How to Remove Mold and the Smell from Clothing
Do Items in Your Home Have a Musty Odor or Mildew Stains?
When the weather is always damp, you may find that some items in your home are developing a musty odor or mildew stains. These signs must not be ignored or taken for granted!
Once you find mold contamination, remove them as soon as possible. Mold stains are very hard to remove and may prove dangerous to you and your family’s health.
Mold is a living organism that survives in warm, humid places. It can thrive almost anywhere as long as it has
- food
- moisture
- humidity
In the right conditions, mold can spread very quickly.
Mold Grows on Clothing
A perfect place for growth is clothing. If your clothing does grow mold, there are a few ways to remove it.
The longer mold stays on the fabric, the worse it will smell and the more time it has to weaken and eventually rot your clothes.
Here are a couple of ways you can easily, safely, and quickly remove mold that is growing on clothing and get rid of the musty, moldy smell at the same time.
Vinegar
A very unusual approach would be to use vinegar in removing mold stains and its smell. Vinegar is very useful and effective in removing the ‘moldy’ smell from clothes. Add 3/4 cup white vinegar to a load of wash.
The vinegar will remove any moldy smell from clothing. Repeat this process until all traces of mold and its smell are gone. Use detergent afterwards to thoroughly clean your clothes.
What’s so interesting about this process is that vinegar itself is made through fermentation with the help of a certain type of mold.
Old Fashion Cleaning
- Brush off loose mold growth
- Set out in the sun to dry
- Presoak in cold water
- Sponge with bleach
- Launder, rinse and dry
Take all clothing that have mold or have been exposed to mold, outside and one by one, brush off any loose mold growth. By doing this outside you prevent mold spores from spreading inside the house.
Always remember to wear a protective mask and gloves when dealing with mold contamination.
After brushing, leave the clothing out in the sun to dry. The heat and sun will kill what’s left of the mold in your clothes.
Presoak remaining clothes that have stains in cold water, then wash in hot water with detergent. Allow the clothing to dry completely in the sun.
If the stains persist, sponge the contaminated area with diluted chlorine bleach, you can use 2 tbsp. bleach to 1 qt. water. Make sure that the bleach that you use won’t change the color of the fabric.
You can use lemon juice and salt solution as an alternative for bleach if treating colored fabrics. After about 10 minutes, rinse thoroughly.
Launder as usual, rinse and allow to dry in the sun. Remember to fully dry the clothes that you have disinfected to make sure that mold doesn’t grow back.
Spray a bit of fungicide spray to completely remove mold odor from your clothes, and ensure that it won’t grow back the next day.
Use of “Mildicides”
‘Mildicide’ is a new term or name given to products that are used in dealing with mold or mildew contamination.
Remember that if you choose to use a mildicide to remove mold and its odor from your clothes, always read the label for proper techniques. Mildicides are still chemicals and can be harmful to your health if not used properly.
If every item of clothing or fabric in your closet appears to be affected with mold, fog the entire closet with your chosen mildicide.
Do the same for clothing that has been in storage for a long period of time. This will prevent mold or other odors from transferring to your present garments.
Do not remove any clothing in performing this application, especially if the odor eminates strongly. Spray the baseboards corners of the closet when removing garments and clothing.
If a vent is present in the room where you’ll be performing the clean-up, spray into the vent as well.
After fogging, close the door, and allow the mildicide to penetrate the entire room for at least 10 minutes.
Dry the area quickly with a fan or wipe walls and flooring of all remaining moisture.
Further Recommended Reading :
Joslyn from the MoldBlogger Team
Hi there,
I recently has some very minor water damage in my house and called in some mold “experts” to tell me what had to be done. Before hiring anyone, which I have yet to do, I decided to do some research and came across your amazing blog. I just wanted to say thanks, and ask you your opinion on my mold situation.
