Need Laundry Help!

[Jori]

Okay, I'm going to consede that I'm clueless on this and see if anyone has an idea. Since we came back from vacation in July, DS's jeans and shorts smell like mildew no matter what I do. I wash all denim together and nothing else is doing this. I machine wash cold and line dry but have tried using the dryer with no change. He's 15 months old so I don't think there is anything in his pockets since he is still to little to figure that out.

[WormGuy]

Baking soda in the rinse water maybe?

 

 

 

John

[bluegrassmom]

Have you tried vinegar as your rinse agent? That's what I would do. Once dry, your clothes will not smell like vinegar. If I have a particularly yucky load I'll pour some vinegar in with the soap during the wash cycle as well.

[ol'momma]

I use about a cup of white vinegar in the rinss. For

Jeans you can use warmer temps.

[Cricket]

I concur with the vinegar suggestion.

[MomM]

I use vinegar too!

[Crazy4Canning]

I use a scoop of oxyclean in the laundry & then a vinegar rinse.

[Annarchy]

Much of our salvage (wet clothing, towels, and such) smell pretty rank by the time they hit the washer. I too use vinegar & unscented laundry soap.

[Nina]

Hello,

I've been "lurking" here for awhile and have learned a lot. So far I've been too scared to post anything, as I've never done it before. But I've finally got an answer for a question, so I'd thought I'd try.

 

To get rid of mildew or prevent laundry from smelling like it, do the following (I got this info out of a book called Green This! by Deirdre Imus - I do this always for my towels or beach clothes and it works really well!)

 

Put your clothes in the washing machine, add soap and start it up so it fills with water, once full add a few drops of lemon, lavender or eucalyptus oil to the water. Let the machine do its job.

 

Once it gets to the rinse cycle, stop it again and add a few drops of clove, lemon and eucalyptus oil to the water. Then let it finish. You can't smell the oils afterwards at all, but the mold is gone too.

 

I get my oils at a health food store.

 

I hope this helps.

[Becca_Anne]

So glad you posted Nina Sounds like you have a few options to try Jori! Hope one of them works. I've never had much luck getting anything musty to ever smell right again. The key to preventing it for me is to make sure I put the wash right into the dryer and never let it sit in the washer. Also if you have a front loader, be sure to wipe up the water in the door seal, and leave the door open between loads so it dries out.

[The MacKinnon]

Hi Nina and to Mrs S! Oils are a great idea. Thanks for the hint! Yet another reason to go out and tend my herb garden.

 

Let us know what helps, Jori.

[Vic303]

Try washing in hot, adding Borax to the wash cycle, and drying in the dryer immediately. Also if possible, run a load of bleachable whites in hot FIRST, and use bleach, before you run the denims.

[farmgirlwannabe]

Since I was little, if something got the musty smell, it would be wrapped in newspaper for a couple of days - and "poof" the smell was gone. Then it would be rewashed.

 

Another one was to put a cup of ammonia in the wash with our sleeping bags. BEWARE - it worked amazingly, but it did fade the colors over time.

 

Otherwise, the simplest is (like many others have stated) baking soda OR vinegar in the rinse.

Note: Do not use both together because when mixed they just cancel out the effects of each one separately.

[Jori]

Thanks for all of the help! I'm going to start with the vinegar since I have it on hand. Becca Anne- Thank you for the tip on the front load (that's what it is). I don't remember seeing anything like that in the manual.

[GirlNextDoor]

Lysol even gets mildew spots out. Just add to the wash.

[Jori]

The vinegar seemed to cut some of it - I only used half a cup. So, I'll try a full cup next time.