How to remove mold from clothes at home: 25 best methods and tools

The causes of mold

Most often, the clothes are on the shelf tightly to each other. It is enough that one T-shirt after washing is not completely dry and lies in the closet with other things, and a humid microclimate will definitely appear there. For mold, this is the best environment. It does not occur in a dry place. The smell of mold will immediately make itself felt, you will not confuse it with anything.

Fungal formations affect any tissue - synthetics, leather, natural fibers. The longer the mold is on the clothes, the deeper it gets into the fabric. At some point, it will be impossible to remove stains after it.

Next, wash all the clothes again, worn and clean. And the cabinet must be treated with alcohol. In the future, place a desiccant on each shelf. This will remove excess moisture and prevent the appearance of fungus in the future.

How to remove fungus from clothes with turpentine

Turpentine will easily remove mold stains from any colored, woolen and delicate fabrics:

Using a small piece of cloth or with a cotton pad, apply turpentine to the entire area of mold damage to your favorite clothing.
It is recommended to apply a small layer of baby powder or soda to the area treated with turpentine and cover with an A4 paper sheet.
Then it is recommended to heat the iron to a very warm temperature and iron the paper.

After ironing, the treated item should be washed in the usual way using washing powder. This method is for “reanimating” your favorite things, but here's how to remove mold from shoes and leather jackets?

According to numerous reviews of experienced hostesses, you can also use turpentine to remove fresh mold growth from shoes and leather, as well as remove an old mold stain:

Thoroughly rinse spoiled shoes or a leather jacket in a container with warm water, in which it is recommended to add a little detergent and chlorine beforehand for simultaneous disinfection.
Then the washed products must be thoroughly dried.
While shoes or leather are drying, you should prepare a cleanser by mixing equal parts of ammonia with vodka.
Thoroughly treat dried shoes or a jacket with a cotton pad, which should be pre-moistened with the resulting solution.

After processing the product, it is recommended to dry it well again. And in order to restore the previous shine of the shoes, it is recommended to treat it with a special cream.

Delicate ways

How to remove mold from delicate clothing? This category includes silk and woolen products. Items made from these materials require much more gentle cleaning of microscopic fungal spores. Therefore, whiteness, which contains chlorine and other aggressive mixtures, should not be used in any case, so that later you do not have to get rid of delicate things. Turpentine is best. Before handling clothes with it, wash and dry them well. Further, all spots are filled with turpentine. On top of this liquid, apply regular baby powder and cover it all with a paper sheet. Go over the top with a hot iron. At the end of the procedure, things must be rinsed to remove dirt residues and the cleaning solution directly.

How to remove mildew from delicate clothes, what other effective measures should you take? Powdered clay or regular chalk helps a lot. They are sprinkled with old mold stains, and then also covered with a sheet of paper and ironed with a hot iron. Silk fabrics are separately cleaned from microscopic fungi. Pour ammonia or hydrogen peroxide on the damaged areas.For about 25-30 minutes, soaked things are left to fully saturate the stains, and then washed with powder. Another alternative is baking soda. You can simply sprinkle it on stubborn stains, or you can dilute it with water and clean the dirt with the resulting paste.

Tips for Removing Stains from Various Fabrics

Before trying to remove mold from clothes with the help of available tools, you should familiarize yourself with the rules for washing various types of fabrics. So, some types of materials can be boiled, others can only be washed by hand at a temperature not exceeding 30˚С. Some fabrics withstand the effects of aggressive chemical components, while others do not.

Silk and wool

Silk and woolen materials require very careful handling. Aggressive washing and boiling will permanently ruin delicate fabrics. Therefore, they are washed by hand or in the washing machine by selecting the "delicate wash" mode.

It is best to use turpentine to remove mold stains from these fabrics.

Linen, cotton, calico, satin

Linen, cotton, coarse calico, satin well tolerate a large number of washings without shrinkage and damage. They can be boiled if necessary. The exception is dyed fabrics, which should not be washed at temperatures above 60 ° C due to the fact that they can fade.

To remove mold from white materials, you can use all types of bleaches, soda, laundry soap, alcohol (ammonia, boric), lemon juice and vinegar.
To remove traces of fungus from colored fabrics, it is better to use crumbs of office chalk or vinegar.

Synthetics

Synthetic fabrics have increased wear resistance, they can be washed frequently (the water temperature should be no more than 30-40 ° C). To remove mold from clothes made of polyester and other types of synthetics, ammonia will help.

