Mildew/musty smells removal

[Kittyquilt9292]

Okay, so please don't laugh too, too hard. This is a sincere question and I have no clue about this. Will vinegar take out a mildew/musty smell from fabric? Would I use cider vinegar or white vinegar and how much? I have good quality fabric from about 25 years ago, got lost in boxes and I've just recovered it after doing some serious cleaning out in our storage shed. Would really like to be able to sue the fabric, but can't with the odor. Thanks much. Okay, now get back up from the floor, I hope your sides aren't hurting too much! <smile> HUGS, carol/kittyquilt

[CaroleJ]

I just clicked over to Wikihow, which I hadn't heard of before. Here's something to try...

Wash fabric in HOT water with 1-2 cups of white vinegar (no detergent).
Wash again as usual, with detergent.
Dry on HOT setting, and dry completely.

Good luck!

[vagrandma]

Please let us know if the vinegar works.

Sandy

[karpet]

My mom swears by white vinegar. I did have some laundry that was too powerful even for the vinegar so I found some Tide detergent with Fabreze in it and it has done the trick, even with washing in cold water. Hope you find something that works for your!

[sunsup]

If you have access to a clothesline, sunshine kills mold and mildew, but I'd do the vinegar/wasing thing first.

Please let us know how it turns out.

[Kittyquilt9292]

Thanks so much, everyone. Will give those guys a couple baths tomorrow and let you know how it works. Unfortunately I don't have a place where I can hang things outside, so I'm hoping for the vinegar.
Hugs, carol/kittyquilt

[cindyg]

Kittyquilt - how did your musty fabric turn out?

[Kittyquilt9292]

Update: I did the vinegar, then washed in hot water and dried on hight. It did help, but I believe there is still some residue of odor (maybe it's just my nose 'cause DH doesn't smell it). One thing could be possible. We use a "sensitive detergent" because both DH and I have sensitive skin. So, it could be that a stronger detergent would do the rest of the job.
A few of the pieces I washed came out fine. Maybe they are just not so "resistant to change". LOL
I have another box of fabrics that are in the same condition. Gonna get some stronger detergent for that batch and use the vinegar and then the stronger detergent and see what happens. The one piece of fabric I have is about 5 yards and it is 36 inches wide, so I must have bought it quite a while ago and I've forgotten all about it.
When I do this box, I'll update again. I really think the stronger detergent may just to the final trick.
HUGS, and thanks for the guidance, carol/kittyquilt

[CaroleJ]

OMG, Carol, think about adding all that to your available stash!! Wow, that's a lot of fabric!

Wonder if hanging it outside in the sunshine to dry will kill the last traces of the smell...?

[TooMuchFabric]

You might try ammonia. Yes, it does smell bad but it will kill lots of odors. I used to use it when I couldn't use bleach. Jo Ann