How to Get Mold Out of Clothes

by Marissa Zumbo, May 2023

Have you ever left a damp shirt in the washer or hamper for too long and come back to find it a touch moldy or smelling rank? Maybe you’ve opened a storage container from the basement and found your summer clothes to have mold spores growing on them. Mold and mildew can grow in dark, humid, and/or cramped spaces. It’s very possible for mold spores to attach to fabrics and cause stains and damage. Some people may assume you have to throw out the affected clothes, but there are ways to save your favorite items!

First Things First

  • How do we prevent this in the first place? Like how standing water attracts mosquitoes, moist and dark places attract mold.

  • Make sure to add ventilation to any humid areas of your home. There’s a reason most bathrooms have vents and windows!

  • Don’t leave damp clothes or laundry in your machines, laundry baskets, or just around your house. If you’re hang-drying any clothes, make sure to do it in a well ventilated area, preferably with sunlight.

  • If you’re packing clothes in suitcases or storage bins, make sure they are completely dry before going in and will be stored in a well ventilated, dry place.

Sometimes, even with all the preparation in the world, mold and mold spores may build on your clothes. Any kind of mold can be a health risk to you, your family, and your pets. So it’s imperative to remove the mold from your clothes as soon as possible. Let’s get into the supplies you’re going to need to attack that mold head-on.

  • Washing machine

  • Soft-bristled scrub brush or unused toothbrush

  • Protective mask (N-95 is best)

  • White vinegar or Borax

  • Industrial bucket or sink

  • Cleaning gloves

  • Laundry detergent

  • Oxygen-based bleach powder (optional)

Supplies

As per usual, make sure to check the care label on all mold affected garments before proceeding. Those instructions should supersede the following, as we don’t want to damage your clothes while we remove the mold. If any moldy items are “dry clean only” it’s best to carefully put them in plastic bags and bring them into a dry cleaner, pointing out to the cleaner the problem and all stains. You can also do this with many fluff & fold services, like Big Waves!

Once you discover mold on clothes, check all surrounding items to see if it’s affected them as well. If the clothes are still damp, place them in the sun while you gather supplies and prepare. UV rays from the sun can help kill mold spores. If you can’t place them in the sun, make sure to remove them from any other items and places the mold spores could transfer to.

Put on your gloves and protective mask. If possible, take the clothes outside and gently brush any mold particles off the items first. This will likely only get a small amount out, with pores and stains still persisting.

Then take the clothes to a well ventilated area in the house to pre-treat them. Many people would suggest doing this in a room with open windows and closing off vents to other rooms in the house so the mold spores can’t spread. However, depending on the conditions outside and the severity of the mold, this may or may not be needed.

Step 1: Discover

Apply a mold stain remover to the affected areas of the clothing. White vinegar, Borax, or oxygen-based bleach are some of your best options. While most people swear by vinegar or Borax, some use bleach (though it’s less common). Follow the instructions on the back of the pretreat solution, or go by these generally accepted rules:

  • White vinegar: You can add distilled vinegar directly to your clothing or you can mix together one part (non-distilled) vinegar to three parts water and use it as a pre-treatment.

  • Borax: Mix 1/2 cup of Borax with 1-2 cups of hot water until it becomes a liquid solution. Gently apply a small amount to mold stains.

  • Oxygen-based bleach: Mix one part bleach with three parts water before spraying on mold stains.

Using a scrub brush or toothbrush, gently brush or rub the area. Be delicate as we don’t want to damage the fabric. Let the pretreatment sit for ten minutes before moving items to a soaking bucket (or washing machine, if skipping the next step).

Step 2: Pretreat

Fill your industrial bucket or sink with a solution of water and either distilled white vinegar or Borax. The water would ideally be warm or hot, but take notice of the maximum water temperature on the clothing care labels.

  • White vinegar: Mix one cup of distilled white vinegar in the bucket of water.

  • Borax: Follow instructions on the Borax container or mix 1/2 cup of Borax in the bucket of water. The water must first be warm or hot for powder Borax to dissolve.

Soak your clothes for 30-60 minutes in the solution.

Quick Note!

But make sure you never combine vinegar and bleach! Mixing bleach and vinegar creates potentially lethal chlorine gas. So if you’re pretreating with vinegar or bleach, don’t wash or soak with the other.

Step 3: Soak (Optional - for very affected items)

It’s time to wash all moldy clothes in your washing machine. Add detergent as normal and set the water temperature to as high as the item’s care labels will allow. Big Waves' industrial front-loading washers are perfect for this occasion. Our front load washers deliver excellent cleaning, using gravity friction and over 600 rotations per cycle. To get out nasties like mold, we recommend an extended time setting, like the "Ultra" (30 min wash) or the "Deep Clean" (44 min wash).

The vinegar or Borax also comes back into play here. Add about the same amount of solution to the washing machine drum as you did during the soak step (if you soaked). So either:

  • White vinegar: 1-2 cups of distilled white vinegar (depending on size of load) OR

  • Borax: Follow instructions on the Borax container or mix 1/2 cup of Borax in the water. The water must first be warm or hot for powder Borax to dissolve.

Either of these two solutions should be able to kill most mold species and remove the smell from your clothes. Run the washer for 1-2 cycles or for an extended time setting (depending on mold severity).

Step 4: Wash

Before drying the clothes, check to see if the mold spores and stains are gone. If stains or a musty mold smell still remain you may want to repeat some of the steps above before moving to drying. Depending on severity; pretreat, soak, and/or wash again.

Step 5: Quick Check

Once all the mold stains and smells are gone from your clothes, it’s time to dry them off! Dry any “hang dry only” items outside in a sunny place. If that’s not possible, try to dry them on low or no heat in the dryer. For all other items that can go into the dryer, dry them on as high heat as their care label allows. Keep in mind that warmer temperatures help kill off the mold and mildew more effectively.

Step 6: Dry

Double check that the mold stains and smell are gone after drying. If they aren’t, repeat the full process. If they are gone, and the item is completely dry, put it away in a well ventilated and dry place. Never leave freshly laundered clothing in moist areas. We wouldn’t want to undo all the work you just did!

Step 7: Double Check and Put Away

Whew! I know that was a lot, but mold is no joke. Make sure to clean the area where the affected items were so that you don’t have to go through this anytime soon. When storing clothes, it’s a good idea to put some silica gel packets in the containers to suck up extra moisture or add extra ventilation (via a door, window, vent, fan, etc) to the area.

This can happen to anyone so don’t beat yourself up too much during the process. You can save most of your clothes affected by mold with these carefully laid out steps. We’re here to help! You can always bring your moldy clothes into Big Waves and drop them off with our fluff & fold staff to take care of it as well.

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Sources Cited for Article:

https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-get-mold-out-of-clothes/#:~:text=Soak%20the%20moldy%20clothing%20in,enough%20to%20damage%20the%20fabric.

https://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/household-hints-tips/cleaning-organizing/how-to-clean-mold-off-clothing.htm

https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-get-mold-off-clothes-7089876

https://www.puroclean.com/blog/how-to-remove-mold-stains-from-clothes-and-fabric/

https://www.persil.com/uk/laundry/laundry-tips/fabrics/how-to-remove-mould-from-fabric.html