OxyClean will do it.

I have been soaking it for days, any particular method, so far nothing

Have you washed it yet? Soaking kills the mildew and washing removes it.

Will try it

Thanks

It depends on the fabric but I had good luck getting out mildew on a cotton tablecloth with a bright floral design. I covered the stains with lemon juice (bottled kind) and let it sit out in the sun until it dried. It took 2 times of doing this to finally fade it enough so it was not noticeable and it did not fade out the colors. I would say test fabric first but it's already ruined so you might as well go for it.

When I got married, I hung my wedding dress in a basement closet for 2 years and it had brown spots of mildew. I thought it was ruined, till i took it to a drycleaner. Thet got it perfectly clean. It is now in an upstairs closet.

I was going to suggest the lemon juice and sun method also. My son left his wet cotton shorts in a bag, with the belt still on them. Needless to say, the buckle rusted onto a brand new pair of shorts! I put lemon juice on the stain and then sprinkled it with salt and left it out in the sun. It took a few tries but eventually the stain came out.

I have a really nice black jacket I left in the basement and it got mold and mildew on it and it's the middle of winter in NY which means no sun to do the lemon juice thing, so do you think I could just wash it and it'll get better?

Oxy Clean has worked for me on clothing - effective in removing that moldy smell. I also read that tea tree oil works on mold. I had a mold issue with some shoes that I left in the basement too long. I have to admit I haven't tried it yet, tho.

Yes, tea tree oil is the way to go. PLEASE stay away from products like OxyClean and Bleach. So, so, so bad for you!!! There is a great product called Sol-U-Mel, totally natural, contains tea tree oil. You put one small capful in with a load of your laundry and it will get rid of all bacteria. It works wonderfully, and is eco-friendly!!

I will admit, I know very little about Borax, other than it is supposed to be a more eco-friendly option than most cleaners. Is it safe if ingested?

It's said the sun is a great way to kill mold -- assuming the material gets enough of it directly.

Borax, like Tea Tree Oil, occurs naturally. It has an ld50 near 2.6g per kg and Tea Tree Oil's is around 2g. Oxiclean is factory made, scoring 0.6g and chlorine bleach is like 0.1g. Just to give some perspective. :)

got it!! I know I have used Borax before, and it is in some products I use, but do not know too much about it. I LOVE using products with tea tree oil as the base. They work far better than anything else, and are so much safer. And, yes, if you can get it out in the sun, that is the best option yet!

I have a stroller and the cloth on it has got the black mold dots on it...It can't be removed, which is really bumming me out, because I thought that it could be washed...Any suggestions on how I can get it cleaned? I hadn't needed the stroller for some time, so it sat down in my basement. Now that I'm expecting again, I was really not trying to buy a new one since it is in very good condition, well except for the mold spots (lol)...Any help would be appreciated :)

Borax is poision....a naturally occurring poison but poison none the less.
Oxy clean is an oxidizing agent..contains an easily accessed oxygen molecule which combines with stains and germs and deactivates it to put it simplistically.
Tea Tree oil is a plant oil that has anti viral anti bacterial and antifungal properties but will not remove stains.
Oxiclean is safest and likely most effective for your stroller.
Linda C

We're in the same boat with a stroller that has some mold spots on the fabric. We tried vinegar first and scrubed and that didn't work. My wife tried salt and vinegar next and that didn't work. Last night she let it soak in Oxiclean and this morning most of the mold was gone. She's going to try and paste it on the spots tomorrow and then let it sit in the sun all day. We'll see if that gets the last of it. Good luck!

my girl friend is having problems with mold and mildue on cloths, she does not have lemon juices, and also her cat sprayed all over one area, how can she remove and get that smell out? Thank you Liza K.

I had mold on my field hockey stick bag so I just power washed the crap out of it and it came out in 2 sec :-D That's how we country girls get-r-done!

My Grandmother used the lemon juice and sun method on mold and rust stains. She was quite good at doing laundry-she ran a boarding house and her services included meals and laundry for her boarders.

Saferproducts.... why do you say that OxiClean is bad for you?

I was wondering the reasoning on that as well...but bleach and oxyclean are not bad for you.

Sodium hypochlorite (bleach), is a common naturally occurring compound (its found in seawater).
Oxyclean is a detergent (detergents are derivatives of organic compounds) with sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide as the radical agent(bleaching compound). Sodium carbonate is made from limestone and salt. Our bodies actually contain enzymes that breakdown hydrogen peroxide as it is a product of bodily processes.

