How can you best get mildew out of clothes? Like old wet towels that are stinky?

Question

How can you best get mildew out of clothes? Like old wet towels that are stinky?

Answer 1

I've had this problem too because I often have wet towels pile up in the laundry after washing the car or a day at the beach.

I found the best, least toxic, and most natural way was to use soap nuts for all my laundry. They are naturally anti-fungal, which is a great thing since fungus on wet things is usually the cause of many problems.

One cause of lingering odors in clothes is that regular detergent actually leave a residue in the fabric. If you use dryer sheets it's even worse because those leave a waxy residue too which basically means you sealed the smell into the fabric.

Soap nuts are amazing and your laundry will be so soft without doing anything but washing them with soap nuts. If you have stains you should use an ecofriendly stain remover before you wash the clothes.

Answer 2

I use white vinegar in place of fabric softener. it smells bad when they come out of the washer but after drying they smell great!

Best of Luck!

Jana

http://www.summerhouseliving.com/

Answer 3

Wash them in hot water, no detergent, for a cycle and then another cycle with detergent.  Don't let them sit in the washer for too long.  Thoroughly dry them and then store them outside of your bathroom, like in a hall closet or something.

Answer 4

Things You’ll Need:

Bleach or color safe bleach

Tooth brush

Laundry pre-treat

Pyrex measuring container

Water

Step1

Spray laundry pre-treatment onto area with mildew. Grab the tooth brush and start scrubbing the laundry pre-treat into the fabric. You may need to spray more of the pre-treatment onto the area. If the mildew doesn't seem to be getting smaller or lighter, then mix 1/4 a cup of bleach (or color safe bleach) with 1/2 a cup of water in a Pyrex container and dip your tooth brush into mixture, and start scrubbing the area on your clothes with the bleach mixture.

Step2

Machine wash the clothing item by itself using the hot water setting if possible (Always follow the directions on your clothing labels, especially if hot water will cause shrinking). Let the clothes agitate for a few seconds and then add in bleach and water mixture from the Pyrex container. Once the cycle has finished, examine the area and if there is still mildew use the laundry pre-treat and tooth brush again. It is possible that the mildew problem has affected the fibers deeper down and will not be able to be cleaned off.

Step3

Repeat using the laundry pre-treat if necessary. It might take more than one application.

_____________________

It might take several applications of the pre-treat and bleach to make a difference.



Always be careful when pouring bleach and protect your self and your clothing.



Do not re-use the tooth brush for personal use after using it to clean stains.

Answer 5

Put them in the washing machine with laundry soap and add half a box of baking soda. Run the machine on a hot water cycle and I guarantee the smell will be gone.