Anyone succesfully get the mildew smell out of clothes? (dye, light, washing)

[IheartWA]

I bought a cotton shirt last week and the tag said it was dyed with real indigo. Don't hear too much about real indigo so I figure it must be special. Only problem is, the shirt smelled like mildew, like bad storage.

So, I hand washed it with laundry soap, rinsed, then a soaking in baking soda and water. Hung it on my balcony to dry. (Dry and sunny the next two days.)

Following day it smelled slightly of mildew, but it was quite faint.

So, back to the washtub with a vinegar and water soaking. Rinse, hang back on the balcony in the sun and the air.

Right now, after 48 hours on the balcony, it's not quite dry, but smells faintly of vinegar. If it smells like mildew after all of this, I'll just toss it. But I wonder, is it really possible to get the musty, mildew smell out of clothes?

[BirdieBelle]

Now that you have used vinegar, wash it in normal cycle with detergent. Dry it for 10 minutes in the dryer with a dryer sheet. Then hang it indoors to dry completely.

If that doesn't work, I don't know what to tell you.

[Ginge McFantaPants]

The only thing that I've found to work really well is Lysol; not the aerosol spray, but the liquid stuff. Just soak the shirt in a water and some Lysol (1/4 cup should be plenty), and then wash it as usual afterwards.

[LCL111]

Maybe do a soak with water and baking soda? Consider testing a small area first to make sure it doesn't change color. I put baking soda in my kids shoes when they get wet and stinky!!

[Sage 80]

I've never been able to get the smell of mildew out of things, even after washing with Lysol liquid. I've always wound up having to throw them out (clothing, sheets, ice skates, etc.)

[phonelady61]

try odo ban and it is sold at home depot .

[Larksong]

Try some Zorbx odor remover. I used this to remove diesel smell from one of my husband's shirts. It took several applications but it finally did the job. I purchased mine at Lowes.

[Mnseca]

Originally Posted by IheartWA

I bought a cotton shirt last week and the tag said it was dyed with real indigo. Don't hear too much about real indigo so I figure it must be special. Only problem is, the shirt smelled like mildew, like bad storage.

So, I hand washed it with laundry soap, rinsed, then a soaking in baking soda and water. Hung it on my balcony to dry. (Dry and sunny the next two days.)

Following day it smelled slightly of mildew, but it was quite faint.

So, back to the washtub with a vinegar and water soaking. Rinse, hang back on the balcony in the sun and the air.

Right now, after 48 hours on the balcony, it's not quite dry, but smells faintly of vinegar. If it smells like mildew after all of this, I'll just toss it. But I wonder, is it really possible to get the musty, mildew smell out of clothes?

I have had better luck with the dryer than the sun. I have some pretty nasty running clothes that have reached tolerable levels after 2 wash and dry cycles, one with detergent and vinegar and the dryer, and then a second with soaking in vinegar, then adding vinegar to the rinse cycle, then drying in the dryer. A third cycle would probably make them perfect, but spandex doesn't tolerate the dryer that well.

[IheartWA]

I meant to check back in and give an update.
The second rinse in vinegar and water pretty much knocked out the mildew. It's about 99% gone. A couple of standard washings in the washer should do it.

I actually think the fresh air and sun did most of the work. I didn't want the shirt mixed with anything else, thought the indigo would bleed on things. It took about 3 days on the line though. Thank goodness I have a balcony and it was nice and sunny for awhile.