Mildew | Confessions of a Stay-At-Home Mom

September 26, 2011

Mildew



Happy Monday friends!


So, here in the Philly suburbs, we've been dealing with some wicked humidity for the past 2 or so weeks. Ok. Maybe not wicked.  It's not, like, rain forest bad. But with a broken air conditioner, we haven't been able to escape the dampness.  Some days, it's so bad, that Little Chica wipes out on the hardwood floors because they are slick. SLICK. With humidity. Indoors.


Isn't that gross?


Well, while we have become somewhat accustomed to not having the air conditioning (and better for it!), we're still battling the humidity.  We've all sniffed the somewhat dank smell that subtly permeates the house.  We've noticed that our towels, despite being properly hung after showers, remain damp until their next use.  But last night was the kicker:  upon laying our heads down to sleep on our pillows, Hubby exclaimed,


"Our bed stinks!"

"What?" I asked.


"Seriously," Hubby said, sniffing the sheets and pillows. "Smell our sheets."


So I did. And he was right.  Our pillow cases and sheets had the faint odor of mildew. YUCK!  This was particularly disturbing, as I have what one might call a sensitive olfactory sense.  I can smell trash before it turns. I can smell the rain coming. I can smell a poopy diaper from another room.


It's a blessing and a curse.


So I have to fix the problem, as I'm 75% sure that sleeping on mildewy sheets will, in fact, aide in contracting the Black Lung. 


I've used OxiClean in the past to battle mildewy towels. But I feel that it only temporarily solves the issue: after a few uses, towels immediately start to smell again. I can't tell you how many pages and websites I've visited to find an answer.  I've come up with a few options, but I wanted to see if any of you have some sure-fire solutions.  So I ask:




How do you get rid of mildew on towels and sheets?


Do you use a certain cleaning product?  A combination of kitchen products (vinegar? baking soda)? What amounts? Hot water? Cold water?  

I beg for your thoughts, and I will share all responses I get in a follow-up post.

Thank you in advance!

2 comments :

  1. I've found that nothing works better than vinegar. I run my towels and bedding thru two hot cycles with only vinegar and then dry them as normal.

    I've heard you only need to add one cup but I always use two. I hate the smell of moldy towels that much.

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  2. Oh girl, I hear ya. My air conditioner was working and my house still smells all dank and mildewey. I hate it! I went and got lots of pumpkin spice candles at Bath and Body Works. Am hoping that helps! Plus, fall weather and lots of laundry. I will have to try the vinegar trick for sure.

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Hey! Share a thought or two - I'd love to hear from you! ~ Steph

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