I bought my house in August and when NY had the terrible rain storms in October I started to get some dampness and moistrure in one corner of the basement. Happens to be that my basement has cinder block walls with paneling about 10′ in front of the blocks (no sheet rock or insulation). The water was coming through the joints of the blocks in a crawl space in one corner of the basement. The rest of the basement stayed dry. It has been several months, and the leak keeps getting worse. I had about 10 different companies, ranging from mold “experts” to regular waterproofing contractors come by and give me estimates.
You would get dizzy just from hearing the contradictroy analysis and solutions these guys each came up with. On one extreme, you have the mold “expert” who came in to my basement and before he even looked at the crawl space where the water damage was - he declared my house as a “mold infested house.” He wipped out a binder with pictures and after noticing that my basement is a big playroom for my two toddler boys, he went straight to the picture of an infant with a severe rash “cause” by mold. He went on to tell me that I must rip out all of the paneling in my basement and wirebrush every corner. Next, he would apply 3 coats of different chemicals, bring in the fans, and install a humidex. The toal job would cost me 15k. After 5 minutes, he came down to 11k (because he is not on commission blah blah blah…) and I still said to him he is crazy if he thinks I am paying him 11k to do this. Finally he settled at 8k.
On the other extreme, I had one guy come in a tell me that he would fix the leak by treating the joints in the cinder blocks and than painting the blocks with some kind of material to keep the water out. In addition, he was going to repait my gutters and leaders outside so that no water accumulates near the corners of the house. Regarding the mold, however, he said “I can clean that up for you, but you could save the money by getting yourseld a mask, gloves and some bleach.”
My problem is that I don’t know if I have a serious mold problem. Currently, in the crawl space I actually can see some mold growing on the back of the paneling and on the cinder blocks (is that possible?). We are talking about a very minimal amount - smaller than the size of my hand. After all of my research I think I will be wterproofing the basement and I will take care of the mold myself with some bleech. However, my biggest concern is - what if there is mold behind the paneling where I cannot see? My gut feeling is that there is none - because the basement doesnt smell moldy, nobody has been sick and there was no leakage in any other spot. But I am not sure. I guess my ultimate fear is that I will never know what is behind there and when I find out it may be too late.
What do you think?
Thanks,
ephraim moss on January 5th, 2006Ephraim
My son left a soaking wet sweatshirt in a plastic bag after a boy scout
Bob on November 10th, 2006campout. It has been sitting for almost three weeks. It was really nasty
smelling. I washed it once with no change. Then I found this suggestion
to add vinegar. I ran it once and was glad to find that most of the smell
was gone. I am running it through a second time with a load of wash
and more vinegar. Thanks.
Lest Oil a cap full or two usually seems to work to get out a lot of bad smells. Mold mildew sour smells. Hope that helps
Ryan on February 17th, 2007when weather is always damp will the mold smell just come back after i take care of it?
evah on August 9th, 2007I have a towel that got wet and ended up w/a number of bad black mold stains on it. I threw it in the washing machine, w/a cup of Clorox and the hotest water. Then I threw it in the dryer on the hottest setting for an hour (didn’t know about drying in sun at that time). It came out with the black mold stains still all over it but theoretically it should be clean right?
And that’s what I’m trying to figure out… Did I kill the mold by washing it that way or is it still alive? Can I just sun bleach it now or does it have to be wet again?
Thanks.
ParrotGal on August 18th, 2007I have had a chase lounger in storage only now to find mold on the bottom skirt. How do I remove it? Thanks
Cheryl on October 8th, 2007Cheryl - Thanks for your question! I’ve posted a reply here : 5 Easy Steps to Remove Mold from Furniture
Joslyn from the MoldBlogger Team
Joslyn on October 24th, 2007I have a 3 month old who spits up alot and as often as i change her clothes or put bibs on her etc, she is constantly wet by her neck and chest. i let her clothes air dry after removing them from her but before putting therm in the hamper. Recently, however, her clothing started to get moldy up by the neck. I now have one cotton, one terry and one velour stretchy of hers that is nolonger wearable. I tried soaking these outfits in vinegar befor washing but saw no difference. I also tried rubbing some oxixlean solution on befor washing but that did not do it either. Any suggestions? I am looking forward to a response on how to best romove this mold. (and how to prevent mold from growing on other outfits.) Thanks.
