#10 Removing Moldy Odors from Washing Machine
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We’ve covered some ways to remove mildew odors from fabric, but what if it was your washing machine exposing your fresh clothes to this awful smell? Sometimes mildew and mold can accumulate due to the door of your washing machine being close with moisture left in.
Remove all of your clothing from the washing machine and add a cup of vinegar or bleach and run a wash cycle on the hot setting. Next, clean both the exterior and interior surfaces with two tablespoons of vinegar to 1 gallon of cold water and wipe all of the surfaces until free of excess moisture. Let the washer sit dry overnight before using again.
#11 Remove Musty Odor from Mattress
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If your mattress is developing that musty odor, no worries, all you need to do is vacuum the whole mattress then quickly clean out the filtration container (or toss the filters) outside immediately to avoid the mildew spores from releasing into the air the next time you use your vacuum.
If the mattress contains any mildew stains, you will need to moisten a cloth in a cup of lukewarm water with rubbing alcohol to sponge up the surface layer. Next, grab another damped cloth (fresh cloth) cloth to rinse off the rubbing alcohol and mildew debris.
Finally, give your mattress a little sunbathing R&R for several hours to remove the musty odors fully. Once finished sun-drying, spray on some Lysol disinfectant to kill excess spores that are deeply hidden below the surface.
If the smell doesn’t go away, then it may be time to throw it away.
#12 Prevent Mold on Shower Liner
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Mold can quickly turn up on a shower curtain or liner, and there are a few extra steps you can take to keep the mold at bay. First, once finished with a shower try extending the liner out as far as it can stretch to along the curtain rod to avoid locking up the excess moisture inside the folds. Keeping the liner extended will allow the water to evaporate.
Another step that is a bit more time consuming when you’re getting ready for work is to wipe down the curtain liner after each shower- giving the liner a dry clean will prevent mildew from ever appearing.
#13 How To Remove Mold from a Shower Curtain
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If you already have a shower curtain that’s been exposed to mildew you can run it through the washing machine, but if your inlay is plastic make a solution of bleach and water and spray down the liner. Once you’ve successfully cleaned your curtain liner refer to #12 for your daily prevention.
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Susan Carlyle says
August 29, 2016 at 4:55 pmI’ve had problems with “dirty washcloth smell” on my clothes and towels within one day of using those horrible detergent pods. I special ordered Tide professional with Oxy bleach from WalMart since no one seems to sell powdered detergent any more. It works. Has any one else noticed that the pods are inefficient– so much so that they are selling Downy smell-kill products as a companion item to already expensive pods?
Mary says
November 5, 2016 at 11:15 amI have leather couches and they are constantly covered in mold, do you have any suggestions as to how to prevent this?
Patricia says
November 5, 2016 at 1:28 pmI have use d bleach mixture an keeps coming back professional said bleach feeds black mold I have tried everything
Shirley Durrett says
December 11, 2018 at 8:53 pmI always cut the hem off the bottom of shower curtain. It allows the water to drain off easier. Then put in washing machine every month or so.
Jameson says
February 19, 2019 at 11:31 amExcellent Tip, Shirley 🙂