Pretty much those are the components. There is no danger to your body from washing clothes with them (just don't ingest). Maybe saferproducts meant "harmful to environment". As for that, I really don't know but probably not significant.

Bleach works better than anything I just used it on a shirt that was cover with it I could not believe it.

Doctors Foster and Smith OdorLogic CleanAway is the best product for getting out cat urine on clothing and everything else. Tried many products and this is AWESOME.

Hi, I've been thru all your posts and I have a light pink and dark pink tennis skirt that ended up in my trunk with a water bottle that spilled. Unfortunately, was left there for the weekend while we were out of town and upon our return I found about 50-75 small size dots of mold on it. I tried using the Spray and Wash stain remover, soaked then rewashed twice, then gave to my mother in law, who usually gets EVERYTHING OUT FOR ME, but to no avail :( I'm afraid to try the OXY CLEAN, due to the bleaching agents it may cause discoloration. It's a brand new skirt, and still never worn :( ANY HELP would be greatly appreciated !!!

Oxyclean is "safe"in one respect. It won't remove the color from clothing. I have ruined several nice items of clothing with bleach. For example, one night after dinner I saw a berry stain on my formica kitchen counter. Poured some straight bleach on it, then accidentally leaned over it, soaking my black slacks. Left a nasty horizontal bleach mark and I had to throw out those pants. Oxy would never have done such a thing. Think "peroxide" when you use OxyClean. You'd put peroxide on a scratch on your skin,it's that "gentle".

I consider OxiClean one of the safest and most effective cleaners, if you use it properly. It wouldn't be good to drink, but it breaks down to harmless oxygen and water. The cleaning agent of oxygen bleach is oxygen, which is pretty safe for human health since the body has an extensive antioxidant system to neutralize its effects.

Tea tree oil is probably relatively safe, but it contains VOCs such as Toluene, 1,2,3-trimethylbenzene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, n-undecane, p-diethylbenzene and m-diethylbenzene.

OxiClean is the first thing I would reach for to kill mildew and get rid of mildew stains in clothing. I've used OxiClean on every kind of fabric imaginable. Although it CAN bleach out dyes if it is not thoroughly dissolved and therefore too concentrated, if you use it in HOT water at the recommended concentration, thoroughly predissolve it in the hot water, and give it plenty of TIME to soak, it will clean just about anything safely. I use it to kill mildew on areas of my deck that don't drain well. It also neutralizes odors by chemically breaking down the organic odor molecules.

Chlorine bleach (Clorox) is a stronger oxidizer than oxygen bleach and will clean certain things that nothing else will. I use it as a last resort, and have rescued clothing I would have otherwise had to throw out. Many colors, even brights, can be bleached, much to my surprise. You can test a hidden area first (using the concentration indicated on the label).

Another effective cleaner is boiling water. I've poured boiling water over set-in stains in fabric that resisted many other treatments, and had them come right out. Boiling water should also kill mildew.

Thank you, I will give "OXYCLEAN" a try :) !!!

You can look up Material Safety Data Sheets, MSDS, on products and see what they consist of.

For example the active ingredient of OXICLEAN is hydrogen Peroxide.

You can safely, IMCO, add some hydrogen peroxide to you wash

You can look up Material Safety Data Sheets, MSDS, on products and see what they consist of.

For example the active ingredient of OXICLEAN is hydrogen Peroxide.

You can safely, IMCO, add some hydrogen peroxide to you wash

My daughter had mildew stains and i tried everything and nothing worked so My sister in law told me to mix about a tsp of each of clorox and pinesol and pour it on the mildew stains and scrub it and leave it for about a day and wash it and it would take the stains away i tried it and it worked great:)

I had a baby swing donated to the teen moms I babysit for and he left it in the porch while I was sick having surgery and it got black mold on it. I have tried soaking it in vinegar, in oxy clean, in both, in our home soap which we use borax in and nothing it's still there

My baby stroller had mildew stain dots all over the fabric. How i took it off was mix Clorox and pine sol together and put it on the stains and it came right off. Perfect. Just like brand new.

Clorox will remove mildew stains.....no need to add pine sol too....that does nothing.