Sima on October 24th, 2007Sima - Thank you for your question! I’ve posted a reply here : Remove Mold on Baby Clothes and Bibs
Joslyn from the MoldBlogger Team
Joslyn on October 28th, 2007hi i have a leather jacket that had mold on one of the sleeves i sent it to the cleaners but it still has that mold smell on it. how do i remove this smell i love this jacket and i dont want to get rid of it. the cleaners tell me there is nothing i can do for the smell. can anyone help. thanks.
John on March 15th, 2008John,
Well, I did some research and I found a good forum that seemed to offer sound answers to your question,
Visit Get the Smell of Mold out of Leather
Joslyn from the MoldBlogger team
Joslyn on March 17th, 2008Hello,
I had put a white bathing suit of mine into a bag and had forgotten about it for some time. When I found it, there were yellow/orange mold stains in the pattern of the suit.
I tried soaking it in a bleach/water solution, I tried soaking it in an oxiclean /water solution, and I just don’t know what to do!
It is a delicate lace (with a liner) bathing suit.
Please help!
Rashel on May 4th, 2008hi i lend a hat to a friend two weeks ago. he gave it back to me last week in a bag, today when i looked inside my bag the hat had green, purple, black spots. what can i do?
Chuny on May 5th, 2008Rashel,
Unfortunately, mold does leave stains. By using the bleach solution and washing your bathing suit in the manner that you have, you have rid the bathing suit of mold and probably the nasty smell as well, however removing mold stains is an entirely different matter.
As an option, I have heard that X-14 Mildew Stain Remover with Bleach will sometimes remove the stains. Its worth a shot.
Joslyn from the MoldBlogger team
Joslyn on May 29th, 2008Chuny,
First take the hat outside (so as not to spread mold spores indoors) and brush as much of the mold off as you can.Allow your hat to dry in the sun for awhile, as direct sunlight can often kill many different types of mold spores. After plenty of sunlight has been distributed evenly over your hat, presoak it in cold water possibly with a bleach solution (color safe if your hat has colors in it) and then machine wash it with warm water and detergent. Lemon juice and salt in cold water has also been used with colored fabrics. Hang your hat in the sun again to dry.
The hat may or may not still have stains but the mold and dangerous spores will be gone. If stains persist, try washing the garment again.
Joslyn from the MoldBlogger team
Joslyn on May 29th, 2008I am trying to figure out what to do with a plastic tote full of shoes, most of them leather, that got left out in the rain for quite some time with a busted lid. Any suggestions? Clothing was also left out so I am going to try the vinegar ASAP. Thanks!
Kristin on June 2nd, 2008Speaking of BAD MOLD… My then 8 month old son had, lets call it “an accident” a few months back while we were out shopping one day. He pooped so bad that it was half way up his back. I bagged the clothes, cleaned him up and continued my shopping. Upon arriving home I promptly forgot about the dirty bag of clothes that got tossed in some dark corner of my porch. (seems to be a catch-all) When I finally found the outfit about 3 weeks later, it was dried and moldy and DISGUSTING! I could either throw it away or try and clean it. I figured if it was a goner either way lets try and clean it.
I first soaked it in hot, hot water to try and loosen up the dried feces. (I WORE GLOVES FOR THIS) Then I sprayed it with Dreft Laundry stain remover, tons of it. and left it to soak. Then in a clean bucket of 2 gallons of super hot water I added about 1-2 cups of regular bleach and let the garment soak some more. About an hour or so. I washed it in the laundry and much to my surprise IT WAS CLEAN! Save for a tiny mold stain on the inside near a snap and a tiny one on the “butt”. This was a light blue and gray footed sleeper, 100% cotton. There was minimal fading and not much color change from the bleach soak. I cannot guarantee that your item won’t bleach out. But this one didn’t.