Leather

A 1: 1 solution of regular edible alcohol with water will help to restore the original appearance to leather clothes and shoes affected by the fungus. To do this, it is enough to wipe the thing several times with a cloth soaked in the solution.

Useful Tips

Some tips will help you remove mold from fabrics without problems. For example:

Sort things by quality of fabrics and type of material. Do not handle natural and synthetic fabrics at the same time.
It is better to check the action of the remedy on a small area. A highly active compound can spoil the appearance of fabric products.
The concentration of the agent should not be large, but the effect of the substance must still be controlled.
The main thing is to accurately observe the proportions of the components that make up the recipe.
After processing problem areas, they must be washed, rinsed and ironed with an iron, observing the temperature regime.
Bed linen must be boiled with bleach. This is the only way to completely get rid of fungal spores.
Rinse aid and another product such as Vanish will help you get rid of the unpleasant odor of mold-fighting products.
If the clothes are affected by fungal spores and give off an unpleasant odor, then wearing such things is not advisable. The fungus is so dangerous that spores spread from it in space, which can then easily enter the lungs. If the defeat is large-scale, then such things should be thrown away immediately, without any regret. It is better to avoid such situations.

Using lemon to clean clothes and prevent fungal contamination

How to remove traces of mold from the surface of clothing if an unstable dye was used in the manufacture of an item. In this situation, lemon juice will be great. To remove stains, treat the contaminated areas with lemon juice and sprinkle with table salt after a few minutes. After the treatment area has dried, the contaminated clothing should be washed in the usual way using detergent powder.Housewives should remember that molds are afraid of being exposed to an acidic environment, so you can use acetic acid instead of lemon juice.

It should be noted that when working with this chemical compound, precautions should be taken so as not to harm the body during its use.

Lemon for cleaning clothes from mold

To prevent the appearance of specific stains of mold fungi and to prevent the appearance of the smell of mold on things, certain rules for storing clothes should be observed:

Molds love a humid and warm environment. For this reason, before storing items, you should make sure that they are completely dry. Even after ironing, the clothes may have a high level of humidity, so after you have finished using the iron, it is recommended to wait for a while before placing the clothes in the closet or dresser.
In the process of storing things in the closet, it is recommended to shift them with moisture-absorbing special bags.

Mold habitats

Ventilation of wardrobes and drying of dressers should be carried out periodically.
To prevent the appearance of mold, do not store clean and dirty clothes together.
It is necessary to strive to ensure that the air in the room does not have a high level of humidity.

Vanish for washing clothes

Do not install the wardrobe very close to the wall, as it creates favorable conditions for the growth of mold. The distance from the back of the cabinet to the wall must ensure normal air circulation.

If, nevertheless, a fungal infection of clothes has occurred, then to clean the affected tissues, you can perfectly use a tool that is available to almost every housewife. Such a tool is "Vanish". The fact is that mold is a very sensitive fungus to the effects of oxygen-containing stain removers on it. By the way, "Vanish" is an excellent tool that allows you to get rid of fungal contamination on the surface of colored fabrics.

Why does mold appear on my clothes?

Before we tell you how to remove mold from clothes, you need to understand why it appears. This will prevent the formation of fungus on the fabric in the future. Mold is a microscopic fungus that loves moisture and warmth most of all. If you find spores on your clothes in the closet, chances are you put poorly dried clothes.

To prevent the formation of fungus, you need:

put only dried clothes in the closet;
it is advisable to dry outerwear in the air once a year;
you do not need to store dirty wardrobe items on the shelves that may contain fungal spores - they will quickly spread to other things;
clean the closet at least once every six months, ventilate all clothes;
the wall of the cabinet should not be completely leaning against the wall - it is necessary to leave a small space for air circulation;
make sure that the apartment is not too humid, otherwise you will not avoid the appearance of mold in the bathroom and other rooms.

Thus, the fungus appears on clothes for a reason - it is the result of your negligence.

How not to harm clothes when removing fungus

An important condition is that in order not to harm the fibers of colored materials, it is necessary to carry out testing. Pour the specified product from the wrong side of the garment

If the shade has not changed, it can be applied to the full area of the item of clothing or linen.

Delicate fabrics will allow you to qualitatively clean turpentine from flaws. It is necessary to moisten a cotton swab, hold it gently over the contaminated areas of the cloth. Then sprinkle with clay. Wait 10 minutes. Wash by hand or with a powder machine.

Silk tulle, a spore cover will help cleanse the ammonia. Dilute the solution with water in a ratio of 1:16. Moisten the marks with a cotton swab. Wait 30-60 seconds, rinse with water. Hand wash with soapy water.

