors. It has something in it that others do not, so I put some in an empty parmesan cheese container and put it in there with the top open. I have sprinkled it in books and other supplies I've bought at yard sales and sealed it in a bag, it seems to work.

I also use the Downy Unstoppables Scented beads. I put them in votives and stash the votive in a corner out of the way. Under the desk in the sewing room, in the corners of closets. In the linen closet. The smell is very strong, and I am sensitive to scent so I had to take them out of my walk-in closet.

i wash all my material before it goes in my sewing room , but then i also have a lavender smell good in my romm because i love the smell it makes and that is all i can smell , good luck