Removing the musty smell from clothes poll

[Reason303]

Hello all,

Having turned to mumsnet to solve many a query, today I have been reading many posts about how to remove a musty smell from clothes.

Once a week I do the laundry for an elderly neighbour at home. His clothing always smell musty, and I find that once I have washed and dried his laundry, the subsequent 2 washes & drying (condenser dryer) all come out with the same smell, more so from the drying I believe.

Having read many posts on this topic, i would be interested to know which of the solutions is the most popular. I have made a list below of the solutions I have read so far, if you could be so kind to respond to my post with which number from the list you have found to be most successful, I will start with the most popular first, and see how it goes.

1. White Vinegar - 1 cup in with the wash.
2. Toothpaste - a liberal amount in with the wash.
3. Bicarbonate of Soda paste applied directly to the clothes, brush off when dry.
4. Tea Tree Oil
5. Vodka (Maybe it is good for something...)
6. Zoflora

I look forwards to seeing the results.

Dry them outside on a washing line?

Is his house damp? Ventilated?

Hi,It sounds like hes got a damp problem, so he needs to be opening the windows and getting some of those condenser moisture traps down as well.
We had a bad condensation problem a couple of years ago and got on top of it with those and other measures like a dehumidifier.
In this weather you can dry everything outside on the line. No need to be using a tumble dryer.
In my experience you have to find the cause of the mustiness and treat it.

The root cause is his home, It's been that way as long as I've lived here. I have managed to get him to start opening the windows, but it needs a lot more doing, furniture and carpets replacing and a deep clean, followed by decorating. I've got his church on board to try and get it sorted out for him. Meanwhile, I need to find the best method for cleaning his laundry to eradicate the smell from clothing. I would use a washing line, but its not an option on the 6th floor.

Wash at 60oC

I'd go with disinfectant. Dettol do a laundry one - probably less floral them Zoflora but should help kill of any mould spores and bacteria.