Woolen clothes are perfectly processed with turpentine. Soak a cotton swab in the solution and rub lightly over the mark. Cover the area with clay, put paper on top and iron. Rinse well, wash with soapy water.

Colored cotton will perfectly clean chalk. Pour the shavings of the substance onto the damaged fibers. Cover with a gauze cloth and iron. Shake off any remaining chalk and wash by hand.

The raincoat fabric of the stroller will help to bring the baking soda to its proper form. Dissolve the substance to a homogeneous mixture. Put on the affected area. Rub with a brush. Rinse off the particles with cold water and a sponge. Wipe dry. Ventilate with air.

Clean black leather outerwear without soaking as follows:

buy a chemical agent for processing leather products;
put the liquid in a spray bottle 1 cap for 2 liters of water;
spray clothes with liquid solution, hang to dry in the presence of sunlight.

Vodka will help get rid of mold and unpleasant odors. Wipe the places with a cotton swab, let dry.

White things

Popular methods of cleaning mold from linen, white fabrics:

Salt. Dissolve 1 tsp in 500 ml of water. ammonia and 3 tbsp. salt. Boil the solution. Wait until it cools down. Saturate marks, wait 2 hours. Machine wash. Flax, cotton, satin are treated with the solution.
Hydrogen peroxide. Rub the areas with a cotton pad. Then rinse well.
Chlorine. Use the chemical composition according to the instructions on the packaging to avoid damage to the material.
Vitamin C. Stir 50 ml of vodka and 10 g of ascorbic acid. Rub the area with a brush, wait until completely dry. Wash normally.
Laundry soap peroxide. Wash with soapy water. 1 liter of water and 1 tablespoon hydrogen peroxide. Moisten the cloth. Hold for 10-15 minutes. Rinse in warm water.
Ammonia. Will come to the rescue when cleaning a linen bed. Dissolve 10 ml of the substance and 40 g of salt in 2 liters of water. Boil and cook for half an hour. Then apply the composition to the marks. Hold for 5-10 minutes, wash with powder.

Mold spores are afraid of heat. To do this, you need to wash things in hot water.

If the mycelium has not had time to grow strongly, it is removed locally. Depending on the type of fabric, local cleaning is carried out in one of the following ways:

Moisten the contaminated surface, generously lather with laundry soap and leave for 60 minutes.
In a container with any fermented milk product without impurities (including serum) at room temperature, lower the contaminated place so that the liquid covers the stain. The product is kept in sour milk from 30 minutes to 12 hours.
Freshly squeezed lemon juice is applied with a cotton pad to the dirt. Table salt is poured on top, and the treatment site is allowed to dry completely.
A thick layer of baking soda is applied to the surface moistened with water. After a few minutes, wipe off the fungus with a wet brush.
Acetylsalicylic or ascorbic acid is dissolved in wine alcohol or vodka (3 and 2 tablets per quarter glass, respectively). The resulting solution is used to treat the stains and wait for drying.
Ground onions or squeezed juice are applied to the mold for half an hour. For best results, lemon juice is added to the product.
Ammonia is mixed with ethyl alcohol and water (1: 1: 1). The segments affected by mold are wiped with a cotton pad soaked in the solution.

The described processing methods are suitable for both dense and delicate fabrics such as wool, silk and synthetics. High temperature resistant products can be cleaned as follows:

Bring half a liter of water to a boil. Dissolve 100 g of salt and 5 ml of ammonia in it. Apply the mixture to the spots for 2-3 hours.
Mold formation is sprinkled with crushed chalk or tooth powder, and then ironed with a hot iron through a woven or paper towel.

Mold problem and methods of solving it

Since mold is a rapidly multiplying fungus, we can say that the most favorable environment for it is moisture and heat. A distinctive feature of such formations on the fabric is their color. The darker the mold on the garment, the more damaged its structure. This suggests that dark spots are older than light ones.

Reasons for the appearance of the fungus:

improper storage of clothing, which includes storage in bags and boxes in a damp room;
insufficient drying of things;
proximity to a thing or piece of furniture already affected by mold.

In the case of a fungus, it should be borne in mind that it is not so easy to remove it if it is not possible to change the microclimate of the room. What you should pay attention to:

What you should pay attention to:

the time of the lesion - it is very important to know exactly how much clothing was exposed to fungal formations (determined mainly by color);
the type of material that was affected;
kind of mold.

Since the problem is quite serious, it cannot be said that such formations affect only the appearance of the product and its smell. The structure of the fabric itself is also damaged, because of which the favorite thing can tear and quickly become unusable.