Save to say, it’s clean, but he’s since grown out of it.
As for mold, I had some swimsuits that sat for a few weeks and got moldy, Washed them in about a cup of bleach by filling the washer with water first then added the bleach, letting it agitate then add the clothes. Then ran it through a second wash with detergent, added about a cup of the Dreft Laundry stain remover and a cup or 2 of APPLE CIDER VINEGAR. I had no white vinegar. Voila, promlem solved.
GOOD LUCK!
Mellina on June 4th, 2008have a bunch of paintings that were stored at a beach house rolled up. they are acrylics on canvas. they all developed mold and mildew stains. i see some spores as well. brushed them off in the sun, but i still see and smell mold residue. anyone have any suggestions?
jay on June 19th, 2008fyi: acrylic is pretty resistent to water, so the paint layer should not be damaged during the cleaning unless say full strength bleach is used.
thanks for any help.
-jay
Kristin,
Definitely try the vinegar and other steps listed on the clothes, as far as shoes go, the leather ones especially, I’m not sure there is anything that can be done. Leather is a very difficult material to get mold out of and is mostly listed as “impossible” or “not worth the try.”
Anyone else have suggestions for getting mold out of leather?
Sorry! I hope you have better luck with the clothing.
Joslyn from the MoldBlogger team
Joslyn on June 24th, 2008Jay,
I don’t know a whole lot about paint, but if acrylics are resistant to water I would suggest trying warm water get the mildew off, then try drying in the sun again.
Not sure what vinegar would do, but you might give it a try on a small part of the painting first.
Good luck!
Joslyn from the MoldBlogger team
Joslyn on June 24th, 2008My mother who is deceased collected some beautiful and now vintage hats. They were stored in plastic bags which apparently were exposed to some moisture. Some of them are fine, some have minimal mold and some of the really former beautiful one have a lot of mold. They are all on a table out in the sun right now. Is there any way to remove the mold? They are not washable. Thanks so much for your help.
Suzanne on June 28th, 2008Suzanne,
First, if you haven’t done so already, brush all of the visible mold growth from the hats, and again, as you’ve done, let them set out in the sun.
Because they’re not machine washable, I would suggest taking a detergent and color safe bleach in a sponge and carefully scrubbing the places mold has grown. Finally, let it dry in the sun.
You’ll be able to get rid of the mold this way, though as far as stains go, I’m not sure they can be removed.
You might also want to try a vinegar/water mixture to help with the smell.
Unfortunately, hats are difficult to deal with - especially vintage items.
Good luck!
Joslyn from the MoldBlogger team
Joslyn on July 6th, 2008Hello, how can I remove mold from a tie? We had mold growing out of a damp drawer and now *all* of my husband’s ties smell of mold. Please help!
Anne on July 17th, 2008Hi!
I just have a quick question, I work at a renaissance fair and after a particularly rainy day my clothes were bagged up and left in the closet (I had jumped straight into planning my wedding and forgot)…I’m not entirely sure if one of my skirts has mold. it’s made out of apolstry fabric and I normally have to hand wash it.
Although I’m not sure if there is mold, it does have a musty smell. Should I try using the same techniques for normal clothes even though the fabric is different?
Tracie on July 22nd, 2008Tracie,
I would suggest you use described methods (ie sun drying, bleach/detergent soaking and scrubbing, vinegar option, etc) though instead of machine washing I would suggest you stick with your normal hand washing procedures.
Hope this helps!
Joslyn from the MoldBlogger team
Joslyn on July 27th, 2008Anne,
First, it depends on the type of cloth the ties are made of, ie silk, cotton, etc.
If they are machine washable go ahead and follow the suggestions in the post above.
If not, switch out machine washable and hand wash the ties with the detergent mixture.
Hope this helps!
Joslyn from the MoldBlogger team
Joslyn on July 27th, 2008