Ah, Winter. The coziest of the seasons. Time to light that fire, toast those marshmallows, and dig out your snuggliest jumpers and socks from the back of your closet.

Of course, finding your clothes ruined by mold and mildew might put a big old damper on that festive feeling – so how do we ensure our closets stay fungus-free? Well, there are plenty of ways – but if various “life hack” guides circulating the internet are to be believed, some of the easiest and cheapest options might be lurking in your kitchen.

“Having a mold outbreak can be devastating to deal with, especially if all of the clothes are ruined beyond repair,” Nic Shacklock, a furniture expert and co-founder of Online-Bedrooms.co.uk, told UK local news outlets last year. “It’s a common problem to deal with in the winter months as the colder temperatures mixed with the warmth indoors can result in excess moisture in the air.”

Counteracting this, however, can be as simple as popping down to the local grocery store, as “items like rice and baking soda [can] absorb moisture in the air,” Shacklock said.

It’s valuable information if it holds up – so what’s the science behind this hack? Well, it’s certainly true that rice is a notoriously water-hungry grain, with a reputation for being able to save waterlogged phones and cameras stretching back at least 80 years or so. 

But experimental evidence suggests that it’s not actually all that good at drying things out. In fact, one 2014 study by consulting group DTJ found that dropping a wet electrical device into uncooked rice is actually less effective at drying it than simply doing nothing at all. And while there is a reasonable amount of research pointing to rice husks and ash being pretty good desiccants in a pinch, simply leaving a bowl of uncooked rice to soak up moisture from the air doesn’t seem to be all that effective.

Baking soda, on the other hand, has been shown to be very good at absorbing moisture from the air, even at pretty normal temperatures. There’s just one problem: these experiments were performed under relative humidities of like, 90 percent – so unless your closet is located within a rainforest, it might not be all that useful.

And what about those other food-cupboard hacks for inhibiting mold, like spraying vinegar around the place? Eh, there’s some evidence it works for some molds, but not all – and while it can be (carefully) used on leather, it might not be the best for absorbent surfaces like the fabrics in your closet. 

So, what can you do to protect your clothes? Well, to be honest, this is one of those situations where we invented our modern new-fangled solutions for a good reason: silica gel is orders of magnitude better at absorbing moisture than uncooked rice, and that in turn is going to be soundly beaten by an actual dehumidifier. 

Shacklock also recommends installing vents in your closet: they “will help improve air circulation,” he explained to Woman and Home, “and remove any excess moisture which can also help with fitted wardrobes that are directly on the back wall.”

But ultimately, prevention may be the best cure. “Having too many clothes in an enclosed space can limit air circulation and trap moisture,” Shacklock advised, so try to keep your closet tidy: “space out your clothes where possible and put the rest in drawers.”

Similarly, aim to keep your room fairly warm, to prevent the buildup of moisture – and, of course, make sure your clothes are properly dry before you put them away.

But as for raiding your kitchen cupboards? That, we’re afraid, is probably just a load of hot air.