Removing mold from clothes takes time and careful attention to business. Every housewife who has encountered this problem knows several ways to solve it. Mold on the fabric requires the use of special tools, among which are noted quite effective:

laundry soap;
peroxide;
bleach;
chalk;
turpentine.

Washing with laundry soap

If you find a problem in time, then ordinary laundry soap can also remove mold stains on fabrics.

The thing should be washed in a single amount (in case the fungus has started up on several). To do this, you need to prepare a suitable amount of soapy water, in which the clothes will then be soaked.
Soak the affected piece of clothing well in this water.
Lather moldy areas with laundry soap and leave for twenty minutes.
Rinse well in the same water, and then lather again.
After another twenty minutes, you need to rinse the item in the remaining water, then in clean water.

If after that the mold has not been removed, the procedure should be repeated. However, laundry soap does not always help, so you should not wash the mold with it more than two times - this will damage the thing, but you will not achieve what you want.

Hydrogen peroxide against mold

This method is used mainly for light and white items. This is due to the fact that hydrogen peroxide is a powerful bleaching agent, which may well leave behind a bright spot in the place where the mold was. Therefore, such a solution to the problem is not suitable for colored products.

It is necessary to prepare a solution in the proportions of two tablespoons of peroxide per liter of water, and soak the damaged thing in it. You can leave it unattended in such water for no more than a minute. If washing with peroxide does not work, do not try to repeat it - this can lead to the fact that the clothes will deteriorate.

Chalk against fungus on colored clothes

With the help of chalk, you can easily remove mold stains from colored clothing without damaging it. To do this, you need to follow a simple sequence of actions:

place the garment on the ironing board, spread out so that there are no wrinkles;
then you need to sprinkle the fungus with chalk, but not too much of it, it would be unnecessary;
attach a layer of paper on top - it is better to take a regular A4 sheet;
use an iron to iron this place several times, selecting the maximum temperature mode;

Washing with turpentine

If the clothes are made of delicate fabrics, then turpentine will help remove mold from the clothes. It is great for woolen items, which would be very offensive to damage by your own attempts to get rid of the fungus.

The method is very simple - a few drops of turpentine are applied to the mold. After that, after some time, you need to wipe the fungus with a dry napkin or, better, sprinkle with talcum powder. This will remove residual dirt and restore the freshness of the clothes.

Mold on a wheelchair: ways to fight

How to remove mold on a stroller? The question is quite relevant, since this item is very valuable if you have a child of the appropriate age or another one is expected. But even this problem can be dealt with.

the use of aggressive chemicals is strictly prohibited

First you need to moisten the fungus with serum, and then rub with onions. This will help get rid of the stains quickly and effectively. After that, it is recommended to put the stroller in a dry place, and wash all the cleaned parts, if they are removable, with baby powder.

How to prevent mold growth

To reduce the likelihood of re-formation of mold, you need to take care of ways to protect not only the wardrobe, but also the premises, possibly the apartment as a whole. To do this, you must strictly observe the following rules and recommendations:

Mold grows in a humid environment, so things are put absolutely dry in wardrobes / dressers. Even if things become damp after ironing, you need to dry them and only then put them on the shelves.
Furniture intended for storage should not be placed close to the wall, especially if it is damp. If you neglect this rule, the hostess will be forced to fight mold colonies from year to year.
In hardware and household stores, special desiccant bags are sold. They are laid out on the shelves where things are stored.
Items should be washed as often as possible. It goes without saying that you cannot store clean and dirty linen on the same shelf. This creates a favorable environment for the development of pathogenic microflora, including mold.
With the onset of heat, it is recommended to carry out general cleaning inside cabinets, dressers, etc. It is necessary to get and, if possible, wash all things, ventilate them well in the fresh air (hang them on the balcony, for example), and also be sure to leave the cabinets themselves open.
After washing, it is always recommended to subject things to heat treatment, that is, to iron.

Removing mold, especially if it has spread to large areas, is not an easy process, but you can't give up. To remove the fungus, you need to approach the fight in a complex way: boil and iron some linen, ventilate the rooms more often and keep the cabinet doors open, do not forget to use special cleaning compounds. You should not give up and get upset ahead of time, methods of removing mold from clothes are budgetary and not laborious, if all the rules of disposal are followed, a positive result will not take long.

How to remove fungus from synthetics?

To clean synthetics, a solution of ammonia with water in a 1: 1 ratio is used. If this method does not work, you can boil the thing. Most often, this technique is used on white things: add 1 tbsp to 0.5 liters of water. l. bleach and boil for 15 minutes. This period is enough for the spots to disappear.

