Mildew is an annoying problem to deal with anywhere in your house. Even after you've cleaned everything and gotten rid of the mildew, it tends to leave a lingering odor to remind you of its presence. No matter how much extra cleaning you do, nothing seems to make that smell go away.
Perhaps you never thought you'd find the right tips to rid you house of the musty smell that remains after a mildew cleanup, but we have six extraordinarily helpful tips below to help you restore you home to its former fresh-smelling self.
1. Musty odors in vintage clothing Mix 1 part vodka and 2 parts water in a spray bottle and shake it up. Lightly spray this combo onto your vintage clothing and let it air dry. If you're working with heavy fabric, turn the clothing inside out and repeat the process.
2. Mildew smell in towels Start by washing your towels as you normally would, but add a small amount of bleach. After the washing machine has finished its cycle, wash the towels again in a mixture of hot water, vinegar and baking soda. Finish up by running the towels through a normal washing machine cycle one more time -- this time using a small amount of laundry detergent. Let your towels air dry.
3. Mildew smell in the bathroom Sometimes a musty smell lingers in your bathroom even after you've cleaned away all traces of mildew. In these cases, fill a bowl (a disposable bowl or Tupperware works best) with vinegar and set it somewhere out of the way, such as behind the toilet bowl. As the vinegar slowly evaporates, it absorbs and eliminates mildew odors. Once the vinegar has disappeared, get rid of or clean the bowl.
4. Musty odors in the refrigerator If you're dealing with the leftover smell of mildew in your refrigerator, fight it with a little vanilla. Put several teaspoons of vanilla extract into a dish, then set it somewhere in the fridge where it won't spill. Leave it there for three weeks to help get rid of those smells. Keep in mind that this won't work in the freezer because vanilla extract freezes.
5. Mildew smell in clothing Sometimes you start a load of laundry, but then you get busy and forget to take the clothes out of the washing machine. When you finally get around to it, you notice that everything has a gross odor attached to it. To get rid of this smell, run your clothes through the wash again -- this time adding a cup of white vinegar with the water and detergent. Let the machine run through part of the cycle, and then stop it and let everything sit and soak for at least an hour. After the soaking is finished, let the machine finish its cycle and then dry the clothes as you normally would.
6. Mildew smell in the carpetSprinkle a thick layer of baking soda over the area of your carpet that smells. Leave it overnight if possible (or at least a few hours if it's in a high-traffic area of the house). The next day, use a stiff broom to brush off the top layer of baking soda, then vacuum up what's left. If there's still a little odor left, spray vinegar onto the area, leave it for 15 to 20 minutes then blot it dry with a cloth. To make sure all of the vinegar is cleaned up, spray the area with clean water, blot with a cloth and let it dry.
