Mildew/staining removal- Towels

[mattl]

Got a problem, I hope some of the experts here can help with. Had 3 or 4 beach towels I tossed down the basement waiting for a few more to make a load. They were on the floor next to the dehumidifier, which I had tilted back to drain into the hose attached not the pan. Well long story short the pan filled, overflowed and the unit did not turn off. Towels are yellow and have areas of mildew.

Ran them through 2 warm washes, then soaked overnight in warm water with lots of Oxygen bleach. Still some discoloration, and mildew. I avoided Hot water and chlorine bleach. don't want to fade them, nice bright colors, but want to get them looking a little better. Any solutions?

 

[zanussi_lover]

white vinegar?

vinegar brightens colours, removes mildew and mould removes smells, put some in the wash and final rinse cycle

 

[launderess]

Aside from LCB, only certified mildewcides will get rid of the stuff.

Even with chlorine bleach one must make sure the stuff isn't old stock (once opened a bottle looses potency), and that contact time allows for killing of the roots as well as visable stains.

Or, one can use any EPA registered disenfectant/mildewcide household cleaner (there will be a notice on the label somewhere). Such products if used as directed (and safe for textiles, always test), will get rid of mildew, and then you can either boil wash or something with oxygen bleach to shift stains. Commercial laundry supply companines stock products that deal with mold without stripping colour.

If you are considering Lysol in the brown bottle, note it is no longer EPA registered. Formula was changed years ago to remove phenol, which was what gave the proudct it's germ/mold killing properties.

 

[zanussi_lover]

or

use a colourguard product, if you have one, that has no oxygen bleach and use a hot wash,

I wash my coloured towels using a colourcare product (no optical brighteners or bleach) on a hot 60*c wash and nothing fades.

 

[mattl]

Thanks for the tips, will consider liquid chlorine bleach if I can't find anything else.

 

[mrboilwash]

I could successfully remove all kinds of bleachable stains like coffee, red wine and so on with a liquid detergent in the boil wash cycle, but no mildew.
Mould stains would be one of the very few cases I know of, where a powder with activated oxygen bleach is a must even in the boil wash cycle.
If you have access to a frontloader with a sanitize cycle, a friend perhaps, and a generous dose of powdered Tide with bleach or Persil, I predict you 100% stain free towels without too much fading from only one wash.
I woud consider chlorine bleach only as the very last option as it is much harder on fibers.

 

[cleanteamofny]

This should work

Hot water, Oxygen Color Safe Bleach and Ammonia.
This combo is fine.

DO NOT USE CHLORINE BLEACH AND AMMONIA TOGETHER!
Noxious fumes will kill!

 

[mattl]

Thanks, I may try that tonight. Really want to avoid the bleach. Thought I had some old Lysol some place but can't find it.

 

[launderess]

IMHO There Are Better Choices Than Lysol

For one unless you have the old formula with an EPA number on the bottle, then the mold germ killing power is suspect.

Lysol was reformulated to remove the former active ingredient phenol, but the stuff still stinks.

Cleaned the bathroom with a tiny amount of "Lysol Disinfectant" that one had nabbed from local hardware store closeout, and am here to tell you won't be doing it again in a hurry. Several days later the house still reeks of the distinctive Lysol "odor" (cannot call it a scent by any stretch), and from what one has read that smell does not easily rinse away from laundry.

 

[whirlcool]

We've used Lysol on our bathroom floors before. The house smells like a hospital for several days afterwards. And we rinsed the floors very thoroughly.

 

[MrX]

If you've a front-loader:

Select the 90C/boil/sanatize cycle and use a laundry detergent that contains oxygen bleach.

If you've a top loader get a large pot, put a scoop of front-loader powder with bleach in, put towels in and boil on a stove for about 30 mins. Dump into washer and was as normal.

If that doesn't remove the mildew, you need new towels

 

[launderess]

Two Things

One, American domestic front loading washing machines never had nor have now a "boil wash" setting. Most max out at about 140F or so. Of the European offerings on this side of the pond, Miele IIRC, stops at around 160F, not sure about Asko or Bosch.

Two, when one says "bleach" to average Americans they will think the chlorine variety as that is the most common used here. LCB will deal with mildew/mold even in warm or cold water, no boiling required.

Being as all the above may, yes oxygen bleach and very hot or boil wash temperatures will remove mildew/mold stains. At least this has been our experience using the Miele set to 180F or 200F.

L.

 

[mattl]

I just bought a Duet to play with and it does have a heater built in, so these towels may go through it's virgin wash when I pick up the machine tomorrow or Monday. It does not get as hot as the Miele, I think it tops out at 160, but it may do the trick with some oxygen bleach. I had my eye on a Steam unit but it was just too pricey.

 

[mattl]

Got my Duet up and running after replacing the pump and ran the towels through the "Super Hot" wash cycle and it seems to have removed 90% of the staining, I guess that's all I can hope for.

Over time if I use the SH cycle a few more times it may eliminate them completely.

 

[toggleswitch]

No matter how you wash them, "BURN" them in a hot dryer at maximum temperature for much longer than necessary. THEN put them in the sun on a clothes-line for an afternoon.

It may be worth a trip to a commercial laundromat to uses their dryers (think inferno!). 100,000 BTU/hr far surpasses a home dryer's 22,000 BTU/hr. It also explains why those machines take 1/2 hour to do what a home-use (or home-style) dryer takes nearly an hour to do! Murder on your dark clothes (fading) but in this case it has its benefits.

I cant stand that moldy (mildewed) towels sometimes get their smell back after they have been used and re-wet.

The definition of mildew, by the way, is simply mold on fabrics.

 

[joe_in_philly]

I wouldn't be so afraid of LCB. I have always used it on towels and sheets, even colored ones without a problem. I use less for colored items than for white. If you do use it in your duet, keep in mind it will be dispensed in the first rinse, which is only 4 minutes. Be sure to use the extra rinse option.