Quilt and fabrics and old handwork have musty smell
 

I've dug up a good amount of 'saved' fabric, including some vintage linens and hand-embroidery I would love to put into a quilt, plus my first quilt, from the attic. Due to 18 years of being in a cold and somewhat dampish condition in the winters, they have gone quite smelly. there are no little black spots on them, and they are not molding like the leather good with white spots, but they have that stuffy attic smell.

I've washed them in cold water and stain-removing Shout and in regular soap. But when I open the clothes dryer to check on them, yuck! A musty odor comes out, and when dry they still smell musty - less than before, but still.

Now what? Should I just pitch them? Bleach? Lemon juice? Dry cleaning? Air and sun? No clue!

thanks for help!

I would try using white vinegar, it is known to kill mold spores.

Air and sun will work wonders. You can also seal them in a plastic bag with charcoal activated odor eliminators (like Dr. Shcolls Odor eaters for shoes) But I bet a day out on the clothes line will do it and today is a perfect day for it! Sunny and breezy in the Northeast.

Not an expert here but I have noticed on my adult son's work clothes (very dirty, stinky) that if I use cold water that the smells do not come out - so have learned to use either warm or hot water on his clothes - HTH

I've had luck with Borax and with something called Odoban.

Try some retro clean and soak in bathtub for a few days.

This is going to sound CRAZY but I really think this would work on a smaller scale. I am curious if some of the ingredients that are used for "safe animal deskunking" would work. I know the amounts would be way too much but worked miracles on our two dogs! This year about monthly they have decided they needed to become friendly with the black and whites) lol I KNOW fabric is different but I would be curious.... It has 1/4 c baking soda- 1 tsp dawn dish soap- 1 qrt hydrogen peroxide NO WATER. the ingredients are mixed that saturate with rubbing in and soaking about 15-25 minutes. Then and only then rinse out with warm water. and wash as normal. The ingredient that would concern me is the hydrogen peroxide. They say a 1:1:5 mixture with the hydrogen peroxide being the 5. It was amazing how it took the smell away from the dogs, (one of them got the brunt of it all ). I still think it would work on your fabric odors . It didn't seem to hurt the clothes I was wearing when I gave them their scrub downs.

I am a big fan of the borax! It is a wonderful product for cleaning most anything.

I am curious about the use of hydrogen peroxide. that is basically a kind of bleach, the sort of product we would put in our hair to go blonde (or sickly yellow...LOL!). Did your dogs get a 'dye job'?

Ammonia in the wash also works sometimes. If it were me, I would put in the sun for a couple hours and then rewash in ammonia with a vinegar final rinse.

Another vote for soaking in white vinegar. I had some towels that were forgotten in the washer and they had a horrible mildew smell to them. Washed and washed and it wouldn't come out. Finally read somewhere to soak them in white vinegar before washing and sure enough, not even a trace of the smell!

Ammoniawill take out a musty smell. I use it n my was sometimes.

The first four times No. The last time and the fifth it was about very sunny out and 80 degrees,are only warm day this spring) and I started with my smaller long hair german shepherd and she has a tint of red now. I think the sun played in aBIG part in that though. Am pretty sure I went over the 15-25 min time though, (They Re good sized dogs and DO NOT like baths anyways)

Answered this on second page but up until the fourth time of having to do it for skunk smell there had been no hair dye noticed. The fifth time there was it was one of our first warms days this spring and it went to Sunny and 80 degrees I did the smaller one first which is a longhaired german shepherd mix and she now has a deep red auburn tome on top. REALLY BELIEVE THAT WAS DUE TO THE SUN and am pretty sure it was not washed out in 15 minutes because I had both dogs to do and did them pretty much together and by myself.

You could try washing the fabrics with baking soda. It is known for removing odors when dry, so it might work in a washer, too. Otherwise, try the vinegar as others have suggested.

Some time ago. I heard that using dishwasher detergent (for dishwasher machines), can remove odors, but I have no idea what the amount of dishwasher detergent required is, nor have I ever tried it. I'd try this as a last ditch, before I pitch the fabric, attempt to get the odors out.

If the fabrics are old, I would not use bleach, peroxide or borax (it can bleach fabrics as I found out the hard way) on them, since bleaching agents generally weaken fabric fibers.

Just a question. No one mentioned Oxyclean. Will that damage the fabric?

An earlier post mentioned a formula for de-skunking a dog, and suggesting to use it on the fabric. I use "Simple Green" cleaner on my dogs when they have run into skunks. It takes two washings. I have also used it in the washing machine on my son's winter coat. He had a skunk in his trap. It worked great. I keep it on hand by the gallon. I also get that musty smell on fabric when I have things in storage. I am going to try "Simple Green" next time.

Oxyclean has been known to take out color, or cause fading. It probably wouldn't be my first choice, especially if the fabric is old.

Sunshine and fresh air will work for some things but hanging them in the rain will work even better.

Maybe more washing in white vinegar and a long time in the fresh air.This is worth a try before they are discarded.

White vinegar and warm water work for me. I discovered the vinegar for laundry smells after my son worked at KFC as a cook. His uniforms smelled so bad that he put them in the washer as soon as he came in the door. The vinegar always got rid of the smell. If there were big stains, I added some borax. I often use vinegar as a rinse in my washer rather than fabric softener. The vinegar prevents build up of soap scum and fabric softener gunk, plus my plumber says it is good for our drain. We have city sewer, so don't know what it would do for a septic system.

No dear, the peroxide used to bleach hair is much stronger and more corrosive than what you use for this. This product would be the kind sold for use in the bathroom first aid kit.

I was able to get the smell out of DGS Marine clothes that were shipped back from Afghanistan (packed slow boat to China) using Arm and Hammer Baking Soda. It did such a good job, I could not smell at all. Just threw a scoop into the washer with regular powder. I have a serious issue with boy smells in general, imagine Marine smelly!!
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Try washing in baking soda and rinsing in vinegar. Hang out if possible. Worked for me. My quilt picked up odor from a curtain that I put in the dryer to get the dust out. It was a temporary cheapo that I was giving away. I was washing my quilt and stuck it in the dryer right after the curtain and it picked up the odor. It must have been made of some type of petroleum product. I washed and washed and washed. Thought my quilt was ruined. Now it smells so fresh! woo hoo
Ever since I have been washing and rinsing with the soda and vinegar, hanging some things out and others in the dryer.
Additional hint.
Use some citric acid in the dishwasher. (not with anything aluminum though) Dishes and the dishwasher get really clean and sparkly.

I've never tried the order eaters. Didn't even think of that. Great ifea to try.