TLDR - You can reply to any of the questions below that you have a citation or knowledge about please and thanks. But basically I hang dry my clothjng and have had a problem with them getting that mildewy smell . Please help
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Im talking about a whole 2 cups of citirc acid per a load of clothing. What notablw effects on the clothing wll this amount have? Also I plan on leaving the citric acid solution on the clothing after rinsing away as much detergent as possible. Bad idea? Should I do a 24 or 8 hour citric acid soak? Nope ?yes?
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Also it should be noted that most of the clothing is heavy cotton as in 325 GSM or more cotton. Only like 1 or 2 of those peices of clothing are made of wool or polyester or spandex.
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Also citirc acid may lighten the clothing no? Or will the citric acid only lighten the clothing if it clothing is out in the Sun for too long, right?
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Will the citric acid impart its own smell to the clothing? Will it destroy it?
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Can I combine this solution with placing the citirc acid solution on the clothing and l then once its hang dried a bit I can then use a drying machine to dry it even more thoroughly to ensure that rhe mildew is like double dead? Also I cant dry my clothing when its wet as Im super skinny and that would make my clothing stretch far too much.
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Could the problem be that Im using too much detergent?
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Ive tried to look for other solutions to this and apparently drying the clothing after the mildew is already there will not have a drastic enough effect to get rid of it. Is this true please.?
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Should I just dump boiling water onto the clothing after it has washed or will this make it stretch?
Ive found I have this problem when I hand wash the clothing or machie wash it but surprisingly hand washing and then hand wringing it makes the smell of mildew less prominent.
Also I live in an apartment that has a public laundromat and the cleaning of the machines’ filters is a sporadic frequency as of now so…
And yes I do now know about mangles to wring dry clothing. I live in canada so if anyine knows any brands that arent absolute garbo please do link
Ive deided to not use the washing machines until. the maytag mechanics fix the problem of to dirty filter and the mildew. I live in an apartment with a public laundromat and the maytag mechanics for the machine come in sporadically
Thanks to all who answer.
That odor stopped when we quit using liquid fabric softener in our washing machine - at our appliance repairman’s suggestion.
I see some people stating to use bleach or vinegar. Personally I have been using Borax for about a decade and it works incredibly well. I purchased it to make ant traps which also worked well, but decided to use it as a washing machine cleaner as well. 1 box has lasted me like 5 years and is pretty cheap as it is. Whenever i start smelling something ill do a clean cycle or if you dont have that option quick wash works as well and just pour like a cup of it in. It always smells like nothing after so it definitely works well.
Can I clean the laundry with Borax itself as well? Borax is a cleaning agent , no? So it can bd used as a detergent too , no?
Vinegar is great But it is an acid and will react with a lot of detergents. So i use it in the softner side with rosemary oil (antibacterial) which thr machine adds after the wash. For heavy things that still need drying after i spray it with a mix of vinegar, alcohal, and rosemary oil. Kills most eveything on it but by the time i use it its safe to the touch.
For that rosemary oil, vinegar, alcohol combination you spray on can you pleaae get into the specifics of how you make that mixture please? What litres or millilitres ofr each of those things do you use to make it? Also where in the hell can I find rosemary oil please? (Ill add that I dont use amazon) I have never seen such thing as rosemary oil in real life …or maybe I havent searched hard eniugh 🤷🏿♂️
They sell rosemary oil at the health food store where i live along with some local people sell essential oils.
For IN THE WASHER just use vinegar. It’ll help soften the fabric and kill some mildew/mold. Oils will stick in the wash and since it’s shared might not be ok with everyone. Alcohol can break down plastics.
I do probally 2/3rds vinegar (5% acidity is fine) and a 1/3rd everclear (190 proof). Just a few drops og rosemary is enough for a good smell tbh. You can also mix peppermint for things you want bugs to avoid but rosemary has the lasting antibacterial effect.
You can isopropal too, though i dont like how it dries as well but you can use less making it like 1/4 instead of 1/3 of the mix.
On the essential oils though they are 100% extra. Vinegar is good enough, alcohol helps more, the oils are mostly just smell goods with some evidence showing that they’ll help
Also I feel that when we are dealing with vinwgar-anything the essential oils are …wel… essential. The smell of vinegar so strong and bad .
So yoouve never had someone tell you you smell like vinegar after sprayimg your clothing with a mixture that tdiidnt have rosemary oil in it?
Can you recommend for me a non-alcoholic beverage alternative I can use for the alcohol please?
Step one: clean the machine. Just like you wouldn’t expect to be clean using a dirty bath or dishes in a dirty sink you won’t get clean clothes in a filthy washer. Options are 2+ cups citric acid crystals or a commercial product based on oxy (sodium percarbonate) run using a self-cleaning mode or full wash at max temperate for max duration. It may take several cycles depending how bad it is. Note: citric acid does not create suds. If you get a lot of suds in an otherwise empty load then that’s the citric acid removing residual detergent. Repeat till you don’t get suds.
Step two: clean your clothes. If they smell musty straight out of the wash then they’re not getting cleaned in the wash. Use the hottest setting the clothing care tag allows, wash for the longest time the machine is capable of, and add extra rinses. For chemistry, use high quality detergents (Tide, Persil, others depending where you live), add a booster product with enzymes (varies on country: Biz if US, Resolve Gold if Canada, Vanish down under), and add a tbsp of citric acid in the final rinse (not in the wash!) Avoid fabric softeners as the can contribute to the stinky buildup in the textiles you’re trying to remove.
do you dry outside, or have a dryer?
Had trouble with my machine. Ended up buying a new one. The clothes kept smelling, so I washed them without softener and sprayed them down with cleaning alcohol when I hanged them to dry. Smell is gone now
Your last paragraph makes me think you really need to run a washing machine clean cycle with a washing machine cleaner in it a few times.
