How To Wash Mold Out Of Clothes After A Flood In Horry County

10/10/2018 (Permalink)

Clean everything as soon as possible!

After a severe flooding recedes and the cleanup process begins you are left with many questions.

One of the first and biggest issues to tackle is your clothes. Since you obviously need clothes to participate in everyday life you are going to want to get you and your family's clothes clean as soon as possible.

Here are a few tips to help make sure that your soiled moldy clothes get back to their pre-flood gloriousness.

First, check if your machines need to be cleaned. If they do follow this procedure:

• Set the washer to the largest load capacity and fill with hot water.
• Add one cup chlorine bleach.
• Set the washer to a full cycle with a hot water rinse. Allow the washer to run through the entire cycle.
• Clean the exterior of the washer and all other surfaces in the laundry room with a solution of chlorine bleach and hot water. Rinse with clean water.
• Of course, if the machines are broken call a technician to come to help you first!

Now comes the washing of the clothes part ...

You can use vinegar to remove the mold and musky smell that your flood-damaged clothes may have. *Vinegar kills 82% of mold species and can usually kill the mold growing on clothes. Vinegar will also remove the moldy smell from the clothes.

How to wash your clothes with vinegar:

First, make sure you knock off and spray away any mud or large portions of debris from your clothing as this may jam up your machine.

• To kill mold on your clothes using vinegar, put your clothes in the washing machine along with detergent and let the machine fill with water.
• Then add about a cup or two of vinegar to your washing.
• Let the washing machine run through its cycle as normal.
• Alternatively, soak clothes in vinegar:
• Let your clothes soak in a solution of one cup of white vinegar in a bucket of water for about an hour.
• After soaking, wash the clothes with laundry detergent in your washing machine to wash away the mold and vinegar.
• You might need to repeat the process to remove all the traces of mold and any moldy smell from your clothes.

If you or someone you know has been affected by flood damage and need help with your home, call SERVPRO now!

*Source: Moldpedia.com