I have read everything here. I used vinegar and baking soda and laundry soap on a pack and play, soaked for an hour. I put the same on the board of the pack and play. I'm pretty sure the mold that was on it is dead, but since it's for my granddaughter, how can I be positive? I can't soak the board. Can the mold be dead but the stain still be there? I don't want her to get sick, but I can't afford a new one, I'm on a very limited income. Do I need to get rid of the stain to be sure the mold is gone? What would you all suggest to use on a pack and play?

The vinegar for sure killed the mold. The black spots are just that....stains. And I am sure it is safe for your grand daughter. If the spots still bug you try a scrub brush and some soap...or even baking soda and a stiff brush.

I came to this page bc one of my baby girl's beautiful designer outfits has somehow acquired mildew after only one wear. Im not really sure how it happened, I just know that she looks adorable in it and I'd like to salvage it, if possible. I had already tried a handful of this posts' remedies, with no success. Despite feeling discouraged, I began to experiment any new suggestions, in the hopes of identifying and confirming the existence of an effective antidote to the dreaded and arduous mold freckles.. Unfortunately, due to my limited access to sunlight I was unable to verify whether or not this should be considered a miracle cure-all, or a waste of time. In any event, My findings are as follows-

1) Bleach did not remove mold stains, lightened perhaps- but did NOT remove

2) Same results for Oxyclean and basically everything else

3) WINNER!! Clorox and Pine-sol for the win!!!

Sorry Lindac92 but I will def have to respectfully disagree, clorox does nothing alone but when you add Pine-sol it does it all!!

Nothing is as simple as it first seems...

lindac said,

Borax is poision....a naturally occurring poison but poison none the less.

Boron is both a micronutrient element required for life and a powerful poison. The difference is in the dosage. There is a fine line threshold beyond which it goes from biologically important to poisonous. Certainly one wouldn't want do drink wash water with Borax in it.

She also said,

Oxy clean is an oxidizing agent..contains an easily accessed oxygen
molecule which combines with stains and germs and deactivates it to put
it simplistically.

Yes, when combined with HOT water, Oxyclean and the identical formula products found at every dollar store, form hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide also leads a double life. At the 3% concentrations found around the grocery store it will kill microbes and remove many biological stains. At higher concentrations it becomes explosive and is used as rocket fuel in the military and NASA. But even at lower concentrations, I would not want to drink Oxyclean wash water.

Oxygen itself leads a double life. Obviously it is a requirement for life, but it is only relatively safe in the low concentrations found in our atmosphere. At higher concentrations most materials develop a lower flash point temperature. In 100% oxygen, oils can flash at room temperature. Many items containing oil, like skin, wood, and foods, can ignite from a flame 10 feet away at room temperature. A simple match burns with a 1-foot diameter fireball in 100% oxygen.

As long as you are using products according to the recommendations on the packaging, you should be okay.

one should be careful with anything that has essential oils or tea tree oil if you have pets. these things are NOT safer around them. they're toxic to them. very very toxic

What type of Clorox? The regular bleach or the stain remover or what? Will it remove color from the clothing?

I tried SO many things in an attempt to remove black mold dots on the gray restraint harness that came with a free high chair - straight bleach didn't work - neither did toilet bowl cleaner, fabuloso, BAM, scrubbing with cleanser, oxy clean - everything I could find in the house. Then I read this advice forum and the one thing I had not tried was the pine sol and liquid bleach combination. I didn't have any pine sol on hand (who uses that anymore?) but I did find an old sample bottle of spic 'n span and that seemed to have a bit of that "piney" smell. So I poured some liquid bleach and some spic 'n span into a small plastic container and put the strap in that overnight. SUCCESS FINALLY!!! It looks brand new, no fading, no spots! Yeah!!

Borax is not a poison. It is taken from a dry lake bed in Trona, California in the desert on the way to Death Valley. It is a natural-occurring mineral called sodium tetraborate. Box says "may be harmful if swallowed" so should be avoided and also kept out of the eyes. Nowhere does the box say the word poison.

I had some stuffed animals, ball caps, pillows that I just pulled out of storage and they had mold on them. Sprayed with vinegar and let sit, but today, altho mold is not visible, they still smell like mold. I've read on soooo many sites that vinegar is the answer??

If I clean them, will the mold then go away or do I need to try another treatment? And what would be best to use to clean them? Anyone have experience with this sort of situation?