this post was submitted on 13 Oct 2026
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TLDR - You can reply to any of the questions below that you have a citation or knowledge about please and thanks. But basically I hang dry my clothjng and have had a problem with them getting that mildewy smell . Please help

  1. Im talking about a whole 2 cups of citirc acid per a load of clothing. What notablw effects on the clothing wll this amount have? Also I plan on leaving the citric acid solution on the clothing after rinsing away as much detergent as possible. Bad idea? Should I do a 24 or 8 hour citric acid soak? Nope ?yes?

  2. Also it should be noted that most of the clothing is heavy cotton as in 325 GSM or more cotton. Only like 1 or 2 of those peices of clothing are made of wool or polyester or spandex.

  3. Also citirc acid may lighten the clothing no? Or will the citric acid only lighten the clothing if it clothing is out in the Sun for too long, right?

  4. Will the citric acid impart its own smell to the clothing? Will it destroy it?

  5. Can I combine this solution with placing the citirc acid solution on the clothing and l then once its hang dried a bit I can then use a drying machine to dry it even more thoroughly to ensure that rhe mildew is like double dead? Also I cant dry my clothing when its wet as Im super skinny and that would make my clothing stretch far too much.

  6. Could the problem be that Im using too much detergent?

  7. Ive tried to look for other solutions to this and apparently drying the clothing after the mildew is already there will not have a drastic enough effect to get rid of it. Is this true please.?

  8. Should I just dump boiling water onto the clothing after it has washed or will this make it stretch?

Ive found I have this problem when I hand wash the clothing or machie wash it but surprisingly hand washing and then hand wringing it makes the smell of mildew less prominent.

Also I live in an apartment that has a public laundromat and the cleaning of the machines' filters is a sporadic frequency as of now so....

And yes I do now know about mangles to wring dry clothing. I live in canada so if anyine knows any brands that arent absolute garbo please do link

Ive deided to not use the washing machines until. the maytag mechanics fix the problem of to dirty filter and the mildew. I live in an apartment with a public laundromat and the maytag mechanics for the machine come in sporadically

Thanks to all who answer.

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[โ€“] UnequalExchange@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

For that rosemary oil, vinegar, alcohol combination you spray on can you pleaae get into the specifics of how you make that mixture please? What litres or millilitres ofr each of those things do you use to make it? Also where in the hell can I find rosemary oil please? (Ill add that I dont use amazon) I have never seen such thing as rosemary oil in real life ...or maybe I havent searched hard eniugh ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿฟโ€โ™‚๏ธ

[โ€“] fruitycoder@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

They sell rosemary oil at the health food store where i live along with some local people sell essential oils.

For IN THE WASHER just use vinegar. It'll help soften the fabric and kill some mildew/mold. Oils will stick in the wash and since it's shared might not be ok with everyone. Alcohol can break down plastics.

I do probally 2/3rds vinegar (5% acidity is fine) and a 1/3rd everclear (190 proof). Just a few drops og rosemary is enough for a good smell tbh. You can also mix peppermint for things you want bugs to avoid but rosemary has the lasting antibacterial effect.

You can isopropal too, though i dont like how it dries as well but you can use less making it like 1/4 instead of 1/3 of the mix.

On the essential oils though they are 100% extra. Vinegar is good enough, alcohol helps more, the oils are mostly just smell goods with some evidence showing that they'll help

Also I feel that when we are dealing with vinwgar-anything the essential oils are ...wel... essential. The smell of vinegar so strong and bad .

So yoouve never had someone tell you you smell like vinegar after sprayimg your clothing with a mixture that tdiidnt have rosemary oil in it?

[โ€“] UnequalExchange@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Can you recommend for me a non-alcoholic beverage alternative I can use for the alcohol please?

Sure sorry I could have been more clear that is what isopropyl is. It's a non drinking alcohol