How To Get Mold Out Of Clothes

Do your clothes smell like mold and mildew? Today I’m sharing how to get mold out of clothes quickly and easily.

After living in a humid climate for nearly a decade, I am no stranger to mold and mildew. In Hawaii, mold is a part of life and I feel like I’ve gotten used to getting it out of fabric, whether that’s our clothes or items that have been in storage boxes. If you’re wondering how to get mold out of clothes, today’s post is for you.

How To Get Mold Out Of Clothes

I’ll never forget the first time I pulled a box out of our storage shed that had not been opened in a year. The smell of mildew nearly knocked me over. This was my first introduction to storing all clothing items in hard, plastic storage containers and inside, if possible, as opposed to packing boxes typically used by moving companies.

First let me say that if your clothing items have visible mold, or have been exposed to black mold, it is best to dispose of them. Black mold is dangerous and can cause a host of respiratory illnesses and once mold is visible, it will be very difficult to remove all spores from the fibers of your clothing. Putting them through the washing machine may actually make the mold worse, as it can grow very quickly when given moisture.

If you don’t see any mold on the fabric, you may be able to salvage your clothes. When I was inspecting our box of clothing, I didn’t see any visible mold and trust me, I combed every inch of the fabric and gave it a good inspection. I have seen first-hand the impacts of mold from one of my dear friends and I wasn’t taking any chances. 

Can Mold Be Washed Out Of Clothes?

The first step I took was removing the clothes from the box and throwing the box immediately away. Then, I took the clothing items straight to our bathtub and did a round of laundry stripping. After letting the clothes soak, I opted to skip washing right away in my machine. I emptied the tub of the gross water and put in fresh water, but this time I added in white distilled vinegar. I added three cups, which may have been a little more than necessary, but again – was not taking any chances.

I let that soak for about one hour. Warning: This part smells. When that part was over, I put my clothing into the washing machine to finally wash them normally. I used Persil for the washing machine cycle and used the hottest setting of water.

Admittedly, I was a little bit hesitant pulling them from the machine, but they looked and smelled great. Thankfully, everything I was cleaning was able to be put in the dryer. I put my dryer to extra hot (never hurts when you’re on a mission, right?) and let the dryer do its thing. Had it not been rainy, I would have hung them outside to dry in the sun, as when I was reading about mold, sun bleaching was a suggestion.

Speaking of bleaching, if the clothes I was trying to rid of mildew were white, I would have 100% incorporated a bleach session into this routine.

I’m happy to report that all the clothes I cleaned came out wonderfully and I was able to salvage my clothes. I hope this is helpful for anyone else on this journey!

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy Tips For Cleaning Before A Move or How I Keep My House Clean With Two Dogs