Sometimes in the environment with high air humidity at home, our clothes, shoes and socks can not be dried, and mildew spots begin to appear in the corners, ceilings and even cabinets, and the musty smell in the air becomes more and more strong.
Source: cbc.ca
Source of Musty Smell
As we all know, the musty smell is caused by mold.
Mold can adsorb to the wet space in nature and reproduce. Sometimes it can also grow in places where it shouldn't be, such as on the walls of old houses and messy dirty clothes.
There are two main types of mold on clothes: black mold and white mold. Among them, black mold is a highly toxic mold, which secretes a kind of mycotoxin to pose a serious threat to our health.
Source: apartmenttherapy.com
Synthetic fiber clothing may be stuck with mold, but it will not be damaged by mold. However, clothes made of cotton or various wool materials will be damaged by mold.
Mold will not only affect the appearance of clothes, but also eat the materials of clothes, so that clothes will deteriorate and decompose as a result.
Meanwhile, because of the small size of the mold, the mycelium is very easy to spread through the air and cause direct harm to the human body.
Source: usatoday.com
How to Prevent Musty Smell on Clothes？
- Do not put clothes that have not been completely dried in the wardrobe.
- Do not pile up dirty clothes for a long time. It's better to clean them in time, because there are a lot of sweat and oil stains in the dirty clothes. The water accumulated together is not easy to volatilize, and forms an insulation layer, which is conducive to the growth of mold.
- Store the bedding in a dry environment. If necessary, put several bags of desiccant or use equipment such as air purifier to prevent mold from forming.
- Drying clothes in sunny weather can also play a good anti-mold role. After the exposure of the sun, the moisture of the clothes can be removed and kept dry to prevent the growth of mold.
How to Clean Clothes That Have Musty Smell?
- Cotton and linen clothes or pure cotton clothes: Use active oxygen cleaners containing biological enzymes can quickly decompose mold on such clothes.
- Silk clothes: Repeatedly scrub them with alcohol with a concentration of more than 50%, and then soak them in water. Pay attention to soaking them in cold water, otherwise they will shrink and deform.
- Chemical fiber textile clothes: Soak the clothes in clean water with plain vinegar, smear soap on the mold spots after 5 minutes, gently rub and wash them with clean water.
- Leather clothes: Leather clothes can't be exposed to the sun, otherwise they will dry, crack or fade. The way to treat mildew spots on such clothes is to gently wipe them with a wet towel.
Source: houspect.com.au