This evening, I opened the bin to start putting stuff away. Immediately, a wave of stale, 100-year-old building air knocked me down. In disbelief, I leaned down closer to sniff the clothes. That smell couldn't be coming from them! They were in a water-tight bin! Sure enough, the smell got stronger.
Then I noticed something on a curling iron resting on top of the clothes.
Condensation.
Still in denial, I reached down and picked up the top shirt. Wet.
The entire bin of clothes. My clothes. Socks, t-shirts, sweaters, the Isis wrap Brenda spent so much time knitting and re-knitting, the little bag Scott bought me in Brussels, lingerie, my favorite winter pajamas, my blow dryer... all soaking wet and many encrusted in mold.
I grabbed two laundry baskets and a huge trash bag and began sorting. By the end, half the clothes were in the trash bag. Strangely, some of the clothes were untouched by the mold, while others were totally brown from it. There was no rhyme or reason to it.
I looked up how to remove mold from clothes, and this is what I found. It's on eHow's "Instructions on how to do (just about) anything."
Mildew is mold - a living organism that thrives in warm, humid environments. If your clothes become mildewy, your best bet is to act right away. The longer it stays on the fabric, the more time mildew has to weaken or even rot your clothes.
Steps:
1. Take the mildewy clothing outside and brush off any loose mold growth. (You don't want those spores floating around your house.)
2. Leave fabric in the sun to dry out - heat and sun kill mildew.
3. Presoak remaining stains in cold water, then wash in hot water with detergent. Allow to dry in the sun.
4. If stains still persist, sponge the area with diluted chlorine bleach (use 2 tbsp. bleach to 1 qt. water). After about 10 minutes, rinse.
5. Launder as usual, rinse and allow to dry in the sun.
Too bad I looked this up after I sorted the clothes. In the house. In our bedroom. And I put a load in the washing machine. In lukewarm water. Stink. At least I know not to put it in the dryer yet.
It's also 7:30pm and the sun won't be out until tomorrow. If it comes out -- is it supposed to rain tomorrow? It's fall too, so heat is in short supply. Will the fall temps and sunshine be enough to kill it? What are the neighbors going to think? Should I even bother with the lingerie?
