How to Remove Mold on Clothes

It’s not uncommon for clothes to get moldy, especially when stored in a humid place or not completely dry before storing. You can tell mold by eye when patches of stains appear on the fabric. If you want to remove mold from your clothes, you’ll have to wash or scrub the moldy item with a detergent such as a stain remover, bleach, borax or baking soda, and other ingredients.

Table of Contents

Clean mold on fabric

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Scrub the mold with a toothbrush. Use an old toothbrush to scrub the mold on the clothes thoroughly. Try to scrub as much or as much as you can. ^{[1] X Research Source} Discard brush immediately after scrubbing mold.

Work in a ventilated place or take it outdoors. Mold spores can fly very far in the indoor air and cling to other fabrics, or worse, into your lungs.

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Spray stain remover on the mold. Once you’ve tried to scrub away the mold as much as you can, spray a generous amount of stain remover on the mold on the garment. ^{[2] X Research Source} Stain removers take time to soak into fabrics, so wait at least 30 minutes before washing.

Stain removal products are widely available. You can find cleaning products on shelves in supermarkets.

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Wash moldy items separately in hot water. Run the washing machine on a large wash cycle and use the hot water setting. Do not add any other items of clothing to the washing machine to avoid the risk of mold spores spreading to items that are not moldy. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

If the washing machine automatically estimates the size of the load according to the amount of clothes in the machine, add a few pieces of old rags or towels to add enough weight..

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Add vinegar to the wash. When the washing machine is full of water, you can add more vinegar to make sure the mold is clean. Pour ¾ cup (180 ml) of white vinegar into the wash. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Vinegar will remove any unpleasant musty odors on clothes.

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Experts advise: Washing clothes in hot water and vinegar will kill 80% of mold spores and help eliminate unpleasant musty odors. Pour vinegar directly into the washing machine and do not use extra soap. Fill the drum with hot water, then press the pause button and soak the moldy clothes for 1 hour. Complete the wash cycle, then wash again with regular soap and chlorine-free bleach.

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Dry clothes. You won’t be able to tell if your clothes are moldy or not until they’re completely dry and back to their original color. Dry clothes on a flat surface, or hang them on a drying rack or clothesline. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

If it’s a nice day, you can dry the item in the sun. The sun will provide extra heat to kill any remaining mold on the clothes.
Avoid using the dryer. You need to let the clothes dry completely to check for mold, stains and strange odors. The dryer can become contaminated with mold spores if you put moldy clothes in the machine. ^{[6] X Research Source}

Clean mold with bleach

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Run the washing machine on hot water. Whenever you treat mold on clothes – or any fabric – you should always use hot water. Hot water both kills mold and removes mold, while warm or cold water won’t work. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Only use bleach on white clothes, as bleach will fade or bleach the color of the fabric. If the moldy clothes are colored fabrics, you will have to use another method.

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Add laundry soap to the load. When the tub is almost full of hot water, add more soap as usual. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

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Add bleach to the wash. When the soap starts to foam, pour 1 cup (240 ml) of bleach into the load. ^{[9] X Research Source} If your washing machine has a special compartment marked “bleach”, you can pour bleach into it.

The amount of bleach added to the load may vary depending on the manufacturer’s instructions. If the bleach bottle you’re using is more or less than 1 cup, follow the directions on the package.

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Run the washing machine as usual. Once you’ve put soap and bleach in the washing machine, fill the tub with water, then put the moldy clothes in. When the wash cycle is complete, the mold will be removed from the clothes. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Do not tumble dry if the clothes are still moldy after washing. Drying also does not remove mold.

Clean mold with soldering iron

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Run the washing machine on hot water setting. Hot water is most effective at removing mold stains from clothes. Put regular laundry soap and moldy clothes in the washing machine. ^{[11] X Research Source} Do not wash with clothes that are not moldy.

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Dissolve ½ cup of borax in hot water. Pour very hot water into a large pot or mixing bowl, then pour in ½ cup (120 ml) of borax. Use a spoon or other tool to stir until the solder is completely dissolved in the hot water. ^{[12] X Research Source}

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Pour the solution into the wash. When the solder has dissolved in the pot of hot water, slowly pour the solution into the washing machine. ^{[13] X Research Source}

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Let the washing machine run as normal. The final rinse cycle will remove all the detergent you added to remove the mold. ^{[14] X Research Source}

Dry the clothes after washing.

Advice

When working with bleach (or other caustic cleaning solutions), be careful not to get the solution in contact with your eyes or skin.
If you can’t remove the mold from your clothes, you can take the item to dry cleaning. Dry cleaning can kill and remove all mold on fabrics. ^{[15] X Research Source}

Steps

Clean mold on fabric

Clean mold with bleach

Clean mold with soldering iron

Advice

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