I cam use bleach or oxy clean to do this no?
I’d recommend baking soda (natron)
This would be a good crosspost for !cleanit@slrpnk.net I did just add the laundry section to the wiki. I don’t think it fully answers your question though.
thanks Ill give it a try.
If you have space in your shower stall/tub to fit a portable washing machine, it’s worth it. I’m in a similar situation to you with this and bought one a few years back and it’s been the most practical £150 I’ve probably ever spent on myself.
Sorry for linking amazon, I just want to show you an example of the type of machine I’m talking about.
Also citirc acid may lighten the clothing no?
It can take away a grey/dull effect from hard water especially on cotton clothing.
But about 1/10 of your planned amount already does that, and you rinse it away at the end of washing. I don’t know what really happens with so much acid!
Source: I have read a book and I do that for >20 years now.
I went through all this with my home washing machine a while back. The culprit in my case was trying to DIY laundry detergent and not knowing what the fuck I was doing.
I would skip the citric acid. I don’t see that moving the needle.
If your clothes stink, it’s probably biofilm left on them because the washer didn’t properly rinse off all the detergent. That comes from 2 places: too much detergent you added to your wash, and excess detergent stuck all over the washer internals from other people.
You’ll know that’s the problem if your clothes smell “ok” but if they get slightly damp it suddenly smells like wet dog.
One-time symptom treatment: make a strong mix of oxyclean and hot water in a bucket. Soak all your smelly clothes in it for at least 4 hours. Then drain and wash them normally.
If it’s in the machine, you’re in kind of a shitty position because the machine ultimately needs to be cleaned. If you have the time and are willing, run the washer empty with a cup of bleach. You might need to pause the washer and add it after the cycle starts - my machine drains when it turns on and pumps out the bleach, but if I add it a minute later it stays inside. Run the load with hot water.
Another thing you can do is run the machine with a cup of washing soda. That’s apparently better at removing biofilm, but imo bleach does a pretty great job on its own.
Moving forward, make sure you use the recommended amount of detergent. Too much and you’re back in the same place. Too little and there’s not enough detergent to actually clean your clothes (but the biofilm will still cover everything).
Is citric acid free? How much before you could have bought a tumble dryer?
Are you drying inside or outside? If inside, you may need to clean any vents/fans/aircons in that room.
Airflow is also important if not using something like a dehumidifier.
Mostly drying inside…
Also airfloe in this apartment is ass- tastically bad.
Huh… I never really thought about cleaning the fan. Umm should I use 99% alcohol to clean the innards and outer parts of the fan ? cause I want to be clean thoroughly but I dont want the fan to short curcuit
If it’s a ceiling fan, just dust the blades; you shouldn’t need to do anything more unless you actually see mold. If you do, then I don’t know. You don’t want to electrocute yourself. You also don’t want to destroy the lubrication thus destroying the fan (or possibly even causing a fire hazard if the engine seizes and keeps heating up).
Edit: if you don’t have fresh air flowing, though, this probably isn’t going to solve much; a dehumidifier with air purifier would likely be better.
Can you dry them in an electric dryer? It’s humid here and air drying can be problematic. I haven’t noticed any stretching of the clothes as long as the washer spins adequately.
If you are washing at a Laundromat do they have an extractor? One of those centrifuge machines? Those leave the clothes more dry.
If you are washing at a Laundromat do they have an extractor? One of those centrifuge machines? Those leave the clothes more dry.
They dont have an extractor at this laundro mat . Only the dryers ans the washer. Also th e dryers dont have a ‘Fast, No Heat’ setting(Im guessing that could be used as a substitute for an centrifuge right?) The dryers They all have the same ‘Low Heat, Medium Heat, High Heat’ settings
Can you dry them in an electric dryer? It’s humid here and air drying can be problematic. I haven’t noticed any stretching of the clothes as long as the washer spins adequately.
My clothing ALWAYS stretches when I put them immediately in the dryer after they have been rinsed . I only notices that rhey stopped stretching if I put them in the dryer after theyre dry to the touch… but they take like 2 or 3 days or sometimes more to be dry to the touch.
Yeah 2 or 3 days damp is long enough to mildew.
I am going to recommend wool. I wear merino wool t shirts & underwear and those don’t need to be washed often, can’t go in the dryer but dry so fast even here in the subtropics. Are not too warm either, a thin knit fabric. It’s naturally resistant to the mildew.
I remember my mom being amazed when she went to Egypt - she came back and told me " I could wash my underthings in the evening, hang them under the bed, and in the morning they were dry! " So in the literal desert I guess it’s possible to air dry quickly enough to avoid problems but not here and I guess not where you are. Once they are mildewed I think only a bleach soak will work, and that’s gonna, well, bleach them.
But then the question becomes how in the fuck do you buy cheap things to clean wool with often? You cant wash wool in shit that has enzukes in. it …but like 99% of detergents globally have enzymes in them as far as my search is concerned. I had asked this same question before and all the answers that people gave me to this question were either super expensive detergents I couodnt regilarly afford or super bust detergenrs that had so little cleaning agents in them that you could not practically use it to clean anything.
ALSO I live in canada …so do you know of any brands that sell cheaply here please? ALSO they must be fragranceless wool wash detergents please. Fragrances irritate my skin.
I used to run a dehumidifier in the room while hang-drying clothing indoors.
any particular brands youd recommend please? (also I live inc anada so theyd have to ship here too)
One that is UL listed. Don’t set your place on fire. I normally live on a sailboat, which tends to be a difficult place to line-dry clothing. A compressor dehumidifier will make short work of even dripping wet clothes.