Effective ways to eliminate mold:

Lemon and onions. Two large onions must be peeled and chopped in a blender until gruel is formed. Juice should be squeezed out of 2 lemons, and the zest should be passed through a meat grinder. All components must be connected, apply the gruel to the contaminated area and cover with a bag or film. Remove the mixture after 25 minutes and wash clothes in the washing machine.
Borax and milk. These ingredients will help remove dirt from delicate items. In equal proportions, you must mix lemon juice, vinegar, borax powder and low-fat milk. Apply the prepared mixture to the stains, cover with foil and leave for 40 minutes. After the set time, the solution must be blotted with a cotton pad.
Kefir. You can get rid of a microscopic fungus with the help of yogurt or kefir.A small amount of dairy products should be applied to the stain and left for 7-10 hours. After that, you should wash things by hand and evaluate the result. If the stain remains, you need to repeat the procedure.
Laundry soap. To eliminate black mold, you need to grate half a bar of laundry soap and pour 1.3 liters of warm water over it. When the soap shavings are completely dissolved, place the item in the solution for 30 minutes. When cleaning white items, the amount of soap must be increased to 2/3 of the bar. After soaking, items must be washed by hand.
Ammonia. Before experimenting with this tool, it is necessary to check how the fabric will behave: ammonia should be applied to an inconspicuous area and left for 20 minutes. If nothing happens to the fabric after the time has elapsed, you can use it. The contaminated area should be treated with ammonia and left for 10 minutes. After that, rinse the thing in clean water, and if the stain remains, repeat the procedure.
Vinegar. To remove mold from clothes, you need to use table vinegar, the concentration of which does not exceed 9%. Pour 1 liter of warm water, 25 ml of glycerin and 45 ml of vinegar into the basin, send the thing there and cover everything with cling film. After 25 minutes, the clothes must be rubbed with laundry or tar soap and sent to the washing machine.
Boric acid. To prepare the solution, dilute 35 ml of boric acid in 1 liter of water and apply to the stain. If the item is completely affected, it must be soaked whole. After an hour, the product must be washed by hand and rinsed in the washing machine.
Turpentine. A cotton pad should be moistened with turpentine and applied to the affected area. Sprinkle on top with baby talcum powder or white cosmetic clay, cover with polished paper and iron with an iron for 7-10 minutes. Excess can be removed by washing with rinse aid.

How to remove mold from fabric

To remove mold from the fabric, you must first try shaking it off or brushing it off the surface without getting the fabric wet. After that, you will have to treat the stains with table vinegar, furacilin solution or fresh lemon juice.

It is necessary to moisten the clothes abundantly with one of the selected products, leave for several hours to dry. Only then can things be washed in the washing machine. It is advisable to add a few tablespoons of citric acid to the powder.

It is more difficult to remove dirt from outerwear - from down jackets, coats, jackets. Moreover, some products cannot be washed, since the filler gets lost. To do this, you will have to carefully select the product and process the stains gradually. You can use fresh lemon juice or ammonia diluted with water in a 1 to 1 ratio.

You need to take a cloth napkin, soak it in juice or in a solution, and then gently wipe the mold stains from the clothes. Then leave things to dry for a while, then repeat the process at least one more time. How to straighten a down jacket after washing, read here.

White products are more difficult to clean from dirt, because they are very easily soiled. To remove stains from white fabrics, it is better to use hydrogen peroxide by wetting the problem areas abundantly. After an hour, you can wash the items in the Intensive wash cycle. If the fabric is delicate and can suffer from aggressive agents and washing, then it is advisable to contact a dry cleaner.

Before putting the washed clothes back into the closet, treat the shelves and walls with any remedy for fungus, store or folk, for example, vinegar, furacilin or lemon method. Here are some more homemade methods for removing mold from clothes and linen.

Modern ways to remove fungus

If traditional methods of fighting mold removal do not help to clean the affected surface, there is no time, or you just do not want to conjure over the preparation of intricate solutions, you can use chemical products.The well-known Vanish products are highly effective, designed for cleaning various things: plain and colored clothes, carpets, furniture. For the same purposes, you can use stain removers and bleaches from any other manufacturer.

Removing mold with modern chemical products is not as safe as using natural remedies and is relatively expensive. However, the method also has significant advantages: simplicity, availability, efficiency. Such products are sold in almost any hardware store and allow you to clean things, as well as the fungus, along with the smell, quickly, easily and irrevocably.