To put straight Clorox on 100% linen? (Help.)

[mediumbrownmug]

This hurts to type out.

So I was doing laundry and discovered a slightly damp pile of bedding hidden behind the laundry basket. DH confessed that he’d needed to run an “emergency” load of laundry a few days before, and had removed the damp bedding from the washer in a hurry, then promptly forgotten about it. I did a quick check for mildew and it seemed fine, so I washed and dried it as usual.

When I went to put it on the bed (it’s a duvet cover) I discovered some small mildew spots I had missed. It had been through the dryer, so I was a bit worried at this point. I tried treating it with white vinegar, and it did nothing. Did a two hour soak in a white vinegar solution. Nothing. Washed it again, and tried some lemon juice and salt. Nope. Didn’t even fade it. Then I decided oh well, and went online to look for another one as it’s a favorite of mine, and I’d received it as a gift.

It’s $600. (Well, $590 plus tax.)

I spent ten minutes panicking, then called the professional cleaners in my area. Nobody wanted to touch mildew. So I tried a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution with water. Nothing. Tried straight 3% hydrogen peroxide. Washed it, and after agonizing some more I bought Borax. ARGH!!!

To make it worse, I’m allergic to the ingredients in some cleaners so I can’t use Oxiclean, Shout, or Tide. But the duvet cover is very light cream with a tiny floral spray pattern, and the spots are on the cream background between the patterns. So…

I either got very stupid or very brave, but about ten minutes ago I scrubbed some straight Clorox onto it with a toothbrush and rinsed it through under scalding hot water, and immediately threw it back into the wash with detergent. What have I done? Has anyone else tried this? I know Clorox can eat linen, so I’m panicking; and it’ll take at least an hour before the wash is done and I can see the damage, and I feel like I just ruined a really expensive duvet cover.

And it was my favorite.

It was still intact when I threw it in the washer, but I really don’t feel confident about this decision. Realistically, did I completely destroy it, or do I still have options?

What is clorox? Bleach?

Yes it will be fine

Yes, sorry! (I’m American.)

Wwll, you weren't going to use it with the mould on it, so you are no worse off than doing nothing.

I'm not sure where you are - you mention $ - but even weak winter sunlight is good for things like this, and my next step would be to hang it outside on the line for a few days, then hot iron.

Thank-you, good to hear. I was afraid it would eat a hole through the linen.

Thank you. I’m in the USA, but we have a homeowner’s association and aren’t allowed to have a clothes line. I’m not confident I left the bleach on long enough to remove the stain, but I was afraid it would make a hole before it took out the spots. Still a few minutes to go before I know what the damage is. Would a hot iron work if it’s still visible?

Well the wash is done. After I bleached it one of the spots was still yellowish, but it’s completely gone now. All the spots are gone. I went over it with a super bright flashlight so as not to miss anything (laundry area isn’t very well lit), and there are no holes either. It worked, but I feel like I got lucky. Not sure I would recommend this method at all. The mildew is gone, but does that mean the spores are dead too? It smells fine (my detergent is lavender scented though). I threw it in the dryer on low, which I’m assuming is okay to do? Also guessing it’s okay to use my washer and dryer as normal. I looked it up, and some said it was fine, others said to do a tub clean. This is my first run-in with this, so apologies for all the questions. Might run a tub clean on the washer now.

Thanks all.